Coach K Gets #903!
The Confidential is very proud to recognize the Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the all-time leader in coaching wins at the Division I level. Tonight, he and the Blue Devils were able to beat a game Michigan State Spartans squad 74-69. In the process, Coach K moved out of a tie with his former coach, Bob Knight, and into sole possession of first on the all-time wins list.
While there will be no shortage of stories on this feat, sometimes it is the numbers that are most overwhelming. Consider the top 25 in all-time coaching wins at the Division I level:
- Coach K, 903 (and counting)
- Knight, 902
- Dean Smith, 879
- Adolph Rupp, 876
- Jim Boeheim, 856 (and counting)
- Jim Calhoun, 855 (and counting)
- Jim Phelan, 830
- Eddie Sutton, 804
- Lefty Driesell, 786
- Lute Olson, 780
- Lou Henson, 779
- Henry Iba, 764
- Edgar Diddle, 759
- Phog Allen, 746
- Jerry Tarkanian, 729
- Norm Stewart, 728
- Ray Meyer, 724
- Don Haskins, 719
- Bob Huggins, 691 (and counting)
- Denny Crum, 675
- Gary Williams, 668
- John Wooden, 664
- Roy Williams, 643 (and counting)
- Billy Tubbs, 641
- Hugh Durham, 633
Just look at those names. And yet the most amazing thing about this list is the number of coaches who have arenas named after them. These are coaching icons. And all of them are looking up to Coach K tonight.
Well, all but one of them were looking up to Coach K last week too. But tonight, even Bob Knight must look up.
It is also interesting how many of those names Coach K had to battle with, such as the legendary games against Dean Smith (#3) and Roy Williams (#23) of North Carolina. The games against Lefty Driesell (#9) and Gary Williams (#21) in Duke-Maryland matchups. The March games against Jerry Tarkanian (#15) and the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. A lot of those 903 wins were big wins.
But The Confidential is still most impressed by a different statistic. As the head coach of Army, Coach K was 73-59, including a 9-17 season in 1979-1980. Duke still hired him for the 1980-1981 season. And, after three seasons at Duke, Coach K’s record was still a disappointing 38-47. That means that after his eight first seasons as a coach, his overall record was 111-106. That’s a career-ending record in today’s game. With a fully functioning blogosphere, Coach K might not have survived at Army, much less Duke.
As we know, Duke stuck with him. 802 more wins later, it can be called a “good” decision. Which is an understatement along the lines of calling the Pacific Ocean “moist.” It was a great decision!
Today’s win is an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations to Coach K, his family, and Duke nation!
UPDATE: Here is a great link for more information on the early years at Duke for Coach K: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/16131537/coach-ks-path-to-greatness-cleared-by-patient-ad-butters
The Confidential 