From a Dukie Girl who did the K-Hole at the Shepherd Center, eh? Okay, from The NYT?
Duke’s Krzyzewski Breaks Record for Victories in Men’s Division I Basketball
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski set the record for victories in men’s Division I college basketball Tuesday night as Duke beat Michigan State, 74-69, for Krzyzewski’s 903rd victory.
Krzyzewski’s career record moved to 903-284, spanning five decades that include four national championships at Duke.
With the victory, Krzyzewski surpassed his friend and mentor Bob Knight, who set the record for wins in 2008.
Coach K and Bobby Knight met courtside last night, and this is how Coach K reported their conversation to the Duke Chronicle: “I just told him… ‘Coach, I’m not sure people tell you this, but I love you, and I love what you’ve done for me, and thank you.’ And he says, ‘Boy, you’ve done pretty good for a kid who couldn’t shoot.’ I think that meant he loves me too.”
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| Mike Krzyzewski and Bobby Knight |
Duke’s Krzyzewski Breaks Record for Victories in Men’s Division I Basketball
Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski set the record for victories in men’s Division I college basketball Tuesday night as Duke beat Michigan State, 74-69, for Krzyzewski’s 903rd victory.
Krzyzewski’s career record moved to 903-284, spanning five decades that include four national championships at Duke.
With the victory, Krzyzewski surpassed his friend and mentor Bob Knight, who set the record for wins in 2008.
Coach K and Bobby Knight met courtside last night, and this is how Coach K reported their conversation to the Duke Chronicle: “I just told him… ‘Coach, I’m not sure people tell you this, but I love you, and I love what you’ve done for me, and thank you.’ And he says, ‘Boy, you’ve done pretty good for a kid who couldn’t shoot.’ I think that meant he loves me too.”
It's sad, but after I posted this last night, into my mind popped the rapes and sexual abuse at Penn State that have dominated sport's news this past week. Jerry Sandusky is probably the most well known college coach of the moment, and the charity he founded, The Second Mile, is probably the most notorious.
Mike Krzyzewski, on the other hand, has always been notable for his standards, most especially because he finds nothing notable about having stringent guidelines -- as moral as practical -- that stand the tests of time and scrutiny.
Even in "normal" times, not in the midst of such a huge scandal, college athletics invite suspicion -- just think of recruiting practices and violations, the role of big football and big basketball in the financial life of academic institutions.
Of most import to me? Take a look at student-athlete graduation statistics, including the graduation rate "gap" between student athletes and the regular student body -- a whopping -38% at UCLA.
In 2009, the most recent year for which these stats are available, Duke graduated 96% of its football players and 92% of the hoopsters. The rate of graduation for the entire student body (only available for 1995-2003) ranges from 92-97 percent.
The ACC also has some shocking numbers at each end of the spectrum. Maryland is in the basement with its basketball-playing students graduating at a rate of 8 (eight) percent. Wake Forest managed a perfect record -- graduating all its basketball players for 2009.
I take my numbers from The Bootleg, Stanford's sport authority, which publishes graduation stats yearly.
Anyway, back to Coach K, His Squeaky-Cleanness! In this ESPN-International video from February 2011, Coach Knight points out how his former player, colleague, and friend is one of the few scandal-free coaches in the business. (And this from a guy who is notoriously disdainful of sucking up to anyone and rarely hesitates to speak his mind...)
Even in "normal" times, not in the midst of such a huge scandal, college athletics invite suspicion -- just think of recruiting practices and violations, the role of big football and big basketball in the financial life of academic institutions.
Of most import to me? Take a look at student-athlete graduation statistics, including the graduation rate "gap" between student athletes and the regular student body -- a whopping -38% at UCLA.
In 2009, the most recent year for which these stats are available, Duke graduated 96% of its football players and 92% of the hoopsters. The rate of graduation for the entire student body (only available for 1995-2003) ranges from 92-97 percent.
The ACC also has some shocking numbers at each end of the spectrum. Maryland is in the basement with its basketball-playing students graduating at a rate of 8 (eight) percent. Wake Forest managed a perfect record -- graduating all its basketball players for 2009.
I take my numbers from The Bootleg, Stanford's sport authority, which publishes graduation stats yearly.
Anyway, back to Coach K, His Squeaky-Cleanness! In this ESPN-International video from February 2011, Coach Knight points out how his former player, colleague, and friend is one of the few scandal-free coaches in the business. (And this from a guy who is notoriously disdainful of sucking up to anyone and rarely hesitates to speak his mind...)
Uploaded to YouTube by ESPNInternational on Feb 27, 2011
Coach K's most notable charity work flows through the Emily Krzyzewski Center in Durham:
The late Emily Krzyzewski emigrated with her parents from Poland to the United States and grew up in western Pennsylvania. She established a home on Chicago's North Side, a poor, racially diverse neighborhood where she and her husband, William, raised two sons, Mike and Bill.
Emily Krzyzewski persevered when the family struggled to adjust to a new nation, a new people and a new language, while still providing a nurturing environment for her sons. Bill was an elevator operator who was known by the name of "Kross" to avoid the sting of anti-Polish discrimination, and to improve his chances of getting a job. Emily worked nights as a cleaning lady. Her hopes and dreams inspired her youngest son, Mike, to rise from such a humble beginning to become one of the best coaches in all of basketball.
Duke University men’s basketball players are all familiar with Emily Krzyzewski because Coach K often cites her as an example of the toughness, perseverance and caring that are trademarks of Duke's perennially powerful team. And now her indomitable spirit inspires students and families across the Durham-area community as well through the work of the center that bears her name.
On top of his mother’s love, tenacity and work ethic, an important ally in Mike Krzyzewski’s trajectory to the top of the coaching profession was a community center that became a second home to him, a place that provided invaluable support to him and to his family, and changed his life. He founded the Emily Krzyzewski Center to bring to Durham the opportunities he and his mother experienced years before in Chicago’s North Side for focused student programming that can inspire hopes and dreams and forever transform lives. Today, Coach K and his entire family are as committed to making the Emily Krzyzewski Center a driving force within the Durham-area community as his parents and the North Side community center were committed to him.
Emily Krzyzewski passed away in 1996, but her strong legacy lives on through the work of the Emily Krzyzewski Center.
My last offering comes from the Official Coach K Website: a video of him addressing a group of former players who surprised him after the momentous 903rd win last night. Again, how nice to witness a "coach" being just what we all know and hope a "coach" ought to be...
With love,
A Certified Cameron Crazy
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