With the Philadelphia 76ers seemingly locked in on taking LSU’s Ben Simmons with the top pick in this year’s draft, all signs point to the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Duke star Brandon Ingram. Despite the obvious intrigue over Simmons, it was rumored that the Lakers would have preferred Ingram even if they had the No. 1 overall pick.
After somewhat flying under-the-radar at the beginning of this year’s season at Duke, the wiry sharpshooter burst onto the scene finishing averaging 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds, while also getting it done on the defensive end with 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Although he was unable to lead the Blue Devils deep into the tournament, Ingram joins a long list of elite athletes to play under head coach Mike Krzyzewski in arguably the most prestigious basketball school in the nation.
Brandon Ingram recently sat down for an interview with ESPN and talked about Coach K’s impact on him after one season at Duke:
“A big impact. He still keeps up with me now,” Ingram said of Krzyzewski. “Probably texts and calls me every week. I don’t think that’s a normal thing that goes around with college coaches. It’s made a big impact on me and a big impact on my family.”
Coach K certainly has high hopes for his former player, which is good to hear if you’re a Lakers fan. Krzyzewski has coached some of the greatest to ever play the game, serving as an assistant coach to Chuck Daly in 1992 for Team USA’s “Dream Team” before taking over as the head coach of the “Redeem Team” 20 years later.
