He is even #14, Dan!!! 
Sorry Mick... but I just had to post this....
This was written by Charlie for the WSU Daily Evergreen... his beloved Blue Devils....
"Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski just won his fourth national championship, adding to his reputation as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time.
As much as Duke haters hate to admit it, he really does embody what it means to be a college basketball coach.
And I’m not just talking about the four national championships he’s won, giving him as many rings as UNC Tar Heel hall of fame coaches, Dean Smith and Roy Williams, combined.
In 30 seasons at Duke, Krzyzewski managed to become the sixth men’s coach with 800 victories, amassed 11 Final Four appearances (tied for second most all-time) and won 76 NCAA tournament games, which is more than any other coach in history.
Duke has also won 12 regular season ACC Championships and 12 ACC Tournament titles during his stead.
Oh, and it was also pretty cool when he coached Team USA to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
But one needs to look beyond the numbers and trophies to see the real reason Krzyzewski is successful-- The guy just does things the right way. Last night’s victory featured a starting lineup of five juniors and seniors who weren’t picked by many people as a championship team.
He took hardworking character guys like Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek and molded them into key pieces on a title team.
They did exactly what he’d coached them to do during their careers: play defense, get rebounds, set screens and fill their role.
Since 2001, when Duke last won a title, things have been tough.
Roy Williams came to the Tobacco Road rivalry and won championships in 2005 and 2009, while Krzyzewski couldn’t get a team past the Sweet 16. UNC’s player of the decade, Tyler Hansbrough, walked off the court as a champion, while Duke’s player of the decade, J.J. Redick, dissapointedly walked off after shooting 3-18 in a Sweet 16 loss to LSU.
Admittedly, I was among those questioning Krzyzewski.
“Has he lost his touch? Are we not just getting upset but actually choking? Who were these Zoubek and Thomas guys he was recruiting? And good lord, can we start beating Carolina?”
Well, I’ve never been happier to say shame on me.
Coach K knew what he was doing the whole time.
After elite players like Elton Brand started leaving after one or two seasons at Duke around the turn of the millennium, Krzyzewski decided that while he could go out and chase NBA talent, what he really wanted to do was coach college basketball players.
He invested in kids that would stay in school, who would take their education seriously, and who would carry themselves well and work hard at playing basketball.
Rather than pursue the John Wall's and O.J. Mayo's of the world, he recruited players who would put their butts down and play defense for an entire game.
This year, Duke held opponents to 61.1 points per game, the lowest average of team under Krzyzewski.
Sometimes those kids were Kyle Singler, the No. 2 recruit in his class. Sometimes they were Jordan Davidson, a walk-on who never played a meaningful minute in his career.
Krzyzewski chose character over talent.
During the last six years, it looked like rings wouldn’t fit on the friendly awkward hands of the Brian Zoubeks of the world.
But if Coach K "likes it, then he's gonna put a ring on it" as Beyonce says. "
As much as Duke haters hate to admit it, he really does embody what it means to be a college basketball coach.
And I’m not just talking about the four national championships he’s won, giving him as many rings as UNC Tar Heel hall of fame coaches, Dean Smith and Roy Williams, combined.
In 30 seasons at Duke, Krzyzewski managed to become the sixth men’s coach with 800 victories, amassed 11 Final Four appearances (tied for second most all-time) and won 76 NCAA tournament games, which is more than any other coach in history.
Duke has also won 12 regular season ACC Championships and 12 ACC Tournament titles during his stead.
Oh, and it was also pretty cool when he coached Team USA to a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
But one needs to look beyond the numbers and trophies to see the real reason Krzyzewski is successful-- The guy just does things the right way. Last night’s victory featured a starting lineup of five juniors and seniors who weren’t picked by many people as a championship team.
He took hardworking character guys like Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek and molded them into key pieces on a title team.
They did exactly what he’d coached them to do during their careers: play defense, get rebounds, set screens and fill their role.
Since 2001, when Duke last won a title, things have been tough.
Roy Williams came to the Tobacco Road rivalry and won championships in 2005 and 2009, while Krzyzewski couldn’t get a team past the Sweet 16. UNC’s player of the decade, Tyler Hansbrough, walked off the court as a champion, while Duke’s player of the decade, J.J. Redick, dissapointedly walked off after shooting 3-18 in a Sweet 16 loss to LSU.
Admittedly, I was among those questioning Krzyzewski.
“Has he lost his touch? Are we not just getting upset but actually choking? Who were these Zoubek and Thomas guys he was recruiting? And good lord, can we start beating Carolina?”
Well, I’ve never been happier to say shame on me.
Coach K knew what he was doing the whole time.
After elite players like Elton Brand started leaving after one or two seasons at Duke around the turn of the millennium, Krzyzewski decided that while he could go out and chase NBA talent, what he really wanted to do was coach college basketball players.
He invested in kids that would stay in school, who would take their education seriously, and who would carry themselves well and work hard at playing basketball.
Rather than pursue the John Wall's and O.J. Mayo's of the world, he recruited players who would put their butts down and play defense for an entire game.
This year, Duke held opponents to 61.1 points per game, the lowest average of team under Krzyzewski.
Sometimes those kids were Kyle Singler, the No. 2 recruit in his class. Sometimes they were Jordan Davidson, a walk-on who never played a meaningful minute in his career.
Krzyzewski chose character over talent.
During the last six years, it looked like rings wouldn’t fit on the friendly awkward hands of the Brian Zoubeks of the world.
But if Coach K "likes it, then he's gonna put a ring on it" as Beyonce says. "
P.S. Did I mention that I had Duke in the family draw this year?!?!?
LTK
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