A Look at the Coaching Career of Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski

Widely considered one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history, Mike Krzyzewski announced in June that the 2021-22 season would be his last. In a 41-year run as the head men’s basketball coach at Duke University, Coach K has led the Blue Devils to 5 NCAA championships, 12 Final Four appearances, 15 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament titles, and 12 ACC regular season championships. Krzyzewski was the first Division I men’s basketball coach to reach 1,000 wins, and his 1,170 career wins entering the 2021-22 season is the all-time record among college basketball coaches, regardless of divisions.

Though the Blue Devils struggled last season, the news of Coach K’s retirement came as a surprise. During a pandemic-ravaged 2020-21 season, Duke struggled, failing to make the NCAA tournament (the 2019-20 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic) for the first time since the 1994-95 season, which saw Krzyzewski leave the team after 12 games due to his recovery from back surgery. Jon Scheyer, who played for Coach K at Duke and is currently a Blue Devils assistant coach, was named head coach-in-waiting and will succeed Krzyzewski when he retires.

As the final chapter of his career plays out, the impact Krzyzewski has left on college basketball will extend beyond Cameron Indoor Stadium and the championship banners that hang in its rafters: from his coaching tree, the numerous great players that have suited up for the Blue Devils, and, of course perhaps the feature most synonymous with Duke basketball — the (in)famous Cameron Crazies.

During his five decades at Duke, Coach K has adapted to numerous changes in the college basketball landscape, maintaining a nearly unequaled level of sustained success as college basketball has shifted from rosters composed largely of four-year players to the current one-and-done era. His ability to change with the times is one of the main reasons for his success.

As Krzyzewski enters his 42nd season in Durham, his final Duke team looks to bounce back from a tough 2020-21 season that ended abruptly when a positive COVID-19 test forced the Blue Devils to drop out of the ACC tournament, ending Duke’s NCAA tournament hopes.

The Blue Devils are set to open the 2021-22 season among the preseason favorites to appear in the Final Four (which would be a record 13th for Coach K), and win a sixth national championship under Krzyzewski.

As his final season gets underway, here is a look back at the coaching career of Mike Krzyzewski.

 

 

Mike Krzyzewski Biography

Mike Krzyzewski was born in 1947 in Chicago to Polish American parents. Krzyzewski attended Catholic schools growing up, and was a star basketball player at the city’s Archbishop Weber High School.

Krzyzewski went on to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. In his senior season, Krzyzewski was team captain, leading the Cadets to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), where they finished fourth. After graduation, Krzyzewski fulfilled his five-year service obligation, and was discharged from active duty in 1974 with the rank of captain. In 2005, Krzyzewski was honored with West Point’s Distinguished Graduate Award.

Krzyzewski and his wife Mickie were married on his graduation day from West Point in 1969. They have three daughters and 10 grandchildren, one of whom, Michael Savarino, is currently a walk-on player at Duke. Two of his daughters are also members of the Duke University athletic department, one of whom is in a support role with the basketball team.

Off the court, Coach K is a sought-after public speaker, and has also written eight books (on topics ranging from coaching to leadership to life lessons). His income from Nike (which is the primary sponsor of Duke athletics), speaking engagements, and other sources annually place Krzyzewski among the highest-paid college basketball coaches.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps the most challenging period of his coaching career was the 1994-95 season.

Krzyzewski had surgery shortly before the season began to repair a ruptured disk in his back, and insisted on returning to coach. But just 12 games into the season, the pain had become so debilitating that Krzyzewski was forced to take a leave of absence. Longtime assistant coach Pete Gaudet was named interim coach for the remainder of the season, and the Blue Devils struggled to a 13-18 season, the last time Duke missed the NCAA tournament (when it was held) until the 2020-21 season.

Mike Krzyzewski Career Highlights and Accomplishments

In addition to his hugely successful tenure at Duke — among men’s college basketball coaches, only legendary UCLA coach John Wooden (with 10) has won more national championships than Mike Krzyzewski — Coach K was also head coach of the U.S. men’s national basketball team, leading a Team USA composed of NBA stars to gold medals at the 2008 (the famous Redeem Team), 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Krzyzewski has been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.

Prior to his arrival at Duke in 1980, Krzyzewski was the head coach at his alma mater, Army, where in five seasons, he guided the Cadets to a 73-59 record and an NIT appearance. Krzyzewski played at West Point under coach Bob Knight, and after completing his military service, began his coaching career as an assistant coach under Knight at Indiana University for the 1974-75 season, before departing for his first job as a head coach at Army after the season.

After his successful stint at Army, Krzyzewski succeeded Bill Foster as Duke head coach. Foster, who had a successful tenure with the Blue Devils that included two ACC Tournament titles and an appearance in the NCAA championship game, left Duke to become the head coach at the University of South Carolina.

Building on the foundation laid by predecessor, Coach K leveled up, turning Duke into one of the premier programs in college basketball. The Blue Devils became one of the sport’s blue blood programs, appearing in 35 NCAA tournaments (including a streak of 24 consecutive seasons from 1996 to 2019), winning 5 NCAA titles and advancing to 12 Final Fours (tied with Wooden for the most all-time). Coach K’s 9 championship game appearances, 21 Final Four games, and 14 Final Four wins are all second all-time.

Coach K has won national titles in three decades, winning championships in the 1990-91, 1991-92, 2000-01, 2009-10, 2014-15 seasons. At the conference level, the Blue Devils have won 15 ACC Tournament championships and 12 ACC regular season titles.

Individually, in addition to his Hall of Fame inductions, Krzyzewski is a three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year winner and a five-time ACC Coach of the Year.

Even with a career that spans 46 years, a quartet of history-making wins manage to stand out:

• On November 15th, 2011, Krzyzewski won his 903rd game, passing his former coach and mentor, Bob Knight, to become the all-time winningest head coach in men’s Division I college basketball.
• On January 25th, 2015, Duke defeated St. John’s at Madison Square Garden, making Coach K the first men’s Division I head coach to reach 1,000 career wins.
• On March 17th, 2018, Krzyzewski passed legendary Tennessee women’s head coach Pat Summitt to become the all-time wins leader in Division I, male or female.
• On February 16th, 2019, Krzyzewski became the winningest coach in college basketball history, across all divisions (men’s and women’s), with a Duke victory over North Carolina State.

The level of success Krzyzewski has demonstrated has long made Coach K a coveted candidate for numerous NBA coaching jobs over the years. Coach K has reportedly turned down at least five high-profile overtures by NBA franchises, including a blockbuster offer from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004, though he ultimately decided to remain at Duke.

Those credentials were further burnished after he was appointed head coach of the men’s national team by USA Basketball, when Krzyzewski guided rosters filled with NBA players to gold medals at three successive Olympics. (Krzyzewski also was an assistant coach on the 1984 gold medal-winning team and with the Dream Team in 1992). He also guided Team USA to FIBA World Cup titles in 2010 and 2014.

Facing that kind of legacy, new Duke coach Jon Scheyer undoubtedly understands the challenge of replacing his legendary mentor (as does Hubert Davis, the new head coach at archrival North Carolina).

Early indications are that the transition has been smooth so far, and that Scheyer is among the best recruiters in college basketball (his first recruiting class for next season is currently ranked No. 1 in the country). Still, it’s impossible to know what to expect from the new era of Duke basketball until Scheyer is in the hot seat.