"He's wrestling with the ball like it's a bear": When Jay Williams recounted Duke legend Coach K's hilarious pregame story
Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke Blue Devils' legendary Coach K, once told his players a hilarious story during his team's pregame. The story was recounted by NBA analyst Jay Williams on "The Rich Eisen Show" eight years ago.
"There's this one story, it's unbelievable," Williams, a former Duke player, said. 'I've never seen anything like this before. It was during one of our first games, the time when the movie 'Gladiator' came out, one of my all-time favorite movies, by the way.
Coach K described a vivid and intense scene where he and his team were seated in front of a huge screen to watch "Gladiator," where the protagonist, Maximus, rallies his troops before battle.
At the end of the movie, they were surprised by an arrow set on fire that suddenly flew in from the doorway and hit a dartboard. The moment was further amplified by the sudden appearance of a vintage-style basketball that had the word "Solution" written on it.
"Out of nowhere, Coach K runs into the room and dives on the ball," Williams said. "He's wrestling with the ball is like it's a bear, and he's like, 'Eff'n' fight with me!' And everybody gets up like, 'Yeah!' And everybody runs out of room. My shoelace literally snaps.
"I come back in the room, all I see Coach K on the ground: 'My hip.' He apparently threw his hip out, and he's like, 'Just get out there.' I get out there, and it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life."
The analyst said that Coach K intended to inspire his team, emphasizing the importance of finding solutions to challenges, just like in the "Gladiator" movie.
Jayson Tatum recalls Coach K's actions in NC State loss three years ago
Jayson Tatum spoke about what Coach K did after his team lost to the NC State Wolfpack on "The Old Man & The Three" podcast three years ago.
"We lost to North Carolina State at home; they had Dennis Smith Jr.," Tatum said (Timestamp: 14:15). "I remember after the game, coach or one of the assistants sent out a mass text and was like, 'Everybody, come to Coach K house right now.' So, after the game, we all go to his house, and we walk in and he got, like, three rows of five chairs – 15 chairs – and he sits in the front.
"We go practice, and there's a pile of white T-shirts and these navy blue shorts, and we damn played football for two-and-a-half hours, diving on the floor, hitting each other. We couldn't use our showers. We had the shower back at our room, and the freshmen had to wash all the T-shirts and shorts for, like, the next three days."
In January 2017, Duke lost 84-82 to the visiting NC State Wolfpack at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. Dennis Smith Jr. stole the show with a game-high 32 points, outshining Jayson Tatum, who had 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists.