YouTube Gold: Carlos Boozer On Coach K The Motivator

We’ve heard some great stories about Coach K over the years and the things he’s done to motivate his teams. One player told us a great story which we think happened in 1982 against Louisville.

The lights went low just before the game and everyone was muttering. Then the door opened and a candle poked in. It was Coach K and he said...”I come not to praise Louisville but to bury them!”

Duke got crushed - that happened a lot for a couple of the early K years - but it was a great moment for the team and an early insight into K’s motivational abilities.

It wouldn’t be the only one.

In this clip with Dan Le Batard - not that it matters, but the literal translation of his last name is The Bastard which is kind of cool - Carlos Boozer talks about a ploy Coach K used during his time at Duke.

This happened after a loss at Clemson. The staff arranged a viewing of Braveheart and during the movie, K barges in the room, wearing a battle helmet and barrel rolls across the floor yelling “let’s attack! Let’s attack!”

Boozer said they were getting ready to play Maryland and they were so fired up that they just crushed the Terps.

It’s a pretty great story. Thing is, it’s just one of many.