It used to be the norm for top college basketball players to spend four years in college-especially at Duke. Unlike some other coaches of his era, Coach K is now thriving in a sport that barely resembles the one in which he started. He’s been able to achieve these records thanks to his longevity, with 42 seasons at Duke. If he makes a 13th Final Four, he’ll break a tie with John Wooden-one last record on his way out the door. He has 1,200 Division I coaching wins, 101 more than anyone else in history, with five national titles and 12 Final Four appearances. It’s defined by the moments nobody can pay to see: his legendary all-night film sessions, his infamous motivational tactics, his ability to make players understand that he loves them even if he’ll be a jerk to them at times-all things captured in Wright Thompson’s massive profile of the retiring coach for ESPN.Īnd Krzyzewski’s success is undeniable. Of course, Coach K’s greatness isn’t defined by how entertaining he is to watch. (My surprise champion: Clemson’s Brad Brownell.) Krzyzewski doesn’t gesticulate wildly or scream at the referees he generally expresses his emotions through the intensity of his scowl.
#Dukes head basketball coach crack
I made a personal power ranking of the ACC coaches who were the most entertaining to watch, and Coach K didn’t crack my top 10. While covering the ACC men’s basketball tournament at the Barclays Center, I got an up-close look at what people had paid so many thousands of dollars to see: Krzyzewski coaching in action. The Blue Devils team watched it unfold from courtside seats-hopefully it wasn’t a distraction. And after Duke’s 94-81 loss, the program held a lengthy ceremony for the coach, who already has the court named in his honor. The game was one of the most expensive tickets in basketball history, with fans paying a minimum of $4,000 to get into the arena on game day-some Super Bowl tickets were less expensive. On March 5, ESPN programmed its entire day of college basketball coverage around the last planned showdown between Krzyzewski’s Duke and North Carolina, which was the most-watched college hoops broadcast on the network in three seasons. (North Carolina, notably, did not-the rivalry is as it should be.)Īnd then there was Coach K’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Almost every team Duke played against this season put together some sort of pregame tribute for Krzyzewski. The media will not stop talking about Coach K. If Duke’s players are able to successfully avoid thinking about Krzyzewski’s departure and the frenzy it has caused, they can do something that virtually everybody else in the college basketball universe cannot. “They only get it once, I’ve had it numerous times.” “It’s their season,” he said after the Blue Devils’ win over Miami in the semifinal. The legendary head coach jumps in to reiterate this every single time those players are asked questions about it-which happened in each press conference after a Duke game at the ACC men’s basketball tournament in Brooklyn earlier this month. Mike Krzyzewski says he doesn’t want the story of his retirement to be a distraction for Duke’s basketball players.
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