Coach K
The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski
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4.3 • 77 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The definitive biography of college basketball’s all-time winningest coach, Mike Krzyzewski
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.
Krzyzewski built a staggering basketball empire that has endured for more than four decades, placing him among the all-time titans of American sport, and yet there has never been a defining portrait of the coach and his program. Until now. O’Connor uses scores of interviews with those who know Krzyzewski best to deliver previously untold stories about the relationships that define the venerable Coach K, including the one with his volcanic mentor, Bob Knight, that died a premature death. Krzyzewski was always driven by an inner rage fueled by his tough Chicago upbringing, and by the blue-collar Polish-American parents who raised him to fight for a better life. As the retiring Coach K makes his final stand, vying for one more ring during the 2021-2022 season before saying goodbye at age 75, O’Connor shows you sides of the man and his methods that will surprise even the most dedicated Duke fan.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The story of college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career is as enthralling as any sports drama. Casually known as Coach K, the head coach at Duke University from 1980 to 2022 directed the Blue Devils to five national titles, 13 Final Fours, and more than 1,000 wins. This biography shows us how Krzyzewski became such an outstanding coach, from his childhood in Chicago to his young adulthood at West Point, where he mentored under the legendary hothead Bobby Knight. Author Ian O’Connor spoke to scores of Coach K’s players, friends, colleagues, and rivals to unlock the keys to Krzyzewski’s incredible success story. We were enthralled by the play-by-plays of some of his most notable wins and losses. And while Krzyzewski has clearly been an inspirational figure to many, O’Connor doesn’t shy away from discussing his flaws. Anyone who enjoys sports will be swept away by this measured look at Coach K’s legendary life and career.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
New York Post sports columnist O'Connor (Belichick) delivers a standout definitive biography of Mike Krzyzewski, who led the Duke Blue Devils to five NCAA titles during his decades-long tenure as coach. Fashioning his fascinating account from interviews with Krzyzewski's friends and players, O'Connor begins with his subject's childhood in 1940s and '50s Chicago as "the son of a cleaning lady" and a hoops fanatic ("I don't think I ever passed that schoolyard without seeing him playing basketball," one neighbor recalls). His persistence led him to captain the Army basketball team, under coach Bob Knight (as his "much-better half on the court"), before eventually becoming coach himself, a stint which led to his joining Duke's basketball program in 1980. O'Connor takes a nuanced look at Krzyzewski's legendary career—from his experiences coaching All-Stars Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James during the 2008 Olympics to the many lives Krzyzewski impacted on and off the court. The coach's preternatural ability to "motivate people to achieve things they did not believe they were capable of achieving" is inspiring, as is the arc that O'Connor paints of his life as "a low-income street kid" who became "the greatest college basketball coach of all time." Fans won't want to miss this insightful look at a colossal figure in college sports.
Customer Reviews
Almost made it to the end…
It took me to the end of the book to discover that coach k declined participation in this project… that is a credit to Mr. O’Conner that he was able to hide his lack of access to coach K as deep into the book as he did…although, my spider senses should have been going off when O’Conner’s narrative devolved into a “those darn Dukies get away with everything!”