Coaches Lay Odds On Hubert Davis & Jon Scheyer’s Success

In the past, with only one exception, Duke and UNC have tended to hire basketball coaches some years apart.

UNC hired Frank McGuire in 1952, Dean Smith in 1961, Bill Guthridge in 1997, Matt Doherty in 2000 and Roy Williams in 2003.

Duke hired Vic Bubas in 1960, then Bill Foster in 1974 after a year with Neil McGeachy as interim coach, and Mike Krzyzewski in 1980.

So this spring’s hiring of Hubert Davis by UNC and the announcement that Jon Scheyer would take over at Duke next season is the first time the schools have hired so close together since Bubas and Smith in the early 1960’s, and means they’ll inevitably be compared for years to come.

Over at CBS Sports, Matt Norlander asked coaches, anonymously, who they thought would be ahead in five years. Duke came out ahead and there were some interesting comments.

• We obviously don't know who said this but he’s spot-on until his comments about the Crazies: “Duke’s just got a better name. I think Duke is better set up to be exceptional. I’ve played at both places and the way the setup is for Duke, when you go into Cameron, it’s just different. Like Kansas, they’re a 20-point favorite before every game. You really have to beat the crap out of them to beat them at their place. Think about the Cameron Crazies. They were gone last year and Duke couldn’t beat anybody. I told Coach K when we played down there, what he’s built is nothing short of extraordinary. You go to Carolina, they have a bunch of old people who don’t care as much about the game. It’s a great arena but it’s bigger, but the fan base that goes to games aren’t into the games like the kids at Duke, where they are INVESTED.”

There’s no doubt the Crazies play a huge role but if Duke could have prepared better in the summer, the Blue Devils might have won eight more games.

Anyway, it’s interesting to see what people think and get used to it. That question is going to come up a lot.