GREENVILLE S.C. Mike Krzyzewski was not unhappy with his teams performance after Duke’s 78-61 win against Cal State Fullerton in Friday’s first round of NCAA Tournament. However, he had some comments to make about the court conditions and the pregame atmosphere at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
He didn’t like the sight of an empty arena, while the Blue Devils & Titans warmed up around 30 minutes before tip off. After Miamis victory over USC, the building had been cleared so that workers could clean it. But spectators were not allowed inside until well after 6 pm.
It was a very sterile environment for warm-ups. Without fans or bands, it didn’t allow teams to get to know the kind of scene they would be playing in. The crowd grew to capacity by the end of the Blue Devils’ victory.
Krzyzewski, unprompted near the start his postgame conference, said that there wasn’t a crowd when the guys were warming themselves up. … If they see a way to improve the future, these kids from both sides need to get out on the court and have a band, crowd or whatever.
They should not have empty seats. That is for both teams.
Krzyzewski felt that the court was the most pressing problem. Both teams experienced difficulty getting traction at times. During play stops, Dukes managers often ran onto a floor with towels in their hands to clean up slick spots.
Krzyzewski was furious at the conditions, and was particularly concerned about Wendell Moore Jr. falling multiple times.
Krzyzewski claimed that the floor was slippery. I mean, both ends. I don’t know what it was. It wasn’t the shoes. Nike called me and asked me to verify that I wasn’t referring to the shoes.
Later, he wanted to know if the court slickness was something that had been present in the earlier games. Krzyzewski told him that it was. That’s not a good sign. … I’m concerned that Wendell isn’t doing anything seriously. A slippery floor can make your seasons end.
Paolo (Banchero), however, claimed that he fell while running to warmups near our bench, when most slipperiness was on his side. He claimed it was on the other side.
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