Tag: Mike Krzyzewski

Former UNC star Armando Bacot says he wanted Duke to beat NC State in the Elite Eight

In a new episode of the Run Your Race podcast, former Tar Heels star Armando Bacot said he wished Duke had beaten NC State in the Elite Eight.

Who would have thought Duke basketball would find an ally with [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag]?

The five-year North Carolina starter played against the Blue Devils 11 times, including devastating victories in [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag]’s final home and the 2022 Final Four.

However, Bacot revealed on a Tuesday podcast episode that, during Duke’s Elite Eight battle against NC State this year, he was rooting for his bitter rival.

Bacot appeared on the Run Your Race podcast with fellow UNC legend Theo Pinson, and it sounded like both of them disliked the Wolfpack even more than the Blue Devils.

“I wanted Duke to go to the Final Four,” Bacot told Pinson. “They were good enough and like, maybe they beat Purdue, fine, they weren’t beating UConn…It would be remembered at Duke for maybe two-to-three years and after that, like, they didn’t win it all, so be it.”

“But NC State? They never going to let this go.”

Bacot said he blamed the Wolfpack’s Cinderella run on the Blue Devils for losing to NC State in the ACC Tournament.

Bacot also told Pinson in the same episode that he rooted for the Blue Devils growing up, listing Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker as his favorite childhood players.

Coach K shares a fun tidbit about the North Carolina road named in his honor

Coach K mentioned something specific about the long strip of road named in his honor on Friday night, a unique feature of his old commute.

Mike Krzyzewski got gifted the best motivational talking point he could ever imagine.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation revealed a road sign for the newly named ‘Coach K Highway’ on Friday in a ceremony at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The strip of North Carolina Highway 751 was the five-time national champion’s daily commute to campus when he coached the men’s basketball team.

The team shared a short social media clip of Coach K talking about the honor, and the Duke legend called it an honor for his family and the program. He praised Durham and mentioned how his whole family now lives in the city.

He also mentioned something unique about the road now named in his honor, something he noticed back while he still coached the Blue Devils.

“There are no stop signs,” he said with a smile near the end of the video.

No stop signs on Coach K Highway, huh? If that’s not the best slogan in college basketball history, we don’t know what is.

The strip of road that bears his name runs from Kerley Road to Duke University Road.

Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gets ‘Coach K Highway’ named after him

N.C. Department of Transportation officials announced on Friday that a strip of N.C. 751 leading to Duke University would be named after Mike Krzyzewksi.

Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, the five-time national champion, remains the most famous figure in Blue Devils history even two years after his retirement. Now, he’ll guide every Duke student to campus.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials announced on Friday that a strip of North Carolina Highway 751 from Kerley Road to Duke University Road would be named ‘Coach K Highway’ after the coach’s famous nickname.

“This highway sign will mark Coach K’s drive to the Duke campus each day,” Governor Roy Cooper said in a video message played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, according to a report from CBS 17’s Kathryn Hubbard. “And it will no doubt inspire others to travel the road to their kind of greatness.”

The Friday ceremony also included officials presenting Krzyzewski with a green road sign with ‘Coach K Highway’ printed on it, letting the legendary head coach unveil it by pulling the cover off.

The ceremony took place during the same weekend as Krzyzewski’s K Academy, a fantasy basketball camp for Duke fans over the age of 35 to play at the school facilities with present and former players present to coach.

Coach K speaks to Duke softball team ahead of its Super Regionals series

Mike Krzyzewski, the five-time national champion, gave a short speech to the Duke softball team ahead of its best-of-three Super Regional series against Missouri.

The Duke softball team begins a best-of-three series against Missouri on Friday with a spot in the Women’s College World Series on the line.

Earlier this week, legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski stopped by the team locker room to offer some encouragement ahead of the Super Regional.

“Just be you,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re proud of you.”

The Blue Devils have already set a single-season program record with 50 wins, and they won both the ACC regular-season title and the ACC Tournament. They’ve never won a Super Regional game in program history, and Marissa Young’s team is on the precipice of its first WCWS appearance.

“You’ve had really good teams,” Krzyzewski said. “But this is the best team that Duke has had. And this team is deserving of winning a national championship.”

Coach K also joked that he’d make a bet with his wife, conditions yet to be determined, that the Blue Devils score in the first inning of Friday’s opening game.

“She’s going to say, ‘Well, we never do that,'” he continued, the team laughing around him. “And I said, well, we’ve never gone past this round either. So we’re going to start doing some things that we have never done.”

Duke’s first game of the series begins at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Coach K says there isn’t ‘a clear path’ in college athletics and there’s ‘nobody in charge’

Mike Krzyzewski, the five-time national champion, spoke to CBS Sports in a Tuesday article and offered a bleak opinion on college sports.

CBS Sports’ Isabel Gonzalez published an article on Tuesday with former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski offering some thoughts on the college sports landscape, and they contained more pessimism than optimism.

In the wake of name, image, and likeness legislation, the five-time national champion seemed disillusioned by the lack of direction in the NCAA.

“I don’t think there is a clear path of where it’s heading, because so much of it is tied up in lawsuits with the NCAA,” Krzyzewski said. “You do not have a parent organization that really is leading college sports right now.”

The Blue Devils legend praised NIL as a concept and applauded relaxed transfer portal practices, but the execution of the changes left something to be desired for him. He pointed out the lack of legislation around NIL and the sheer volume of transfers as points of potential concern.

“If I knew who was leading and in charge, I think I would be more apt to make some level of prediction,” the Duke legend concluded. “But you or I cannot say who is in charge because there is nobody in charge, which is kind of scary.”

Report: Lakers have been using Mike Krzyzewski as a respected unofficial resource during head coaching search

The Lakers are reportedly leaning on the advice of one of the greatest coaches in basketball history as they look for their next head coach.

Mike Krzyzewski is one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball. He was at the helm of Duke University basketball from 1980 until his retirement in 2022, and during that time, the school made 13 trips to the Final Four while winning five national championships.

He was also the coach of Team USA, and in that capacity, he led it to gold medals in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics while working with legends such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Krzyzewski also served as an assistant coach for the Dream Team that cruised to the gold medal in the 1992 Summer Games.

Therefore, one has to assume he has some very sound judgment when it comes to judging talent, especially coaching talent. Los Angeles Lakers fans have to be encouraged by a recent report in The Athletic that says the team has been leaning on his advice during its coaching search.

Via The Athletic:

“Multiple sources briefed on the matter say one person who has become a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process is ​​legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose deep knowledge for candidates, such as Redick and others, provides a lens into the culture the organization wants and the characteristics of a potential staff around the next head coach,” wrote Shams Charania and Jovan Buha.

This isn’t the first contact the Lakers organization has had with Krzyzewski. In 2004 when Phil Jackson took his one-year sabbatical, the franchise tried to lure Krzyzewski away from Duke to be its head coach, perhaps at the urging of Bryant. The legendary coach decided to remain in the ACC rather than make the jump into the NBA.

Mike Krzyzewski consulting with Los Angeles Lakers in head coaching search

Mike Krzyzewski, the five-time national champion while coaching the Blue Devils, will consult with the Los Angeles Lakers as they look for a new coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the market for a new head coach, and according to a Tuesday report from The Athletic, they’re asking legendary Duke coach [autotag]Mike Krzyzewski[/autotag] to help them narrow it down.

Shams Charania and Jovan Buha teamed up to provide as many updates as they could on the coaching search, and Coach K’s name stood out in the report.

“Multiple sources briefed on the matter say one person who has become a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process is ​​legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski,” the two wrote.

The report said that the organization wants Coach K’s input to help build the culture it desires.

Krzyzewski’s former player, Duke’s all-time leading scorer JJ Redick, seems to be a lead candidate for the position as of Tuesday. However, multiple assistants around the league remain in contention for the position.

Coach K is helping the Lakers find a new coach, which is great news for the JJ Redick candidacy

Do you think Coach K is going to recommend JJ Redick or the other guys?

The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed former head Darvin Ham after two seasons coaching the team and are in the process of finding his replacement.

Following a first-round elimination at the hands of the Nuggets earlier this postseason, it didn’t take long for the organization to make a change at the coaching position. Ham was also on the hot seat following a “disconnect” in the locker room earlier this season.

RELATED: We should’ve known Darvin Ham was cooked as soon as LeBron James decided to podcast with JJ Redick

Now, per Shams Charania, the Lakers are reportedly seeking a coach who will “command the locker room” and “hold players accountable” in Los Angeles.

They will also want a coach who can “tirelessly gameplan” will providing “a level of structure and organization” for the franchise. One of the early leading candidates is reportedly former NBA player JJ Redick, who currently hosts a basketball podcast with LeBron James.

RELATED: 5 candidates to coach the Lakers next season (including JJ Redick!) after firing Darvin Ham

But what is particularly interesting is who else is involved in the hiring process (via The Athletic):

“Multiple sources briefed on the matter say one person who has become a respected unofficial resource for the Lakers during the process is ​​legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose deep knowledge for candidates, such as Redick and others, provides a lens into the culture the organization wants and the characteristics of a potential staff around the next head coach. Krzyzewski’s history with the Lakers goes back to 2004 when Dr. Jerry Buss made a strong yet unsuccessful offer to hire Coach K.”

This is a fascinating meeting of the minds in a crossover episode involving two of the most notable basketball programs ever. But let’s peel this onion back a layer.

If the Lakers are considering Redick, there are few individuals who can speak to his character more than Coach K. He coached Redick while the sharpshooter was at Duke from 2002 until 2006.

Even though Krzyzewski reportedly has connections to “Redick and others” that the Lakers are considering as a replacement for Ham, his connection to Redick is the most meaningful.

Other leading candidates for the job so far, per the most recent reporting, are currently James Borrego and Sam Cassell. Neither attended Duke and neither have coached alongside him or played for him on Team USA.

Perhaps there are other candidates with connections to Coach K that we’ve not heard of yet. But for now, if the finalists are Borrego and Casell as well as Redick, the smart money is on the one that played for Krzyzewski.

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Mike Krzyzewski urges NBA fans comparing Anthony Edwards to Michael Jordan to ‘slow down’

Coach K, the five-time national champion, urged NBA fans to give 22-year-old Anthony Edwards time before the Michael Jordan comparisons take off.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards is doing some incomprehensible things this postseason.

The fourth-year guard averaged 31.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists during a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns before scoring 43 points in an opening win over defending champion Denver and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. At just 22 years old, the burgeoning star had two 40-point games and four 30-point games in his first five postseason performances this season.

Edwards’ play style and flashiness earn him comparisons to six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan. In an interview with CBS Sports on Sunday, however, legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told NBA fans to pace themselves.

“People should just slow down comparisons,” Krzyzewski said. “Jordan is as good as anyone who has ever played…We are in a climate in which people want to give lists and comparisons. When you do it over a period of time is when you show just how great a player you are. I think Anthony Edwards will do that, but let’s give him some time to do it.”

Krzyzewski coached against Jordan back when he played for North Carolina, and the two joined forces on the 1992 Olympic team.

‘We should have been up more’: Coach K reacts to Elite Eight loss to NC State

“We should be up by double digits,” legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said about the Blue Devils’ six-point halftime lead over NC State last Sunday.

When looking back at Duke’s Elite Eight loss to NC State last Sunday, the easy issues to find came in the second half. When talking about the game on Sirius XM earlier this week, legendary Blue Devils Mike Krzyzewski said the problem came earlier than that.

The five-time national champion said the Blue Devils, who took a 27-21 lead into halftime, should have been up by double-digits at the halfway point.

“I felt we should have been up more,” Krzyzewski said.

Coach K pointed out that, while Duke’s 30.8% shooting percentage in the first half reflected the Wolfpack’s defensive prowess, the Blue Devils were still a perfect nine-for-nine from the free-throw line.

“The thing I worried about was (NC State guard DJ) Horne,” he added. “He’s been a hot player and he didn’t hit anything…But then in the second half, they continued to play really good defense and their offense exploded.”

Sure enough, NC State outscored the Blue Devils 55-37 over the final 20 minutes.

“They outplayed us in the second half,” Coach K said simply.