Tom Shanahan of TodaysU.com has written an article that describes why he thinks Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski is better at player development than Kentucky’s John Calpari.
Shanahan takes a lot of jabs at Cal in the process of how he explains the divide between him and Coach K.
He uses Tyler Ulis and Blue Devil Grayson Allen as examples:
Allen is a 6-5, 205-pounder that saw limited minutes last year in the regular season. He averaged 4.4 points, 1.0 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 9.2 minutes.
But when Duke was in foul trouble in the Final Four, he was prepared to give the Blue Devils a lift. He finished the Michigan State semifinal with nine points and five rebounds. His play helped thwart Michigan State’s comeback effort. He was better against Wisconsin in the final. He scored 16 points with two rebounds. That was enough to make the Final Four All-Tournament team.
Krzyzewski was soon expressing confidence in Allen as the focal point of his 2015-16 team.
Ulis, a 5-9, 160-pounder, saw more playing time than Allen last year, but name a moment he had that stood out. He averaged 23.8 minutes 5.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists.
He was unable to influence the Final Four loss to Wisconsin. He was just another guy on the floor with six points and one assist.
Calipari wasn’t calling out his name as a key to the 2015-16 Wildcats despite seven players – a junior, three sophomores and three freshmen — turning pro.
We can judge more on Tuesday when No. 5 Duke and No. 2 Kentucky meet at the United Center in Chicago as part of a double-header with No. 13 Michigan State and No. 4 Kansas.
This early in the year, of course, neither Duke or Kentucky have been tested through two games.
But Allen appears to have picked up where he left off against Wisconsin. In the opener against Siena, he played 31 minutes with 26 points, five rebounds and two assists. In the second game against Bryant, he played 32 minutes with 28 points three rebounds and six assists.
Ulis played 37 minutes against Albany with 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. Against New Jersey Institute of Technology, he played 31 minutes with five points, five rebounds and five assists.
When Calipari lost out on Tyus Jones to Duke last year, he stepped up his recruiting for Ulis and brought him to Lexington. You have to wonder what sweet NBA messages he told him.
Coach K got both Jones and Allen. Allen appears to have developed enough to be to the face of the the Blue Devils. Ulis is just another guy for the Wildcats.
That’s the divide that separates Krzyzewski and Calipari no matter how much of an edge Calipari’s players have in NBA paycheck deposits.
Read the entire article by clicking here.
He also takes jabs at John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and says Anthony Davis could have played at Alaska Anchorage and still would have been the #1 pick.
