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
That's the best team we've played. They know what they're doing and they do it well. It's a big win for us.
Actually, the Kentucky moment was better than winning the two National Championships, because it was the epitome of what I try to get from a team in a crisis situation.
I always won in my imagination. I always hit the game-winning shot, or I hit the free throw. Or if I missed, there was a lane violation, and I was given another one.
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.
I believe a big part of leadership is about winning the moment.
If you win a National Championship, or you win two, people think you have not only seen the Holy Grail, but you've embraced it. Basically, I do what a lot of people do, but I've been able to win.
Once you win a National Championship, how do you do that again? How do you get the passion to do that again? We won it again right away, the next year. A lot of it had to do with the fact that I didn't give myself an opportunity to enjoy the first one.
When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance.
If the only reason I coached was to win basketball games, my life would be pretty shallow
It's not like we have not had close games. We've just been able to win them, and as a result, the reality sometimes doesn't set in that you're weak in certain areas or you're not doing certain things well. ... When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance.
Courage gives a leader the ability to stand straight and not sway, no matter which way the wind blows.
Everybody wants to take responsibility when you win, but when you fail, all these fingers are pointing.
Don't worry about losing. Think about winning.
That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.