Gene Banks On Coach K's 1000 Wins

A lot of people have weighed in on Coach K's 1,000 wins, but one guy we haven't heard from is Duke legend Gene Banks. So what does Tinkerbell think?

Well since you asked...

"I’m proud," Banks told the Philadelphia Tribune. "I’m happy. I’m elated — all the positive feelings for him. I feel a oneness with him. I’m a thread with him in his career. He’s kept that with me every year.

"I spend four or five days with him every May. I’m always spending like four or five days down in Durham (N.C.). We always rehash and talk about the days of old. He and I have a strong connection especially with the respect I have for him. It’s not even about Xs and Os. He’s always talking about family. That’s what I admire about him more than anything else. It’s about family. We always talk about family and life."

We didn't list Banks on our list of favorite K players because he just had one year, but he's absolutely one of our favorite Duke players. He was a blast.

He was really Duke's first elite athlete. He moved differently than the other guys, he could drop a fullcourt dime from an inbounds pass flatfooted and he ran like no one else. He bounced.

More than all that, he had immense charisma. He was just something else.