JJ Redicks Lakers are taking leaps and bounds this season and Mike Krzyzewski is anything but surprised.Redicks former college coach and one of the greatest basketball coaches ever, Krzyzewski (Coach K)JJ is really smart and he functions under the theory that hes always becoming, Krzyzewski said. Who he is, who he was last year, is not necessarily the exact person, player, or coach that hes going to be the next year. And so youre always becoming. When youre always becoming, that means youre always willing to listen, willing to learn, willing to adapt to something new.Although he didnt see Redick becoming a coach when he first came to him with the idea, Coach K said it all started clicking into place when he thoughts about it.I never thought of him as a coach I always just thought of him as, well, hes the best shooter weve ever had and one of the greatest players in college basketball history, and hes a heck of a pro, Krzyzewski said. When he went into broadcasting, he knocked it out of the park right away. Like he wasnt learning to do that. He had that. And his competitive drive was not fed. He wasnt able to feed that hunger for competition through being a sports announcer or sports commentator or whatever. He craves competition. But he also craves the game. OK, competition at this level, how can I stay in the deep end with the game? I want to coach. And so I was surprised when he said it to me, but then I wasnt surprised, because I put those two things together. This guy will be competitive for his whole life, and he loves the game of basketball. And, you know what? Hes such a damn good competitor, and he understands the game. Once I got over the little bit of surprise of him doing it, and said OK, that makes sense. I think you should go for it. And then obviously, he went for it, and he went for it in one of the most visible coaching assignments, the toughest ones you could have the Los Angeles Lakers. Which, that doesnt surprise me either.
