28 Facts About Mike Krzyzewski

1.

Mike Krzyzewski served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022, during which he led the Blue Devils to five national titles, 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles.

2.

Mike Krzyzewski is widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.

3.

Mike Krzyzewski has coached the United States national team, which he has led to three gold medals at the 2008,2012, and 2016 Olympics.

4.

Mike Krzyzewski was a point guard at Army from 1966 to 1969 under coach Bob Knight.

5.

Mike Krzyzewski graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1969, where he played basketball under Bob Knight.

6.

On March 18,1980, Mike Krzyzewski was named the head coach at Duke University after five seasons at Army.

7.

Shortly after the first game of ACC play, Mike Krzyzewski told his players and coaches that he was taking a leave of absence, with longtime assistant Pete Gaudet serving as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

8.

Mike Krzyzewski had actually planned to resign, but athletic director Tom Butters persuaded him to take a leave of absence instead.

9.

Years later, Mike Krzyzewski said that he probably would have been out of basketball if he hadn't endured that season, since it made him realize he needed to manage his time better and delegate more responsibility.

10.

On February 13,2010, Mike Krzyzewski coached in his 1,000th game as the Duke head coach.

11.

On March 20,2011, Mike Krzyzewski won his 900th game, becoming the second of three Division I men's basketball coaches to reach 900 basketball wins, the other two being Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and his head coach at Army, Bob Knight.

12.

On November 15,2011, Mike Krzyzewski got his 903rd win passing Knight's record for most Division I wins.

13.

On January 25,2015, Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,000th game, when Duke defeated St John's in Madison Square Garden.

14.

Mike Krzyzewski is the first men's coach to win 1,000 NCAA Division I basketball games.

15.

On November 11,2017, Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,000th game with the Duke Blue Devils, making him the first head coach to win 1,000 games with one NCAA Division I men's basketball program.

16.

On March 17,2018, Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,099th game in his career, passing Pat Summitt for most wins by a Division I coach, male or female.

17.

On February 16,2019, Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,123rd game to become the winningest coach in college basketball history at any level, passing Harry Statham of Division II McKendree University.

18.

Mike Krzyzewski's teams won three consecutive gold medals in the Olympics with him as head coach of the USA men's national team.

19.

Mike Krzyzewski was an assistant coach for USA teams that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics, 1979 Pan American Games, and 1992 Tournament of the Americas.

20.

In February 2013, Mike Krzyzewski stepped down after seven years of coaching the national team, but Team USA in May announced that he would return as head coach from 2013 through 2016.

21.

The next season, Mike Krzyzewski proceeded to lead the Blue Devils to the first of two straight national championships.

22.

In 2004, Mike Krzyzewski was interviewed by the Los Angeles Lakers following the departure of high-profile coach Phil Jackson.

23.

Mike Krzyzewski 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.

24.

In 2011, Mike Krzyzewski was offered the vacant coaching position for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he again declined the offer and chose to stay at Duke.

25.

Mike Krzyzewski made his first post-retirement appearance at a Duke game on February 14,2023.

26.

Mike Krzyzewski married his wife, Carol "Mickie" Marsh, in the Catholic chapel at West Point on the day of his graduation in 1969.

27.

Mike Krzyzewski serves on the board of advisors of the Code of Support Foundation, a nonprofit military services organization.

28.

In 2012, Mike Krzyzewski received the US Basketball Writers Association's Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award honoring his civic service and charitable efforts in making a significant positive impact on society.