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In 1974, he resigned from the Army having attained the rank of captain. At age 26, Bobby Knight, his former coach at Army, called and offered him a graduate assistant position at Indiana University. That 1975 squad posted an 18-0 Big Ten mark and a 31-1 record.
Prior to joining the Duke program, Krzyzewski spent five years building the program at his alma mater in West Point. He led the Cadets to two NIT berths and left with a five-year record of 73-59.
In 1981, he took the Duke job. After some difficult early seasons, the Duke program achieved a level of success not seen in college basketball since the John Wooden years at UCLA. Duke lost in the NCAA championship game in 1986 and then made five consecutive Final Fours starting in 1988See also 1987 in sports, other events of 1988, 1989 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Bobby Allison won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship Bill Elliott CART Racing Danny Sullivan won the season championship Indian, with the last two years in the streak ( 1991See also 1990 in sports, other events of 1991, 1992 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Ernie Irvan won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship Dale Earnhardt CART Racing Michael Andretti won the season championship Indi and 1992See also 1991 in sports, other events of 1992, 1993 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Davey Allison won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship Alan Kulwicki CART Racing season championship won by Bobby Rahal Indianapo) ending with national championships. In the 1992 offseason, he served as an assistant on the Dream TeamAlternative meaning: Dream Team The Dream Team was the unofficial nickname of the United States men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. This team is generally regarded as the single greatest collection of ta, the legendary US OlympicOlympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. The Olympic Games or Olympics are an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coub basketball team that was the first to feature NBANBA redirects here, as it is the most common usage of the abbreviation; for more uses, see NBA (disambiguation). The National Basketball Association of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the NBA is the premier professional basketball league i players. (Duke star Christian LaettnerChristian Donald Laettner (born August 17, 1969 at Angola, New York) is a professional basketball player with the NBA. He has played for five different teams in the NBA, and he was a member of the Dream Team of the 1992 Summer Olympics. He was a member of, who graduated that year, was the only college player on the Dream Team.)
Coach K also led Duke to Final Fours in 1994See also 1993 in sports, other events of 1994, 1995 in sports and the list of 'years in sports'. Auto Racing Stock car racing: Sterling Marlin won the Daytona 500 NASCAR Championship Dale Earnhardt CART Racing season championship won by Al Unser, Jr India, 1999, 2001, and 2004, with another national championship in 2001.
During his years at Duke, Coach K has led the Blue Devils to 10 Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles and eight ACC tournament titles (at the end of the 2003-04 season). Five of the ACC tournament titles were consecutive ( 1999- 2003). He has also won 12 national coach of the year honors in eight different seasons. He was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.
During his long tenure at Duke, Krzyzewski was given the opportunity to coach in the NBA three times. The first time was following the 1990 season after he led the Blue Devils to their third straight Final Four. The Boston Celtics courted Coach K, but he declined the Celtics' offer. The next season, Krzyzewski proceeded to lead the Blue Devils to the first of two straight national championships. In 1994, he was pursued by the Portland Trail Blazers, but he again chose to stay at Duke. In 2004, Coach K was also courted by the Los Angeles Lakers, following the departure of high-profile coach Phil Jackson after their loss in the NBA Finals to the Detroit Pistons. He was given a formal offer, reportedly for five years and $40 million, but again turned down the NBA.
Duke has named the floor at its basketball venue, Cameron Indoor Stadium, Coach K Court in his honor.