Mike Krzyzewski tells Colin Cowherd DIFFERENCE between Cooper Flagg & Jayson Tatum | THE HERD NBA

Mike Krzyzewski tells Colin Cowherd DIFFERENCE between Cooper Flagg & Jayson Tatum | THE HERD NBA

Well, there’s uh no basketball coach ever. You Yeah, I’m reading the accolades. The most wins by any head basketball coach in men’s basketball history. That’s pretty good. That seems like that’d be that’d be near the top of my resume. Uh five natties, 42 years at Duke, the gold standard program, 24-0 as an Olympic coach, and now a public speaker with grandkids in the area. What a life for Mike Shasheesky, who’s now joining us live. You know, you told me years ago, you said, “Collin, I start recruiting guys six to seven years before you you see me sign them.” So, let’s talk Cooper flag. Um, basketball is a very unique sport where you can see it 10, 11, 12, 13, you can see special. Do you remember the first time you saw Cooper flag? You know, I do not because uh I’m I’m three years retired. So Shy must have seen him uh when he was 14, but uh I did see him when he was at Mount Verd. Uh you know, like a you have actually they have four from his high school team. Uh they have four kids are going to be first round draft picks. And uh I knew he was special, but because they had so much talent, I didn’t realize how special he is. And uh this kid plays every play hard. And yes, every play. Every play. Uh people have compared him, I think, um almost favorably to Jason Tatum. When I watch him, he feels a little more aggressive than Jason. Um he’s an aggressive attacking player. Do you think that comp is fair and realistic? I don’t I think they’re two different players. Uh uh they’re both 6’8. Actually, I think uh Cooper grew about an inch here. You know, he’s still only 18 years old, so he’s still growing. He might end up being 610. Uh but uh uh I think offensively uh you know, Jason really has developed into a great shooter. Uh We’re waiting to find out about his injury, but uh uh he he’s really developed differently than I think Cooper will develop. Uh Cooper is um just unique, you know, like he he’s so strong. His legs are so strong and athletically uh he’s gifted but attitudinally he when you add what his athletic ability and his competitive uh attitude uh you have a very special guy and uh he can really score the ball. I think he’s a good shooter uh trying to become a really good shooter. Yeah. whereas uh Jason Jason Jason is that shooter. Uh I read Ian O’ Conor’s book uh about you which I thought was fascinating on so many levels and it’s so funny John Wooden and you you know you’re obviously the all-time great but John Wooden it took a long time for him to win at UCLA and as Ian O’ Conor pointed out there was a meeting or two about Mike Shasheesky and about your fourth year and people are like we don’t know if this kid from Army is going to work. you endured for a lot of reasons. You’re smart. Uh you’re collaborative. Uh you are a a grinder. There’s a lot of reasons, but when I look at college basketball today, um do you like the place we’re in? Tom Mizo’s a survivor, but a lot of the big ones have left. Um sometimes college football, I think, is too impatient. Do you think college basketball is is good to coaches? because the NBA I could argue is not a great place to coach. Is college basketball today? Actually, uh I think the NBA is a better place to coach. Uh uh I think college basketball now is pretty much like the NBA except there’s no transparency. In other words, uh uh you’re at one school, I’m at another. I don’t know what you’re doing for a player. You don’t know what I’m doing for a player. And uh it’s really uh professional right now or college basketball, but the product is outstanding and uh kids are staying longer because of NIL. Yeah, you’re getting older teams. Uh the influx of international young international pro players to college. Uh there you can win quicker uh in college now. Uh and uh there’s uh but like John Shy has done a great job uh here at Duke uh replacing me and I’ve I’ve told him I said I think you’ve done a better job than I would have done in the last three years with all the changes because I would have always been uh saying stuff well it used to be this way it used to be that way and uh for you you’re just starting out it wasn’t used to be. It is. And uh right now I just think people should put their arms around uh college sports, especially college basketball in my opinion. And um run it like a business because it is a business. Yeah. And uh the product is great though. You know, there’s so much talent out there. You know, uh there’s an argument people have made. I don’t know if I concur with it, but it’s an interesting argument that JJ Reic is smart. He’s very tightly wound. That in the NBA in big games, he kind of he’s a teeth clencher a little bit. He’s very, very intense. And in the NBA as a coach, he was very intense. And people say, “Boy, it’s not about that. It’s it’s more Steve Cerr. You got to be part psychologist, part schematic guy.” That maybe JJ is is just too intense. When you watch I mean, and listen, it’s a good quality to have. What do you make of the I mean, you were intense. I watched you write officials for several years. I’m still intense. Is is what do you make of those discussions about JJ that maybe he’s wound a little tight? No, I’m you know, he he wants to win and his preparation to win is outstanding. You know, there’s a learning curve in in every profession. I I thought he had a great great uh season and uh his his players uh he won over his players. His players know how hard he works and yeah, he was a terrific player. He uh you know, I I I think he’s he’s learned a lot from this year. you know, he’ll critique himself and have, you know, he has a veteran staff, uh, where those guys will take a look at what they did and, uh, how they were doing it and, uh, make adjustments going into into next year. But he had a great, uh, he had a great first year. And they played a team in the first round that was deeper and more athletic. Yes. and uh and the the NBA uh has gotten more physical, which I think is good, but it it’s really physical in the in the playoffs, and that lent itself to uh giving the Timberwolves a little bit more of an advantage. And they’re a good team, you know, they they’re really good team. you um Steve Kerr, Mark F, Beahheim, you guys all have done a very good job coaching um professional players uh as as college coaches. Obviously Kerr played at Arizona, but he’s a pro coach. And is there coaching is coaching at Duke because you have so many pro players is a little NBAish. Um yeah, it is. It is. It is. Do you think did you ever take anything from the pros and bring it back to Duke to help you? Oh yeah. You know, I coached the US team for 11 years in three Olympics and two world uh championships and I brought back a lot you know uh you know uh the sports science you know how guys prepared. Yeah. language, not cussing in that, but different although probably picked up a few words there too. Uh, no, just how they their defensive coverage is uh, you know, but they’re, you know, con the one of the main things is how hard they prepared and uh, and the excellent shape they kept themselves in. And I brought that back where we really increased our sports medicine science and and uh but it also helped me uh X and Owise. You know, I I had Jim Beheim was with me all 11 years, but yeah, I had Monty Williams and uh Tibido, you know, these guys who were uh you know, terrific pro coaches and and I learned a lot from them. But I learned from the players because they’re really out, you know, these are great players. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, all these guys. Uh they they really understand the game. People uh don’t realize how smart they are and how much preparation that that they give. So, uh those were 11 amazing years for uh for me and uh I I was very lucky to have that opportunity. You know, um Christian Lightner was so dominant when he played and he was part of that Kentucky win. Um, you I you just years and years ago, maybe it was Jay Bis was sharing a story about the first time you had seen LeBron and he took two steps at half court and dunked it and you turned to Billis and what in the world am I watching? Go back to your college career. I’m going to test your memory. Was there a moment when you obviously coached your team hard, but you allowed players to go off script? A Grant Hill players. Was there ever a moment in college you went back and you turned to an assistant and you’re like this player is better than I thought he would be this like you were actually as a coach you turned to an assistant and said I never imagined he would be this good this this player. Yeah. No, a number of times uh I can remember uh when we had Bobby Hurley. Yep. And Bobby was as good a point guard that ever played in college. And and one practice he’s playing defense and I looked to Tommy Amer who was one of my assistants then and I said I’ve never seen anybody play that hard. Like he and then at times with Grant Hill, you know, if Grant Hill had not been injured uh five years into his pro career, he would have ended up being one of the top 10 players of all time. Uh but he was very humble and there were times at timeouts I would say uh you know every four minutes I’d say okay every time you touch the ball you I don’t want you to pass it I just want you to do whatever you you want with it. He said what do you mean? I said no just do something where someone says you know how did coach K teach you how to do that? No I’m not lying. I mean I this is true and uh because there players there’s certain players that you you have to be careful not to overcoach. You have to give them right the room to become what their talent can can show. And uh uh you know Zion was was that uh uh you know really uh even though he he’s an outstanding athlete but he wasn’t that like those two guys Zion and Grant uh Badier was like that. He was very humble too. Yeah. And uh I’d say come on man you know let it out you know let it out. Uh like we were talking about JJ earlier. JJ did Colin, he did some stuff that I I could not imagine, you know, in hostile arenas, you know, guys were pulling on his shirt. He was trying to run them into the ground and uh he enjoyed putting up 40 on the road or 38 or 36. He was he was so damn cocky and good. I No, he he really was. I I love my plays worked better with I’ll tell you that. Yeah, that’s what Nick Sabin says.

Colin Cowherd is joined by legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski to react to the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA Draft lottery and getting the right to select Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick. They break down the differences between Flagg and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. They also discuss Coach K’s career, NIL, college basketball, the NBA playoffs, and more.

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