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Obviously, Mike Krzyzewski is a brilliant coach, arguably the best of all time. But he’s not just a guy who rolls the ball out and counts the victories. A lot goes into his success.
One of the things we’ve always appreciated about Mike Krzyzewski is hearing him away from the court, where he’s focused on competing and winning.
Away from it, his habit of needling people (mostly gently) aside, he’s a quiet and thoughtful man who thinks unconventionally. It’s one of the great paradoxes of his life: a product of West Point, with lessons he cherishes to this day, he rejected thoughtless rigidity he encountered there and uses the discipline he learned to think in a much freer manner than your average officer.
It’s always interesting to us to see how he thinks and how a guy who comes across at times as fairly meek and a little nerdy can flip a switch and demand a relentless pursuit of excellence.
Anyway, here he is talking about the 1992 game against Kentucky and how Christian Laettner handled the situation and the impact he had on his teammates. He also talks about how he didn't think Duke could win but how he felt he had to present a positive face to his team.
He also talks about 1998, when Duke lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament and how that team responded.
It’s worth your time to check it out.