How Coach K changed his approach to win it all in the one-and-done era | Four Decades In Durham

In this episode of Four Decades in Durham, Jon Scheyer, Jay Bilas, Carlos Boozer and Chris Spatola join host Dalen Cuff to tell the story of Duke in the one-and-done era. Freshmen Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen validated Coach K’s new recruiting approach with an NCAA championship in 2015. But the most-lauded class of Blue Devils - Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones in 2018 - boasts a unique cultural relevance.
0:00 Intro
4:34 The core
7:38 The style
8:26 Defining moment
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[@251to502]

Some ignored notes about 2014-15: 1. Duke was under the radar (in terms of title contention) despite being a #1 seed with all the attention centered on Kentucky going undefeated and if Wisconsin could get revenge against the Wildcats. 2. Alongside the freshmen talent, Duke had veterans to compliment them (Quinn Cook, Marshall Plumlee) which was what Kentucky did not have after Poythress went out with a season ending injury. A team of one and done freshmen, while they get the attention isn’t enough without complimentary veterans.

[@thevykherian6241]

Can’t believe you forgot to mention Quinn Cook with that 2015 team…

[@patrickegan6203]

People also forget duke lost Rasheed Sulomon (their 6th man) at the beginning of the year. Still won the championship

[@Noob_Guy2k]

J Winslow was such a beast

[@marcellehardingsr.511]

❤❤❤ it's always DukeNation over everything and that's no cap!!!!

[@Noob_Guy2k]

2017 deserved to be mentioned too bagleys team was insane

[@kuryanthomas1438]

i love how in both 2010 and 2015, the favored team in both years was kentucky. Shows you the difference in coaching ability between coach k and coach cal.

[@stevenhaymon2441]

I tease my KY friends about this.

[@Joeg206]

@@stevenhaymon2441 lol cause duke didn’t have a stacked roster of all Americans right😂

[@stevenhaymon2441]

@@Joeg206 Naw because the last 3 times UK was favorite to win the championship Duke won 2. I like seeing UK as #1 overall. Just makes my heart smile.

[@kuryanthomas1438]

@@Joeg206 true duke was a number one seed in the tournament both years but they were always ranked behind kentucky both years and kentucky was the preseason favorite in 2010 and 2015. So you gotta give duke credit.

[@kuryanthomas1438]

@@stevenhaymon2441 who won that third time out of curiosity. I just remember the wall (2010), davis (2012), and kat (2015) years?

[@REALTRUEJOURNEY]

Coach k went from being against 1 and done to having a 1 and done player almost every year after Kyrie

[@Patrick61804]

He is adaptive to the situation

[@sundromos9456]

The stars on his early teams would have been 1 and done too. Just wasn't a possibility. If you watched the vid, you see he didn't change anything in his recruiting. If anything, his success for so many years made some guys commit in the 1 and done era, who might not have chosen Duke in years previously.

[@saboorheath7769]

The road wins at Wisconsin & uva let me know this team could be special

[@bighomey4343]

It's funny Espn and it's pundits would say One and Done players are bad for basketball when Calipari was doing it and became the greatest thing ever when K started getting these players so this is so laughable.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Lmao what. Almost none of them say it’s bad

[@sundromos9456]

He always recruited those kind of players. They often chose other kinds of schools. I think a lot of guys like the Zions and RJ Barrett's, if they knew they were only gonna play one year...they wanted to be on a team that had a high percentage chance of making the Final Four, or even winning it all (Coach K years' numbers: 13 Final Fours, 9 championship games). That's why Coach K "started getting those players," because it was the players themselves motivated to play for the guy. See how that works?

[@davidcook680]

They didn't like it at first. Than it became the norm. Which is how all new things are at first. I'm a Duke fan. I think you can not recruit only one and done. You need one or two four year players every season. To me it's a balance.

[@davloushe]

Judging from Saturday, I'd say both approaches work well.

[@ImMe20127]

Dam I remember when they said Cal ruined college ball with one-and-done but give coach K credit for adjusting to it smh

[@jerometrio2603]

Could have had more championships if they didn't over rely on one and dones. How many teams have won the national championship led by freshmen in this era? Syracuse, Kentucky and Duke? Meanwhile, Virginia, Villanova and Baylor won in recent years with more veterans.

[@Irish8625]

Thats moreso the NBA fault

[@jiggy9456]

Threw a dime lmaoo yall gassing

[@clintmoses957]

Coach K was ready to follow Kentucky

[@hatefromasheville558]

And beat them at their own game almost every recruiting season

[@clintmoses957]

@@hatefromasheville558 young coach k hated when his freshman/sophomores tried leaving dook early to nba.

[@Tony-bp1nr]

I liked Duke better before 2011 (pre 1and done). It's just nearly impossible to win a championship without talented veterans. The veterans were a big part of that 2015 championship run (not to take anything away from Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen). 2018 was suppose to be the year Duke would win their 6th. They had the best recruiting class in college basketball history (Top 3 freshman in the country, including ZION). They would have easily got bounced in the 2nd round and had to win 2 nail biters only to lose to Mich St. in Elite 8 by another nail biter. Freshman alone are just not equipped to handle the tournament no matter how talented the freshmen are. Calipari knows this too, which I think is why he infamously said he cares more about draft picks than banners. That's not his job. A coach's goal is to coach teams to win championships, especially at U.K.

[@ericmclean4291]

He did win it all or win it once. We have enough evidence to prove that bringing in one year players isn't the best way to win college. Kentucky and Duke have recruiting at an level above elite and have two titles to show for it.

[@davloushe]

While I agree that a group of seasoned upperclassmen can often have certain advantages over talented freshman, the reverse has also proven true. In the 12 or so seasons that 1&D has been a reality, only the best teams have been able to compete for these players and most of them have done so. Their success rate as measured by ranking, tournament success, and championships has been shown to be as good or better than those who rely more heavily on upperclassmen. Even last night, Duke's 3 Fr, 1 Soph, and 1 Jr won against an exceptional Texas Tech team with 2 Jr & 3 Sr. K points out that he has always recruited the best (even Grant Hill would have been 1&D back in his day). Also, Bilas points out that organizations seek out the best and brightest in every other walk of life. Should Harvard have forced Bill Gates to complete his degree before launching Microsoft? Why should men's basketball be an exception?

[@ericmclean4291]

​@@davloushe Look at Duke's average performance compared to a program like Villanova. Duke and Kentucky have failed to produce teams that are legitimate threats to win the tournament. Duke has been to one final four since they've started recruiting this way. It's impossible to build any momentum as a program because the team is so different every year. I want Duke to care more about winning championship instead of talking about how many players they have in the pros.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Also fyi Villanova has had multiple players leave early. Before spouting off get an idea of what you’re talking about. Even Wisconsin had players leave early lmao

[@davloushe]

@@ericmclean4291 Here are their respective wins in the tournament since 2010. With all due credit to Wright for 2 championships, this data shows that in just about any span of time, Duke has had better average performance... year V D 2010 1 6 2011 0 2 2012 0 2013 0 3 2014 1 0 2015 1 6 2016 6 2 2017 1 1 2018 6 3 2019 1 3 2021 2

[@raidersdoom]

@@ericmclean4291 I don’t think you’re taking into account the factor luck plays in winning 6 straight single game elimination matches.

[@patrisio3]

If one and done didn't exist and Kentucky still got the players that they have had in the past 10-15 years, they would probably have a dynasty like Alabama in football.

[@rcash001]

Idk if that works bc a lot of the guys went bc they would start and be gone the next year. If guys are staying maybe a high recruit doesn’t tho bc he doesn’t get to start. But assuming they would’ve got the players duke and UK would’ve been nasty for years. There’s a year where duke would’ve had Kyrie , Austin rivers in college, and Jabari .

[@NPAMike]

Seems like only Villanova doesn't go after the 1 and done. There team is always heavily veteran lead.

[@nowhereman4319]

Luckily for them the great players only stay 1 year.

[@bugsyproductions3140]

Imma duke fan but coach k clearly contradicted his recruiting tactics in this video lmao

[@SportsGerbil]

One final four appearance since selling out for the one and dones.

[@city2city8]

This comment aged horribly👀

[@SportsGerbil]

@@city2city8 So 2 FFs in 12 years? Final Fours were a common thing for Duke until the one and dones. 2 Final Fours, 2 losses to high double digit seeds in the first round.

[@davidcook680]

Coach K ended his career with a final four. Not a bad way to retire. How many final fours you coached. Zero. He has coached more than anybody ever.

[@SportsGerbil]

@@davidcook680 always a great comeback when compared to my coaching career, lololol

[@DukeBlueDevilFan08]

This is false, the first ever one and done player in Duke history is Corey Maggette. The second player was Luol Deng. The third is Kyrie Irving

[@davloushe]

In a way, you're right because Maggette and Deng didn't stay all 4 years. However, they were eligible to skip college and Krzyzewski recruited both expecting that they would stay. One and Done (requiring a player to wait until they were 19) was not implemented by the NBA until 2006 and Irving was the first player that K recruited knowing he would only be there for a year.

[@nowayjose1313]

Even after the 2015 championship year, as a Duke fan, I will not be a fan of the ones and dones. I don't see Duke winning another title until that stops. I'd rather Duke get another title like the 2010 team that earned that title.

[@davloushe]

So if titles are all that matters, who else would you rather root for? Maybe Villanova, but they only have one more title than everyone else and have frankly been less successful in terms of regular season success, exciting talent, and deeper tournament runs. When you put everything (including titles) into perspective, just about everyone else would love to have the success that we have enjoyed in the 1&D era.

[@nowayjose1313]

@@davloushe There is no one else to root for. You're a Duke fan or you are not. And as a Duke fan, one can always look forward to a different manner on how to recruit especially with a new coach coming in.

[@Dudewheresmycar189]

Except he hasn’t won with the one and done method recruiting lol he can’t win a chip recruiting like that

[@lynnerose7891]

Good students aren’t 1 and done lol. Bilas is insane.

[@davloushe]

Would you say that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are inferior to those who stayed in college?

[@tobeymaguire9053]

@@davloushe those were guys with incredibly wealthy families who didn’t really need college

[@SCsc864]

Who cares,he only won one while doing this Once Again Nobody Cares

[@jackcone228]

Go cry 🤡🤡

[@tobeymaguire9053]

I don’t think you understand how hard it is to win a chip