By Hagan
While many people argue over who the greatest basketball coach ever is, it’s hard to compete with the resume of Mike Krzyzewski. 13-time ACC champion, 5-time NCAA champion, 4-time Olympic gold medal winner, three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year, along with many other accomplishments. He is simply, by the numbers, the greatest basketball coach ever. Although he is the winningest coach in the NCAA today, Krzyzewski’s impact can be measured in a lot more ways than just the stats. His ability to unify great players, coach at every level, and maintain composure in high-pressure situations are just some of the many ways Krzyzewski sets himself apart from his peers.
Creating Winning Teams:
Everyone in the college basketball world loves to make yearly predictions on which teams will go far by judging incoming recruiting classes. The casual fan often picks the most star-studded class of incoming players to dominate the tournament, but these predictions often don’t hold true. Anyone familiar with the game of basketball knows how crucial chemistry is to a team’s success. And that just because you have the best players, doesn’t mean they will play well together. This is one of the ways Krzyzewski sets himself apart from other coaches. His program at Duke University, deemed “The Brotherhood”, simply gets kids to buy into their system. Krzyzewski is masterful at getting top recruits to win together. Rarely will you ever see a Duke team rely on one player because they all buy into the system. When asked about Coach K’s success, former player Carlos Boozer said, “Coach was one of those dudes that was able to bring talent from all over the country and put them on one team and get us to play well together, which isn’t easy to do.” Anecdotes like these are common in the history of Duke basketball, again justifying his ability to create winning teams.
Multi-Level Coaching:
Having coaching success at the college level is one thing but being able to maintain that success with professional players on the international stage is even more impressive. K’s four Olympic gold medals speak to this ability. Garnering the respect of players like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant is no small task, but Krzyzewski was able to accomplish it during his time with Team USA. Coaching at a stage as large as the Olympics and being able to do so with extreme rates of success is yet another example of Coach K’s unparalleled impact on the game of basketball.
Cool, Calm, and Collected:
Any college basketball fan can tell you about the emotions associated with a rivalry game. Student sections packed with pure adrenaline, locker rooms filled with butterflies, and stadiums full of anticipation. The melting pot of emotion that is a college rivalry game is nothing short of intimidating. Programs as good as Duke experience these environments regularly, whether it’s a road game at Carolina or a Final Four matchup. No matter how many times you experience it, it doesn’t make it easy, which is why the leadership from a good coach is so crucial. Duke teams are consistently praised for their composure, they exhibit precise shot-making in situations where there is no room for error, and they win a lot as a result. The backbone of having this ability is the coach. Whether Krzyzewski is drawing up a play or just pulling a player aside to talk to them, it is he who keeps his own emotions and his team’s in check. Seldom will you ever see Coach K lose his cool, unlike many other high-level coaches. The skill and experience K has in high-pressure situations will be another key part of his remembered legacy.
Legacy of Success
Sure, the unsurpassed, incomparable statistical achievements of Coach K are wildly impressive, but it’s important to understand where the statistics come from. Coach K has a legacy that goes beyond wins and losses, an impact on players that goes beyond national championships. Coach K is the greatest basketball coach ever because of the person he is and the passion he has for the game of basketball, not just the numbers in the record book.
