Duke basketball: Critics roast Coach K for so-called ‘excuse’

Essentially any news regarding the Duke basketball program attracts haters, but such haters have been out in full force in response to one recent statement.

After No. 1 Duke defeated Winthrop, 83-70, at home on Friday night, Duke Maven’s Shawn Krest reported on a postgame comment from Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

At the tail end of Krzyzewski’s press conference, the 72-year-old mentioned his health from three days prior when Stephen F. Austin had marched into Cameron Indoor Stadium and knocked off the previously unbeaten Blue Devils in overtime, 65-63, snapping the program’s 150-game non-conference home win streak that dated back nearly 20 years.

Answering a question about how he dealt with the shaken confidences of freshmen Wendell Moore, Cassius Stanley, Matthew Hurt, and Vernon Carey Jr. — who had all never before experienced a loss as Duke basketball players — Krzyzewski said the following:

"“Part of it, we had some other issues with our program with some health issues. I had a little health issue for the last game that I was not myself. I had some…anyway, I’m good, but that day and that night, I was not good. And so part of that is we’re human beings. We’re not going to be perfect, even though a lot of people expect us to be. We’re not. And tonight, we’re better. But to put that behind you is not easy. It’s not easy.”"

Coach K continued:

"“You know, at the end of my career, whenever it is, you may be the one who asks me this: Who is your toughest opponent? And I will tell you right now, human nature. That’s a coach’s toughest opponent: to handle human nature…I’m not retiring tonight.”"

Speaking of human nature, ever since Duke Maven posted the story on social media, to the surprise of no one, Twitterverse has been offering up some less-than-compassionate responses:

The remarks under the above tweet have ranged from “Wonder if this would’ve been brought up had they won…” to “Petition to NCAA to remove the loss from his record upcoming…” to “They can never just lose, it’s always something bigger that caused it” to “Man, it’s amazing how often his health tracks bad losses, after the fact” to “Give the other team some credit” to “No other coach does this” to “The ego is remarkable” to “What a worm” to “Heaven forbid they JUST LOSE” to several distasteful discussions about his possible bowel movements.

The foulest critics have added to the discussion such trash as a worn-out gif of Krzyzewski fainting and a recycled clip of Michael Jordan saying, “Stop it, get some help.” They have also included countless comparisons to ex-football coach Urban Meyer and references to Pete Gaudet and the 1994-95 season (after a 9-3 start that season, Coach K checked into a hospital with exhaustion and then handed his reigns over to the then-Duke basketball assistant for the remainder of the season, and the Blue Devils finished 13-18).

By reviewing the tape of the press conference, seeing that the “Any more questions?” phase was underway, one could deduce Coach K had taken his seat behind the mic with no plan of mentioning his health. And though he assured the media he’s “good,” nobody outside of the coach’s inner circle likely has any clue as to what the actual “health issue” entailed (the talk about his health begins at the 10:50 mark in the video below).

Nevertheless, while the hateful comments under the tweet continue pouring in, the folks in the thread who defend the so-called “excuse” from the game’s all-time wins leader — or exhibit the slightest hint of sincere sympathy or concern about his well-being — are few and far between.

Chalk that up to human nature.

Coach K and his 40th Duke basketball team — now 7-1, likely to fall at least a few spots in Monday’s AP Poll, and without Stanley until at least after Christmas due to a hamstring injury he suffered against Winthrop — play at No. 3 Michigan State (also likely to fall a few spots after a loss to Virginia Tech this week) on Tuesday at 9 p.m. (ESPN) as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

ALSO READ: Predicted scores for every Duke game this season

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