Coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke University Blue Devils can be described with many accolades.  Motivator, leader, competitor and poor loser.  There is no denying that coach K is a brilliant and wildly successful basketball coach.  His record and list of accomplishments speak for themselves. However, he, like many other driven, competitive coaches, has a difficult time dealing with losing.  There has always been the complaining to officials during contests and the post-game excuses for his players actions, but his most recent barb directed at the University of North Carolina and their head coach, Roy Williams, struck a chord with many.

Coach K is right. His players compete at a high level and often battle through injury and nagging aches and pains.  They should be commended for their work ethic and commitment.  However, for Coach K to mock and make light of injuries to his tobacco road rival stinks of hypocrisy.  This is the same Coach K who sat out the Blue Devils most unsuccessful season in recent history.  The 1993-1994 Blue Devils led by Grant Hill and Antonio Lang had a fabulous season.  They were runner-ups to National Champion Arkansas Razorbacks and finished 28-6 for the season.  Exit  Grant Hill and Antonio Lang. 

Coach K began the 1994-1995 season and led his team to a 9-2 record prior to the start of the ACC regular season.  Then the losing began.  On January 4, 1995 the Blue Devils suffered a loss in their ACC opener to lowly Clemson.  This would be the last game that Coach  K would be on the bench for his players.  Coach K had season ending back surgery and cited pain and exhaustion as the reason for his 10 month absence from the team. 

The Blue Devils went on to experience a horrific season. Finishing 13-18 overall and 2-14 in the ACC.  The Duke faithful would say that their coaches absence was the reason for this poor performance.  Many others would say that the poor performance was the reason for the coach's absence. 

Coach K has instilled an elitist attitude that envelopes Duke University's basketball program.  They play and act like they are better than the other teams in the NCAA.  This invincible aura was going to be challenged in the 94-95 season and coach K was painfully aware of the situation.  What better time to schedule back surgery and sit one out.  He could distance himself from the losing as well as create a situation where he looked like the sole reason for Duke's success.  Rather than staring adversity in the face and  being in the trenches with his players during a difficult season, coach K made excuses and sat out.  This is pure speculation, but I would submit that Coach K might have been able to gut it out through the season if his team was loaded with talent and in contention for another NCAA title.

For Coach K to then criticize a team and players for talking about injuries and imply that the team is making excuses, is the ultimate hypocrisy.  Coach K could learn from one of his coaching counterparts.  Brenda Freese, head coach of the Maryland Terrapins recently coached her lady Terrapins to a win over the lady Blue Devils.  She was 8 months pregnant with twins and coached from a rolling chair that was placed on the court specifically for her.

Kirk Gibson, Michael Jordan, Willis Reed, could speak to playing through injuries.  Coach K....well he could speak about how to excuse yourself from a difficult situation without losing face.