Coach K vs. The Econ Major

Was curious to see what everyone's thoughts were about this exchange between K and a student reporter for the Duke paper.



Honestly, it seems to be a pretty normal/mundane exchange but Twitter has some takes on it.

 

Heard that on the radio. Thought Coach K was being his normal pompous douche self. Pretty basic question from the student. Apparently it touches a nerve. I do think K backed down a little bit toward the end. Kid could ride this for awhile, celebrating that he was the one roasted by Coach K; plenty have done similar.

 

It's actually pretty good on the job training for the student newspaper reporter.

Learn the ropes of interviewing someone like Coach K -- the fuckingest potty mouthed fuckadoodle coach in America -- and you'll probably turn out OK as a reporter.

 

It really wasn’t as bad as I expected. Coach K was a bit of a jerk but coaches reacting to a loss have been know to be jerks. The question wasn’t great and Coach K decided to be a bully, although I think he relented when he probably realized who he was talking down to.

The student learned a lesson, I guess. My biggest concern is how hesitant student journalists can be to ask questions in these settings because they are scared of this happening. I hope this kid isn’t gun -shy the next time that he raises his hand in a press conference.

 

I thought it was okay. No it wasn't a great question, K was a little agitated at first but I don't think he necessarily roasted the kid.

 

I viewed it now and don't think it's a big deal. If the coach didn't want to answer the student's question he could have just said: "We'll do what we always do, watch tape and go from there. We all can improve and need to improve." Give a dull one-liner and move on. Any time a coach turns it to ask the reporter a question in response to the reporter's question, it doesn't really turn out great.

 

Hmm ... I had heard a lot about this. Now, in hindsight, quite an overreaction.

No question that Mike Krzyzewski has come across as pious. He's also gone after kids at the Chronicle before.

This isn't overly antagonistic IMO. K could have been a little better, and he could have been a lot worse. Was K touchy following a loss? Sure. So are the overwhelming majority of coaches after losses, especially when the season is clearly slipping away.

 

I found it to be generally shitty. Not the end of the world, but a mildly crappy thing to do.

When you're an experienced adult who commands all this respect, it seems fine to act like it. K has coached like 1,300 games, but he's being pissy and demanding "empathy" from a 20 year old after a loss. Fuck that. If an older reporter or a younger one spoke that way to one of the college kids on his team, he'd flip shit. Least he can do is act like the adult on the zoom. (Good lesson for the kid that some folks are shits just because, and so there's nothing to hold you back from jabbing them with an actually tough on)

Also, every person in the kids mention who was like "What a valuable lesson you were given about asking bad questions" can go walk into traffic.

 

The question was absolutely legitimate and it was fine. It was neither bad nor, by any standard, loaded.

 

You're right about ideals but the reality is it was great experience for the kid.

Shashevsky's an asshole and the kid's lucky to have an asshole like that to cut his teeth with.

Would you rather we coddle this college kid who goes to Duke?

Reporting is a tough gig, especially if you want to be good at it, and to be good at it you have to learn how to deal with assholes and roll with the punches.

Ideals are pretty and all but let's be real about this situation and about the realities of life.

 

I'd expect one of the faces of the sport who is being paid nearly $9 million to not act like a petulant shit and not punch down, yes. If displaying respect and decency is coddling, well, I understand where we are in the world a bit better now.

But if reporting is a tough gig, surely high-level sports are too. Perhaps veteran reporters should start the next press conference by directly asking Duke's players why they're so disappointing. It'll make the players better and show them the realities of life.

(I'm good with the kid learning lessons, less interested in the idea that I give adults a pass on account of it. It can be a great experience and in the same breath, K still shouldn't have done it and looks bad for having done it)