COACH K QUOTES

A sign prominent in the Duke locker room: NO ONE PENETRATES OUR DEFENSE. “Why do you play a game? I play a game to see how good we can be.” -Coach K Duke thrives on getting to the foul line on offense, often attack the basket with dribble penetration. The Blue Devils place equal stress on keeping opponents off the line. Krzyzewski considers that latter a “critical” aspect of playing intelligent basketball. His teams practice situations in which they have six fouls and must strive to play tough defense without incurring a seventh that would put the opposition on the line with a one-on-one opportunity. “The worst thing we can do is put the (other) team in a one-and-one.” -Coach K “...you can’t play any defense if the other team is on the foul line.” -Coach K “Our offense is based on thinking. If you can really think on the court, then you have as much freedom as your abilities will allow you. What you try to do is create roles for your players. Not numbered roles or titled positions, but you try to say, ‘Look, here is where you’re successful, now in this frame of reference you can do whatever the defense allows you, so read the defense.” -Coach K “I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments.” -Coach K “I don’t think we surprise people. We try to out-execute them.” -Coach K “Last year, I said I wonder where we’ll put the second banner. We’ve got to find out, don’t we? I’m probably stupid for saying this, but I wonder where a third one might go.” -Coach K “The best teams are team in any sport that lose themselves in the team. The individuals lose their identity. And their identities come about as a result of being in the team first.” -Coach K “You can’t defer if you’re the person who’s in the leadership position.” -Coach K “I think leadership is never singular. In a good organization, it’s plural.” -Coach K

THE NEXT PLAY

In basketball and in life, I have always maintained the philosophy of "next play." Essentially, what it means is that what you have just done is not nearly as important as what you are doing right now. The "next play" philosophy emphasizes the fact that the most important play of the game or life moment on which you should always focus is the next one. It is not about the turnover I committed last time down the court, it's not even about the three pointer I hit to tie the game, it is about what's next. To waste time lamenting a mistake or celebrating success is distracting and can leave you and your team unprepared for what you are about to face. It robs you of the ability to do your best at that moment and to give your full concentration. It's why I love basketball. Plays happen with rapidity and there many be no stop action. Basketball is a game that favors the quick thinker and the person who can go on to the next play the fastest. MIKE KRZYZEWSKI

HALFTIME GOALS

Game goals were done by the half and not just the end of the game.

COACH K - "TOGETHER"

Coach K once asked our team to do a simple thing. He asked us to attach the word "together" to every sentence we used. We were not just going to play hard; we were going to play hard together. We were not just going to defend; we were going to defend together. We were not just going to win; we were going to win together. Adding "together" to everything we did and said provided emphasis that we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. And it made us tougher. Really, it was a way to condition us to understand and accept that we were a part of something bigger than ourselves.