Duke vs. Syracuse: Keys and storylines for 2019-20 matchup

Coach K

I wrote in my game preview of Duke and Pittsburgh of the relationship between Mike Krzyzewski and Jeff Capel just thinking it was an interesting angle of the game.  I had no idea that Coach K, in all his FanSided reading during the break, would take my words to heart to make that relationship the most talked about and newsworthy moment from the game.

Yeah, he read it.  You can’t tell me otherwise.  I’m bursting with joy.  Let’s move on.  It was a sight to behold for sure.  Coach K yelling and losing it on one of the reasons Duke is an iconic brand.

No, the Crazies don’t make any baskets or block any shots but they create the atmosphere of a Duke game.  They provide energy and elation and support to the team.  They make that image of an opposing player standing out bounds with hundreds of blue arms reaching out to surround them a part of the fabric of college basketball.

They are emulated and original and don’t think for a minute that little ballers watching Duke games become future Duke recruiting classes who want to experience the scene that the Crazies create.  They also want to win, get drafted, go to a top-notch school and gain a certain level of notoriety but the students are a part of the mystique of the program as a lot of players have been.

For Coach K’s part, he was in the wrong, but it’s hard to blame him.  His reaction was so strong that he seemed like he heard something else.  Should the Crazies chant an opposing coach’s name during the game?  Probably not, but it was their chant given to recruits or people that they want part of the Duke culture, not against it and they can say what they want anyway.

I think Coach K’s affirmation that Coach Capel was “…one of us.” was just him defending someone that was close to him.  The death of Kobe Bryant, a man who elicited a worldwide release of emotion from people who have never met him or even like basketball, probably hit Mike Krzyzewski hard.

K has spoken about how close they had become outside the realm of basketball, that emotions were high and just needed a spark to be released.  His misconstruing of what was said or hearing them chant Jeff Capel’s name during a game lit that fire and he went to bat for a man he has known and cared about for over thirty years.

Coach K was just protecting his guy though.  Reaffirming to his most ardent supporters, suddenly quiet and despondent, and in a fairly stunning move toward the coach of an opposing team, that once a Dukie, always a Dukie.  The Brotherhood may be a slogan but it is also a belief, a tenet and he is the one behind it all.  It’s just unfortunate for everyone that it was shown in such a public and regrettable way.