Sports CommentaryWelcome to Baseline to Baseline, AOL Sports' sweeping roundup of the NBA's hot-button issues. In this special "mailbag" edition of B2B, the readers strike back.Last week, I posted a column detailing why
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski might not be the right guy to coach the U.S. men's basketball team in the Olympics this summer.
Based on user responses, the idea went over about as well as the Blue Devils' performance in this year's NCAA Tournament.
But the topic struck a nerve, so here's a collection of the "best" comments and e-mails, followed by my response to each. A few people also wrote in about the playoff picture, power rankings and a few other, uh, "topics," so those are included in this mailbag as well. Enjoy.
COACH K'S BRILLIANCE WILL DAZZLE NBA EGOS"I strongly disagree with your opinion about Coach K's ability to lead the team in the Olympics. One thing you have neglected to take into account is Coach K's brilliance in dealing with the psyches of his players. And when you factor in the egos of many NBA players, Coach K is the perfect man to be able to bring them all together as a TEAM and play team ball."
-bedazzled1RK's Response: What you bring up as a strength for Coach K is the exact thing I'm worried about. I covered and traveled with USA Basketball for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. I saw up close how quickly things went badly for Larry Brown when the U.S. started struggling. So if one of the most respected coaches in NBA history can't keep a team together, what chance does a college coach have, especially when you consider that a college coach has never successfully made the transition to the NBA.
Either way, the point of the column was not to bash Coach K. The point of the column was to call attention to the fact that the guy who's coaching USA Basketball in Beijing probably isn't the best man for the job (at least not as long as Gregg Popovich has a pulse). Duke's struggles in the NCAA Tournament made the point relevant again. I would've written the same thing about someone like Mike D'Antoni if he was the coach of the U.S. and his Suns failed to make the playoffs just before the Olympics.
ROOTING FOR THE U.S. SHOULD BE A GAS"Blah, blah, blah, Randy Kim. So much noise and so little substance. Go produce something --- that is something other than your little journalistic farts. Let it play out, root for Coach K and the American men and hope for the best. Coach K is a fine man and a fine coach, and at the level of players he will be coaching, they have an extreme accountability also. And you know what? It's not the end of the freakin' world if they do lose. Life will go on."
-dacker7669RK's Response: When I was in Athens, I sat next to foreign journalists that openly rooted against our team just because it came from the U.S. Not fans, but journalists in press row. I'm doing my best not to be biased here, but, to me, if you're a lifelong fan of the NBA that grew up in the U.S., then it might just be "the end of the freakin' world" if the U.S. loses. Anything but the gold will be a major disappointment.
Basketball should be to the U.S. what soccer is to Brazil. It's the one team sport of international significance that this country really does dominate; you can't even say that about baseball anymore. So there's no room for niceties. You shouldn't be coach of the U.S. basketball team just because you're a "fine man and a fine coach." You should be coach of USA Basketball because you give us the best chance at winning. Plain and simple. And it's this writer's opinion that Coach K doesn't give us the best chance at winning, especially after seeing a superior Duke team nearly lose to Belmont before getting bumped by West Virginia. (And please don't bring up the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament as an example of Krzyzewski's coaching prowess. Every team in the field was second-rate, including the depleted Argentinians. To see how Coach K does against true international competition, look at our bronze showing in the 2006 FIBA World Championships. That's far more accurate.)
As for the NBA players Coach K will be coaching having "extreme accountability"? Well, see below.
BUT HE HAS KOBE'S ENDORSEMENT (BY WAY OF ENDORSEMENT)!"Has the moron that wrote this article even been listening to what the players who are going to be playing for us are saying about coach? The best player in the league, Kobe, loves Coach K. Do your homework first pal before you go shooting off some stupid article like this."
-kentuckyx13RK's Response: Unlike in college, I did my homework. I saw that story about Kobe's
Duke Nikes and how much he loves Coach K. And you know what I did? I disregarded it. Why? Because it is utterly and completely meaningless. And it's absolutely foolish to read into something like that.
NBA players are beyond fickle when it comes to how they view their coaches. Start me this week, and you're the next Red Auerbach. Bench me next week, and you're nothing but a Tim Floyd wannabe. And if I'm not mistaken, I believe a certain Lakers coach wrote a book about how much of a conniving, uh, "character" Kobe Bryant can be. So you're going to tell me that because KB24 is a Coach K fan months before the games even start, that means that Krzyzewski is the man for the job?
Answer this: You honestly think Kobe's still going to be singing Coach K's praises when the U.S. is down eight to Argentina in the semifinals, or when Coach K pulls Kobe late in a close game? Heck, don't be surprised if Kobe tries to put one of his patented Blue Devil Nikes up Coach K's Dukie.
Now answer this: Do you think for a second Kobe would dare step to someone like Popovich or D'Antoni? Would he confront one of these admired and respected NBA coaches? Well, of course he would. He's Kobe frickin' Bryant, the best player on the planet, and KfrickinB24 obeys no man. But at least Pops and D'Antoni are used to it. They deal with egotistical nutjobs every day; it's what they get paid for. Coach K, meanwhile, gets paid his millions to mold young men and be a standup guy. Basketball strategy and managing egos come second. Coach K knows nothing about player insurrection, which is exactly why college coaches have had such a hard time coaching NBA players. And which is why I think an NBA coach should be coaching USA Basketball in Beijing.
WHAT? CHRISTIAN LAETTNER CAN'T STRUM A GUITAR?"Clearly the author has a culture gap in his perception of Duke University, having termed it better known for country music. If you are going to use him as an AOL sports writer, please send him back to school!"
-jwestRK's Response: Please read what I wrote again: "There's still something disturbing about seeing the next coach of USA Basketball sweating out a first-round victory over a school that's far better known for country music than college basketball."
It's obvious I was talking about Belmont (alma mater of
country singer Trisha Yearwood), not Duke.
STRUGGLING PACERS NEED TO MAKE BIRD FLY THE COOP"It is really amazing to me that Larry Bird has single handedly torn this Pacer Team down to a mere lottery team and nobody, particularly the Media has questioned why he has not been fired! For a team on the brink of competing for a championship to a team not even capable of making the playoffs for soon to be two straight seasons in the Eastern Conference is downright unacceptable! ... I understand he is a Hoosier favorite, but enough is enough!"
-Terrelle W. (Indianapolis)RK's Response: This is a valid point. Bird does seem to be getting off a little easy while the Pacers continue to struggle. But a part of me feels as though it's because this team is so irrelevant. I mean, name one team in the NBA that has more no-name players than the Pacers. The Grizzlies? Well, they have Rudy Gay and a couple of celebrated busts in Kwame and Darko. The Clippers? I think Elton Brand's in a whirlpool back there somewhere. Wolf-watching is fun, if only to see if Al Jefferson can become the next KG. Heck, even the Bucks have Andrew Bogut and
his cast of imaginary friends.
But all the Pacers have is Mike Dunleavy and a bunch of guys who can't even do crazy right. Which might be why so few people care that Bird's still in charge despite his questionable track record.
YOU'VE GOT THE POWER, JUST NOT MY VOTE"Let me get this straight: the Hornets own the best record in the West, Power Rankings are a snapshot of teams at a given moment, the Hornets beat the Lakers in their last meeting, and you have LA #1 and NO #5??? You have less credibility than Hilarious Rotten Clinton!"
-mdatRK's Response: I clearly
stated in the intro that power rankings aren't a snapshot of a given week, they're earned over the long haul. Yet, after New Orleans beat the Cavs in Cleveland on Wednesday night, while the Lakers lost to the lowly Bobcats at home, you have more room to talk than I do. Props, John McCain ... I mean, mdat.
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