Coach K responsible for collapse

I’ve often described Duke as the New York Yankees of college basketball. It’s an apt analogy because both programs have enjoyed rich winning traditions, and, as a result, both have become targets of universal hatred and jealousy.

Now I can stretch the comparison even further.

Both teams have recently built up rich traditions of choking in pressure-packed situations.

In October, I saw my beloved Yankees become the first team to blow a 3-0 advantage in a playoff series. I witnessed them squander back-to-back late-inning leads to the Red Sox in Fenway Park, and then cringed as the Sox thumped them in the final two games at Yankee Stadium.

Whom did I blame for this meltdown of epic proportions? Joe Torre, the Yankees’ four-time World Series Champion manager. I found it inexcusable to allow your players to lose their concentration for four straight games. The killer instinct just wasn’t there, and I was calling for Torre’s head.

After October, I assumed I would never feel that ashamed ever again.

I was wrong.

Last Sunday’s meltdown against North Carolina was equally embarrassing. I don’t think there was a single person on the campus who didn’t feel like crawling in a hole and dying after seeing the Tar Heels score the game’s final 11 points and witnessing the UNC faithful going absolutely bonkers at the end of the 75-73 comeback victory.

This debacle would not be so alarming if it were not for the rich tradition of squandered leads that Krzyzewski’s team established last season.

March 14, 2004, the Blue Devils disintegrated in the ACC Championship game against Maryland and allowed the Terrapins to erase a 12-point deficit with five minutes remaining in the game. The Terps went on a 15-3 run to close out the half and force overtime. They would go on to win 95-87.

Less than a month later, Duke blew its chance at a national title with an equally embarrassing letdown. Leading UConn 75-67 with 3:28 left to play in the NCAA Tournament semifinal game, the Blue Devils allowed the Huskies to go on a 12-0 run. UConn won 79-78 and waltzed over Georgia Tech to win the national title.

Pretty disturbing trend, isn’t it? Why are Krzyzewski’s teams suddenly choking under pressure, and what can he do to stop it?

I think he just has to get angry.

Don’t get me wrong—I love the amicable, genteel, TV-friendly Coach K who jumps out of bushes and embraces thirtysomethings recreating the glory days of Duke basketball.

I just think that every now and then, he should shake things up—like the manager in Bull Durham who hordes all of his players into the shower room, throws a rack of bats at them, then chews them out for being “lollygaggers.”

God knows I’d play a little harder if I thought my coach exhibited temporary signs of insanity.

Okay, Okay. Maybe that’s not such a great idea. It would be a big step backwards, and Coach K already spends enough time yelling at the refs. Furthermore, it would definitely not be in the best interest of Krzyzewski’s personal health.

Nonetheless, something must be done to reverse the trend of Duke teams choking in crucial moments. Krzyzewski’s three national championship rings do very little to assuage my concerns.

Like a good columnist, I must ask Krzyzewski: “What have you done for me lately?” If you define “lately” as the last three seasons, the answer is: Not Much.

This year’s team, like last year’s, has all the pieces to make a run at the ACC and NCAA championships. It is up to Krzyzewski to find a new way to ensure that the pieces don’t fall apart, because whatever he’s doing now, it ain’t working.