Coach K Gives Hope to Coach Self Supporters--Even to Demented Ones
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@stupidmichael is not the only board rat that can get scared.
Every time Coach Self and KU lose a game, or even when they win one ugly, I find myself reading a lot of column inches, as they used to say back in the AGE OF NEWSPRINT, about Self being NOT NEARLY as good as I think he is, or about him being too basketball IQ challenged to recognize that schemes he chooses have failed, and the in game choices he makes, are repeatedly wrong, THEN I get really SCARED!
I am almost conditioned in a Pavlovian way, maybe even on the verge of de-patterning in a Gitmo-esque way.
Its not so much that I want to be right–though I have as much vanity as the next board rat about that sort of thing. It is more that I fear being wrong–fear getting so old old that I have drifted into dementia without even knowing it.
Think about it.
As I understand dementia, once one is demented, one will never know one is demented. When one is sufficiently demented, one could say Bill Self never coached at KU, neve won 82% of his games, never won eleven straight titles, never won a ring, and never have an inkling that one was completely bat evacuate disconnected from the reality show everyone else is watching.
So: I want everyone to know that I, jaybate 1.0, gets nearly paralyzed with @stupidmichael levels of fear after everyone of these losses and the ensuing deluge of doubt about Coach Self’s diminished capacity to coach.
Some early stage dementia patients begin taking notes about things they never used to take notes about, so as to cheat the devilish dementia nipping at their neurons.
I have decided to pre-trial this method.
I have taken notes on Coach K’s early outs since 1980 in order to see if Coach Self’s early outs were unforgivable, or not? I wondered after the Chita State loss, if two straight outs at the level of 32 meant that Coach Self was hopeless, as some suggest, or if Coach Self might have some potential left in him akin to that of Coach K.
I have a feeling someone else did this earlier this year, a kind of dementia vu, but I cannot help myself.
I have to post this, because it relieved my fears and it might relieve the fear of some others.
In fact, it makes me down right optimistic about Coach Self’s future.
This is a list of Coach K’s early outs, records during those seasons, and conference finishes.
1980–81 Duke 17–13 6–8 T–5th NIT Third Round 1981–82 Duke 10–17 4–10 T–6th 1982–83 Duke 11–17 3–11 7th 1983–84 Duke 24–10 7–7 T–3rd NCAA Round of 32 1984–85 Duke 23–8 8–6 T–4th NCAA Round of 32
1995–96 Duke 18–13 8–8 T–4th NCAA Round of 64 1996–97 Duke 24–9 12–4 1st NCAA Round of 32
2006–07 Duke 22–11 8–8 6th NCAA Round of 64 2007–08 Duke 28–6 13–3 2nd NCAA Round of 32
2011–12 Duke 27–7 13–3 2nd NCAA Round of 64
2013–14 Duke 26–9 13–5 T–3rd NCAA Round of 64
I do believe that Coach K has had his share of early outs and shabby records, more so than Coach Self.
Ah, I can feel the chest tightness go away.
Rock Chalk!
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@jaybate-1.0 Well, I may have Pavlovian responses to some things, but being SCARED about whether Self can still coach isn’t one of them. Having said that, I think the jury is still out whether “old school” coaches like both Self and K can fully accept and adapt to the realities of the OAD era. K infamously vented on the parents of one player who wanted to leave after two years. He’s clearly gotten past that. But whether OADs fit well with their coaching styles is another matter.
Interestingly, Self’s and K’s tournament records (I think conference records are a bit apples to oranges) during the Self era at KU are fairly similar - 1 NC and another FF. But, your right, the fight goes to Self by close decision - one fewer first round knockouts and one more E8. Whether the results from here on in this year tips the balance remains to be seen.
What is interesting is that K seems, this year, at least, to have better succeeded with his OAD freshmen - Okafor, Jones, and Winslow looked really good against SDSU - a good defensive team and the type of L&As that we’ve tended to struggle against (well, actually losing to them at home).
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Like the post Jaybate, I’m always a sucker for optimism. Makes me curious as to just what the message boards were like after the Bradley loss and our second first round exit in a row!
