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Tag: Mike Krzyzewski

  • Jabari Parker To Make His NBA Decision On Wednesday

    Whether or not Jabari Parker will leave college basketball after his freshman season for the opportunity to play in the NBA was a hot topic of discussion throughout the NCAA tournament, and continue to be since the season has ended.

    Jabari Parker was one of the top players in the country at the beginning of the season, and while he lost all of he player of the year awards to Creighton’s Doug McDermott, he could still go as the No.1 draft pick, if he decides to enter.

    The decision on whether to go to the NBA or not will be based on where he feels that he can grow the most. He will meet with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski when he returns to Durham, N.C., on Tuesday.

    As of right now, Jabari Parker says that “I don’t know where that is right now. I’ll talk to coach about it and lay out my options, but I’m just really glad I get the best of both worlds.”

    He was one of the standout players on an outstanding Duke tea, and just received the Wayman Tisdale Award as college basketball’s top freshman. He was with his parents in Oklahoma City to accept the award, and the Parker family is originally from the Chicago area.

    As any fan of college basketball knows, it is an honor to play for someone like Coach K., and perhaps Parker will want more time as a member of the Duke Blue Devils.

    While he may be a good fit for the NBA right now, another year or two at Duke could also help him develop more as a player. Willie Cauley-Stein, the center for the Kentucky Wildcats, declared that h would return for his junior year on Monday.

    Jabari Parker was the highest-scoring freshman in Duke history, averaging 19.1 points per game, and he was also the first freshman to lead the Blue Devils in both scoring and rebounding.

    Imagine the power lineup if JabariParker stays w/ #Duke one more year? With their incoming class it should be an incredible 2014-15 season.

    — Captain (@PicardDeltaOne) April 15, 2014

    During this year’s NCAA tournament, the Duke Blue Devils were delivered perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament from No.14 seed Mercer, but that does not take away from the excellent year that Parker had over the course of his freshman season.

    Image via Youtube

  • Marquette Basketball Coach Used To Coach For Duke

    The race for the NCAA men’s basketball championship might still be going on, but that doesn’t mean a few business deals can’t be made behind closed doors.

    That’s what the Marquette Golden Eagles have been busy doing, as they just named Steve Wojciechowski as their new head coach. Wojciechowski worked closely with Mike Krzyzewski at Duke as the team’s assistant coach for many years.

    At 37 years old, Wojciechowski says he learned everything about being a good coach from Krzyzewski, and the fact that he accepted the Marquette job and gave up that direct access to the Duke coach, show’s just how special of a team he believes the Golden Eagles can be.

    Coach Krzyzewski “allowed me to understand just how fun and incredible the game of basketball is,” he said after being named.

    “But when used the right way, how it can change your life. I hope to do that here at Marquette….I wasn’t going to leave [Duke] for just any job. I was only going to leave for a job that I thought is the perfect job for me, and I feel Marquette is that place.”

    It didn’t take long for Marquette alumni to give their opinions on the new coach, namely Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade, who attended the school from 2000 to 2003. Wade said the University made the perfect choice in Wojciechowski, as he played for him both in the Olympics and in the World Games.

    “I think it’s a great hire from the standpoint of, first of all, he’s coming from an unbelievable, unbelievable background of coaches, being coached under one of the best coaches of all time, a coach that I respect so much in Coach K,” said Wade.

    “And I had my time with Wojo in 2008, 2006 as well. World games and then the Olympics. I think he’s a young, fiery coach that has had success as an assistant coach for 15 years now [and] is ready to try his success as a head coach.”

    Image via Twitter

  • Jahlil Okafor, Top High School Recruit, Chooses Duke

    Duke made their stamp as one of the top teams in college basketball years ago, and in their next move to improve as a program, they have recruited Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is the top ranked high school player in the nation, and while he has had a connection with Duke for months now, he made the commitment official as of Friday, November 15th.

    Jahlil Okafor is a senior at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, and will be attended Duke next fall, likely becoming one of the next stars of college basketball. The young star will also be joined by Tyus Jones from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and the two of them had a pledge to attend college together. The two of them committed simultaneously on national television on Friday afternoon.

    Speaking on the two players attending Duke together, Okafor said “The past two-and-a-half weeks, my family, his family, our inner circles, have been having conference calls, just comparing all the schools. They’re all great universities. It came down to it the academic side and Coach K. He is the most winning coach of all time. I’d love to help him get his 1,000th win.”

    Coach Mike Krzyzewski already has Jabari Parker on the team from his hometown of Chicago, who looks to be one of the stars this year, after having an impressive performance against Kansas in the Champions Classic, despite their loss. Kansas was also led by their young star in freshman Andrew Wiggins.

    Unfortunately for Duke, with the star power of Parker, he will likely enter the draft after his freshman year, and will likely not be able to play on the team with Jahlil Okafor. Jones spoke of his excitement to play for Duke by saying “With Duke it’s the opportunity to play for Coach K and the style that they play there. I love the way they use their guards, and I feel like I can make an impact right away. Plus they have a great fan base.”

    It is certainly no surprise that Jahlil Okafor, the top player in the country, would choose Duke, since they always seem to be one of the dominant teams in the nation. He is excited to play for an excelling program where he hopes to help them keep their reputation going, and win a championship.

    Image via Youtube

  • Mike Krzyzewski Done With Team USA, Twitter Reacts

    It appears that after seven years of coaching the Team USA basketball team, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski (otherwise known as Coach K) will not be coaching it any longer.

    Krzyzewski said on ESPN’s Mike & Mike in the Morning, “I’ve loved, loved, loved, and it’s been an honor being with the USA Basketball team. And to coach the team and work with [chairman and president Jerry Colangelo] for seven years has been marvelous.”

    In 2005, Krzyzewski was appointed coach. His record as head coach of the USA National Team was 62–1. His team got four golds in all (FIBA Americas Championship 2007, 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics) and one bronze (2006 FIBA World Championship).

    Here’s what people are saying on Twitter: