Mike Krzyzewski stuck his hands in the mud and when he pulled them out, it was a miracle: the mud was clean.
Duke played Kentucky on Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic, the annual matchup of the same four college basketball bluebloods. Kansas and Michigan State were also here. But even just five years ago, when this thing started, Duke v Kentucky, Krzyzewski v John Calipari was always such an easy sell.
Good v Evil. Calipari wasn’t pushing education in the college game, but only a quick one-year path to the NBA. One-and-dones, the players are called. At Duke, it was about going to class and white picket fences.
Today, the only thing separating Calipari from Krzyzewski is the hair gel. That, and the fact that people still see this as Good v Evil.
“We just have to figure out our team,’’ Krzyzewski said after Duke lost 74-63. “It’s the same thing we do every year.’’
Well, not exactly, because now he has to do it each year with all new players not ones he has developed in the pure way. This might sound sacriligious to the basketball god that is Krzyzewski, but it’s time to call bs on him. He is filling his team with one and dones now just like Calipari. Duke had three of them last year when it won the national championship.
Krzyzewski out-Caliparied Calipari. But the thing is, over the years, Krzyzewski never stopped anyone from holding him up as the conscience of college sports in contrast to Calipari, the scumbag. And now that Krzyzewski has gotten into the mud with Calipari, he still was publicly critical of the whole practice recently in an ESPN.com article.
Look, Krzyzewski says that he has adapted to the times, that the one-and-done mentality has fed on itself. That is true. So he has joined taken the lead in the practice while at the same time painting himself only as being dragged into it.
No. You cannot take the moral high ground over the exact thing you are doing. Krzyzewski hasn’t just accepted a few one-and-dones. He’s now college basketball’s official King One-And-Done. But instead of clearing Calipari’s name, Krzyzewski is trying to launder his part in the practice.
This isn’t to complain about the non-academic state of college sports. That has been done to death. Athletes can go to class or not. It really doesn’t matter.
And maybe Krzyzewski feels he truly was forced to change if he wanted to keep winning national championships. That’s OK, too.
But let’s be honest about what he is doing. And let’s recognize that maybe we have been unfair to Calipari all along. All he did was recognize the reality of the times before everyone else did.
It is now a status thing for the top high school players to get to the NBA as quickly as possible. League rules require high school grads to wait a year before jumping to the NBA.
Why? Well, when high school players were jumping straight to the NBA on their potential, most of them were just sitting on the bench, unprepared to play at that level and also to live an adult life on the road. So why not let them develop in college, where NBA coaches don’t have to pay them millions? Meanwhile, those players can go to the NCAA tournament and arrive in the pros as fully marketed, ticket-selling properties.
College and NBA held hands on this scheme.
But not Krzyzewski. He stood for something else. Something more than sports. Conscience.
Well, on Tuesday, in a pro town in a pro stadium that has nothing to do with college sports, Kentucky was too good for Duke. The guards, including freshman stud Jamal Murray, were just too much.
“I have to lead (the freshmen one-and-doners) by example,’’ Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis said after scoring 18 points. “I have experience.’’
Yes, Ulis is a sophomore. And he knows that it takes time for the freshmen to break into the system, feel like full members of the team and understand the system. The maturation process should take roughly six weeks.
These are some of the best young players in the world. Calipari talked about the things individual players need to learn, like relying on athleticism and not bullying.
Kentucky freshman forward Skal Labissiere is expected to be the first pick in the NBA draft. He was awful, scoring seven points and fouling out.
“He’s going to be fine,’’ Calipari said. “It’s all new to him.’’
Krzyzewski’s top one-and-doner figures to be freshman Brandon Ingram. He isn’t ready yet, either. Give him a month. And next year, Krzyzewski already has high schoolers Jason Tatum and Harry Giles coming.
And all along, Calipari has sold Kentucky as the place to jump quickly to the NBA, getting into every photo op imaginable. That’s evil. And Krzyzewski makes it look different somehow, using his international status as US Olympic coach to pitch his connection past education and into the NBA. That’s good.
Krzyzewski has adapted to the times. Pass the hair gel.
