Manny Diaz still has plenty to prove heading into third season at Duke
· Yahoo Sports
Two things can be true at the same time: yes, Manny Diaz led Duke to the ACC title last year, a feat that is rarer in Durham than a high school applicant getting accepted with a 2.5 GPA.
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At the same time, Diaz’s Blue Devils did lose some games to less-than-impressive opponents, including UConn.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli brings up just that point in his yearly ranking of all 68 coaches of Power 4 (plus Notre Dame) programs. And while Diaz didn’t make it into his top 25, he did come in at an impressive No. 30.
“You can look at Manny Diaz's ranking and say, ‘Now wait just a dang second here, this man just won the freaking ACC at Duke, and he can't even crack your top 25!?’ You'd have a point. The counter, though, is that he did win the ACC, but with a 7-5 regular-season record and losses to Tulane and UConn. It's just one of those things! You respect the achievement, but you also have to consider the context. I'd argue a 14-point climb from last year is a perfectly reasonable response to what Diaz did last year.”
Back-to-back nine-win seasons at Duke aren’t exactly light work, but Diaz can make even bigger impressions by doing it again after quarterback Darian Mensah abruptly left for Miami this offseason.
And, if you were wondering, UNC’s Bill Belichick is ranked at a lowly No. 63.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Manny Diaz relatively low in CBS Sports' ranking of Power 4 coaches