Today in sports history (1947), Mike Krzyzewski was born in Chicago, Illinois. Coach Krzyzewski, also known as “Coach K,” would go on to be the head basketball coach at Army from 1975-80 and Duke from 1980 through this year. Coach K is one of the most accomplished basketball coaches of all time.
Early Life/Coaching Start for Coach K
Krzyzewski was quite the basketball player himself, growing up in Chicago. Mike Krzyzewski attended college at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He learned from the best and was coached by legendary coach Bob Knight at Army. He was the captain of the basketball team in his senior season. After his graduation, he served as an officer in the United States Army until 1974. He was discharged with the rank of captain after years of service.
Coach K immediately went back to basketball and became an assistant for Bob Knight with the Indiana Hoosiers. After one season, he became the head coach at his alma mater Army. In five seasons with Army, Coach K had one NIT berth and a 73-59 record.
Duke and Team USA Basketball
The accolades that Coach K has picked up while at Duke are nothing short of incredible. Under his direction, the Duke Blue Devils have won five NCAA tournaments, 15 ACC tournaments, 12 ACC regular season titles, and made it to 12 Final Fours. He’s also won a college coach of the year award six times and has been ACC coach of the year five times as well. For all of his achievements, Krzyzewski was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
His success coaching was seen on the international level too. In 2005, Coach K was appointed as head coach of the USA men’s national basketball team. His teams won three Olympic gold medals and amassed a 75-1 record with him as head coach. It is very rare to see any coach amass the resume that Krzyzewski has. With a college record of 1,189-365, even the best of the best coaches can only dream of achieving half of what Coach K has.
With the 2021-22 season being his last as a basketball coach, the game of basketball will not only lose a legendary coach, but a legendary figure as well.
