And then, in 1980, Coach K managed to land the Duke job, leapfrogging a number of more qualified candidates. While his resume might not have been as impressive as others, he brought an energy and desire that seemed to fit what the school was looking for in a head coach. Listen, Coach K is a legend and a fascinating guy (I met him when I was a fellow at Duke, where he is basically God, and I was impressed and intrigued), but a biography that mainly hypes him up does not do justice to this complex character. O'Connor has collected tons of info on the man, but it builds up to a basketball hagiography. What makes Coach K truly larger than life though are his weaknesses and how he fought them - plus, questioning your subject critically always renders a text more interesting. Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski by Ian O’Connor (Mariner Books 2022)(Biography) (3632).

Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski - Kindle

Mike Krzyzewski, known worldwide as “Coach K,” is a five-time national champion at Duke, the NCAA's all-time leader in victories with nearly 1,200, and the first man to lead Team USA to three Olympic basketball gold medals. Through unprecedented access to Krzyzewski’s best friends, closest advisers, fiercest adversaries, and generations of his players and assistants, three-time New York Times bestselling author Ian O’Connor takes you behind the Blue Devil curtain with a penetrating examination of the great, but flawed leader as he closes out his iconic career. This is a look at many pivotal moments. From the start of his own basketball career, to his time at Army, and his rough start at Duke, this is a fantastic read. Many important games are discussed, many former players and coachs are talked about, as well as the way Coach K had to adapt through the years.

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This book is a well-deserved and timely tribute to Coach Mike Krzyzewski. For those sports fans who are counting, I finished reading this the night after Coach K’s 2022 Duke team lost in the Final Four to their uber-rivals, the University of North Carolina Tarheels. About the only big picture thing that isn't detailed is Krzyzewski's involvement with the '92 Dream Team. There's plenty of documentation on that story elsewhere, which might explain why O'Connor just gives it a drive-by. It should be noted that Krzyzewski himself did not speak to O’Connor for the book, though by all accounts he was receptive to the idea of others – from all chapters in his life – sitting down with the author. Make no mistake, however – this book is PLENTY thorough.)

Coach K – HarperCollins Coach K – HarperCollins

I skipped the Sweet Sixteen -- March 24, for Duke -- and they won but still it was a dumb mistake. Traveling. For me, the stuff on Bobby Knight was the most fascinating. One former Army player of Knight's is quoted as saying Airborne Ranger School doesn't compare to a Bobby Knight preseason practice. The book presents Knight in all his complicated glory: abusive, tyrannical, petty, compassionate, great teacher, integrity. All of these attributes come to play in Krzyzewski's up-and-down relationship with his mentor. O’Connor dives deep, digging through extant sources as well as conducting his own interviews with scores upon scores of people with close connections to Coach K. The result is a fascinating portrait of sporting greatness, a long look at a man who ascended to the heights of his profession. A man who, for all his flaws, would prove to be a beloved figure in the history of his sport. Ian O'Connor's book covers Coach K basically from birth through his announcement that this is his last season. I've stayed up late, exhausted, and pushed myself to finish it before the game tonight. The book isn't very good and if Duke loses tonight it would have been anticlimactic to keep going yet I probably wouldn't have DNF'd it, still hoping for some fascinating revelation which would never come. The book, "Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski," chronicles the fabled career of the Duke men's basketball coach, who is retiring after 42 seasons and five NCAA national championships. He announced that this would be his last season on June 2, 2021 -- with Scheyer named his successor the same day.

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O'Connor's assessment of Coach K's coaching ability is somewhat blinkered. Time and again, he says that Coach K is not considered a strategic genius, the type of person who can draw up a play when the team needs a last second basket. Yet, he provides at least two examples, where Coach K-designed plays provided the winning shot that sent Duke into the Final Four. (As an aside, who are these coaching savants who can come up with last second sure-fire scoring? O'Connor never says.) If you are a Duke or Coach K fan, O'Connor's account of Coach K's career at Duke is largely a rehash of things that have been previously reported. One major exception is the behind-the-scenes story of the fracturing of the relationship between Coach K and his mentor, Bobby Knight. There had been previous stories of Knight passing a note to Tommy Amaker to give to Coach K just prior to tip off before Duke played Indiana in the 1992 Final Four. Amaker supposedly read the note and kept it to himself, knowing that it would only upset K. It turns out the note was given to someone else and was ultimately passed along to Krzyzewski, and we learn its contents. One of the fundamental truths that O’Connor teases out is the fact that there is a high cost to high achievement. And to reach these heights – 12 Final Fours and five NCAA titles, three Olympic championships – the cost is that much higher. The toll it takes on one’s health – physical and emotional – is significant. And yet, Coach K soldiers on. The second time I typed it, the time when I mentioned O'Connors inclusion of misspellings of Coach K's name, I spelled it wrong. Flagrant.