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YouTube Gold: Coach K’s First Duke Press Conference

Well a small part of it anyway.

Mike Krzyzewski Reaches for Imaginary Notes, After Being Named Head Coach
Mike Krzyzewski Reaches for Imaginary Notes, After Being Named Head Coach

For today’s YouTube Gold, we present to you the day Mike Krzyzewski was introduced as Duke’s new coach in 1980.

Tom Butters introduces his new coach, saying that “there is no doubt in my mind that Mike is the brightest young coaching talent in America.”

Butters found Krzyzewski when he approached Bob Knight about the job and Knight, in a rare moment of self-awareness, said no but suggested Coach K, telling Butters that Kryzyzewski had “all of my good qualities and none of my bad ones.” Butters went on to say that he believed Coach K to be the best choice to lead Duke now and in the future.

For his part, Coach K (this is not on this video) started off by spelling his name. We can’t remember if it was here or later that he said just call me Coach K. Obviously it stuck but not with reporter Johnny Phelps: despite attending the presser, he misprounced Krzyzewski three separate times.

He does mention that he thinks Duke has been about excellence and that he hopes to continue that. All we can say is: mission accomplished and expectations exceeded.