It’s not a surprise until you really stop and think about it.
We’ve made this point a couple of times in the recent past, but over at 99.9 The Fan, Tim Donnelly and Dennis Cox talk about the huge impact Duke Basketball is having on the world of hoops.
It really is kind of amazing to hear him run it all down. What was the biggest NBA story recently? It was either the Celtics, with Jason Tatum playing and Amile Jefferson coaching, or JJ Redick getting the Lakers gig with Mike Krzyzewski consulting. And if it’s neither of those, it might be Tatum to Team USA which is now being run by Grant Hill. And a nice corollary to that is 17-year-old Cooper Flagg, now a Duke freshman, had a star turn with the Select Team.
The key to all of it of course is Coach K. He took a program that was essentially regional in 1980, although with great accomplishments, and turned it into a juggernaut.
It really is incredible when you think about it.