Special K: Celestial Coach Krzyzewski Went Where No Man Has Gone Before

At his introductory press conference 42 years ago, Mike Krzyzewski was an unfamiliar commodity who had to spell his 10-letter last name to the press covering Duke. Nearing the end of his subsequent illustrious career, those letters commence the following 10 subheads spelling the feature subject's last name -- K, R, Z, Y, Z, E, W, S, K, I - summarizing the good, bad and ugly (as losing to bitter rival North Carolina) of his regal reign which you won't be told elsewhere:

KNIGHT SCHOOL GRADUATE: Understandably, Krzyzewski long ago reached a mountaintop where he isn't fond of persistent references to him being a former assistant to Bob Knight. But because there have been so many former Knight assistants and players serving as Division I head coaches, Knight School wasn't exactly remedial learning. The link between Knight and Krzyzewski also includes both of them coming off losing seasons at Army when they assumed control of the Indiana and Duke programs, respectively. Knight compiled an 11-13 record at Army in 1970-71 before joining the Hoosiers. Krzyzewski, who played for Knight at Army (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 45.7 FG%, 75.9 FT%), was 9-17 with the Cadets in 1979-80 before he was hired by Duke.

RAGS TO RICHES: Duke registered five consecutive non-winning league records from 1980 through 1984, including ACC marks under Krzyzewski that got worse each of his first three years. He ended his third season with the worst defeat in school history, a 43-point setback against Virginia in the first round of the 1983 ACC Tournament, to give him a 38-47 record with the Blue Devils at that juncture. Krzyzewski, after losing his first four games at North Carolina by an average of 17 points, probably knew he had the Blue Devils on the right track when they snapped an 18-game Chapel Hill losing streak with a decisive triumph there in 1985. After compiling an amazing 25 NCAA playoff wins in a five-year span from 1988 through 1992 en route to becoming the first school since UCLA (1967-73) to repeat as national champion, it became a fluke for Duke not to win at least 25 games annually, which the Blue Devils have done every season except two (22-11 in 2006-07 and 13-11 in 2020-21) since 1997-98.

ZERO ALL-AMERICANS FROM IN-STATE: Coach K and his staff have had to be travelin' men on the recruiting trail in order to assemble the Dynasty in Durham. None of the first 30-plus different individuals to become an All-American with Duke, two-thirds of them during Krzyzewski's tenure, were in-state recruits from North Carolina. By contrast, all 17 of St. John's All-Americans attended high schools in New York. Moreover, the archrival North Carolina Tar Heels had seven in-state All-Americans since Coach K joined the Blue Devils (Brad Daugherty, Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, Michael Jordan, Rashad McCants, Jerry Stackhouse and James Worthy).

YARDSTICK NEVER TO BE MATCHED: Krzyzewski's NCAA Tournament success (five national titles and 12 Final Four appearances) is unparalleled by any active coach. He moved atop the list of all-time winningest playoff coaches years before becoming the all-time winningest coach overall early in the 2011-12 campaign. His unparalled success came after getting off to a shaky start in the NCAA playoffs by losing two of his first three games to worse seeds (Washington in 1984 and Boston College in 1985). If Krzyzewski wins three NCAA playoff games in his farewell tour, he will reach a mind-boggling 100 tournament victories.

ZENITH OF PROFESSION: Krzyzewski's pristine portfolio includes 13 ACC regular-season championships and 15 ACC Tournament titles. The Blue Devils' profoundly devilish fans are always worth a few points in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke, which lost at home to lowly Wagner midway through Krzyzewski's third year, almost never lost at home to a non-conference opponent thereafter.

EMPEROR HAD NO CLOTHES: Coach K's ability to overcome adversity isn't confined to his first three seasons with Duke and back ailment in the mid-1990s. While the nation was celebrating its bicentennial, Krzyzewski was trying to cope with coming off a season in 1975-76 when he lost to obscure SUNY-Buffalo, Scranton (Pa.) and King's College (Pa.) while coaching Army.

WEAKEST LINKS IN RECRUITING: Coach K deals in bulk in bringing prime prospects to campus, but it doesn't always work out as anticipated. McDonald's All-Americans who averaged fewer than 3 ppg in their Duke careers included:
1983 - Martin Nessley (2.4)
1988 - Crawford Palmer (2.4)
1993 - Joey Beard (1.3)
1999 - Casey Sanders (2.7)
2002 - Michael Thompson (1.4)
2005 - Eric Boateng (0.7)

STIGMA AMONG ALL THE GLORY: No one is perfect. K's career was stained by prize prospect Corey Maggette paid by AAU coach/convicted felon Myron Piggie, affiliation with disturbing DC agent Malone, scolding an Oregon player in handshake line, $100G in jewelry for mediocre player, Sullen-man Title IX reporting, great-kid Okafor and Reddick abortion contract. Chicago native also should have worked harder at keeping #AudacityofHype "body man" Reggie Love from partying on UNC's campus.

KING OF THE HILL: K has had more than 40 NBA first-round draft choices. Keep in mind that inactive Division I national coaches of the year P.J. Carlesimo, Perry Clark, Tom Davis, Eddie Fogler, Jim Harrick, Marv Harshman, Clem Haskins, Maury John, Jim O'Brien, George Raveling, Charlie Spoonhour and Butch van Breda Kolff combined for 17 All-Americans in a cumulative 251 years coaching at the major-college level.

IDENTITY CRISIS: K's 12 disciples going on to become DI head coaches have been anything but special in postseason competition, combining for a losing mark in NCAA playoffs.