It was Duke Takeover Day, Monday July 13 on the David Glenn Show. Blue Devils football coach David Cutcliffe was in studio running the show, and his first guest was his colleague with Duke basketball: Mike Krzyzewski.
Coach Cut asked Coach K about how he goes about hiring assistant coaches:
Krzyzewski said a relationship with an assistant is not a one-way street: “The very first thing is: I would want to listen to them about what they feel about the sport. A lot of times when you’re mentoring, you feel like you’re the only one imparting knowledge, when that person is letting you into their heart and mind, and it gets your heart and mind in a better place.”
K also wants to make sure a potential assistant is getting into coaching for the right reasons: “Do you love it? Tell me why you love it. Do you love it, because you can make money? Do you love it as a way you can get fame? Or do you love it for some of the better reasons. How much time are you willing to spend in learning about it? Will you be a lifelong learner about the game. Do you think you know it all right now?”
Coach Cutcliffe agreed with the importance of lifelong learning. “I’ve learned more in the last five years of coaching than in my first 15 to 20,” he said.
Learning opportunities are tougher to come by for Duke’s basketball staff. “We’re at the point where you don’t go to a clinic. You put on a clinic. So where do you learn?” Krzyzewski said.
Coach K also took time to talk about the football program, telling Cutcliffe, “One of things that held our football program back was a lower window of expectation. In every way your vision has been higher.”
The coaches also talked about Quinn Cook, the returning players in 2015 and much more. Listen to the whole thing here: