Minus Millions, Coach K Goes Back to Work

Mike Krzyzewski sits on a metal bleacher in the first row and attentively scouts his first game at the 2004 Nike All-American Camp in Indianapolis. He is dressed in a dark blue Duke golf shirt and the same khaki shorts he usually wears to these things. Well, probably not the same shorts. Even without the Lakers’ millions, he can afford a second pair.

Krzyzewski puts on his reading glasses to check the roster. He chats with his former player and assistant, Missouri Coach Quin Snyder.

Krzyzewski watches as yet another Duke recruit, 6-foot-10 forward Josh McRoberts of Carmel, Ind., performs brilliantly enough to stake a claim as one of the elite prospects in his graduating class.

As much as it appears nothing changed a few days earlier, when Krzyzewski chose not to leave college basketball for work in the NBA, we all know it did. Not dramatically, of course. But what was big got a little bigger. Krzyzewski now is the coach Kobe Bryant wanted, the coach who rejected $40 million. That stuff can’t hurt.

There are more tangible differences, though, for Duke this summer. The Blue Devils have been left with eight scholarship players for the 2004-05 season -- eight very talented players, but still only eight.

There were to be 10, which Krzyzewski always has viewed as the optimal number for the way he coaches, but forward Luol Deng departed for the NBA draft after his freshman season and point guard recruit Shaun Livingston chose not to enroll for the same reason.

Krzyzewski says he never has used his full allotment of scholarships in his 24 years at Duke. He might in the near future. For 2005, the Blue Devils own commitments from McRoberts and point guard Greg Paulus of Syracuse, N.Y. Plus, center Eric Boateng of Middletown, Del., is so close to committing that recruiting analyst Dave Telep basically counts him in the Devils’ class. With seven current players scheduled to return for 2005-06, Duke is examining prospects for its three remaining vacancies.

“We could get to the limit,” says Krzyzewski, “but every time I think we might ...

“Last year at this time, I thought we might be at 13 scholarships, with who we were recruiting and bringing in. So the thing that is apparent to me is that I can’t predict that.”

Lately, no program has been touched more by early NBA draft entry than Duke, which has lost seven veteran players since 1999, plus Livingston.

So even if it appears none of the current players is a likely candidate to leave after the coming season, Krzyzewski is cautious enough not to count on it.

This is a significant recruiting year for Duke in order for it to prevent facing another player shortage in 2005-06. Deng’s departure wiped out the sophomore class. The only two incoming freshmen are scoring guard DeMarcus Nelson and versatile wing David McClure.

Duke is sorting through roughly a half a dozen prep prospects to complete the 2005 class. And the players are patient. They hold Duke in such high esteem it’s almost a joke to other college coaches, the way most of us chuckle enviously at the wealth of a Warren Buffett.

At the Nike camp, three prospects -- Dallas wing C.J. Miles, New Jersey center Andrew Bynum and Seattle-area forward Jon Brockman -- made eerily similar statements that demonstrated Duke’s allure. Each listed Duke among a series of schools he might attend next year. For Miles, the five possibilities included Kansas and Texas. Connecticut and Georgetown were among Bynum’s six. Brockman’s half-dozen finalists included Gonzaga, Washington and Arizona. All of those schools have offered scholarships.

Only Duke has not. The players are willing to wait for Krzyzewski to make up his mind.

Brockman is rugged, relentless and athletic. Miles is graceful, dynamic and a shade too reticent about asserting himself. Bynum, a 6-11 center with length, mass and developing skills, is the fastest-rising prospect in his class.

Duke also is wandering deeper down on the list of top 100 recruits than it ordinarily does when examining players. McRoberts should be good enough to start as a freshman if necessary, and Paulus will provide valuable relief for Sean Dockery, who is entering his junior season. But it’ll help, Krzyzewski says, if there are “a couple who, after a year or two, would be really good. I’d like to get a mix. It’ll be interesting to see how the kids react to that.”

When the news broke that Coach K possibly could morph into Coach L.A., a lot of people proclaimed that the frustration of losing players to the NBA ahead of schedule would result in a dramatic change in his future.

Coaching 13 scholarship players at Duke instead of 10 (or eight) probably wasn’t what they meant. But it’s not insignificant. Krzyzewski managing a full roster is a little like Bob Knight employing a 2-3 zone or Princeton switching to 40 Minutes of Hell.