As Duke handled the UAE squad to finish their tour of Asia, Coach K floats above the epidemic of college sports scandals
The home team kept it close for a while, though United Arab Emirates tops out at around six-foot-eight. But superior talent won out over its slightly-older competition Friday night, as the Duke Blue Devils won, 86-66.
Boston Celtic Doc Rivers was at the game, watching his son pour on the scoring. Austin doesn’t have much
accuracy from the field, and turned the ball over often during these four games. This was his finest effort of the overseas trip. His best attributes include a fluid dribble. He will make spectators gasp with his shake-and-bake drives to the basket.
However, the surprise of the tour is Duke forward Ryan Kelly. He was thought to have been one of many high-IQ college players who show potential, but then turn out to have hit their ceiling. Kelly is still climbing. His shot was already deadly, and the footwork has improved dramatically. He looks like he’s been watching tape on Hall of Famer Kevin McHale. Watch for Kelly to make a big splash in college hoops this year, if he can be this active against better opponents.
The Blue Devils finished their Asian tour perfect in four games. With the loss of over 6,000 career points in seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, the globetrotting was a fine warm-up for the new faces. The ACC looks to be a bit strengthened, and UNC is expected to challenge for the national title, in the 2011-12 season.
Coach Michael William Krzyzewski is a veteran of the international sidelines, after stints in the Olympics and with the U.S. national team. He looked composed atÂ
tonight’s “friendship” match, almost like he was just another fan.
With college sports scandals hitting our screens every season, some fans feel disillusioned.
People have short memories–campus humiliations related to athletics have been around since the very start. They still believe the myth of amateur athletics, the same way some people believe politicians are all really trying. What these sports fans mourn is their lost naivetĂ©.
If we are honest, we’ll admit that almost all of us want to get paid. We want to be acknowledged somehow, and a fine-tooth comb taken to any program in the country would uncover some gaffes. There are some strong, moral souls of all ages and appearances. There are many more who will take anything offered… or give whatever it takes.
Look at some of the recently-fallen dominoes in college football. USC. North Carolina. Ohio State. Miami. Even the Boise State tennis coach messed up somehow. And don’t forget Cecil Newton supposedly bartering his son Cam’s talent to Auburn.
Every school’s fan base laughs at their trouble-stricken rivals. Then a few years later, it’s their players and coach beneath the hammer.
Krzyzewski still seems to walk above any scandal talk, three decades strong. Are there any other college coaches who hold that same aura? Tennessee’s Pat Summitt and the retired great, Dean Smith, belong in the category. Just remember that no “nice guy” reaches that level of competition; to claim wins at those heights requires a hardness, a stubbornness… maybe even a mean streak.
It is true that we build people up to tear them down, and sometimes we rebuild them again. Everyone has flaws and skeletons. Let us all try to avoid the biggest mistakes.