Mike Krzyzewski moved into sole possession of second place for all-time wins in college basketball with his 880th career victory, passing Dean Smith.
The interesting thing is that Dean Smith was his mentor, as the former Duke Hall of Fame coach. Even more interesting is the one person now sitting ahead of Coach K on the list is his other mentor, Bobby Knight. Knight coached him at Army and sits in first with 902 wins.
"I don't want to take any of that too seriously, but rather say, 'I'm one of the guys who's won a lot of games,’”' Krzyzewski said. “To share a spotlight with Dean and (Knight), that's a great honor.”
To get the win on Wednesday night, Duke beat UNC Greensboro 108-62. The head coach on the opposite bench was a former assistant to Coach K, Mike Dement.
“A lot of irony from my standpoint, to get involved with this game,” said Dement, a member of Krzyzewski’s staff from 1982-83. “All of us who grew up in North Carolina, as younger guys and as coaches, we all studied Dean Smith. We read his books and copied him. … It was a lot of irony that came into this, but a lot of reflection, too.”
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Coach K remains focused on the games and is just letting the records fall when they may. What mattered more to him on this evening was the play of his team.
Kyle Singler put up 27 points while Nolan Smith scored 26 for Duke (12-0), who shot an impressive 60.9-percent from the field while converting 23 turnovers into 42-points.
Dean Smith sent his well wished to Coach K after watching his former colleague move past him on the win’s list.
“I congratulate Mike on this milestone victory,” Smith said in a statement issued by North Carolina following the game. “I am sure he would want to share the credit for the wins with all his players and staff. I enjoyed competing against Mike’s teams throughout the years I was at UNC. I wish him continued health and personal success.”
If Duke continues to play at the high level they are at this time, Coach K will possibly pass Bobby Knight during the NCAA Championship Tournament.
“I don’t want to make it sound less than what it is, but number of wins, you have to be healthy, you have to have really good players, you have to have commitment from your school,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m not going to look at this as an achievement. When you win a championship … those are achievements.”
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