Updated 02:51 AM EDT, Fri, Mar 29, 2024

Duke's Mike Krzyzewski Critical of "One-and-Done" Rule; Blames ESPN Behind Freshman Hype (video)

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Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski is critical of all the media hype behind this year's batch of college freshman that many professional basketball scouts feel will have an impact on the National Basketball Association.

"Nationally, I'm a little bit worried that that is always becoming a thing," said Krzyzewski to reporters on Tuesday. "I think part of it is that people who show our games show NBA, too. So, the constant thought is cross-promoting."

ESPN televises both NBA games and college basketball games, with the Champions Classic game between the University of Kentucky and Michigan State University averaging four million viewers, making it network's second-most viewed non-conference college basketball. Krzyzewski's Blue Devil's were also featured in the event, with his team losing to the University of Kansas Jayhawks.

"I love ESPN, and I think they should do whatever they want to do," said Krzyzewski to reporters. "But what I'm saying is, in some ways, we as a college basketball community should not completely buy into that."

Coach K feels that a college basketball commissioner may be necessary to help with better marketing of college hoops, being that ESPN is leveraging their business relationship with the NBA and college basketball to increase the networks rating, though not in a way that helps build up the NCAA's brand of basketball.

"In college basketball, you should not want to tell one story," said Krzyzewski USA Today. "If the one story you're telling is a lead-in to not even your sport, then somehow our sport needs to control that more. That's my take on it. That's why I think there should be a commissioner for basketball. I think we should work together. I'm not knocking anyone. You want ratings. We have to be careful. We have to sell our product."

Krzyzewski believes there are other exciting players outside "the Big Four Freshmen" - Duke SF Jabari Parker, Kansas SG Andrew Wiggins, Kentucky PF Julius Randle, and University of Arizona SF Aaron Gordon - worthy of media attention, such as Oklahoma State University sophomore PG Marcus Smart and Creighton University senior SF Doug McDermott.

"These kids are all great, don't get me wrong. But there are other great kids," said Krzyzewski. "Two kids who played in the summer for me in a five-day mini camp in Vegas with 28 other NBA players were McDermott and Smart. Well, they're two of the best players in the country. They may be the two best."

Krzyzewski has also been critical of professional basketball teams tanking games to gain a better 2014 NBA Draft position as NBA teams are looking to rebuild around the highly-touted 2014 draft class.

"As an American, I wouldn't like to think that an American team would want to lose or create situations where you would want to lose," said Krzyzewski. "I can't go there. I can't believe that that would happen. Maybe I'm naive and I'm going to go read a fairy tale after this."

The Duke Blue Devils take on the Arizona Wildcats in the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament, with both Parker and Gordon likely to share the spotlight Friday night. Parker is averaging 23.6 points a game, 8.7 rebounds, and is shooting 60 percent from the field this season. The Duke freshman dropped 27 points in the team's 74-64 NIT semifinals victory over the University of Alabama, becoming the second player in school history to open a season with at least 20 points in seven consecutive games.

Gordon is averaging 12.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for Arizona, and earned his fourth double-double in six games in Arizona's semifinal 66-62 win over Drexel University, scoring 10 points and 13 rebounds to help wipe out Drexel's hot start, who jumped out to a 27-8 lead to start off the game.

"There's a lot of hype. Hype generates hype," said Gordon, regarding all the media attention focused on the freshmen. "When a couple of people hear about something and they say it's great, then everybody else flocks over without even seeing or paying any mind or or making their own judgment, so that does happen quite a bit in sports analysis. But there's a lot of college guys here. It's a new season, they have to prove themselves this season as well."

This is not the first time Krzyzewski has been critical of the "one-and-done" rule where student-athletes play one year of college basketball due to NBA rules that state players must be 19 years old before being eligible for the NBA Draft. Krzyzewski feels that players that are ready to go pro should go straight to the league. "Coach K" also thinks that players should commit to two years of college basketball rather than one year before leaving for the pros.

"Once you come to college, I think you have to stay two years," Krzyzewski said to Dan Patrick in 2011. "First of all it really hurts the relationship of athletics and academics. We're an academic institution, so our sport is academic based in the high school and collegiate level. As a result of that, you have to have a relationship with the academic community whether it be in high school or in college. They're the reasons you have teams, because there is this institution."

 

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