Tag: Mike Krzyzewski

The entire basketball world paid homage to Coach K ahead of his final home game at Duke

Coach K has impacted basketball in an immeasurable way.

Mike Krzyzewski is so influential in basketball as a sport. It’s not limited to just one section.

It isn’t just the players he’s coached through the years — though, they’re showing up to his final game in droves. It’s not just the NBA players he’s coached through Team USA or the ones that have watched him from afar through the years. It’s not even just the coaches he’s gone up against.

It’s all of them. All of them combined.

He’s touched so many people through this sport of basketball that we all love. And for his final game, so many of them paid tribute to him in one way or another.

Here’s a look at some of the kind words from folks that have shown up through social media.

Here’s a list of every former Duke player showing up to Coach K’s final home game

This list is Coach K’s real legacy at Duke.

Mike Krzyzewski is preparing to coach his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium and, of course, it’ll be against UNC.

This is a special occasion. It marks the end of four decades of straight success from one of the greatest coaches the college basketball world has ever seen.

Through the years, Coach K has touched a number of players both on and off the court. They’ve come through his program, had success, won championships and then some. Some of them have even gone on to become NBA legends.

It’s pretty clear that he’s had a monumental impact on so many of them. There’s proof, too. There are a bunch of them coming back to celebrate him on his final night at home.

So. Many. Names.

Elton Brad, Jay Bilas, Carlos Boozer, Shane Battier, Ryan Kelly, Amile Jefferson, Grant Hill, David and Gerald Henderson. There are so many names here. So many generations of players. So many moments. So much success.

Seeing this list and seeing the love Coach K is still getting from these players is a really cool thing. This is an amazing way to send him off.

Win or lose, this moment will be special.

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Who did Duke choose to replace Mike Krzyzewski after Coach K steps down?

Get to know Jon Scheyer.

As you may know, Mike Krzyzewski is stepping down as Duke’s head coach after 42 years (!) of a legendary run that’s included five national men’s championships.

But if you’re here, you might be wondering: Who’s taking over as the new head coach of the Blue Devils when he retires after this year’s men’s March Madness?

Say hello to Jon Scheyer.

He’s a former Duke star who played for the Blue Devils from 2006 to 2010 and he captained the team that won a national title in his final year.

After playing hoops overseas, Krzyzewski hired him in 2013 to join the coaching staff and became a full assistant soon after. He filled in as head coach against BC when Coach K had to quarantine in 2021 and Duke won.

Like everyone, he was getting ready for the legendary coach’s final game at Cameron Indoor.

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Notre Dame to finish regular season with senior day against Pittsburgh

The Irish have a few things at stake in their home finale.

Notre Dame has seven players who will earn degrees when they graduate in May. No program in college basketball has more players who are about to graduate. They all will be honored for senior day at Purcell Pavilion after they enter the building as Notre Dame players for the final time. Once the pageantry concludes, they will try and help their team defeat Pittsburgh in a crucial game.

It’s been a while since the Irish celebrated a senior day with a lot at stake, but that’s exactly what’s happening. A win not only would give the program a record 15 conference victories, but it also would clinch the second seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. A loss would mean having to wait for the outcome of the game between Duke and North Carolina, Mike Krzyzewski’s last at Cameron Indoor Stadium. A Tar Heels win after an Irish loss would give the Irish the third seed, but no worse than that.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Jay Bilas shared a wholesome recruiting memory about early Coach K at Duke

It doesn’t get more personal than a letter to mom.

Enjoy a legendary career like Mike Krzyzewski, and you’re bound to have made more than a few friends along the way. Most will probably remember Krzyzewski for turning Duke into a national powerhouse practically synonymous with men’s college basketball. But coach 42 years, and you’re going to have a lot more of an impact than wins on the court. You’re going to touch many lives of gifted young men and give them a mentor and friend for life.

With Krzyzewski’s Duke home finale this Saturday, many will undoubtedly take to social media to share their love for the coach, and the man. One of his first players from one of his first recruiting classes in 1982 — ESPN’s Jay Bilas — had a touching sentiment he couldn’t help but relay to the masses:

The personalized recruiting letter a 33-year-old Coach K sent to Bilas’ mother.

That version of Coach K isn’t something we see as often now that Duke is regularly on a national stage. There’s only so much you can say about a story and person everyone already understands inside and out. But if there’s any landmark item that demonstrates why Krzyzewski became a legend, it’s this cursive, handwritten missive sent to a player’s mom.

To some, it’s just basketball. To Coach K, it was always basketball and people.

Virginia’s Tony Bennett honors Mike Krzyzewski in classy pregame moment

What a heartwarming moment.

Wednesday night’s trip to Charlottesville was Duke men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game in John Paul Jones Arena. With the stands packed with orange-clad fans, Virginia’s Tony Bennett took to the microphone at mid-court prior to the national anthem and lineups to thank Coach K for his contributions to the game, the conference and wish him well in retirement.

Bennett also presented him with a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

The long-time coach hasn’t gotten a warm welcome at every stop, notably receiving boos and some choice swear words in his final game at rival UNC.

This is the final season for Krzyzewski after over 40 years with the Blue Devils, and his No. 7 Duke squad is trying to send him out with his sixth NCAA title.

What a wonderfully classy moment!

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And yet, on one particular ride to a …

And yet, on one particular ride to a scheduled shootaround, coaches heard James complaining that he didn’t find the session necessary. There had already been a moment in practice when James turned his back on Krzyzewski as the coach was addressing him. Coach K would later reveal to interviewer Graham Bensinger that he firmly told LeBron, “Look at me. We need to have eye-to-eye contact.” Now James was griping audibly on the bus.

“If you lose LeBron, you lose the whole …

“If you lose LeBron, you lose the whole enterprise,” one Team USA staffer remembers thinking. “You can’t have LeBron doing that. They get off the bus and Coach K pulls him aside immediately and says, ‘Look, you have to trust that I’ll never ask you to do something I don’t feel is important. . . . You have to trust that we’re doing this for the right reasons.’ . . . That’s probably the first time LeBron James has been talked to that way.”

McMillan maintains that Krzyzewski was …

McMillan maintains that Krzyzewski was never intimidated by the NBA players because he “was a star in his own right. He had an ego, too.” Still, Krzyzewski knew that he couldn’t berate the pros as he would his Blue Devils on scholarship—not that they gave him much reason to. Boeheim, who joined Krzyzewski on the U.S. staff, says that only one player was ever late for a Coach K practice or meeting: Wade, by five minutes. “Mike just called him out, and Dwyane said it would never happen again,” Boeheim recalls. “And it never happened again.”