Inside K Academy, Part 1: Living A Fantasy

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Inside K Academy, Part 1: Living A Fantasy

Nov 6, 2003

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DURHAM, N.C. — Each summer, the Duke basketball program raises money for its scholarship fund, the K-Lab and, this year, the new Emily Krzyzewski Youth Center in Durham.

The program has hosted all-star games with former Duke players and a roast of Coach Mike Krzyzewski. But this year, there was the K Academy.

Guys dished out $7,500 to be a part of the Duke basketball fantasy camp, and it was worth every penny.

In August, Krzyzewski welcomed a "veteran" recruiting class to the inaugural K Academy.

"What we're going to try and do during the camp is get in a mood of having fun, but also forming a team," Krzyzewski told the group.

Players came from Chicago, California, even Hong Kong.

"My wife gave this to me for an anniversary present," camper Eric Savage said, "and it is definitely the present that I've been most excited about my whole life."

The mixed bag of 30-and-older players included a trauma surgeon, a Hollywood personal trainer, a pediatric neurosurgeon and a guy who gives sports scores.

"Well, first of all, I wanted everyone who participated to be a kid again," Krzyzewski said, "but also a kid who's playing Duke basketball."

For four days, the campers were smothered in Duke basketball -- where they played, what they wore, what they learned.

"When you're talking to the ball, you are rarely going to be out of position," former Duke star Jay Bilas said, offering come coaching advice to the campers.

The classroom and playground was Cameron Indoor Stadium. Campers would agree that no matter how many games you've seen there, it is different playing on Coach K Court.

"You get to the foul line, and you're thinking: 'I'm at the foul line at Cameron,'" Savage said. "You imagine this is the Carolina game, try to put those out and shoot the foul shots."

Said camper Ross Deutsch: "We do feel that, for the 40 minutes we are on that court, however bad we look, we're going to make that one pass, draw that one charge, knock down that one shot, and the rafters come alive. It's pretty neat."

During the camp, four teams were tutored by 12 former Blue Devil players, including Billy King, who is now the president of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.

"Any chance I get to come back here, I do," King said. "This place molded me into who I am, like all of us, and that's why we feel a fondness to come back here."

The passion they had as players spilled over into their coaching. And they could not wait to share some of their Duke experiences with the campers.

"They've played the same amount as us, and they are playing a lot harder," former Duke player Steve Wojciechowski told his team during a timeout.

Over at the other bench, former Duke player Chris Collins told his team: "That's unacceptable, man. This is terrible to watch. It's the championship game, and we didn't score a point."

The coaches got on the campers pretty hard. But the campers deserved it, and that added to the camp's authenticity.

FRIDAY AT 11: More from the K Academy, with "player" evaluations and draft night.