Altman on Coach K: 'I had no problem with what he did'

HOUSTON (AP) - Oregon coach Dana Altman's message to Coach K: No apology necessary.

With a week to digest the dust-up between Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Oregon guard Dillon Brooks, Altman said that, sure, he wished things had gone differently, too. But he was fine with Krzyzewski's dressing down of Brooks after the game.

"I had no problem with what he did," Altman told The Associated Press on Friday. "I've got great respect for him. Dillon had no problem. Dillon's response, 'I'm sorry, coach' - I thought he handled it unbelievably well. That's what I'd want my son to say to an adult he respects."

To review - Oregon had sealed its Sweet 16 victory over the Blue Devils and was dribbling out the clock, but there were 8 seconds more on the game clock than the shot clock. With the players standing around, Altman said, "I yelled at him, 'Just shoot it,' because I didn't think the dang thing was going to go in."

But it did.

Brooks pumped his fist and shouted.

And when the teams were shaking hands after Oregon's 82-68 win, Krzyzewski told Brooks he was too good a player to be showing off like that.

Krzyzewski initially denied that part of the conversation, but with CBS audio confirming that conversation had actually taken place, Krzyzewski reached out to Brooks and Altman to say he was sorry.

Altman said there are no good solutions in a situation like that.

"Is it disrespectful to hand the ball to the guy and stop the clock?" he said. "We've always just thrown the ball at the basket, tried to keep the game going and hit the rim. It went in.

"So, what's your response when you hit a 30-footer?" Altman said, as he shrugged and gave a sheepish grin.

Brooks also got the cold shoulder from Grayson Allen when he tried to shake hands with the Duke guard.

The Ducks were a top seed and came one game short of what would've been Altman's first Final Four and the team's first since the very first one - in 1939. Oregon fell to Oklahoma in the Elite Eight. So, Altman is in Houston for a coaching convention - not to coach on college basketball's biggest stage.

"This is a tough week," he said. "You get that close, and it's a little tougher. It's every kid's dream to go to the Final Four. Coaches dream of it. You get that close and it's a little different, a little tougher."

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AP college basketball website: http://collegebasketball.ap.org

The play: https://youtu.be/Z331-VrWV8c