Latest thoughts on Duke - by Jon Pessah

Things continue to get complicated for Mike Krzyzewski, who had hoped for a tranquil few months as he gears up for the Summer Olympics this August. Not a chance. The latest complication: Johnny Dawkins’ decision to take the head coaching job at Stanford, forcing a realignment of the Duke coaching staff at a time when K would rather be dissecting game film on Europe’s top teams.

The Dawkins announcement means that K has an adjustment to make on every level of his program. On April 1, freshman Taylor King became the latest McDonald’s All-America to leave Duke, and several people close to the program say another three players have considered the transfer option.

Three days later, embattled athletic director Joe Alleva, once one of K’s staunch allies, left for the AD job at LSU. K, already concerned about the prominence of football in the ACC and the attention Duke has promised to pay to its new football head coach, is concerned. That’s especially true since the man he’d like to see get the job, associate athletic director for basketball Mike Cragg, is not considered a strong candidate—in part because of his strong association with Krzyzewski.

It was objection many had about Dawkins, the star of the Class of ’86 that laid the foundation for Krzyzewski’s Duke dynasty. After 11 years as an assistant, Dawkins was K’s choice to succeed him when he finally stepped down. But many at Duke, including many who like Dawkins, wondered if Johnny knows where Krzyzewski’s thoughts ended and his own began.

We’ll soon find out, starting with how Dawkins builds his staff. He will need a strong recruiter—Dawkins was the least involved in recruiting of any K staffers—and someone versed in the Pac-10, lately the nation’s toughest conference. Dawkins, a quiet man off the court, has the reputation of being an in-your-face hard ass coach on the court, and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the head job.

And how will K adapt? Dawkins was the lone black coach on his staff, so expect whomever K brings in to be a man of color. Having an assistant with ties to the AAU world would be a boost for recruiting. And bringing in someone who didn’t play guard in college – as K and his entire staff did – might begin to change the perception that Duke is where big men come to die.

No question Duke fans will be watching intently. K has been criticized locally for spending too much time on Team USA at expense of his team at Duke. (Comes with the territory when you don’t make it out of the first weekend of the NCAAs two years running.) At the recent season ending basketball banquet, K alluded to the criticism by saying those with complaints should get over it.

But it appears that he has no choice but to focus close to home now.