|
COPYRIGHT 2004 Sporting News Publishing Co.
Mike Krzyzewski sits on a metal bleacher in the first row and attentively scouts his first game at the 2004 Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. He is dressed in a dark blue Duke golf shirt and the same khaki shorts he usually wears to these things. Well, probably not the same shorts. Even without the Los Angeles Lakers' millions, he can afford a second pair.
Krzyzewski puts on his reading glasses to check the roster. He chats with his former player and assistant, Missouri coach Quin Snyder. Krzyzewski watches as yet another Duke recruit, 6-10 forward Josh McRoberts of Carmel, Ind., performs brilliantly enough to stake a claim as one of the elite prospects in his graduating class.
As much as it appears nothing changed a few days earlier, when Krzyzewski chose not to leave college basketball for work in the NBA, we all know it did. Not dramatically, of course. But what was big got a little bigger. Krzyzewski now is the coach Kobe Bryant wanted, the coach who rejected $40 million. That stuff can't hurt.
There are more tangible differences, though, for Duke this summer. The Blue Devils have been left with eight scholarship players for the 2004-05 season--eight very talented players, but still only eight. There were to be 10, which Krzyzewski always has viewed as the optimal number for the way he coaches, but forward Luol Deng departed for the NBA draft after his freshman season and point guard recruit Shaun Livingston chose not to enroll for the same reason.
Krzyzewski says he never has used his full allotment of...
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
