Written by Mark Cannizzaro at New York Post.com
The postgame handshake was slightly protracted.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski held onto the hand of Oregon star sophomore Dillon Brooks for just a little bit longer than the customary congratulatory pat-and-go after the Ducks dominated his Blue Devils in Thursday night’s West Region semifinal at the Honda Center.
Brooks, who had gone off for 22 points, five rebounds and six assists, had just launched a rainbow 3-pointer as an exclamation point to the Oregon rout before preening to the Duke bench and to the crowd.
Given that the Ducks were up by 11 points, the clock was bleeding toward 10 seconds and the Duke defenders had backed off in conceded defeat, you could make the argument those histrionics were unnecessary.
During their exchange on the sideline, Krzyzewski praised Brooks for being a great player, but also lectured him about showboating, according to Brooks — though the Duke coach denied doing so.
On Friday, in advance of Oregon’s showdown against Oklahoma for a Final Four berth, the Brooks-Coach K incident remained the topic of conversation, with Brooks and Oregon coach Dana Altman defusing it, putting forth their best Bill Belichick “we’re on to Oklahoma.’’
Altman said he instructed Brooks to take that last shot.
“At the end of the game there was a difference in the shot clock and the game clock and I told Dillon to shoot it,’’ Altman said. “So if anybody’s got a problem with it — it should be directed at me. He was acting on my orders. I didn’t think he’d make it. It was a 30-footer.
“Dillon is a competitor and he’s been fun to work with. It’s a dead issue as far as we’re concerned. We’re moving on to Oklahoma. I hope it’s a dead issue for everybody else.’’
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