Mike Krzyzewski

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.

Raised as a Catholic, Krzyzewski attended St. Helen Catholic School in Ukrainian Village, Chicago and, later, 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 United States 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, where West Point finished fourth in the tournament.

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

Indiana and Army

Krzyzewski was discharged 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.

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 31 NCAA Tournament berths in the past 32 years and 22 consecutive from 1996 to 2017, which is the second-longest current streak of tournament appearances behind Kansas, which has appeared in the tournament in 27 consecutive seasons. Overall, he has taken his program to postseason play in 31 of his 34 years at Duke and is the most winning active coach in men's NCAA Tournament play with an 86–25 record for a .767 winning percentage. His Duke teams have won 13 ACC Championships, been to 12 Final Fours, and won five NCAA tournament National Championships.

On February 13, 2010, Krzyzewski coached in his 1,000th game as the Duke head coach. On March 20, 2011, 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. 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.

On March 20, 2011, Krzyzewski won his 900th game with the Duke Blue Devils, making him the second head coach to win 900 games with one NCAA Division I men's basketball program.

On January 25, 2015, Krzyzewski won his 1,000th game, when Duke defeated St. John's in Madison Square Garden. He is the first men's coach to win 1,000 NCAA Division I basketball games.

On April 6, 2015, Krzyzewski won his 5th NCAA championship, when Duke defeated Wisconsin in the title game.

Winning against Yale in the 2016 NCAA tournament on March 19, Krzyzewski became the all-time winningest coach in the NCAA Division I tournament with 90 total wins.

National team

Krzyzewski has won three consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. As 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 the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and 3 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics, and 2016 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 9–0 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 75–1 (.987) as head coach of the USA National Team.

In February 2013, Krzyzewski initially 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.

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, but he again declined the offer and chose to stay at Duke.

Awards and honors

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 nine grandchildren.

Krzyzewski and his family founded the Emily Krzyzewski Center, a non-profit organization in Durham, which was established in 2006 and named in honor of Krzyzewski'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. Krzyzewski 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 addition, the Krzyzewskis have been major donors to Duke University in supporting a number of areas, including establishing scholarship endowments for students in North and South Carolina as well as a Duke student-athlete every year. He also serves on the board of advisors of the Code of Support Foundation, a nonprofit military services organization.

In 2012, Krzyzewski 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. Krzyzewski participated in Troopathon 2013.