I’m a notoriously poor speller, always have been. But there was one name I memorized and could spell in my sleep during my early years as a sports reporter for The Associated Press – Krzyzewski.
Why did I feel obligated to remember the name of some Polish guy from Chicago? Well, even in the mid 1980s, it was a name I believed I’d be using over and over and over again. And I was correct – in my assessment and spelling. (I don’t think I’ve ever misspelled Krzyzewski despite using it hundreds of times in copy and I’m not about to start now).
Michael William Krzyzewski has won three national championships at Duke in 28 years, made 10 Final Four appearances and won a remarkable 68 NCAA Tournament games. He’s set to win game No. 800 Saturday at slumping N.C.State, and to this day I’m still writing about him.
He’s a multi-millionaire, best-selling author and sharp recruiter. And while much of the coaching credit goes to the man himself for piling up such impressive numbers, another lion’s share of the kudos goes to a rag-tag pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates by the name of Tom Butters.
If you’re not familiar with ACC sports or a die-hard Pittsburgh fan (even some of them would forget about the pitcher from the early 1960s) Butters was the athletic director of the Blue Devils when Krzyzewski was first starting out at the Durham school. His three-year record was 38-47, including 13-29 in ACC games, and many among the Duke blue-bloods were calling for Krzyzewski’s ouster.
Why did Butters hire this Bobby Knight disciple from Army anyway?
Almost three decades later, Duke and Krzyzewski are inseparable, joined at the hip by wins and charitable donations, by scholars and NBA stars.
Since his first three seasons, coach K’s record at Duke is 688-158. One of my favorite stats is his ACC road record – 43 games over .500 in arguably the best league in the country.Krzyzewski will take a few years to pass his mentor in wins and become the most victorious coach in college hoops history.
Better than Knight, Smith, Wooden and any other comers who were foolish enough to venture into Cameron Indoor Stadium.
When win No. 800 comes Saturday at the RBC Center for Krzyzewski, all Dookies should pause a second and remember the man who all made it possible, the man who stuck his neck out for the Polish guy from Chicago – Tom Butters.