You Can't Spell Duke Without K: A Look at Living Legend Mike Krzyzewski

At midnight tonight the LeBron James sweepstakes will begin. In what many see is more like a lottery than a courtship, Lebron will begin his daunting task of picking where he will be playing next season. At least one of the teams that are on his short list of suitors are without a coach.

There is a huge list of possible free agents that may join The King as he moves, but one person not on that list is Duke's own Mike Krzyzewski.

For some it is hard to fathom how one person can continue to turn down an incredible raise, tougher competition, and better talent. For the Duke community, they "get it".

Since the day he stepped onto the Duke campus Coach k has been committed to this team. Possibly something he learned from mentor Bobby Knight and his days at West Point.

The United States Military is very strong on values. K always had strong values but they were cemented into him as he did a tenure in the Army. The Navy believes in Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Not that much different than Duke's current model for success today.

1980 was a turning point for Duke Basketball. Although the first three years were as rocky as could be, the new ball coach was there to stay. When he stepped into those doors, K was poised to be something special. He was motivated to help this team win.

Since that time win is something he has done often! Duke is now known as the team that people love to hate, and that is thanks to him. Duke is not supposed to win, they are expected to. A ten loss season and NCAA birth would be a great accomplishment for some school, not Duke. Thanks to his winning ways, Duke is expected to make a strong push in the tourney every March.

The gold medal winning coach is truly one of the best to ever pick up a clip board. In the opinion of many, he is considered to be the greatest coach in history and that includes Wooden. Basketball is different now. Wooden had different challenges.

This past season could have been one of K's best coaching jobs. A month before bracketology and the selection show hardly anyone would have picked the Devils to go all the way. A little over a month later K and his crew were cutting down the nets.

If you thought Duke was fading, don't look now. They return two parts of one of the strongest trio of players from last season, as well as one of the best incoming classes in the country.

Irving and Curry could be two of the most important new faces in the ACC, and they will help Duke make another run toward the top. Next season may end differently than the last, however one constant will remain the same...Coach K