Mike Krzyzewski
Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William Krzyzewskiis an American college basketball coach and former player. Since 1980, he has served as the head men's basketball coach at Duke University. At Duke, Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to five NCAA Championships, 12 Final Fours, 12 ACC regular season titles, and 13 ACC Tournament championships. Krzyzewski is also the coach of the United States men's national basketball team, whom he led to two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. He...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth13 February 1947
CityChicago, IL
CountryUnited States of America
They're both great scorers. I think some collegiate players going into this type of situation would be a little bit intimidated. I don't think either one of these guys will. They more define the specialist role.
Giving back what the game has given you, that's one of the things I want to permeate through the program for the next three years and serve as a basis for the team, ... I hope the players look at it that way, too. You forget how lucky you are to be in a specific situation sometimes. We need to get that feeling going again.
I think coaching is confused at times as being an arrow that only goes to a player. Those players send arrows back to you, and that's where a relationship is developed. I don't make a player, and a player doesn't make me a coach. We make each other.
Therefore, as a player, as a coach, even though we might have lost in a season or not won a championship, it was like a self-fulfilling prophecy that I'm going to win some time. I've never felt myself a loser.
Players' attention spans get less and less as they progress.
Throughout the season, I look into my players eyes to gauge feelings, confidence levels, and to establish instant trust.
For a college basketball player or coach, to reach the Final Four is la-la land. You've achieved, you've got your stamp of approval. My first team to do that was in 1986. Then we did it in '88, '89 and '90.
Footwork is one of the primary prerequisites to becoming a great player
A leader may be the most knowledgeable person in the world, but if the players on his team cannot translate that knowledge into action, it means nothing.
I'm looking for players who make their teammates better. You do that with enthusiasm and passion.
We weren't ever a dominant team. We knew that. So things had to go right for us to win.
I've always said that you want to end the season where you're cutting down the nets or you're crying in your locker room. And our kids were all crying in our locker room.
We were never a dominant team. We knew that, and things would have to go right for us to win.
Usually when you play bad, somebody makes you look bad and we didn't respond very well.