Armed with Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, Coach K couldn’t lead the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four with an upset loss to Michigan State.
The hype surrounding the Duke Blue Devils entering the 2018-19 college basketball season was unreal. With freshmen Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish all coming to Durham as sure-fire lottery picks, this was the most elite group of talent that Mike Krzyzewski would have ever coached. And now they won’t even be going to the Final Four.
On Sunday night in the East Region final of the Elite 8, Duke went up against Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team. And while Reddish, who struggled for much of the season for the Blue Devils, was nursing an injury after missing their Sweet 16 game, was back on the floor, it was at it had been for much of the season: The Zion and RJ show.
Possibly the first two picks in the forthcoming 2019 NBA Draft, Williamson and Barrett did their parts. The former notched 24 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and three blocks while the latter put up a line of 21 points, six rebounds and six assists (though the duo combined for 12 turnovers). But against a balanced and experienced team like Michigan State, the two-man attack wasn’t enough.
This had truly been the story for Duke throughout the entire season. To anyone truly paying attention, the Blue Devils were not a good college basketball team — but they were the most talented team in the country, an undeniable fact. However, Coach K failed in making the ancillary pieces of his team both helpful and complementary to the immensely talented top end of his team.
Yes, fans in Durham will no doubt point to Reddish being injured, but would a player who shot 35.8 percent from the field this season being slightly more healthy have been that great of an assistance? After all, he was on the floor for much of the game anyway and was a virtual non-factor, save for a pair of made 3s.
There’s no questioning the résumé of Krzyzewski to this point. He’s arguably the greatest college basketball to ever grace the sidelines. However, this has to go down as a black mark on his illustrious record. This team had the opportunity to be legendary, and now they aren’t even seeing the final weekend of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Zion Williamson’s one year at Duke will go down as unforgettable in the annuls of college basketball history. But Coach K’s failure to maximize the potential of his star and the team around him brought the phenom’s unbelievable run to a bitter and, frankly, premature end.