Hero Vet Article

Special to Veterans Advantage

"I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball," is a wonderful quote attributed to one of our nation’s finest basketball coaches. He’s also an Army Veteran who brought the gold back to the USA Men’s Program this year, reversing its riches to rags story.

By beating Spain for the gold at the Beijing Olympics, Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) led 2008 Men’s basketball team to the top of the hotly competitive global game once again. This year’s team was nicknamed the “Redeem Team,” referring to their drive to retake the gold medal like the Dream Teams of the 1990s and recover from recent – and embarrassing – international setbacks earlier in the decade.

Call it redeem if you want, but it was indeed a dream for Coach K.

"We have not had one second of problem as a coaching staff with our team," an emotional Krzyzewski said afterward. "It’s been the greatest experience of my life."

Krzyzewski, the son of Polish immigrants, credits his mom for much of his success, even to this day. “My mom’s been the greatest person in my life,” said Krzyzewski, 61. “She gave me the opportunity to dream and then the opportunity to go to private schools.”

"The community center in the neighborhood where I grew up had a significant impact on the direction of my life. Our goal is to create that type of environment and experience for the youth in this community."

Emily Krzyzewski died of cancer in 1996, but the indelible imprint on her son remains. The coach with the golden-hearted mom is seeing to it that others get an opportunity to succeed. To that end, he honored his mother in 2006 by placing her name on the marquee of his pride and joy, the Emily Krzyzewski Center, a learning facility for less-fortunate children in Durham. In so doing, Coach K has inadvertently challenged himself.

“I knew that with her name on it, this’ll be a lifetime commitment,” says Krzyzewski, who’s helped raise more than $14 million toward the nonprofit center’s goal of $50 million. “We felt it would be a great example for the kids, with the relationship that I had with my mother serving as the spirit of the center.”

In addition to the Emily K Family Life Center, Krzyzewski and his wife, Mickie, are keenly involved with children through Duke Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network of 170 hospitals across North America. “You know, to those who are given much, much is expected,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate to be given much and I understand that you should do something with that. It’s very humbling. Knowing you have the opportunity to do that, you better do it.”

Krzyzewski and his mentor, Texas Tech’s Bobby Knight, K’s coach at West Point. Photo Credit: U.S. Military Academy Sports Information Office

The Military - and Bobby Knight - Give Coach K His First Break
After graduating High School, the Chicago native attended The United States Military Academy at West Point and played basketball while training to become an officer in the Army. He was captain of the Army basketball team in his senior season, 1968-69, leading his team to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). From 1969-74, Krzyzewski served in the Army and directed service teams for three years and then followed that up with two years as head coach of the U.S. Military Academy Prep School at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

In 1974, he resigned from the Army having attained the rank of captain. Bob Knight, his former coach at Army, offered Krzyzewski, then 26 years old, a graduate assistant position at Indiana University. That 1975 squad posted an 18-0 Big Ten mark and a 31-1 overall record. He then moved on to coaching himself, become Knight’s best-known disciple, and the rest is history.

“Coach Krzyzewski’s success as a basketball coach and exemplar of the ideals of West Point has become renowned. Throughout the Nation, the nickname – "Coach K" – brings to mind an extraordinary man and the rock-solid values he embodies. Through his lifetime of achievements, he has done much to burnish the national image of West Point,” said West Point Association of Graduates Chairman and CEO Thomas B. Dyer said in awarding Krzyzewski its 2005 Distinguished Graduate Award.

History Repeating
Redemption ended in thrilling fashion. After overwhelming everyone for its first seven games in Beijing, the Americans led by only four points with under 2 1/2 minutes to play in the gold medal game against Spain. Then the U.S. proved it could handle a close game that seemed would never come in Beijing.

Their prize: the first U.S. gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.

"We played with great character in one of the great games in international basketball history," Krzyzewski said.