113. Duke University has taken stock: no less than 113 NBA players have passed through the hands of Mike Krzyzewski, both through the establishment of North Carolina and through the “Team USA” groups.
In a few weeks, the legendary Coach K will be retired, but his legacy in the college championship, the big leagues and American basketball in general will live on for years.
« He has a small army of people who work in basketball who believe in his values and what he considered important.”asks Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, point guard for Mike Krzyzewski’s first two NCAA champion teams in 1991 and 1992. “Whether they coached or played with him, they will have incredible experiences and memories of what he did that they can learn from. »
When the former Kings point guard talks about ” small army he is aiming right. The list of NBA players passed by Duke, since the beginning of the coach’s era in… 1980, is quite simply impressive.
They are a good sixty to have been drafted after Duke, including some young stars of today (Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett …) and retired players with very good careers (Grant Hill , Elton Brand, Christian Laettner, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Shane Battier…).
The best in modern basketball?
There are also a few former Blue Devils who occupy a place behind the scenes or on a bench, like Quin Snyder, the Jazz coach, or Trajan Langdon, the GM of the Pelicans. Which makes Bobby Hurley say that ” his legacy will continue to reverberate through the people he impacted in life, and I am certainly one of those people. »
Mike Krzyzewski is still 1,196 victories with Duke, the highest total in the history of college basketball, and five NCAA championship titles (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015), the second best record behind John Wooden (UCLA). Not to mention a long term as Team USA coach from 2005 to 2016, for three Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016) and two world championship titles (2010, 2014).
In short, a longevity and a track record that will not be equaled anytime soon. ” He is the best to have done that in the world of modern basketball.considers Jim Boeheim, the coach of Syracuse. “John Wooden has won 10 titles, there is nothing to complain about. But the world has since changed. There have been a lot of great coaches, but no one is up to what Mike has done. His “army” is there to remind him.
