A little red meat for the consituents.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is apparently upset that Duke did not fill up Cameron last night to watch his Blue Devils beat the crap out of Lenoir-Rhyne who I thought was a girls school. Turns out their not though I think there is a good chance the Lady Tar Heels could take then. Anyway, K decided to call his fans out. After an exhibition game.
"We played well, but there was something a little bit missing," Krzyzewski said. "The same thing with the crowd. We should remind all our Duke fans that we start our season on Monday and every game counts, and if you're not going to come, let us know and we'll sell the seats."
"We should not have an empty seat in Cameron," Krzyzewski said. "That's the way it is. I know I can sell them. I'll go sell them. If you're not coming, I'll go sell them."
Wow.
This kind of arrogance simply must be mocked.
"We should not have an empty seat"
Why? Because you are Duke? Because you are God's gift to coaching? Please. UNC commands a much larger base of local fans in the area and the Dean Dome is not filled every game during the early schedule unless the Heels play somebody important. So I expect a few empty seats when UNC does unholy things to Pembroke this weekend though the football crowd coming from Kenan might bolster things a little. The Penn game will be well attended but likely not completely full and the Kentucky game should be a full house since it is a 9 PM game on ESPN on November 18th. It happens. Whining about empty seats during a freaking exhibition is laughable because guess what K? People have lives and probably more important things to do than watch Duke drill a D-II school though the sight of Brian Zoubek posting 15 points had to be seen to be believed, I'm sure.
"I know I can sell them. I'll go sell them. If you're not coming, I'll go sell them."
I wish someone would call him on this. Can't you just see K out in front of Cameron scalping tickets? It's an exhibition game for crying out loud. It is a complete joke to think you can get people to fill the arena up to watch a game that does not count and will be a laugher all the way.
The real problem I have with this tantrum is real leaders are more than willing to accept responsibility for being part of the problem. Maybe K ought to take a look at the fact his team has not made it past the 2nd round in two straight NCAA Tournaments or currently carry a three game losing streak at home versus UNC or the fact the buzz around the Duke program just ain't what it used to be. It happens, especially when the head coach is getting his rear end kicked on a regular basis by Roy Williams both in recruiting and on the court. Yeah, Duke had a great run and it must have been a blast to rule the roost while UNC shuffling through a six year long coaching transition. When Roy showed up and established himself all of sudden life in Durham ain't so grand with the shine coming off the Duke program just a tad while UNC ascended back to the top of the college basketball world. So if K wants to complain about the attendance at Duke games that's fine. It is my estimation that Duke fans are more fickled than most which means they are not happy with how things have gone of late. The bottom line is if the fans are not showing up, there is usually something wrong with the product on the court. He can whine about the fans all he wants, but fans show up when the basketball is great. If it isn't they tend to stay away.