Coach K is the teflon don of college basketball; the kingpin of March Madness. He’s been at Duke for close to four decades, and in that time he’s seen many, if not most of his peers deal with scandalous situations, of varying degree.
With Mike Krzyzewski though, it’s been pretty much all squeaky clean.
He’s achieved five national championships and 12 Final Fours, and it’s highly unlikely that any of them will ever get vacated. He’s the first face on this generation’s college basketball coaching Mt. Rushmore, and he’s the media darling of all media darlings.
No one has utilized the media coverage, (and Team USA basketball too) to leverage a massive competitive advantage like he has.
There’s nothing wrong with any of that, as everyone uses whatever weapons they have in their arsenal in order to advance themselves.
That’s capitalism.
That’s America. All is fair in love and business.
Coach K had back surgery during midseason this year, and it’s clear that he’ll be facing retirement in the not too distant future. This won’t be happening next March or the March after that, but it also won’t be too long beyond that. In the four-to-eight year kind of range, approximately, Duke basketball will be looking for their new leader, and Krzyzewski, the emperor-king of Durham, will no doubt be anointing the chosen one .
Before Coach K and #2 seed Duke tip off against #15 seed Troy in Greenville, South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, let’s take a look at his potential successors. We’ve rated them ones by plausibility/ease of sell to the Duke fanbase.
Jeff Capel, Duke Assistant Coach
If the “not just a basketball coach, but a leader who happens to coach basketball” steps down sooner rather than later, then this is the way the Blue Devils will go- the path of least resistance. Capel led VCU to the NCAA Tournament, long before Shaka Smart came along and made you realize that Virginia Commonwealth basketball is indeed a thing, and took the Rams to the next level.
Capel also led the Sooners to the 2009 Elite 8, proving that he has the patriarch of a program chops to fill this high-major gig. If K. steps down within two or three years, the job is Capel’s.
Mike Brey, Notre Dame Head Coach
Now what if Krzyzewski decides to retire in three to five years time?
Brey would be the perfect successor, as he served as an assistant under Coach K from 1987-1995, and he’s gone on to lead his teams to 13 NCAA Tournament appearances, three sweet 16s and two Elite 8s. What he’s done at Notre Dame, the football school of all football schools, is incredible.
He’s made the Fighting Irish, in recent years, much more relevant in basketball than in football.
Of course, he’s also flourishing in a program where the spotlight doesn’t shine so bright, and hence pressure is much lower. Brey, whose mock turtleneck and suit combo is something we should all aspire towards in our fashion game, has achieved elite regular season conference success, but still doesn’t have a Final Four on his resume yet.
When he does, he will have established himself as the front-runner of all front-runners for this gig.
Chris Collins, Northwestern Head Coach
Via Teddy Greenstein, of the Chicago Tribune:
“I definitely think people expect him, when he gets success, to leave or whatever,” Lindsey said. “But he’s already built something special here; why would you leave that?
“He’s trying to build his own dynasty, legacy. I think that’s even more special.”
The topic of retaining Collins is sensitive enough that Collins and athletic director Jim Phillips deferred questions until season’s end.
Collins signed an extension after his second season that goes through 2019-20, three more seasons. That’s obviously less than ideal for recruiting in a world of guaranteed four-year scholarships.
Collins, who spent 17 years under Coach K. as both a player and an assistant, would be the ideal candidate for the job should Krzysewski step down in about seven to nine years. Collins has already accomplished more than any other coach in NU hoops history, but next year will be tough.
Yes, his team should be even better than this year on the court; at least on paper. However, as the Wildcats wave the hoopla of this season to capitalize on, they’re forced to relocate to an awful, desolate buzzkill location.
All State Arena is a poorly aging, decrepit building that is not at all accessible via public transportation from Chicago. As for driving there from the city, well, forget about any 6 or 7 pm CST weekday tip-offs. You’re fighting rush hour on the city’s worst expressway, directly into airport traffic- so good luck with that.
Weekend games will be a lot better though. Plus, it’s only one season that Northwestern has to deal with this logistical nightmare until their arena gets a $110 million upgrade and things are back to normal. Between the rise of NU hoops, and the new state-of-the-art lakeshore facilities in football, the purple hearts believe a golden era of revenue sports could be in the making. Think Michigan State in the mid 2010s as potential ceiling and apt analogy.
Collins is definitely not going anywhere any time soon, especially given the fact that he’s coaching in the back yard of where he grew up. He’s signed for three more seasons, until 2018-19, but he’s very likely to get an extension within the next year or so. Many believe that he needs to go one job higher before he goes to Duke. I disagree, I think he’s already proven his program building and in-game coaching skills in Evanston.
Collins is ready to take over a program that has a true, normal sized fanbase with a community that has a real legitimate interest in and expectations for the program.
Johnny Dawkins, Stanford Head Coach
He was a two-time All-American and national player of the year as a senior in 1986 at Duke from 1982–1986. From 1998 to 2008, he served as an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater. At Stanford, he won the NIT twice (2012, 2015) which is basically like being the richest man in Joliet, Illinois.
During his eight year career at Stanford, he finished 41 games over .500 but 12 games under .500 in the Pac 12. Thus he’s now taken a step down to UCF.
Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette Head Coach
I called it- I said the NCAA would set up a Coach K. Master vs. student match-up in the second round. I just got the protege wrong. Woj, the man who perfected and personified the “slapping the floor when you get back on defense” bit, is nine games above .500 in his MU career, and 10 games below .500 in Big East conference play.
He’s definitely lower on the pecking order.
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State Head Coach
Moving up the ranks fast, as he jumped from Buffalo to ASU after just two seasons. However, his record in Tempe indicates that he should be lucky to even keep his current job; forget about leaping up to a bigger one.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times and NBC Chicago.com, contributes to Chicago Tribune.com, Bold, WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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