PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but it turns out those that work closely with Mike Krzyzewski wonder if he's human.
"We would refer to him as an alien," said Pitt head coach Jeff Capel during his radio show Thursday.
Capel said kind of joking because of the attention to detail Krzyzewski puts into everything.
"He really is because of how much tape he watches," Capel said of the alien designation. "All the little things he does to make sure he is prepared to be his best for his guys. He doesn't sleep much. He just pours over tape trying to figure out ways to help his team and his guys get better. That is sincere."
We Want You
Capel played four years at Duke, but was away from the program for over a decade before returning as an assistant. He said any good assistant learns everything about his head coach. Often, Capel would find himself one-on-one with Krzyzewski and said he asked him a million questions, about everything.
"One of the things I asked him was why do we recruit the way we recruit?" Capel recalled on 93.7 The Fan and the Pitt Panthers Radio Network. "At Duke it was different than any place that I've ever been. If we are recruiting you, he won't recruit anyone else."
Seriously. Not just a turn of a phrase or a false promise, Capel would only recruit one player per position.
"There's pressure because if you don't get them," Capel said. "You haven't recruited anyone else. Early at Duke, people wanted him fired and he decided this is make or break. We have to get these guys."
It's true that people wanted him fired. He was coming off his second full season in 1982. Duke won four ACC games and had 10 wins overall. That's when he went all in.
The results were a 1982-83 freshman class:
Johnny Dawkins
Mark Alarie
Dave Henderson
Jay Bilas
All four could score 1,000 points in college and Dawkins and Alarie over 2,000.
Doesn't Want It
For years media and fans used to ask then Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon if he would schedule games against his mentor Ben Howland. Dixon would quickly, usually sternly reject the notion of ever playing against Howland, saying they would never plan to play each other because of their relationship.
Jeff Capel feels the same way about playing Coach K, now with 1195 career wins, 1122 at Duke.
"It's something that we wouldn't have because of the admiration and love we have for each other, but we are in the same league," Capel said. "We do have to compete."
"We are looking forward to it to see where we are against one of the best teams in the country, one of the most talented teams in the country. I know that it will be a great atmosphere, anytime Duke goes anywhere it's a great atmosphere. It will probably be emotional."
"It's his last ACC road game and hopefully our fans and the fans that are here will honor him for his unbelievable career."
"It's a career we will never see again."
