Duke Basketball: Coach K Passes Pat Summitt For Most Wins In NCAA History

With the Blue Devils’ route of Rhode Island on Saturday, coach Mike Krzyzewski now sits alone atop of the wins list by NCAA basketball coaches. He passed the late great Pat Summit with his 1,099 win. He will look to increase that total as the Blue Devils are in the Sweet 16.

Passing Pat Summitt in anything is quite the feat. She was a pioneer not only for the womens game but for basketball as a whole. Her Tennessee teams were always a must watch for me when she was coaching, similar to how Geno Auriemma and UConn are for me now. The way her teams made some of the most difficult aspects of basketball look so effortless is a testament to not only her coaching ability, but her ability to connect with her players and get them to perform to her standards. It’s one thing to get the most talented players in the country and it’s another thing to get them to perform well as a team.

That’s something that Mike Krzyzewski has been great at. Take, for example, the 2010 National Championship team. Was it the most talented team? Absolutely not. Did they have all of the top recruits? No. But that collection of guys were led by Coach K’s ability to get his guys to buy in. They bought into the Duke mantra, the Duke way, and it paid dividends in a title.

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I’ve been an avid Duke fan since 2006. I’ve seen some phenomenal teams and I’ve seen some good at best teams. The main thing with Coach K is that no matter his teams talent level, he (for the most part) gets them to buy into the Duke way. Slapping floors, wanting it more than your opponent and doing whatever it takes to ultimately cut down the nets in April.

Duke basketball always has a swagger to it. They’re the most hated team in the country year in and year out. They’re the most hated because of their success. That starts with the coach. He’s one of, if not, the best recruiters in college basketball. He’s gone from winning with guys who stay three or four years to winning with guys who stay one or two years. As far as college basketball coaches, he’s the best there is. You can say John Calipari is the best at getting his guys to the NBA and while Krzyzewski has done a great job at getting guys to the NBA, they don’t typically have the success that Kentucky players do. My point is that he gets these five star recruits and these guys with NBA aspirations to put that on the back burner for a year or two and get them to buy into the name on the front of the jersey instead of the name on the back.

Who knows when this run will end. It doesn’t look like it’s going to any time soon but while it’s still going on, enjoy it. Whatever rule changes happen in the coming years regarding the NBA Draft and guys skipping college, we could have a totally different game than we know now. I have full confidence that Coach K will have success in that rendition of the game as well. To the greatest college coach I’ve ever personally watched, congratulations and lets keep it rolling!

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