Coach K and Duke changing recruiting philosophy

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 5, 2008 | by Luciana Chavez

DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski loves the luxury of coaching NBA stars as he guides the U.S. men's basketball team to the Beijing Olympics.

If he were the kind of guy who dwelled on things, he might also be cringing at how many of those players didn't end up under his care as Duke recruits.

Back when USA guard Kobe Bryant was taking pop princess Brandy to the prom, the rules allowed the future Los Angeles Laker to go straight to the NBA in 1996.

Duke's recruiting philosophy -- leave them alone -- reflected that. Then the rules changed, forcing high schoolers to spend a year in college, and Duke's rules changed, too.

Though Krzyzewski includes former Duke stars Grant Hill and Jason Williams in the same talent category as U.S. team members Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, he said there was a time Duke avoided guys with the NBA in their eyes.

"Because they didn't want to go to college," he said. "Now that pool has to be recruited. But you still have to be careful to recruit the right ones."

Bryant never visited Duke before being taken with the 13th overall pick in 1996, though he was recruited by other college coaches. USA point guard Jason Kidd, who played at Cal and prepped at St. Joseph, had some interest in Duke but never really acted on it.

Duke never recruited LeBron James or Howard, who were chosen first in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Krzyzewski saw Howard play once and only once.

"I thought, 'That ain't happening. I better go back home and play with my grandkids because any trip back to Atlanta is going to be a waste of time,'"‚" he said.

Now that elite players must go to college for a year, or sit out and miss the exposure, Duke recruits those players. Krzyzewski tells them before they arrive that the NBA will be there when they're ready, but while they're at Duke, they must be students.

"Some of those kids, to be quite frank, don't need to be students," Krzyzewski said. "That's why I'm against the rule (that prevents going straight to the NBA). LeBron and Kobe are the two best players in the NBA. They're articulate and brilliant, and they didn't need to go to college. ... I don't know why that opportunity would be denied. ... We should respect the individuals' right to have that chance and the school's right to have students."

Krzyzewski didn't seem worried during an interview on Wednesday that Duke was in danger of missing out.

"In high school right now, there is not a LeBron James or a Kobe Bryant. There just isn't," Krzyzewski said.

Whether the next big player is out there or not, Duke has to win battles for the best recruits, if it hopes to remain a top program.

The staff got a head start on the summer with verbal commitments from Mason Plumlee of Arden Christ School, in Buncombe County, N.C., in the class of 2009 and Andre Dawkins of Chesapeake (Va.) Atlantic Shores Christian in the class of 2010.

The Blue Devils also are making plays for 2009 guard Kenny Boynton of Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage School, who recently visited Duke, and 2010 guard Brandon Knight of Coral Springs (Fla.) Pine Crest.

Keeping those relationships humming is especially important this July, the big month for evaluating college basketball recruits. But this year, Duke coaches won't be out on the road for the full duration of two crucial evaluation periods -- July 6-15 and July 22- 31. They'll be working with the U.S. Olympic team instead.

Krzyzewski and assistants Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins won't be able to work on Duke recruiting after July 25, either.

The U.S. team leaves Las Vegas on July 26 on its way to China.

Wojciechowski and Collins will multitask in Las Vegas. Several big AAU tournaments take place in Las Vegas while the U.S. team is training in town. And Krzyzewski said he'd go out for a few days starting today but not at all during the second evaluation period.

The rest of the work in late July falls to new Duke assistant Nate James and director of basketball operations Chris Spatola. Duke has received permission from the NCAA to let Spatola travel during the recruiting period.

Normally, only coaches have that option.

Krzyzewski said the NCAA makes exceptions for coaches working with USA Basketball, such as Davidson coach Bob McKillop as he coaches the USA's 18-and-under team, or when a coach has a health issue, such as after Krzyzewski had hip replacement surgery.

Krzyzewski doesn't think his absence will hurt Duke.

"Have I been able to go out as much as I wanted? No," he said. "Has it hurt recruiting? There's no way that hurts our recruiting. What hurts our recruiting is if I can't make decisions on kids or start relationships with them early. So this has all been good."