In 5 years we will look back on this game being a program resurgence. College Basketball landscape has changed and the ACC is a powerhouse but fact remains: Cook won 0 ACC Titles.
A lose last night and expected Pro Declaration for Okafor, Winston and Jones would have raised serious questions as to the direction of the program and even Coach K's ability. Tournament runs with Rivers & Parker were failures. All these years we blamed our lack of a legit Post Player for many shortcomings and here we had Okafor.
We are officially back. This buys Coach K atleast another 5 years if not Decade, for recruiting. And I think this is (nicely) being ignored by the media. In the Big Picture 5 instead of 4 might not be a huge difference but when you consider
- K's 4-4 record in the Championship games
- K's 0-3 record versus #1 seeds in Championship games
- 5 years without an ACC Title
Last night might result in being one of Coach's most important victories. I can now firmly see him coaching for another Decade, and most importantly coaching with top level talent.
