local paper ran this today ist time i have done this-help may be neededhttp://newsobservor.com/sports/story/3301620p-2946809c.html
duke article
- Thread starter lowell
- Start date
Salute to roots
WEST POINT DAYS
Mike Krzyzewski at the U.S. Military Academy
PLAYER TEAM RECORD
1967 13-8
1968 20-5
1969 18-10
Career stats: In three seasons, Krzyzewski averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. As a senior team captain in 1969, he earned second-team honors at the National Invitation Tournament.
COACH TEAM RECORD
1976 11-14
1977 20-8
1978 19-9
1979 14-11
1980 9-17
Duke hired Krzyzewski on May 4, 1980
(WEST POINT, N&O RESEARCH)
West Point taught Duke coach to be survivor
By LUCIANA CHAVEZ, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- The routine begins when the Duke pep band plays and the first notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" hit the walls of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Facing the American flag brought in by that game's color guard, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski goes from relaxed, at ease, to standing still and upright, at attention.
His right hand is over his heart. His left hand, with fingers curled inward and left thumb straight down at his outside pant-leg seam, hangs at his side.
He will hold the pose, one he learned nearly 40 years ago as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, until the song is over.
That stance, one of the first things a cadet learns, is a constant, one that connects his years at West Point to his successful run as the Duke basketball coach. West Point also is where he learned about organization, contingency plans and leadership.
"West Point is the ring," Krzyzewski says frequently. "It's the foundation of everything I have done.
"Attention to detail was a huge thing there. That and doing [everything] the right way and understanding that no job was too small for you to do. In that way, it was the best training I could have gotten for this job."
The cadet
He attended West Point from 1965 to 1969 and played point guard there for Bobby Knight from 1967 to 1969.
Krzyzewski will share an occasional story about his cadet days, Duke forward Shelden Williams said.
Last week, Krzyzewski told the team about being an inner-city Chicago kid and then being asked to swim with a 10-pound weight tied around his waist.
"Coach was telling us how he told the commander he couldn't swim but the commander said, 'See how many [laps] you can do,'" Williams said. "So he jumped in and sank down to the bottom. They had to pull him out, but he had to learn to swim."
The lesson: Do whatever necessary to learn how to survive.
Col. Tom Rogers, who was the team's officer representative when Krzyzewski played, said that was Krzyzewski's charm as a cadet: He was a survivor.
"He avoided trouble as a cadet," said Rogers, whose friendship with Krzyzewski deepened when Krzyzewski's father, William Sr., died during the cadet's senior year. "He was not a brilliant cadet but he was a good guy that really worked on improving himself. He has really continued to improve and be successful. You'd never know it with him coming from Chicago."
As a point guard, Krzyzewski averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. In 69 games, his best outing was a 17-point effort against Rutgers during his sophomore year.
"Knight made sure [Krzyzewski] knew who the shooters were," said Rogers, now retired from the Army and serving as a special assistant to the Duke basketball team. "I remember one time he drove the lane and had a wide-open shot at the free-throw line. He went up to shoot and you could see him, in his mind, going, 'Oh, no, I better not shoot.' Then he passed it to a shooter, probably Jim Oxley. We had it on film and watched it over and over again. It was so funny."
Krzyzewski said playing point guard meant understanding that what the team was doing each play was more important than what he was doing.
"Learning that playing for coach Knight helped me become a good coach," Krzyzewski said. "The point guard is ... asked to do that. Like we might ask Shelden Williams to think about the next play but he isn't thinking about what Daniel Ewing or J.J. Redick are doing. It's more a global approach than a local one."
Krzyzewski said former Blue Devil and current Michigan coach Tommy Amaker did the best job embodying that concept though current senior point guard Chris Duhon is close behind.
"[Krzyzewski] just tells me that I have to be him on the court," Duhon said. "He helps me with that. We both have a great feel for the atmosphere around the game."
WEST POINT DAYS
Mike Krzyzewski at the U.S. Military Academy
PLAYER TEAM RECORD
1967 13-8
1968 20-5
1969 18-10
Career stats: In three seasons, Krzyzewski averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. As a senior team captain in 1969, he earned second-team honors at the National Invitation Tournament.
COACH TEAM RECORD
1976 11-14
1977 20-8
1978 19-9
1979 14-11
1980 9-17
Duke hired Krzyzewski on May 4, 1980
(WEST POINT, N&O RESEARCH)
West Point taught Duke coach to be survivor
By LUCIANA CHAVEZ, Staff Writer
DURHAM -- The routine begins when the Duke pep band plays and the first notes of "The Star-Spangled Banner" hit the walls of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Facing the American flag brought in by that game's color guard, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski goes from relaxed, at ease, to standing still and upright, at attention.
His right hand is over his heart. His left hand, with fingers curled inward and left thumb straight down at his outside pant-leg seam, hangs at his side.
He will hold the pose, one he learned nearly 40 years ago as a cadet at the United States Military Academy, until the song is over.
That stance, one of the first things a cadet learns, is a constant, one that connects his years at West Point to his successful run as the Duke basketball coach. West Point also is where he learned about organization, contingency plans and leadership.
"West Point is the ring," Krzyzewski says frequently. "It's the foundation of everything I have done.
"Attention to detail was a huge thing there. That and doing [everything] the right way and understanding that no job was too small for you to do. In that way, it was the best training I could have gotten for this job."
The cadet
He attended West Point from 1965 to 1969 and played point guard there for Bobby Knight from 1967 to 1969.
Krzyzewski will share an occasional story about his cadet days, Duke forward Shelden Williams said.
Last week, Krzyzewski told the team about being an inner-city Chicago kid and then being asked to swim with a 10-pound weight tied around his waist.
"Coach was telling us how he told the commander he couldn't swim but the commander said, 'See how many [laps] you can do,'" Williams said. "So he jumped in and sank down to the bottom. They had to pull him out, but he had to learn to swim."
The lesson: Do whatever necessary to learn how to survive.
Col. Tom Rogers, who was the team's officer representative when Krzyzewski played, said that was Krzyzewski's charm as a cadet: He was a survivor.
"He avoided trouble as a cadet," said Rogers, whose friendship with Krzyzewski deepened when Krzyzewski's father, William Sr., died during the cadet's senior year. "He was not a brilliant cadet but he was a good guy that really worked on improving himself. He has really continued to improve and be successful. You'd never know it with him coming from Chicago."
As a point guard, Krzyzewski averaged 9.2 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. In 69 games, his best outing was a 17-point effort against Rutgers during his sophomore year.
"Knight made sure [Krzyzewski] knew who the shooters were," said Rogers, now retired from the Army and serving as a special assistant to the Duke basketball team. "I remember one time he drove the lane and had a wide-open shot at the free-throw line. He went up to shoot and you could see him, in his mind, going, 'Oh, no, I better not shoot.' Then he passed it to a shooter, probably Jim Oxley. We had it on film and watched it over and over again. It was so funny."
Krzyzewski said playing point guard meant understanding that what the team was doing each play was more important than what he was doing.
"Learning that playing for coach Knight helped me become a good coach," Krzyzewski said. "The point guard is ... asked to do that. Like we might ask Shelden Williams to think about the next play but he isn't thinking about what Daniel Ewing or J.J. Redick are doing. It's more a global approach than a local one."
Krzyzewski said former Blue Devil and current Michigan coach Tommy Amaker did the best job embodying that concept though current senior point guard Chris Duhon is close behind.
"[Krzyzewski] just tells me that I have to be him on the court," Duhon said. "He helps me with that. We both have a great feel for the atmosphere around the game."
Last edited:
continued
continued
The Army coach
Krzyzewski graduated from West Point in 1969, a year in United States history known for Woodstock and the escalating war in Vietnam.
His tour of duty took him to Korea, where he coached service teams that played in the Far East from 1970 to 1972. He also coached the USMA Prep School teams at Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1972-74.
After resigning as a captain in 1974, Krzyzewski was working as a graduate assistant at Indiana under Knight when the West Point job came open. Rogers called Knight, who recommended Krzyzewski.
One of 120 to apply and one of three interviewed, Krzyzewski was just 27 years old when he was hired.
"I was very lucky to get the job," he said. "I guess it is where I [began to take] for granted the support from the administration and athletic director because I always had it [at Army]. Maybe I have really [taken that for granted] my whole career because I have had such good people."
Feeling comfortable that an 11-14 record his first year at Army would not get him sent packing, Krzyzewski organized and drilled his Army teams.
Former player Pat Harris, who later coached at Army, said the team found it strange to be coached by someone so young.
"Here was this young whippersnapper we were playing for," Harris said. "We knew he was a graduate and knew he understood the academic importance to being successful at West Point but he wasn't tested. There was one thing though: He was sincerely committed to what he was doing. That is the epitome of a West Point grad."
Harris said one characteristic that remains a hallmark of Krzyzewski's style is that he always had a contingency plan, knowing things will go wrong.
"It was almost like combat," Harris said. "He used to refer to basketball as chaos."
Harris remembers picking up a loose ball at a 1978 practice, with 13 seconds left on the clock. With his side down one, he called a timeout to set up a play. After practice, Krzyzewski asked Harris why he called the timeout.
"Now, I'm from New York City and I'm thinking, 'What is he asking me that for?' '' Harris said. "So I say, 'To set up a play.' He says, 'No, you don't want to set it up, you want to attack.' And I'm standing there thinking to myself 'What is he talking about?' "
Krzyzewski was thinking ahead. Ten days later, a similar scenario popped up.
Army was playing Kansas State in the Sun Bowl Classic when the score was tied 55-55 in the final seconds of the game. With eight seconds left, Army won a jump ball and Harris pushed the ball up without a timeout. He passed to an open teammate who hit a shot with two seconds left to win.
"He taught you how to win, not just how to survive," Harris said.
Duke won big in 2001. The team lost forward Carlos Boozer to injury right before the NCAA Tournament. Krzyzewski implemented an alternate game plan that the Blue Devils rode to the 2001 NCAA title.
Duke came into this season expected to be one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country. When that didn't happen during the Great Alaska Shootout, Duke went to plan B -- become the best defensive team it could be. The Devils have won their last 15 games heading into Thursday's showdown with North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
"We were always well-prepared for games," Harris said. "It sounds odd to say about West Point, but we never went into a game thinking we were the underdog. That's not how coach Krzyzewski prepared us to think."
Krzyzewski said coaching at Army -- his .553 winning percentage (73-59 record) in five seasons ranks 14th among 29 Army coaches though his 73 wins ranks fourth -- prepared him for coaching at Duke. Harris agreed, mainly because he thinks West Point is one difficult place to coach.
"You have to get a person who, not only is totally committed to basketball, but one who has to be flexible and sensitive to the academy's way of doing things," Harris said. "West Point teaches you how to deal with failure and how never to quit. That's really important. What I remember most about playing for Mike, he prepared you for life."
The Duke coach
Krzyzewski is 681-235 in 29 years as a college coach. He has three national titles to his credit and is already a Hall of Famer.
And chew on this statistic: Krzyzewski has coached two cadets, Vince Brooks and Dan Keefe, who are now generals. Both played basketball just one season. Four other Krzyzewski players -- Matt Brown, Mike Guthrie, Bob Brown and Vern Krocker -- are full colonels.
"That's a phenomenal statistic," Harris said. "He might have touched 30 cadets over that time. If West Point did that with all its cadets. ... "
The Army still stays with Krzyzewski.
He wears two rings on the fourth finger of his left hand: His West Point ring and his wedding ring.
The wedding band signifies his 34 years of marriage to Mickie Krzyzewski and was specially made to fit snug with his academy ring.
Years ago, his West Point ring lost its original black stone.
A Duke stone -- it comes from a local quarry and Krzyzewski's is a royal blue color -- replaced it.
(Today staff writer Luciana Chavez begins an occasional series focusing on the different dimensions of Duke's highly successful men's basketball coach -- what shaped him, what drives him, and where he is headed.)
TODAY: How Krzyzewski's experiences at the U.S. Military Academy -- as a cadet and a coach -- shaped his career.
continued
The Army coach
Krzyzewski graduated from West Point in 1969, a year in United States history known for Woodstock and the escalating war in Vietnam.
His tour of duty took him to Korea, where he coached service teams that played in the Far East from 1970 to 1972. He also coached the USMA Prep School teams at Fort Belvoir, Va., in 1972-74.
After resigning as a captain in 1974, Krzyzewski was working as a graduate assistant at Indiana under Knight when the West Point job came open. Rogers called Knight, who recommended Krzyzewski.
One of 120 to apply and one of three interviewed, Krzyzewski was just 27 years old when he was hired.
"I was very lucky to get the job," he said. "I guess it is where I [began to take] for granted the support from the administration and athletic director because I always had it [at Army]. Maybe I have really [taken that for granted] my whole career because I have had such good people."
Feeling comfortable that an 11-14 record his first year at Army would not get him sent packing, Krzyzewski organized and drilled his Army teams.
Former player Pat Harris, who later coached at Army, said the team found it strange to be coached by someone so young.
"Here was this young whippersnapper we were playing for," Harris said. "We knew he was a graduate and knew he understood the academic importance to being successful at West Point but he wasn't tested. There was one thing though: He was sincerely committed to what he was doing. That is the epitome of a West Point grad."
Harris said one characteristic that remains a hallmark of Krzyzewski's style is that he always had a contingency plan, knowing things will go wrong.
"It was almost like combat," Harris said. "He used to refer to basketball as chaos."
Harris remembers picking up a loose ball at a 1978 practice, with 13 seconds left on the clock. With his side down one, he called a timeout to set up a play. After practice, Krzyzewski asked Harris why he called the timeout.
"Now, I'm from New York City and I'm thinking, 'What is he asking me that for?' '' Harris said. "So I say, 'To set up a play.' He says, 'No, you don't want to set it up, you want to attack.' And I'm standing there thinking to myself 'What is he talking about?' "
Krzyzewski was thinking ahead. Ten days later, a similar scenario popped up.
Army was playing Kansas State in the Sun Bowl Classic when the score was tied 55-55 in the final seconds of the game. With eight seconds left, Army won a jump ball and Harris pushed the ball up without a timeout. He passed to an open teammate who hit a shot with two seconds left to win.
"He taught you how to win, not just how to survive," Harris said.
Duke won big in 2001. The team lost forward Carlos Boozer to injury right before the NCAA Tournament. Krzyzewski implemented an alternate game plan that the Blue Devils rode to the 2001 NCAA title.
Duke came into this season expected to be one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the country. When that didn't happen during the Great Alaska Shootout, Duke went to plan B -- become the best defensive team it could be. The Devils have won their last 15 games heading into Thursday's showdown with North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
"We were always well-prepared for games," Harris said. "It sounds odd to say about West Point, but we never went into a game thinking we were the underdog. That's not how coach Krzyzewski prepared us to think."
Krzyzewski said coaching at Army -- his .553 winning percentage (73-59 record) in five seasons ranks 14th among 29 Army coaches though his 73 wins ranks fourth -- prepared him for coaching at Duke. Harris agreed, mainly because he thinks West Point is one difficult place to coach.
"You have to get a person who, not only is totally committed to basketball, but one who has to be flexible and sensitive to the academy's way of doing things," Harris said. "West Point teaches you how to deal with failure and how never to quit. That's really important. What I remember most about playing for Mike, he prepared you for life."
The Duke coach
Krzyzewski is 681-235 in 29 years as a college coach. He has three national titles to his credit and is already a Hall of Famer.
And chew on this statistic: Krzyzewski has coached two cadets, Vince Brooks and Dan Keefe, who are now generals. Both played basketball just one season. Four other Krzyzewski players -- Matt Brown, Mike Guthrie, Bob Brown and Vern Krocker -- are full colonels.
"That's a phenomenal statistic," Harris said. "He might have touched 30 cadets over that time. If West Point did that with all its cadets. ... "
The Army still stays with Krzyzewski.
He wears two rings on the fourth finger of his left hand: His West Point ring and his wedding ring.
The wedding band signifies his 34 years of marriage to Mickie Krzyzewski and was specially made to fit snug with his academy ring.
Years ago, his West Point ring lost its original black stone.
A Duke stone -- it comes from a local quarry and Krzyzewski's is a royal blue color -- replaced it.
(Today staff writer Luciana Chavez begins an occasional series focusing on the different dimensions of Duke's highly successful men's basketball coach -- what shaped him, what drives him, and where he is headed.)
TODAY: How Krzyzewski's experiences at the U.S. Military Academy -- as a cadet and a coach -- shaped his career.
my dad fought as marine at guadacanal and i was in army during vietnam.have always had deep respect for our military.good luck to state tonight.wakewith 3 guard lineup will have matchup problem with hodge-who will guard him.thanks for your help
