Coach K Addresses Rant on Social Media Backlash & Remembers Recruiting Kobe

North Carolina State v Duke

After Duke defeated NC State, head coach of the Blue Devils, Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) went on a rant expressing his disappointment with fans ripping the players over the coaching:

"It's amazing what people put out [on social media]. Really, if you're our fans, don't do that," he said. "Come on, man. These kids are 18 and 19 years old. You can question my coaching and what the hell. And when you do question it, by the way, just come into Cameron and look up in the ceiling and find out if you should question that. But don't do anything with our players. Just support them."

Coach K went on the Dan Patrick Show and expressed where he was coming from and once again explained that he wants to make sure that if the fans have a bone to pick with anyone from Duke, good or bad, they should direct their comments at him.

The interview continues, and Dan Patrick brings up the interview Zion Williamson had on JJ Reddick's podcast. The former Duke alum and now New Orleans Pelicans star expressed his desire to return for one more year at Duke instead of leaving after his first year of playing.

Kobe Jordan

From there, the subject changes to Kobe Bryant, who had expressed in a previous interview with Dan Patrick that if Kobe had taken the college route, the school would have been Duke. Patrick asked if Coach K recruited Kobe:

"Yeah, we did. We knew he was going to go pro. I never saw LeBron play in high school, but Kobe was the best high school player I ever saw. And he had a maturity, a competitive arrogance to go along with his talent that was way off the charts, even as a high school player. When he walked into a gym, even for a summer league game, the gym looked around and said, "Oh, Kobe is here!"

Coach K goes on to explain how happy he was that Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan became great friends because the two of them shared similarities in that aura that shook the places they walked into.

Watch the full interview below: (Time code 02:28:04)


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