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Jul 05 2009

Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski History

Posted by admin in acc, coach k, duke blue devils, tags: Army Basketball, Coach K History, Duke Basketball Coaches, Duke Blue Devils Basketball, Duke Blue Devils Basketball Coaches, Mike Krzyzewski, Mike Krzyzewski Coaching History, West Point Basketball

Rarely do basketball coaches reach the status where they can be recognized by just a nickname or an initial. But Mike Krzyzewski, through his many accomplishments has certainly reached that stage. If you would walk up to most sports fans and ask the question “Who is Coach K?” the majority could give you the answer without hesitating. With that said, lets proceed to take a brief look at how this legendary coach has achieved almost rock star status.

Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski History – The Beginning

Coach K was born in Chicago Illinois on February 13, 1947. Now it will only be mentioned once, yes, he was the son of Polish immigrants, and no, I’m not going to keep spelling his name. Ok? He attended Weber High School in Chicago and went on to graduate with enough honors to be accepted at West Point in 1968. It was here that Coach K would first be exposed to his mentor, and eventually life long friend, Bobby Knight. During his stay at West Point, Coach K played point guard and shooting guard and was captain of the 1969 Army team that made a post season appearance in the NIT Tournament. Following his graduation from West Point, Coach K served in the Army until he retired from active duty in 1974. His first coaching job was as an assistant under then Indiana head coach Bobby Knight. After serving with Knight for one season, he was reunited with West Point as the head basketball coach in 1975.

Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski History – The West Point Years

It’s no secret that Coach K didn’t have what could be called a stellar career at West Point. But what you also have to remember is that he didn’t get to recruit his players either. It was during his tenure here that Coach K learned how to utilize his talent to the best of their abilities, a trait that would serve him well in the not so distant future. Although most of his seasons were only slightly better than mediocre, Coach K took his Army team of 1977-78 to the NIT Tournament in Madison Square Garden. His final stats as head coach for West Point show a respectable 73 – 59 for a .553 winning percentage. Certainly not the records of legends, but the best, as we all know by now, was yet to come.

Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski History – The Legend Begins

In case you didn’t know, Coach K didn’t instantly turn the Duke Blue Devils into the elite team that they are today. Granted, in his first year he ended up with a 17-13 record and made an appearance in the NIT tournament, but it wasn’t until the season of 1983-84 did the magic first start to appear. It was this season that Coach K finally got a taste of the NCA tournament and from then on, as the old saying goes, the rest has been basketball history. To list all of Coach K’s accomplishment would take more than the allotted space of this article, but lets take a look at just a few of the many highlights shall we? Coach K is the winningest active coach in the NCAA with over 833 victories. He has coached Duke to 3 National titles and his teams have become synonymous with post season play for the last 25 years. And let’s not forget to mention that in his spare time he coached The USA Men’s basketball squad to a gold medal in 2008. The nice thing about Coach K’s career is that it’s far from over and this saga of greatness still has many chapters left.

Refs:

http://www.coachk.com/duke-basketball.php

http://www.zimbio.com/Duke+Blue+Devils+Basketball/notes/1/History+Duke+Blue+Devils+Basketball

http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/bhof-mike-krzyzewski.html

http://collegebasketball.about.com/od/coaches/p/krzyzewski.htm