Krzyzewski Is How Duke Spells Success
Published: Mar 7, 2007
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TAMPA - Twenty-seven years ago, Mike Krzyzewski made his first trip to Tampa. He could walk through the airport without being recognized. The last name, of course, was unpronounceable. His annual salary was $40,000.
He was 33, in only his second game at Duke, and it was the dedication of USF's Sun Dome. Most people still couldn't fathom why an unknown, coming off a 9-17 season at Army, had been hired by the Blue Devils.
"Are you trying to make me feel old?" said Krzyzewski, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday. "I used to be the young guy. Now I am 42 years older than a couple of kids on my team. Forty-two years older! I mean, where the hell did it all go?"
Seven-hundred and two victories, 10 Final Four appearances and three national championships later, Krzyzewski now rules over America's most polarizing college basketball program.
And when the wobbling, No. 7-seeded Duke Blue Devils (22-9) arrive for this week's ACC Basketball Tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum, they will attract two familiar groups of onlookers:
Fans that view Duke basketball with religious fervor, an all-encompassing symbol of what is right about athletics.
And those who passionately cheer for the Blue Devils to fail.
"We have been a target for longer than I can remember," Krzyzewski said. "We do things our way. I think it's a good way. And we're not changing."
Duke's Brand Of Basketball
One minute, he was Mike Krzyzewski, a guy who couldn't bag the big recruit, a man so lost in the national-championship shadow of Dean Smith and Jim Valvano that many Duke boosters demanded his firing.
In the blink of an eye, he was Coach K, the face of an entire sport, a guy who twice (at least) turned down the NBA. He is a national pitchman and, perhaps, the savior for U.S. international basketball.
One minute, he was building a program.
In the blink of an eye, he was CEO of a brand.
"It's amazing," said N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, who was the Wolfpack's point guard in Krzyzewski's early years. "They wanted to run him out of town. And now he's the king."
"When we got in this conference, I looked down the bench to that man [Krzyzewski] and thought to myself, 'You know, I think I've been seeing him on TV my whole life,'" Boston College forward Jared Dudley said.
Duke's program can't be ignored.
"Everyone has an opinion about Duke," said Virginia's Dave Leitao, who was just named ACC Coach of the Year. "A lot of people love them. A lot of people love to hate them. Wherever you stand, you can never argue with their success and Coach Krzyzewski's longevity. Those two things are synonymous."
In the early 1980s, Krzyzewski's longevity was the furthest concept from anyone's mind.
"I didn't know who he was. I had no clue. I couldn't pronounce his name," said former Duke player Vince Taylor, now an assistant coach with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, who was a junior when Krzyzewski arrived.
When Duke's remnants from a 1978 Final Four team cycled out, the losses mounted.
In Krzyzewski's third season, Duke sunk to 11-17, just 3-11 in the ACC. The Blue Devils lost to Wagner at Cameron Indoor Stadium. With four freshmen in the starting lineup, Duke dropped its ACC Tournament quarterfinal to Ralph Sampson-led Virginia, 109-66.
"I went to Duke," former ACC commissioner Gene Corrigan said. "A lot of people from my class were calling me, saying, 'What is [Duke athletic director Tom] Butters doing? That guy [Krzyzewski] needs to get canned.'"
Once Krzyzewski's program turned a corner, there was no looking back.
"I've said this before, but it really doesn't matter how you perceive us," Krzyzewski said. "It matters how we perceive us."
Bad Week For the Image
Duke has the school's youngest team since 1946 and, many nights, it has looked painfully inexperienced.
The Blue Devils, who have won seven of the last eight ACC Tournaments, will need four straight victories for another title. In the ACC, that has never happened.
Meanwhile, Duke's Gerald Henderson has been suspended for Thursday night's opener against No. 10-seeded N.C. State. Henderson was ejected Sunday after his flashing elbow broke the nose of North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough.
When the nation's premier goody-goody program is accused of dirty play - and that program is Duke - it's excellent theater for the Blue Devil bashers.
Which brings it all back to Coach K.
Where do the Blue Devils go from here? Are they dismissed with barely a whimper? Or can they rise up and again be a factor?
"Our kids have worked," Krzyzewski said. "When we lost four games in a row, it's not like we had four performances worthy of a loss. It's not like you are way down. But everybody says you are way down.
"You shouldn't respond to what people say. You should respond to what is actually happening. Nobody can look at you better than yourself."
From inside the program, the reflection hasn't changed.
"He made Duke into almost like a Microsoft company," said Taylor, the ACC's leading scorer in 1982. "I shake my head and sometimes just say, 'Wow.'"
Mike Krzyzewski is back in Tampa. He can't walk through the airport without creating a stir. He has a lifetime contract with Duke. He's already in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Now he can more than double his first-year Duke salary with a corporate speaking engagement.
And the name? Sha-SHEF-ski. Still tricky. But 27 years later, Coach K's influence on Duke, the ACC and all of basketball has never been more pronounced.
Reporter Bob Bellone contributed to this story. Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.
