Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will get together on June 20 for a special open forum of sorts for a special program being put together by ESPN and ESPN U.
Difference Makers: Life Lessons with Paterno and Krzyzewski (airs June 30) will feature both iconic and Hall of Fame coaches in their respective sports as they share their insight into what it takes to be successful in coaching, college and life.
Given the track record of each individual, this appears to be the makings of a great program. The discussion will be held in State College on Penn State’s campus and will be open to fans of both schools by invitation only.
If you are fortunate to get a seat in the Eisenhower Auditorium on June 20, what would you want to ask Paterno and/or Krzyzewski?
Here are five questions I would like to ask the two coaches…
1. How do you convince a high school kid, and his family, that he will be in a good situation at your program?
The most important part in building a program, whether it be football or basketball, is selling your plan to student-athletes, and their families. Both Paterno and Krzyzewski essentially built their programs from scratch to become nationally prominent brands. How did they do that early on and how have they continued to do so over the years?
2. What has changed the most for the good, and for the bad, in your respective sport?
Paterno has been around the college football world for a very long time. He went from playing the game at Brown right to coaching, first as an assistant under his head coach Rip Engle and then as the head coach at Penn State.
The uniforms may not have changed much but the game, both on and off the field, has. Do you think even 10 years ago we would have ever pictured Joe Paterno talking to a recruit through Skype?
Krzyzewski has been around a long time too, getting into coaching in 1974 as an assistant at Indiana under Bob Knight. He helped build Duke into a national program, similar to Paterno at Penn State.
Both coaches have won national championships (Paterno’s last title came in 1986, Krzyzewski is coming off a championship season in 2011), and both have stood the test of time.
3. What is the toughest part of being a coach?
Paterno will surely crack a line about dealing with the media, but clearly there is more to love about coaching for he and Krzyzewski to be doing it for so long. So what has been the most challenging part of the game for them, and how did they overcome it?
4. If you could change one thing about your sport, what would it be?
Paterno has always voiced his opinion about making changes on the field or off of it. The outspoken Paterno left nobody wondering which way he felt the Big Ten should expand in, declaring that a school like Pittsburgh or Syracuse should be the way to go (of course the Big Ten moved west with Nebraska) and he always will voice his opinions.
Krzyzewski, having accomplished so much and being recognized almost as a voice of reason in the college basketball world, might have some things to say as well. I know I’d like to hear them.
5. With coaches making headlines for wrong reasons (Ohio State and Jim Tressel, Tennessee and Bruce Pearl to name a couple) it seems as though coaches are under a bigger microscope than ever before. Do you feel that way, and what advice would you lend to coaches in your sport to reach the level you have?
Because Paterno and Krzyzewski are some of the elder statesmen in their sports I would love to know what they would tell other coaches in regards to their profession. Wouldn’t you?
Surely there are many more questions worth asking these men. Share what you would want to ask below in the comments section.
Kevin McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Twitter @KevinOnCFB.
