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Forty-one years ago Coach K recruited Johnny Dawkins of the D.C. area to play for Duke. I played in the same league as Dawkins. Wasn’t as good – no one was better than Johnny.
But I was pretty good. Could have been the ninth man for the Blue Devils. But Coach K never called me. Wasn’t interested.
I dreamed of playing for Duke or North Carolina or some other blue blood college program. They weren’t interested.
To this day that rips my soul. My basketball career didn’t pan out the way I had hoped. The dream didn’t materialize.
It’s not Coach K’s fault he wasn’t interested in me as a player. But it doesn’t mean I’m not offended he didn’t offer me a scholarship.
Which is one of the reasons I’ve been rooting against him, especially during this last season celebrating his super successful life. I could have played and learned from him, but he didn’t invite me into his club. When you don’t invite someone into your club, you can’t expect that person to be in love with you.
I’m glad Coach K lost Saturday night. And yes, one of the reasons is because he didn’t offer me a scholarship to play for Duke. He ignored me.
Some of you may think I’m being petty. I am. Some of you may think I should move on from this situation 41 years ago. I should.
But it’s not easy. He blew me off.
Then went on to glory with other players at Duke. I wasn’t part of any of it.
Now here’s where it gets interesting and complicated. Carolina didn’t recruit me either and I haven’t rooted for them since they blew me off. I could have been the 10th man for them also. Don’t believe me if you want, but it’s true.
But the difference is that Carolina never has made me feel as if I wasn’t part of their exclusive club and that if I didn’t live the Carolina basketball way I didn’t have a clue how to be successful in life.
Coach K made that clear. I read his book, Leading with the Heart, and when I finished felt that I didn’t go to Duke so didn’t understand how to live life the right way.
K believed in his system and way of coaching and made it clear that his way was a special way. That turned me off.
So many people say what a great guy K is. And maybe he is. But there are some things about him that irk me. Why did he have to say in the post-game interview last night that his team needed to make more free throws? We all know that. It sounded like he was blaming his players for choking and it wasn’t his fault they lost because he believes he’s a great coach.
Why did he have to talk about loving his family last night, his team, rather than answer questions about what he feels now that his coaching career was over?
He was controlling the conversation, putting the reporters in their place. He may think of his team as a family, and that’s fine, but when he says so it comes across as positioning himself as a caring man who is the father of the players. It’s all so holier than thou. He’s saying “I know best and you don’t. I’m a man of substance. I’m deep. I’m honest and have a big heart and care about people. I win because of my system.”
It’s the constant spit-shining of his personal brand that gets me. When asked on the day he announced his retirement if he was leaving because of all the corruption in college basketball, he said “it has nothing to do with any of that. Mickie and I decided it’s time for me to step down.”
Classic K – controlling the narrative.
But then at the Final Four this weekend he ripped on the NCAA saying it needed to be restructured. Sounds like he does have issues with the corruption in college basketball and these may be reasons he’s stepping down. But he dodged the question when he announced his retirement.
And then Saturday night he explained that on the day he announced his retirement he said he wanted to make a run at a championship and he said he had the players to do it.
Saturday night he said, “I was right.”
Classic K – positioning his way of thinking, his expertise, his way of thinking, to be the correct way.
Years ago after he won a couple of national championships he was asked if winning was the most important thing.
He denied that. “That would be a sickness. Playing hard is what is most important.”
Classic K – he knew it wouldn’t come across well if he said winning was most important so he called that a sickness. But we all know winning was the most important thing to K. Yes wanting to win can be a sickness and K had it.
He was positioning his personal brand to make himself look deeper and more caring than just another college basketball coach who wanted to win.
Well now that he lost the big one Saturday night, what is his lasting personal brand?
I think it’s tarnished. Why were so many people sending me texts last night overjoyed that Duke lost? One of my friends, an avid Maryland Terps fan, wrote “this is better than when Maryland won the national title.”
So K losing his last game made him feel better than his own team winning it all? What does that tell us about K? That he makes people angry. That he turns people off. That he wins too much but not in a way that makes the rest of us feel good for him.
I think of Tom Brady who, like K, is right in the top echelon of his sport. But I don’t mind Brady winning more Super Bowls because he doesn’t brand himself as better than the rest of us the way K does. He doesn’t give off that vibe that he thinks he has more knowledge and interpersonal connections with others that the rest of us don’t know how to make because we didn’t go to Army where he learned how to be a better human being than the rest of us.
When Michael Phelps won all his Gold Medals, I didn’t wish he would lose the way I did K lose to Carolina last night. Phelps wasn’t a jerk. He didn’t say things that made me feel I wasn’t as gifted and wise as him. K does that and did that throughout his career.
Look, I’ve got a lot of baggage still being unpacked about Coach K. But it doesn’t change how I perceive him and I’m not alone. I’ll bet 90 percent of the people watching the Duke game last night rooted for Carolina to win.
Why?
Because of the way K carries himself, what he says, the vibe he gives off, the way he is.
Back in the 1970s when John Wooden coached his last game at UCLA, I’ll bet 90 percent of Americans rooted for his team to win the national title.
What does this tell you?
People liked the way John Wooden carried himself. He was classy and didn’t whine all the time during the games the way K did. He didn’t come across as some guy who knew the answer to how to live life the right way. K did.
And so thank you, Carolina. America thanks you. You’ve taken down a controversial man. Put him in his place. Made him feel the sting of defeat on the grandest stage, in front of the world. He won’t finish on top – and that’s a beautiful thing. And what he deserves.
Guys who make us feel inferior get their comeuppance. And K did Saturday night.
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Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
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