“My hunger is not for success, it is for excellence. Because when you attain excellence, success just naturally follows.”
– Mike Krzyzewski
Mike Krzyzewski, also known as “Coach K,” is known as one of the greatest college coaches of all time. In his 42 seasons at Duke University, Coach K became a 5x national champion, advanced to 13 Final Fours, was a 12x National Coach of the Year honoree, was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame, and finished his career with 1,202 wins.
Coach K coached the United States Men's Basketball Team to 6 gold medals and coached 42 NBA Draft first-round picks. He holds NCAA records in most Final Four appearances with 13, NCAA tournament wins with 101, and most wins at one school with 1,129. He also won the most ACC championships in conference history with 15 and holds the record for most weeks ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll with 575 weeks.
Mike Krzyzewski shared his secret to so much success and it has nothing to do with chasing after trophies or records. Chasing excellence can be the best thing for players and teams. Working on your own skills and fitness before trying to win it all is super important. Records can be broken but excellence is unstoppable.
