• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Rare Duke visit to Wisconsin brings what-ifs

Photo

Photo by AP Photo/Andy Manis

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski yells during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin beat No. 6 Duke 73-69.

MADISON — With the arrival of college basketball royalty Wednesday night at the Kohl Center, the tendency was to reflect on what might have been for Wisconsin.

Although Mike Krzyzewski did not invent basketball at Duke, he took what was already there and refined it in such a way that has made him one of the best coaches this country has produced, any sport, any level.

But before Krzyzewski turned Duke tradition into 10 Final Fours and three national championships in his 29 seasons with the Blue Devils, he had a mentor. Bob Knight was his coach at Army and, for two years, his boss at Indiana.

Knight, who also happened to be in the building as a TV guy, was offered the Wisconsin job in 1968 after John Erickson left to become the Milwaukee Bucks' general manager. But before Knight could return to West Point, the news leaked and the agitated general decided to stay at Army three more years before going on to three national titles of his own.

Of course, Wisconsin never had the cachet of an Indiana, much less a Duke. But the Badgers did have one national championship, 14 Big Ten titles and two distinguished coaches before things finally began to turn at the start of the 21st century.

So you wonder what might have happened if Knight had not backed out and stayed at Wisconsin, temper willing, for 30 years.

Better yet, what if Dick Bennett, who coached the Badgers to the 2000 Final Four with players the Blue Devils and Hoosiers would've summarily ignored, had received the Wisconsin job at the same age (33) Krzyzewski took over at Duke? Who's to say that Bennett, who was 52 when he got his dream job, would not have become the Midwestern Coach K?

How about Bo Ryan? He was almost 54 when he also realized his professional goal in Madison. Ryan has never been past the Elite Eight, yet he has a better career winning percentage than Krzyzewski. He has a better Big Ten winning percentage than Knight. Who's to say Ryan couldn't have made Wisconsin the Duke of the North?

What if the Badgers had gotten the right coach at a young age and stuck with him before the school shed its reputation as a coaching graveyard? Remember, they were trying to run Krzyzewski out of Durham after his first few seasons.

It can't be the academic restrictions at Wisconsin, not when the comparable is Duke. Nor is it the weather. At last check, it was the same temperature inside the Kohl Center, give or take, as it is in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Except the heat was way, way up for the Blue Devils. The building was jumping, the Grateful Red was trying to outdo even the Cameron Crazies, and the crescendo reverberated with each Wisconsin basket. For one night against the No. 5 team in the land, it was OK to imagine.

Except this was real. With the Badgers' 73-69 victory, the first against Duke in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, one thing was apparent.

In a superbly coached, beautifully played game, a first-class coach gave credit where credit belonged.

"I thought they played a magnificent game," Krzyzewski said. "Great crowd, great atmosphere. Wisconsin fans should feel pretty darn good about their basketball team."

The Badgers may be better than anyone expected, but the opinion on Ryan never changes.

"One of the best in the country," Krzyzewski said. "It's an honor for us to be here."

For the moment, without regard to history, that's all you need to know.