Coach K: The Man, The Myth, The Legend

After Duke beat Butler in the national championship game, Coach Mike Krzyzewski was finally relieved of the immense (unjustified) pressure that had been on his shoulders all season. I will put it like this, you do not want to be the head coach at Duke if you are coming off four straight home losses to your archrival North Carolina and five straight early tournament exits. So much pressure, in fact, that after Duke beat Baylor in the Elite Eight, Coach K was so relieved to have made it back to the final four and finally have his critics off his back that he completely forgot to share the moment with his wife. An usher had to yell at him, “Hey Coach, you forgot your wife!” Krzyzewski quickly apologized to his wife telling her how crazy it was out there. The good news for Coach K is that he only needed to apologize to his wife, not duke fans. Having lead Duke to yet another national championship, Coach K cemented a place for himself among the greatest coaches of all time and also satisfied disgruntled fans.

With his fourth national championship win two nights ago, Coach K tied Adolf Rupp for the second most national championship wins among men’s college basketball coaches (only John Wooden has won more titles, winning 10 at UCLA from 1964-1975). Krzyzewski’s 11 Final Four appearances also tie him for second most Final Four appearances among all coaches. Furthermore, he holds the NCAA tournament record for highest winning percentage (78%). Not only is he first in wins in tourney history with 77 victories, but Coach K is also the first coach to win national championships in three consecutive decades. Under his reign, Duke has played more games ranked as the number 1 team (190) than it has as an unranked team (144). Averaging more than 25 wins a season, Coach K is expected to surpass Bob Knight as the all time winningest college basketball coach in the next season or two. Coach K is only 34 wins shy of Knight—his own former coach at Army—with a grand total of 868 victories. Duke fans sending him hate mail before this season seem to have forgotten all of these accolades and just how good Krzyzewski is. I mean, I can’t think of a coach I would rather have head my team. If Coach K was hated on so much with his past success, I can’t even imagine what Rick Barnes of the Texas Longhorns is going through right now. He is the primary reason that the Longhorns had what I consider their most disappointing basketball season ever. Then again, most coaches at high levels understand that they are only as good as their last season.

Coach K has clearly done some impressive coaching in the past, but I don’t think anything compares to what he did this year. Amidst all of the pressure, He guided his Duke team, which didn’t have the normal star power or depth of his previous championship teams, to a 35-5 record and a ACC tournament title. Then came the NCAA tournament where many people believed that the Blue Devils were over seeded. The Blue Devils certainly lacked the athleticism and NBA lottery picks compared to the other one seeds and some of the teams they faced in the tournament. But Duke had a “secret” weapon that no one else had: Mike Krzyzewski. He continually out-coached every team his Dukies played, as evident in Duke’s 17-point margin of victory heading into their showdown with Butler. And we all know how that game played out: Mike Krzyzewski was able to conduct his Blue Devils past Butler, a team that almost seemed destined to win it all and achieve a fairytale ending, in one of the greatest championship games in tournament history. And if none of that impresses you, perhaps Coach K’s most impressive feat was turning Brian Zoubek (easily the most klutzy and biggest goofball ever to walk this earth) into a productive basketball player.

-The Southern Gentleman

U-G-L-Y, You Ain't Got No Alibi, You Ugly...

This NCAA Tournament has been the best in years. There have been countless upsets, and every game has been fun to watch. Unfortunately, I think I'll have to pass on watching the Duke v. West Virginia game. No, it's not because I think the game itself will be sub-par; I'm sure it will be a great match-up. And it's not because I despise any of the schools, coaches, players, etc. I cannot bring myself to watch the game because of one man: Kyle Singler (pictured left).

Hey, the guy is a great basketball player, and I'm sure he'd be fun to watch...provided he put a paper bag over his head. Kyle Singler is just plain ugly. He is the sole reason I wish sports were not broadcasted in Hi-Definition. I mean, look at the guy. He is borderline albino. I don't think he has seen the sun in a year. Plus, his features remind me of that deformed guy from The Goonies:

Not only is Singler tough on the eyes, but he's creepy as well. I'd be fine with him if he was some scrawny point guard, but the guy is 6' 9" and weighs 220 lbs. Every time the camera man zooms in on him, I shudder.

To be fair, ugly basketball players are not a rarity. It almost like there's a positive relationship between the ugliness of a player and their skill level. Just look at Stephen Jackson. The guy can play ball, but he's no male model:

Anyways, even though it'll be tough to watch the Duke game, I think Duke will pull through. I just don't see the West Virginia defense being able to stop Singler. I mean, let's be honest, would you go near him?

Adios,
Breeneback

Spotlight: Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky has cruised through the first two rounds of the tournament and is playing the best basketball they have all year. And with Kansas out of the tournament, the wildcats are clearly the most talented team left in the field. They also have the red carpet laid out for them to reach the final four with potential match ups against a twelfth seeded Cornell and then an eleventh seeded Washington. Not to take anything away from Cornell (whose team has given hope to short, white kids everywhere) or Washington, but neither team has a chance of defending Kentucky’s size, talent, and speed. This trend of superiority will continue in the final four no matter which team Kentucky plays. As long as wildcats continue to shoot the 3-ball and rebound as effectively as they have thus far, then they should be cutting down the nets in Indy.

A lot of analysts think that Kentucky will get tripped up on their road to a national championship because of their free throw shooting woes and lack of experience. Everyone talks about how free throw shooting is extremely important in the tournament because the majority of the games are decided by just a few points. This shouldn’t be a problem if the wildcats continue to steam roll over opponents. Even if it came down to a last second free throw, which is as likely as Lost ever making sense, the wildcats shoot a very respectable 69% from the free throw line.

Others believe that the wildcats will fail to win it all because of their overall lack of experience. Although Kentucky is driven by freshman and other young players, with either very little or no tournament experience, the team is bulging with incredibly skilled players in an otherwise down year for talent. Yall can take any fifth year senior you want… I’ll take this guy:

John Wall will most likely be the number one overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft, and he leads a Kentucky team that features at least three other lottery picks. No other team in the tournament even comes close to the amount of talent Kentucky has. The last coach to lead his team to a national championship in his first year at the school was Tubby Smith in 1998 at none other than the University of Kentucky. And I will put big money down that John Calipari will be the next coach to accomplish that feat this year. However, knowing Calipari’s past, Kentucky will have to vacate these wins in a few years once the NCAA proceeds with the inevitable investigation. And no matter what happens to Kentucky in the tournament, at least they will still have the smoking hot Ashley Judd on their side.



-The Southern Gentleman