Anti-Duke Manifesto-The Complete Hate

E. K’s Career Long Free Pass.

Finally, the foul tallies are beyond defense when one considers the number of technical fouls that should be called on the head coach himself in every game. Again, the point is beyond dispute. Game after game, K drops the ‘f-bomb’ with the frequency of a drunk sailor, along with all the other traditional profanities. And when was his last technical foul?

Big deal you say? According to the NCAA points of emphasis it is supposed to be. ‘Coaches who engage in the following actions violate the bench decorum rules and shall be assessed a direct technical foul:

Directing personal, vulgar or profane remarks or gestures toward an official; Voicing displeasure about officiating through continuous verbal remarks; Leaving the coaching box for an unauthorized reason.

Does any of that sound familiar?

– Chapter Five –

Bastardizing Game Effects of Pro-Duke Officiating

Think the officials’ bias is inconsequential or overstated? Think again. While the numbers themselves tell the story, decades of history provide extensive anecdotal evidence of the college ref’s embellishing impact. How many of the all time Duke basketball greats promptly proceeded to fizzle at the next level where game rules are actually enforced in an unbiased manner and where defenders must actually defend their opponents standing up? Mark Alarie, Johnny Dawkins, David Henderson, Billy King, Robert Brickey, Phil Henderson, Kevin Strickland, Danny Ferry, Alaa Abdelnaby, Brian Davis, Antonio Lang, Cherokee Parks, William Avery, Shane Battier, Reshown McLeod, Dahntay Jones, Chris Carawell, Mike Dunleavy — the list is seemingly endless. Past Duke rosters read like a ‘Who’s Who?’ of professional basketball jokes, most of whom quickly ship out to European leagues after early failure in the NBA. Greg Koubek, for example, did impressive pro tours in Turkey, South Africa, and Hungary. Greg Newton found his stardom in Canada after failing in the true basketball hotbed of Bulgaria. Others find homes in the prestigious NBDL, (e.g. Nate James who starred for the North Charleston Lowgators before being cut in France.) Still others fill high school gym bleachers for the CBA. One of my Duke favorites, Ricky Price, did so with the Great Lakes Storm.

With the sole exceptions of Grant Hill (on those rare seasons when he does not – like his college mentor — sit out entire seasons for injuries), Elton Brand, and Carlos Boozer, it would be fair to say that every Coach K era Duke basketball star has, at the pro level, either completely failed or substantially under performed vis–vis his college record, with Danny Ferry perhaps best symbolizing the stuff of the Duke basketball reality check.

Duke fans respond that Luol Deng and Corey Maggette are also big pro successes. Personally, I believe the jury is still out on Mr. Deng, but let’s add both players to the short list of Duke’s successful pros. Doing so only furthers the argument that Duke is bad for player development. Why? Because both Deng and Maggette left Duke after a single season, before the college refs’ kid gloves treatment spoiled their natural abilities. Note also that Brand left after two years, Boozer after three. So in the end, Grant Hill is really the only player to have overcome four year’s of Duke experience and still succeed in the NBA. Of course even the precious few Dukies who survive in the NBA fail to win championships. With the exception of Danny Ferry, who had the dumb luck to find himself riding the bench of Tim Duncan’s champion Spurs teams, no Coach K graduate has ever (legally) popped anything more than a Motrin tablet in an NBA locker room.