On Nov. 28, 1975, a young Mike Krzyzewski earned his first win as a young head coach at his alma mater, Army, defeating Lehigh 56-29.
On Sunday, Janurary 25th, 2015, the No.5 Duke Blue Devils defeated the St. Johns Red Storm 77-68 in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, earning the 67-year-old his 1,000th career win, becoming the first NCAA Division I men’s coach to do so.
The arena was a fitting setting, considering the fact that it was the same court that saw him become the winningest coach in Division I college men’s basketball history when he surpassed Bob Knight for his 903rd win against Michigan State on Nov. 11th, 2011.
Plenty of familiar faces made the trip to New York to join crowd, including around 15-20 former Duke players. The Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony and Phil Jackson were on hand, as well as St. John’s greats Chris Mullin, Lou Carnesecca and Felipe Lopez. Nike headman Phil Knight was even included among the 19,812, which contained a solid mix of fans from both schools.
“To win the 1,000th here, you need to be a lucky guy. I like my place, Cameron, but this is a magical place,” Krzyzewski said.
The milestone win was not easy to come by, as the Blue Devils trailed at halftime by a score of 43-39. With Duke trailing St. John’s by 10 points with a little over eight minutes left in the game, Krzyzewski displayed the wisdom and know-how that got him to 999 wins in the first place, making the decision to bring 7-foot backup center Marshall Plumlee into the frontcourt to play alongside freshman starter Jahlil Okafor, which provided the Blue Devils a defensive edge sorely lacking throughout the game previously.
The lineup change allowed Duke to out-rebound the Red Storm while holding them without a field goal for a six-minutes at one point.
Duke would proceed to go on an 18-2 run down the stretch, effectively sealing the win and prompting the post-game celebrations. Okafor would finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds, combining with fellow freshman Tyrus Jones’ 22 points and senior guard Quinn Cook’s 17.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QiMT508OvM
“You can’t even describe it,” Jones would later say about the decisive run. “It’s an unbelievable rush that you’re feeling. And you’re out there just pouring everything into the game and for your teammates and for Coach. You’re giving it your all.”
His record-setting coach was just as impressed.
“We were so gritty in the last 10 minutes,” Krzyzewski said. “It was tough to get involved with 1,000. I was just trying to survive this game, which is how you get to 1,000.”
After the buzzer sounded, Krzyzewski’s players swarmed him as he received a bear hug from assistant Jeff Capel. Players were given T-shirts that read “1,000 Wins And Kounting,” which they proudly displayed during his postgame interviews.
The P.A. announcer congratulated Krzyzewski, while Duke fans, holding coach K signs, chanted his name.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Krzyzewski would later state in a postgame interview.
“There will be others that win more, but it is kind of neat to be the first one to 1,000,” he said. “I am proud of that, too: It’s not just the number of wins, but the quality of opponents we’ve had.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXwNMzr1gY
The win also allowed Krzyzewski’s top player this season to realize a goal of his own.
Okafor, a freshman Player of the Year candidate as part of another hyped Duke recruiting class, named the prospect of helping his then-future coach reach the milestone as a big reason for his decision to come to Durham.
“Me, personally, getting a chance to help Coach K with his 1,000th game … that was the tipping point for me,” Okafor said during his televised recruiting announcement back in November of 2013.
Krzyzewski improved to 1,000-308 in his 40-year coaching career. He is 927-249 in 35 seasons at Duke, guiding the Blue Devils to four NCAA titles and 11 trips to the Final Four.
“It’s special. But it’s for all the players who have played for him who got these wins. It’s not just us,” Cook said. “That’s why we wanted to come out and get it done.”
