We were very sorry to learn Tuesday evening that former Duke assistant coach Lou Goetz has died of cancer.
Goetz was a Bill Foster assistant and was a key part of Duke’s resurgence in the 1970’s. Foster was a great coach but he was distant and often tense. Goetz was a much warmer personality. He was a very approachable guy. You could never prove this, but we think that if he had stayed in 1979, Duke would have managed the expectations of being pre-season #1 much better.
He didn't stay of course. A hot young assistant, he got his own program at 32 when Richmond hired him.