Mike Krzyzewski

Michael William "Mike" Krzyzewski (nicknamed "Coach K"; born February 13, 1947) is an American 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 four NCAA Championships, 11 Final Fours, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference (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 was the head coach of the American team that won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He was also an assistant coach for the 1992 "Dream Team".

From 1975 to 1980, Krzyzewski was the head basketball coach at the United States Military Academy, where he played from 1966 to 1969 under Bob Knight. Krzyzewski has amassed a record 82 NCAA tournament victories, while averaging 25 wins per season. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame following the 2001 season. On November 15, 2011, Krzyzewski led Duke to a 74–69 victory over Michigan State at Madison Square Garden to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. Krzyzewski's 903rd victory set a new record, breaking that held by his former coach, Bob Knight.

Early years and playing career
Krzyzewski was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Polish American, Catholic parents Emily M. (née Pituch) and William Krzyzewski. The family name was originally Krzyżewski, and while the general public pronounces it , his own pronunciation is. He has roots in the Pittsburgh area, as his maternal grandparents emigrated from Poland to Keisterville, Pennsylvania. Up until he was 10 or 12, he visited there every summer; Krzyzewski had stated that he suspects the purpose of such trips was to "teach you to know where you came from and to be proud of it."

Raised as a Catholic, Krzyzewski attended Archbishop Weber High School in Chicago, a Catholic prep school for boys. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1969, and played basketball under Bob Knight while training to become an officer in the Army. He was captain of the Army basketball team in his senior season, 1968–69, leading his team to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

From 1969 to 1974, Krzyzewski served in the Army and directed service teams for three years. In 2005 he was presented West Point's Distinguished Graduate Award.

Indiana and Army
Krzyzewski resigned from active duty in 1974 and started his coaching career as an assistant on Knight's staff with the Indiana Hoosiers during their historic 1974–75 season. After one year with Indiana, Krzyzewski returned to West Point as head coach of the Army Cadets. He led the Cadets to a 73–59 record and one NIT berth in five seasons, before leaving to coach at Duke.

Duke
On March 18, 1980, Krzyzewski was named the head coach at Duke University after five seasons at Army. After a few rebuilding seasons, he and the Blue Devils became a fixture on the national basketball scene with 28 NCAA Tournament berths in the past 29 years and 18 consecutive from 1996 to 2013, which is the second-longest current streak of tournament appearances behind Kansas, which has appeared in the tournament in 24 consecutive seasons. Overall, he has taken his program to postseason play in 30 of his 33 years at Duke and is the most winning active coach in men's NCAA Tournament play with a 82–25 record for a .767 winning percentage. His Duke teams have won 13 ACC Championships, been to 11 Final Fours, and won four NCAA tournament National Championships.

On February 13, 2010, Krzyzewski coached in his 1000th game as the Duke head coach. On March 20, 2011, Krzyzewski won his 900th game, becoming the second of three head coaches to coach at least 900 D1 wins, the other two being Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and his head coach at Army, Bob Knight. On November 15, 2011, Krzyzewski got his 903rd win passing Knight's record for most Division I wins. In an interview of both men on ESPN the previous night, Krzyzewski discussed the leadership skills he learned from Knight and the United States Military Academy. Knight credited Krzyzewski's understanding of himself and his players as keys to his success over the years.

Under Krzyzewski, Duke's ability to draw fouls became legendary. Sports Illustrated called the 2000s "the decade in which the word 'flop' became synonymous with Duke hoopsters' overzealous attempts to draw offensive fouls."

International
Krzyzewski has been the head coach of several USA men's national teams, winning a silver medal at the 1987 World University Games, a bronze medal at the 1990 FIBA World Championship, a silver medal at the 1990 Goodwill Games, a bronze medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and gold medals at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, the 2010 FIBA World Championship, and repeat gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics. He was also an assistant coach to the USA teams which won gold medals at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics as well as the 1979 Pan American Games Team and 1992 Tournament of the Americas.

In 2005, he was appointed coach of the national team through the Beijing Olympics. In the 2006 FIBA World Championship, the USA won the bronze medal after losing in the semifinals to Greece and then beating defending Olympic gold medalist Argentina for third place. On August 24, 2008, Krzyzewski's U.S. team won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. "The Redeem Team" finished the tournament with a perfect 8–0 record. He coached the U.S. team for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and led Team USA to a perfect 8-0 record, defeating host Turkey in the gold medal game, 81–64. His team won a second Olympic gold in London, defeating runners-up Spain 107-100. Krzyzewski has amassed a total record of 62–1 (.984) as head coach of the USA National Team. The team has captured four golds (FIBA Americas Championship 2007, 2008 Summer Olympics, the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Summer Olympics) and one bronze (2006 FIBA World Championship). Krzyzewski unofficially stepped down after seven years of coaching the United States men's national basketball team on February 26, 2013 on ESPN Radio's Mike and Mike in the Morning.

Awards and recognition
During his long tenure at Duke, Krzyzewski has been given the opportunity to coach in the NBA at least five times. The first time came after the 1990 season when he led the Blue Devils to their third straight Final Four appearance. The Boston Celtics offered a coaching position to Krzyzewski, but he soon declined their offer. The next season, Krzyzewski proceeded to lead the Blue Devils to the first of two straight national championships. In 1994, he was pursued by the Portland Trail Blazers, but again he chose to stay with Duke. In 2004, Krzyzewski was also interviewed by the Los Angeles Lakers following the departure of high-profile coach Phil Jackson. He was given a formal offer from Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, reportedly for five years, $40 million and part ownership, but again turned down the NBA. In 2010, the New Jersey Nets were reportedly willing to pay Krzyzewski between $12 million and $15 million per season to coach the Nets. Krzyzewski again declined the offer and stayed at Duke. In 2011, Krzyzewski was offered the vacant coaching position for the Minnesota Timberwolves

Duke has named the floor at its basketball venue, Cameron Indoor Stadium, "Coach "K" Court" in his honor. Similarly, the grassy area outside of Cameron has been named Krzyzewskiville or "K-Ville." On February 28, 2007, Duke named its new basketball practice facility the "Michael W. Krzyzewski Center" — Dedicated to Academic & Athletic Excellence. The 56000 sqft building was dedicated on February 8, 2008, and also houses the Academic Support Center for all of Duke's 600 student-athletes and an expanded Sports Hall of Fame and event center.

His alma mater inducted him into its sports hall of fame on September 11, 2009, the night before the Army vs. Duke football game. Additionally, West Point annually awards the "Coach K Teaching Character Through Sports" award each spring to cadets and coaches who display superior ethics and character through sport.

Krzyzewski has won the following awards:
 * 1986, Basketball Times, CBS/Chevrolet, UPI National COY awards
 * 1989, Naismith National COY
 * 1991, United States Sports Academy awarded Kryzewski the Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award.
 * 2001, Victor Award
 * 1984, ACC COY
 * 1986, ACC COY
 * 1997, ACC COY
 * 1999, ACC COY
 * 2000, ACC COY
 * 2010, Chris Phillips Award
 * 2001, Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame.
 * 2001, Time magazine and CNN named Krzyzewski "America's Best Coach"; the award was not limited to any particular sport.
 * 2008, United States Sports Academy awarded Krzyzewski the Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award.
 * 2011, Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year"

In 2013, he received the Chicago History Museum "Making History Award" for distinction in sports.

Coaching tree
10 of Krzyzewski's players and assistant coaches have become head coaches at other schools:
 * Tommy Amaker: Seton Hall (1997–2001), Michigan (2001–2007), Harvard (2007–present)
 * Bob Bender: Washington (1993–2002)
 * Mike Brey: Delaware (1995–2000), Notre Dame (2000–present)
 * Jeff Capel: VCU (2002–2006), Oklahoma (2006–2011)
 * Chris Collins: Northwestern (2013–present)
 * Johnny Dawkins: Stanford (2008–present)
 * Mike Dement: UNC Greensboro (1991–1995, 2005–2011), SMU (1995–2004)
 * David Henderson: Delaware (2000–2006)
 * Bobby Hurley: Buffalo (2013–present)
 * Tim O'Toole: Fairfield (1998–2006)
 * Quin Snyder: Missouri (1999–2006)

Three former players&mdash;Steve Wojciechowski, Jeff Capel and Nate James, &mdash; currently work under him as assistants at Duke. Another former player, Jon Scheyer, works under him as a special assistant. No team coached by one of Krzyzewski's former players has beaten the Blue Devils. Krzyzewski has also coached NBA general managers: Danny Ferry, of the Atlanta Hawks, and Billy King, of the Brooklyn Nets. Former player and captain Chip Engelland has served as assistant coach and shooting specialist to the San Antonio Spurs since 2005, Bob Bender is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks and Chris Carrawell, is an assistant coach for the Springfield Armor of the NBDL.

Family and charity
Krzyzewski married his wife, Carol "Mickie" Marsh, in the Catholic chapel at West Point on the day of his graduation in 1969. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren.

Off the court, his charitable activities have been even more impactful at Duke, in the Durham community, and across the entire country.

Coach K and his family founded the Emily Krzyzewski Center, a non-profit organization in Durham, which was established in 2006 and named in honor of Coach K’s mother. The mission is to inspire students from kindergarten to high school to dream big, act with character and purpose, and reach their potential as leaders in their community.

The Center’s K to College Model serves academically-focused students in out-of-school programming designed to help them achieve in school, gain entry to college, and break the cycle of poverty in their families.

Coach K and his wife, Mickie, have also been active for years in fundraising and support for the Duke Children’s Hospital, Children's Miracle Network, the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

In all of those entities they have both served as Chairs and/or led major fundraising efforts.

In 2012, Coach K received the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award honoring his civic service and charitable efforts in making a significant positive impact on society.

In addition, the Krzyzewskis have been major donors to Duke University in supporting a number of areas, including establishing scholarship endowments for students in North & South Carolina as well as a Duke student-athlete every year.

Coach K will be participating in Troopathon 2013.