Mike Krzyzewski has served as the head coach of the men’s basketball team Duke Blue Devils since 1980 as well as being the head coach for the United States men’s national basketball team since 2006, but it is not his career win-loss record (72.6%) that only shows his success, it is the superstar college and NBA players that have come out of Duke as well as the system and program he has created in Durham, North Carolina.

With a last name more difficult to say than the catches dropped by the New England Patriot receivers in the Super Bowl earlier this week, Krzyzewski (or Coach K) has set countless records, recruited and developed young high school and college stars across the nation, and always re-invigorated Duke basketball making it one of the most successful basketball College’s in the country.

Going through Coach K’s accomplishments is endless but here a few of the most impressive; 4 NCAA Tournament Championships, 11 Regional Championships, 13 ACC Tournament Championships, 12 ACC Regular Season Championships, 2 Basketball Times National Coach of the Year, 3 Naismith College Coach of the Year, 5 ACC Coach of the Year, and a Gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The success of Coach K is beyond believable, each year he is creating history (last year he won his 900th game and also set the record for most Division 1 wins) and each year he has to deal with one, two or three of his star players being drafted into the NBA. As of 2007 the Duke Blue Devils have had at least 49 players appear on an NBA roster and currently have 17 playing in the NBA. Stars such as Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, Chris Duhon, Grant Hill, Corey Maggette, J. J. Redick and Kyrie Irving have all carved paths in the NBA being regular performers, NBA stars, franchise players and excellent bit-time players. A recent article by The Wall Street Journal collected data that showed former Duke basketball athletes have earned more $809 million so far playing basketball professionally. Led by Grant Hill ($134) and Elton Brand ($126), Duke is second (behind only UNC) in history in this statistic.

Duke Blue Devils have become one of the premium basketball college’s in the country with young stars identifying Coach K and the Duke system as one that can get the best out of them and help them achieve their dreams. As such and due to this reputation, Coach K has been given the opportunity to coach in the NBA five times with the largest offer coming from the L.A Lakers in 2004 for five years and $40 million. Coach K has turned down each offer and has remained at Duke, who have honoured Krzyzewski by naming the floor at its basketball venue “Coach K Court” and the grassy area outside of the arena Krzyzewskiville or “K-Ville”. Tickets to Duke games are largely competitive and difficult to come by especially to students who at times camp-out for up to a week before ticketing opens for a chance to see some of the bigger rivalries at Duke.

For mad basketball fans or sport enthusiasts tune in tomorrow (Thursday 9th in Australia or Wednesday 8th in USA) to ESPN as UNC hosts Duke which is 5th versus 9th ranked teams in the country. As one of the biggest rivalries occurs in college basketball it is unclear who the winner will be, but it is clear that Coach K will continue competing, developing players, re-invigorating his basketball program and breaking more and more records along the way.

AB

Image courtesy  of NCAA