Duke legend and Chicago native Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski looks back on career, state of NCAA
Mike Krzyzewski
will forever be synonymous with Duke and Durham, North Carolina — but make no mistake about it, the roots of the legendary college basketball coach are deeply planted in Chicago.
Coach K, who was born and bred on Chicago's Northwest Side, was back in town Monday to speak at the University of Illinois Chicago's "Chats with the Chancellor" event.
Before that, CBS News Chicago had the chance to sit down with the five-time national champion and winner of three Olympic gold medals. Krzyzewski has come commonsense ideas about today's' transactional world of college hoops — which is ruled by name, image and likeness money and the revolving transfer portal.
Krzyzewski retired after the 2021-2022 season. He led Duke Blue Devils basketball to five
NCAA Tournament
victories, 12 Final Four appearances and 27 combined ACC titles in tournament and regular-season competition since taking over the program ahead of the 1980-81 season.
A lot was changing as Krzyzewski's time with Duke wound down. In 2018, the transfer portal launched so that college players could announce their intention to transfer programs.
In 2020
, the NCAA's top governing board voted to allow student athletes to profit off their
name, image, and likeness
– or NIL.
College athletics have been edging toward a professionalized model since NIL laws allowed players to be compensated. But the NCAA still does not call its players employees. Krzyzewski said the NCAA needs to change.
"The NCAA has shown that they are not capable of handling this, and they've lost every lawsuit against them," he said. "We just need some leadership, a new model, and trying to figure out how this is going to be, you know, because it's not going away."
Krzyzewski, 78, is a Chicago native — and speaks fondly of the city.
"This is my hometown. I love Chicago. I grew up about a mile and a half north of the United Center around Damen and Augusta in a great Polish community — it's now Ukrainian Village — and I'll be a Chicago person my whole life. It's a special city," he said. "It would be more special if the Bears could win and the Cubs could win, and the Bulls."
Krzyzewski, the son of Polish immigrants, noted that his father used to run a tavern at 21st Place and Damen Avenue.
In addition to his success with Duke, Krzyzewski also coached the U.S. Men's National Team to three Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016) and two FIBA World Cups (2010, 2014). Prior to that, he was an assistant coach on the gold-medal winning Dream Team in 1992.
Before joining Duke, Krzyzewski played point guard for Army under coach Bob Knight from 1966-69, serving as captain in his final season. He graduated from West Point and served as an officer in the United States Army for six years before starting his coaching career. Krzyzewski worked as an assistant under Knight at Indiana for one season before taking over as head coach at Army in 1975. He led the then-Cadets to a 73-59 (.553) record over five seasons with an NIT birth and first-round exit in 1978.
In looking back at the greatest triumph of his career, Krzyzewski said, "I think the fact that we sustained excellence.
"I've been a very lucky, lucky guy, and it started here in Chicago," he said.
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