The friendly confines of the best rivalry

It all comes around.

Ask Laettner, or Mashburn. Ask Pitino or Krzyzewski.

I became a Duke basketball fan in 1992. And all that mattered in 1992 in basketball was Duke versus Kentucky. Anyone who knows anything at least knows of the tale of their 1992 Elite Eight battle. The game itself is arguably one of the best ever to be played on any basketball court. The shot that ended the overtime affair — you know…THE SHOT — well its merits as the best aren’t debatable. Not with me anyway.

That was — swallow — 22 and a half years ago. But what any true Duke fan, or any true Kentucky fan can tell you is that no moment is more defining of their program.

For Duke, how do you ever live up to the merits of that game? Of that shot? They went on to win another national title that year, have won two more since that (2001, 2010) and were the national runner up on two other occasions. But when you are a Duke fan and you think about your program, it all comes back to “The Shot.”

For Kentucky, how do you ever get past that moment, perhaps the most soul-crushing moment in the history of sports? Yes, they to have won three national titles since (1996, 1998 and 2012). They too have been the national runner-up on two occasions since. But when you are a Kentucky fan and you think about your program, it all comes back to “The Shot.”

In Durham, the name Christian Laettner is laid among the Gods. In Lexington, the name Christian Laettner is laid among loogies and mass vulgarity.

One thing I have learned as a Duke fan is that Kentucky people will never side with me. Why would they? It is after all, sour grapes. They lost, we won. But I also know how quickly that could be different. Hindsight, being 20/20, points out that one change in coaching technique could have sent that Wildcat squad to the Final Four. And then, in Duke circles, the name Jamal Mashburn would be whispered in hushed tones. And then we’d have all of the sour grapes. Tides and fortunes turn. The three national titles and a pair of 2^nd place finishes aren’t all we have in common. After all, our first round NCAA Tournament losses to Lehigh and Mercer are their first round NIT loss to Robert Morris. For their celebrations of Anthony Davis and Julius Randle, we’ve had the heroics of Shane Battier and Kyle Singler. For their massive downtrodden times of Nerlens Noel, we’ve had injury-killing anti-success of Kyrie Irving.

Ever since that shot, the existences of the Duke and Kentucky basketball programs have had intriguing shades of parallel.

The last year in my house has added a new element to my viewpoint. Both of my stepsons are bred from Kentucky lore. One was born in Kentucky, their father and his family are all Kentucky through and through. To them, U and K have been the only initials that matter when it comes to college basketball.

And then, there I was as a Duke fan. And by hook or crook, intrigue or irony, they (especially the youngest of the two), added some level of Duke fandom to their minds. It is never anything that I asked of them, but I am sure something engrained quickly into their subconscious because of how big of a Duke fan that I am, just as being UK fans was engrained for all of the other years of Wildcat basketball they saw or heard about.

Kids are fickle when they cheer for sports teams. For all the home team cheering there is, there are always just as many kids who pick up teams not so near. In my youth, other than becoming a Duke fan, I cheered from my Indiana home for the Atlanta Braves, another team not within 10 hours from where I lived. My youngest, Ayden — as another example — has an insane array of favorites that span from California (San Francisco 49ers) to Canada (Toronto Raptors).

But is there anything more fickle than being a fan of both Kentucky and Duke?

Bobby Hurley’s face would probably contort grossly at the question. Richie Farmer might puke.

My stepsons, again especially the youngest, have added a new space in my mind. A space where this makes sense, a space where I can actually be ok with it. In 1992, a battle like the two programs put forth brought with it a certain amount of despise and hatred. That is what 1992 was about, that was old school. But in 2014, in a world where UFC fighters bash each others heads in for 15 minutes and then hug and smile, why can’t Duke and Kentucky co-exist? Why can’t we just say good job and be happy with the magic we made together?

Last season, Ayden and I sat on the couch for many a basketball game, always cheering for the blue and white no matter what word actually appeared on the front of the jersey. He developed a favorite Duke player in Jabari Parker (he’s not happy he has to pick a new favorite already) and I took a liking to the Wildcats’ Willie Cauley-Stein. As he learned all of the names of the players on both teams, I too learned about UK. He became a true Duke fan, wore Duke clothes and cheered them on. I cheered too. No, I haven’t brought myself to slide into a Kentucky Wildcat t-shirt or anything like that, but when Kentucky played, I found myself cheering them on, especially in their close bid to become the National Champions. That alone is something that I never thought I would find myself doing.

It must be how my dad felt. He may have never hated Duke, but when I was a kid he was a Purdue fan. Now, I don’t think my dad would want any college basketball team to win more than he would want Duke too. Kids do that. They open yours eyes up just enough.

It is a rivalry that has lasted 22 years, but Ayden’s love of both teams has transcended that rivalry. Is he the first kid to think to their self “why can’t I just like them both?” Probably not. But it clicks. After all, Duke and Kentucky are forever intertwined. Nothing will ever change that. So why does everyone have to choose?

It is also what will make this upcoming college basketball season so much fun and possibly pretty interesting. The fact is, in my humble and moderately professional opinion, there are no better teams in college basketball this year than Kentucky and Duke. Always intertwined, we find ourselves at the top of the food chain once more.

Kentucky returned the vast majority of their near-championship core. The Harrison twins, Cauley-Stein, all back to team up with the second best recruiting class in the country that includes freshmen Karl Towns, Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker and Trey Lyles. Duke has a lot of veteran experience in tow too, even if they did underachieve last year. They also add the number one recruiting class in the country with soon-to-be NBA players Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow.

It will be another layer on one of the best rivalries in sports. There is a very good chance that the paths of the Blue Devils and Wildcats could cross in Indianapolis come April with the best trophy on the line. Sure would make for an interesting evening in my house.

I spent more than 20 years on one side of this rivalry. Duke was always greater than Kentucky. Do I still believe that to be true? Of course I do. Should they meet up in Indianapolis this Spring, or ever before, I will have one of my Duke jerseys on while Ayden sits down the couch with a UK hoodie. His brother and his mom will probably do the same as him. I know this to be true.

But I also know that win or lose; I will be content with being a fan of the greatest rivalry in sports. Content knowing that without Kentucky, there is no Duke and without Duke, there is no Kentucky. Our teams did this together. So whenever they meet again, I will be there.

I will be there, praying for the ghost of the not-dead Christian Laettner and Kentucky fans will be there, spitting and cursing his name.

But now, thanks to that space in my mind where Duke and Kentucky co-existing finally makes sense, I will be smiling the whole time.

Why Wojo? Why now?

Let me start this by saying that it is my opinion that Duke Head coach Mike Krzyzewski is the best coach in basketball today. He is one of the best ever. Best in college, best in basketball, best in sports. If you make a top 10 list of the greatest coaches ever, and he isn’t there, then you are lost.

And call me a homer for that if you want. It is the not the opinion as a Duke fan. It is the opinion as a coach and a student of the beautiful game of basketball.

But for a long time now, I have expected and hoped that Steve Wojciechowski would be the heir to Coach K’s glorious throne. And that, I have expected as a Duke fan.

Everything that I love about Duke basketball is rooted in who Wojo is and how Wojo does things. He is hard nosed, true grit, slapping the floor on defense and all out. I guess so you could say that everything Wojo is also is what makes some people hate Duke. After all, it was Wojo who made the floor slap a Blue Devil signature and that is what those less educated use as a basis for hate so many times.

But this isn’t about Duke love or Duke hate. This is about Wojo, the last remaining remnant of modern day Duke assistant coaches who have made history in the program both with titles and with recruiting. Now long gone is Johnny Dawkins (Stanford) and gone is Chris Collins (Northwestern), all riding that Duke pedigree to Division 1 major conference jobs. Wojo follows, now the head coach at Marquette, a program who has been essentially obscure since Tom Crean’s exit and nowhere near a legit title threat since the Dwayne Wade days.

But what Marquette gets is a man on a mission.

See, as much as I have been part of ‘Team Wojo,’ I have almost known better since the day Jeff Capel landed in town. VCU, Oklahoma….Jeff Capel has the head coaching experience that common theory suggests Duke will want in Coach K’s eventual replacement. Capel joined a long line of Coach K players turned Coach K assistants. Bilas, Amaker, Dawkins, Collins, Wojo. They’ve all done it. The latter four of those guys are all thriving or going to thrive. Amaker and Dawkins not only danced this March, but contributed to the Madness with “upset” wins.

But none of them had major experience before joining the Duke staff. Jeff Capel, as it sits today, is the man who is going to replace Coach K. Five years, ten years – it doesn’t matter. Today, he is the guy.

Tomorrow, if Wojo has his way, he won’t be.

Because what Marquette gets is a man on a mission. When he played, Wojo was the hardest working player on the court every second of every game. He was hardly the best. Seeing #12 in the NBA wasn’t a pipedream, it was a laughable side joke. He didn’t get where he did in college basketball on talent or size. He did it the hard way, the dirty way, the on the floor after a loose ball way.

And he will do the same thing as the head coach at Marquette. Because, he won’t be the best coach. He wasn’t the best coach on Duke’s sideline; he wasn’t even the best assistant in some ways. But he will outwork, and therefore out coach, a lot of guys in the coming years on behalf of the Golden Eagles. Because, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And that light says that Coach K isn’t retiring tomorrow. So Capel having that job in hand today doesn’t mean much if someone can snatch it away. And if Wojo wants to do that, now is the exact right time to move on, even if it is just for a little while.

So Wojo will work. It will benefit him and it will benefit Marquette. It is a golden opportunity for everyone.

But the most important part to me is that he will work for those kids, that school and that community – but, it will be with a different end goal in mind: to lead those crazies in Cameron. And when the day comes that Coach K walks away, while Amaker and Dawkins and Collins and Capel and maybe even Jon Scheyer reach for that golden rung, they shouldn’t get there in time.

Because with his new gig in front of him, Wojo is going to work harder than them all.