Duke basketball: Five reasons Chris Carrawell should coach women
By Matt Giles
Why Duke basketball’s Chris Carrawell should lead the women: OPPORTUNITIES
4. OPPORTUNITIES
Should Chris Carrawell indeed leave the men’s Duke basketball bench in favor of the head seat for the women — there is no word yet from Duke of any definite candidates — former Blue Devil and current director of basketball operations Nolan Smith could simply switch chairs to fill the opening. Or Mike Krzyzewski could acquire an intelligent graduate assistant in the form of Justin Robinson.
Last season, the fifth-year senior forward — son of NBA legend David Robinson — was a co-captain and emerged late in the year as a legitimate weapon, a testament to his dedication. In February, during a postgame press conference, Krzyzewski spoke quite highly about Robinson as a possible member of his staff:
“He’s a young man I’d like to see stay around here in coaching in some way. I know if any of my guys got jobs or whatever, JRob’s a guy that really understands the game. And in addition to understanding the game, he understands people. Every time JRob talks in a practice, individually or collectively, people listen to him. He runs our scout team, so that’s every game you’re putting in a new offense, he knows everything.”
No offense to Robinson, but due to his limited athleticism and minimal playing time at Duke, he is not likely to hear his name at the 2020 NBA Draft or land a lucrative basketball contract elsewhere. Therefore, it’s conceivable the 24-year-old would embrace the chance to take Coach K up on that offer right away.
OK, it’s time for the final reason that Duke would benefit from having Carrawell become the sixth head coach in the history of the women’s program…