Manny Diaz comes across as a quiet man, so when he says bold things, you should probably listen.
The second-year Duke coach had a lot to say at ACC Media Days Thursday.
He had already said that he thinks Duke has some major advantages in the new era and he also says that this year’s Duke team could be the “fastest” and “strongest” team Duke has seen in the last four years.
He also said this about being at Duke:
“But when I watched us play last year, I was more in awe of just watching how our guys play so
hard for each other. And in an era where the sport is becoming more and more transactional and you see almost like independent contractors, I really do believe that we have a chance to build a proper team. I think that’s why we prevailed in so many close games a year ago, because we were a team that didn’t flinch, that was mentally tough, and believed in one another, seeing that, you know, whether it came down to the last play of the game, that we had each other’s back to do it. Again, a coach will say, that’s because of me and all my great — it ain’t because of me. It’s because of who they are and how they were raised.”
He also said this about recruiting:
The question was can I compete for championships and can I get to the National Football League? Maybe there’s an idea like, well, you know what, I’m going to go for the academics, and maybe I’m going to settle a little bit on the football side. I think, whether it’s this past recruiting class, but most importantly it’s the guys in our locker room, guys on the stage, they believe that you can accomplish all four things now here at Duke. To be honest, there’s not very many schools in the country where you can really go 4 for 4. You can compete for championships and go to the National Football League, but you’re not getting an education that’s going to help you in life after school. You may get a piece of paper that says you graduated from college, there’s plenty of those getting passed out, but that doesn’t mean you have a proper education.
“I think the experience we have here at Duke and being able to meet all four goals really puts us in a unique place. Then the fact those guys that come for those four goals want to stay here over the course of their whole time is why we have some of the fewest amount of exits in the transfer portal, because are guys want to be around and they want to accomplish all four of those things and they know that they can.”
You can read more of his comments here, but it sounds like Diaz is a guy who likes where he is and sees potential. That’s good to find after being dumped by Midnight Mike Elko.
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