staff - Duke University Athletics

Mike Krzyzewski
Winning seasons, superb graduation rates
for his players and a basketball team that is as
close as family are all attributes that reflect on
the man who is now in his 30th year as the head
coach of the Blue Devils, Mike Krzyzewski.
Although some still stumble with pronouncing
and spelling his name, when people speak
of the highest level of success in the college
basketball world, the name Krzyzewski (Shashef-skee)
immediately comes to mind.
In 29 years at Duke, Krzyzewski, a Hall of
Fame coach and 12-time National Coach of the
Year, has built a dynasty that few programs in
the history of the game can match.
The numbers under Coach K are staggering:
· Three National Championships (1991, 1992, 2001)
· 12 National Coach of the Year honors (eight seasons)
· Seven National Players of the Year (nine honors)
· Six National Defensive Players of the Year (nine honors)
· 25 NCAA Tournament bids
· 21 All-America selections (35 honors)
· 10 Final Four appearances (third all-time)
· 11 ACC regular season championships
· 11 ACC Tournament championships
· 760 total victories (296 ACC wins)
· 429 weeks ranked among the nation’s top 25 teams
· 367 weeks ranked among the nation’s top 10 teams
· 93 weeks ranked No. 1 in the country
· 71 NCAA Tournament victories (first all-time)
· 40 NBA Draft selections, including 21 in the first round
· 15 NBA Lottery picks
Entering the 2009-10 season, Coach K owns an 833-274 career record
in 34 years of coaching while attaining a 760-215 mark in 29 seasons in
Durham.
Krzyzewski’s record as Duke’s all-time winningest coach offers evidence
of his success, but even more impressive are the three national championships,
including back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992 that make him one of
only two coaches since UCLA’s John Wooden with such an accomplishment.
In 2005-06, Krzyzewski passed Wooden to move into first on the chart of
coaches who have led their respective schools to a No. 1 national ranking.
Coach K has now led Duke to the top spot in the AP poll in 14 seasons,
including nine of the last 12 years.
He and the Blue Devils have been a fixture on the national basketball
scene with 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1996-2009 and 25
in the past 26 years. Overall, he has taken his program to postseason play
in 26 of his 29 years at Duke and is the winningest active coach in NCAA
Tournament play with a stunning 71-22 record for a .763 winning percentage.
On March 20, 2005, Krzyzewski surpassed Dean Smith’s career tournament
win total of 65 with a 63-55 triumph over Mississippi State in the second
round of the NCAA Tournament.
To top off an incredible year in 2001, after Duke won its third national
championship, Krzyzewski was named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
class along with Temple’s John Chaney and former NBA star Moses Malone.
The induction ceremony was held in Springfield, Mass., on October 5, 2001.
In typical Coach K fashion, he was adamant in sharing the honor with those
around him.
“I hope that all of those youngsters who have played for me and the
people who have worked with me will share in this honor,” he said. “My mom
always told me to associate myself with great people and great institutions.
I’ve tried to do that at the United States Military Academy and at Duke
University, two of the great institutions in the world. As a result, I’ve been
around some amazing people.
“I never thought I’d be worthy enough to be in the Basketball Hall of
Fame. It’s not anything you set out trying to achieve. Basically, you go about
your business and try to be as good as you can be all the time. Again, I get
back to coaching great players and being with great assistants. They bring
out the best in you.”
Duke Highlights
Success stories do not just happen overnight. They take time, and the
latest chapter in Duke basketball is no exception. Krzyzewski inherited a
Duke squad in 1980-81 with a thin talent base outside of All-America Gene
Banks, Kenny Dennard and Vince Taylor. The squad hustled its way to a bid
in the NIT, but it was obvious that the recruiting trail was Krzyzewski’s only
answer if the team was to succeed in the long run.
He landed a recruiting class in 1982 made up of Johnny Dawkins, Mark
Alarie, David Henderson, Jay Bilas and Weldon Williams. It was rated one of
the nation’s best and put Duke on the map to stay.
Joining that powerful group was guard Tommy Amaker in 1983. Duke
won 24 games with that nucleus in 1984 and earned the first NCAA bid under
Coach K.
With the class of Dawkins, Alarie and company now seniors, the 1986
Duke Blue Devils won an NCAA-record 37 games while claiming Big Apple
NIT, ACC regular season, ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regional titles.
They established a school record with a 21-game winning streak during the
year (that has since been broken), were undefeated at home, advanced to
the NCAA Championship game in Dallas and played more games (40) than
any other team in college basketball history.
With the loss of the five seniors, many expected Duke to drop considerably
in 1987, but not Krzyzewski. The team won 24 games and advanced
to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national
champion Indiana. Amaker ended his career as the National Defensive Player
of the Year, closing out a season that Coach K looks back on as the one that
demonstrated the winning consistency of the program.
The 1987-88 campaign began Duke’s amazing streak of five straight
NCAA Final Four appearances as the Blue Devils won 28 games, again
swept to the ACC title, won another East Regional championship and found
themselves in Kansas City. Senior Billy King followed Amaker by winning
the second straight National Defensive Player of the Year award by a Blue
Devil.
The role of leadership again fell to the senior class in 1988-89. This time,
it was the National Player of the Year Danny Ferry, Quin Snyder and John
Smith taking the reins. They guided the team to another trip to the NCAA
Final Four with a win over heavily favored Georgetown in the East Regional
final.
In 1989-90, seniors Alaa Abdelnaby, Robert Brickey and Phil Henderson
led the way to the Final Four with a 29-9 record, landing just one game shy
of the title in Denver. The group won its third consecutive East Regional
championship with an overtime triumph over top-seeded Connecticut.
Then came 1990-91, a season that forever changed the face of basketball
at Duke. After the 30-point loss to UNLV in the 1990 final, Krzyzewski’s team
was determined to avenge the loss. The Blue Devils won the regular season
ACC title and posted four consecutive lopsided victories in the Midwest Region
for yet another trip to the Final Four.
In the semifinals, Duke got another shot at the Runnin’ Rebels, who
were undefeated, and this time Coach K masterfully led the Blue Devils to
a 79-77 victory to earn a matchup with Kansas for the title. Duke’s crowning
glory came on April 1, 1991, with a 72-65 victory over the Jayhawks
as Christian Laettner earned MVP honors in Duke’s first national basketball
championship.
In 1992, the stage was set for an unprecedented chapter in college
basketball history and Coach K and his squad were up to the task. Behind
National Player of the Year Christian Laettner and fellow All-Americas Bobby
Hurley and Grant Hill, the Blue Devils rolled to a 34-2 record and held the
No. 1 ranking from start to finish (18 polls). Duke won its second consecutive
NCAA crown with a 71-51 victory over Michigan. Along the way, the Blue
Devils captured their fifth consecutive regional championship, won the ACC
regular season and tournament titles and equaled the school record to that
point for ACC victories with 14.
In 1993-94, the Blue Devils and Coach K were back knocking at the
door of another national championship. Duke piled up a 28-6 overall record,
won the ACC regular season championship, was ranked from start to finish
in the nation’s top 10, captured the Southeast Regional title with an upset
win over top-seeded Purdue and advanced to the national championship
game before bowing to Arkansas, 76-72, in Charlotte.
The Blue Devils finished the 1998-99 campaign equaling the NCAA
record for most wins with 37, winning the NCAA East Regional title, winning
the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1992, recording the first 16-0
record in the ACC regular season, securing a school-record 32-game winning
streak during the year and wrapping it all up as the NCAA runner-ups. Elton
Brand was the consensus National Player of the Year, Shane Battier was the
NABC National Defensive Player of the Year and Trajan Langdon was a first
team All-America for Duke.
In 1999-2000, Duke finished with a 29-5 record, its fourth consecutive
outright ACC regular season championship with a 15-1 record, its second
consecutive ACC Tournament title and the final regular season No. 1 ranking
in both major polls. Senior Chris Carrawell and junior Shane Battier were
named consensus All-Americas and Battier earned his second consecutive
National Defensive Player of the Year award. The Blue Devils accomplished
this despite losing four starters from their 37-2 squad that advanced to the
national championship game in 1999. Duke also had seven freshmen, the
most on a Blue Devil team in school history, on its roster.
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