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Posts: 8141
Loc: NW Philadelphia
Reg: 11-21-04
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06-21-21 12:49 PM - Post#324827
Excerpt from the long Athletic article today:
"Scheyer never tried to find out who else was up for the job during those interminable six days. Multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic that the other candidate most seriously considered was Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, who played for Krzyzewski from 1983-87 and was his assistant for nine seasons. Amaker, 56, is as well-respected as any member of the Duke basketball family, and his 24 years experience as a head coach, including previous stops at Seton Hall and Michigan, was an asset Scheyer couldn’t match. On at least one occasion, Amaker spoke directly with Krzyzewski about the job. The biggest hurdle for Amaker’s candidacy was the fact that taking the job would require him to leave Harvard and return as an assistant at Duke for the coming season. There is precedent for this — Matt Painter left his post as head coach at Southern Illinois in 2004 to spend a season as Purdue’s head coach-in-waiting under Gene Keady — but in this case, Amaker would be joining a staff that included the other primary candidate in Scheyer. In addition, Krzyzewski recently promoted Smith to full-time assistant as a replacement for Nate James, who left in April to become head coach at Austin Peay. If Amaker joined the staff, Smith would have to be demoted or even out of a job".
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