When most people hear the name Mike Krzyzewski, they immediately think of basketball. Coach Mike Krzyzewski (also known as Coach K), coach of the Duke University Blue Devils is now the winningest and most respected coach of all time. Running a quality program from top to bottom, he is known for also coaching NBA players during the Olympics. Coach K surpassed the great Bob Knight on Tuesday, January 28 with 903 career wins. Coach K not only looks for players with athletic and basketball ability, but he looks to develop a personal relationship with his players. When recruiting his players, he tells them "We're developing a relationship here, and if you're not interested, tell me sooner rather than later" (Daft 133). Going into his 34th season of being Duke's head basketball coach, he has several wins under his belt, as well as a few national titles. To Krzyzewski, leading a basketball team is just like leading a business, school, military unit, or anything else (Daft 133).
Recruited by Coach Bob Knight, now head coach of Texas Tech, Coach K played at West Point Military Academy in New York. He then knew he had a sense of coaching after three years of playing under Coach Knight. Coach K serve his five years in the Army and then later returned to West Point to begin his coaching career (www.coachk.com, 2014). Looking at his former coach, Bob Knight, Coach K developed a coaching philosophy from him. There are five things Coach K looks for in a player when scouting them. The five things he look for are:.
1. His players to embrace the family culture. He isn't the only Krzyzewski that has an impact on his players because his wife Mickie serves as a motherly figure. The Krzyzewski's gives the players opportunity to stop by the home and talk about things other than basketball.
2. He looks for his players to be coachable. Coach K wants to instill a certain mentality into his team.
3. Character is also something big to Coach K.
