Coach K: In Today’s Environment, I Would Leave Duke For The Lakers

Things have really changed.

Here’s an interesting surprise: former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski says if he were coaching today and the Los Angeles Lakers offered him the job, he would take it.

Why?

Because of the changes in college basketball. Here’s what Coach K had to say about it:

“I think if I was 57 now and it was offered, I would go.“I still love Duke. College basketball is terrific — the product. All the stuff you have to do for it, it’s not as gratifying as it was 20 years ago. At least for me.”

That’s pretty telling.

From 1980 to 1999, Duke was in one world. When Elton Brand, Will Avery and Corey Maggette left early for the NBA, that was a major change. In 2011, Duke embraced the one-and-done world, and that was another. Today, with the NIL changes and the immediate transfers, one of the biggest rewards - probably the biggest reward - of the profession, the bonding with players over several years - is mostly gone.

That’s not to dismiss the value of players like Justin Robinson and Javin DeLaurier, but things are not the same. If you saw the ACC Network’s documentary about the 1986 team, those guys had shared struggles, triumphs and memories.

You can’t really have that with Jalen Johnson and DJ Steward. No offense to either of them. They came to Duke during Covid, which was no fun for anyone. Still, it’s impossible to have the same sort of bond or anything approaching it.

It’s hard to know where college sports are heading exactly, but wherever it is, it’s not what it used to be.

In some ways that’s good and some ways it’s bad. It’s more fair to the players, but college basketball has really lost something too.