Coach K/Dean Debate: Where do you stand?

This is a good one and you have to get in if you have any opinion at all….There is a breaking point, no matter what team you pull for, or which coach you favor…..Where do you stand? You either take a stand or you’ll stand for nothing at all……

Move over Dean!!

Posted by Joe

Coach K is great no doubt. Respect. One of the all time greats.

I have some questions and comments.
Who got there quicker? In games not years. I really dont know.
Does K coaching (Mostly) in an era of 64/65 NCAA births make a huge difference to anyone? Dean coached (partly at least) when fewer post season games were played. Had to win ACC to go to NCAAs a few years.

They overlapped but are from differing eras making comparison a bit more difficult. Coach K is one of the best ever no matter where he finishes 1 or 2. Knight, Rupp, Smith, K, John W all great coaches!

Side note: I dont see the UConn women as “breaking” UCLA’s record. Not to disparage womens basketball at all but I just see the two sports as just that … two differant sports! I have heard a few remarks of late by the UConn coach. Havent liked what I have been hearing. The greatest womens program of all time.. without a doubt. A great streak . The greatest streak of womens basketball wins ever. Not better or worse tha UCLA… DIFFERANT. I dont get the serious “tude” this dude is laying out there. He is gonna be on DP show tomorrow. Just might get interesting. Must see DTV or must hear radio!

Posted by Mick

The Coach K/Coach Smith debate is a very interesting topic….Just a few thoughts on that one.

Elon and UNCG very easy opponents to tie and to surpass the record….I do beleive that the overall competition is harder now than it was back when Coach Smith was winning many of his games….Clemson with Tates Locke was terrrible, Virginia with Bill Gibson stunk, Maryland before Lefty was very bad/terraple, even Duke when Bubas wasn’t there in that one stretch before Foster, Duke was not good at all….Coach Smith could rack up on those foes…Across the nation you had UNC, UCLA, still Kentucky and to some extent and Louisville and there were not many other power teams like there are now….

Do the Pete Gaudet wins count towards Coach K’s totals? Coach K did not want the losses and Gaudet would be upset if you took away his wins…..

I remember Coach K when he brought Duke over to Grimsley HS for an inter-squad scrimmage back in 1981 or so and he has carved out a nice dynasty at Duke since those days….

Smith had his advantages and Coach K has had his breaks too, even though he made many of them happen for himself along the way….I think Coach K could have stayed at home against Elon and UNCG and brought back Pete Gaudet and let him run the team against the Phoenix and the Spartans and the Devils would have still got their due…..

Gaudet has never received the pub he deserves while he was at Duke…Too much has been made of his misfortunes and I for one am going to stop talking about him right now….

Coach K vs. Coach Smith and this is a good debate….Who did coach more overall games to get to 879??? I’m not really a numbers man, I just go in with the now results and then the games for me are long gone….These two men will live on forever in the minds of ACC basketball fans and especially in the minds and hearts of the fans from the schools that they represent….

Good job Coach K and good job along the way, Coach Smith…..I look forward to out- lasting you both in my chosen vocation which is stirring and then cleaning up the pot….

Didn’t Digger Phelps with Austin Carr and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame break up that lone 88-game UCLA winning streak????? All eyes were on the Irish that day…….

Posted by Andy

10 thoughts on “Coach K/Dean Debate: Where do you stand?

  1. Coach K…hands down! Just count the number of national titles won by each coach…end of debate!

  2. Coach Smith is the better coach and he would have many more wins than he does now if they were playing 30-35 games a year back when he was coaching. They played 10 less games per year when he was in his prime. Coach K has had way too many chances to get the 900 numbers. If Coach Smith came back he would whip him today just like he did Barnes back in the Greensboro Coliseum. Coach Smith had so much success in Greensboro that they named a high school after him here in this town. I just drove by the Smith High School on the way to work this morning.

    They don’t call him the DEAN for nothing fellas. He is the icon of education and basketball.

  3. As a Carolina fan, it would be easy for me to pick Dean…bt I think it would depend on the question you’re asking. I think Smith was a much better coach when it came to developing players to go on to the next level. (NBA) The drawback to Dean is that think he kept his team on an even keel playing, which made them the model of consistency, but when it came to tournament time..Carolina teams tended to not be able to kick it up a level & match other teams intensity level.

    Unfortunately, (as a Carolina fan!) this is where I think Coack K excels & I think he probably learned this trait from his mentor Bobby Knight, another great tournament coach. So, when it comes to excellent consistency, I’ll take Deano…but come tournament time, I’ll take Coach K……..

  4. We’ll see your people at the ACC Tournament and don’t plan on staying long. No need for Duke to pack an overnight bag cause Toe Irving won’t be available and your boys are running out of options.

    Coach K will never catch Pat Summitt.

    Game 36 will be your momma!

  5. Gee Bruce, it isnt that simple.

    There are a few more regular season games per year especially compared to Dean’s early years. Also Dean coached many years with 16-32 teams in NCAAs. The majority of Ks years came at 64+. So more teams get in, the early opposition is lesser in many cases due to the expanded format., etc More games vs easier comp. More opportunities in general.

    Here’s an idea … lets take away all wins which K garnered any year after a loss in the ACC tournament. Whatcha think. Head to head isnt that close either. K has won more championships but again it is easier to get in to the tourney these days. If you aint in you aint winnin! Dean faced Wooden several times as well.

    Differant eras are difficult to compare. Both are GREAT.

  6. I didn’t know that Duke had such a strong women’s basketball program but then I took a closer look at that their coaching staff and it suddenly became much clearer.

    Duke is the best women’s basketball team of all time and they’d have to be considered the best when you you look at that Blue Devil coaching staff:

    Michelle Mickie Krzyzewski
    Stephanie Wojciechowski
    Chrissie Collins
    Natalie James
    and on record there was:
    Juanita Dawkins and
    Tomasina Amaker

    How can any team of any era match the staff that Duke has put together over the years? I am sorry for my previous miscalculations and don’t perceive myself qualified to ever come back in here again. The Duke women led by Michelle Krzyzewski are the best all-time and I’ll never doubt the Blue Devil valor again.

Comments are closed.