Duke Coaching Legend Mike Krzyzewski (Coach 1K) Enters Final Four Matchup With Great Respect For Tom Izzo & It’s Reciprocated

Duke Coaching Legend Mike Krzyzewski (Coach 1K) Enters Final Four Matchup With Great Respect For Tom Izzo & It’s Reciprocated Lucas Oil Stadium

Duke Coaching Legend Mike Krzyzewski (Coach 1K) Enters Final Four Matchup With Great Respect For Tom Izzo & It’s Reciprocated

Lucas Oil Stadium

Indianapolis, IN

Earlier this year when Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 1,000th career game he affectionately was nicknamed 1K. This is Coach K’s 12th Final Four (tied with John Wooden for most ever) and his record in the tournament is unbelievable at 86-26. Needless to say his credentials are impeccable.

But don’t think for one second that Coach K enters his contest against MSU and his good friend Tom Izzo overlooking the seventh seed Spartans. Far from it. Duke’s leader speaks with reverence for the Michigan State head man.

“Well, first of all, I would really start out with Tom. I mean, Tom is as good as there is. Not just a coach, but he's a great guy. He's a terrific friend. I think we have an amazing relationship. Nothing surprises me that he and his program would do. They don't have a team; they have a program. As he develops each team, I don't know what the timeframe of it is until that group understands what the program is about, whether it be offense, defense or just character-wise, but they're going to keep improving because it's a program. It's a program of excellence. They're really good. That doesn't surprise me at all. They're going to show up every game with a great game plan, with a toughness and an unselfishness to play that they're not going to beat themselves. That's who Tom is. That will be him for as long as he coaches because that's what he does. That's why he's so good.”

Izzo has never hidden his admiration for Duke. He almost holds them as high as the national media and has often told those of us that cover him how he wants to mold the MSU program similarly into what Duke has built. So what was it about the Blue Devils Izzo has admired for so long?

“I think there's so many things, to be honest with you. Not that I should idolize my opponent. I think he's done it the right way, with good kids. The consistency is what I marvel over. It's hard to be that consistent over that much time. I think he had a little bit of a rough start, from what I heard. I didn't remember those days, but I think he did. I went through a little bit of that myself. That was our first Final Four. We played Duke, Elton Brand and everybody. So I just have always kept an eye on him. He's been a good friend. I just appreciate the way he's kind of adapted, changed his style some. For the most part, he's got some one-and-dones, some two-and-dones, but if you really look at it, he's won championships with Shane Battiers, people that have stuck around. He's adapted, he's adjusted. I think that's why he's still deserving of all the accolades he gets. He's done it with an Olympic team, with his Duke team. I guess I appreciate being here as long as I have, someone that's been in the same place even longer, because I don't think that's easy to do either. Expectations get so high. So good coach, classy guy, done it the right way. His players handle themselves the right way. I guess that's why you look at a program, you say, Where would you like yours someday? I guess that's what keeps me fighting. I think we're making some progress. Still got a ways to go.”

For Izzo, the ultimate competitor, he knows his record against Duke. It’s 8-1 including a 81-71 loss back on November 18 here in Indianapolis. So what does he think about the record? “Head-to-head advantage? Somebody said, You guys have a good rivalry. I said, You can't have a rivalry when it's 8-1. I think he's done a great job. I thought there were a couple times we could have beat them. One time we played them at our place after they lost to Purdue, I think, up in the Great Alaskan Shootout. Thought we could beat them. We lost by 20. I don't have any good reasons except they've got a good team and he does a good job. We're going to try to continue to get a better team and do a better job. It will be fun to see if we can change that around. This will be a good weekend to start, if we can do that.”

So as this Final Four is set to begin the national talking points is the caliber of coaches that are here. Tom Izzo feels proud to be among this group. A group many are calling the Mount Rushmore of coaches.

“That's a privilege to be part of that. I'm not sure, we just beat Rick Pitino, who is not there. When you look at Bo, a team they had coming back, it's tough to do what they did and what Kentucky did because they were both there last year. The job Mike has done over the years, he's been there so many times with so many different kinds of teams, that's not surprising. We've been a little bit more the surprise team, I guess. But I'm not sure we were as bad as maybe it seemed during the year. We just lost some games because we missed some free throws. It's a privilege and an honor to be in the class with the people that are there. I think you got a lot of coaches that have worked hard to get there and put in their time, put in their years, been graduate assistants on up. That makes it great because I know I have great respect for the other three coaches that are in here.”

Make no mistake and have no illusions, Tom Izzo is honored to be here, but he would gnaw his arm off for the win and improving his record to 8-2. Don’t count his Spartans out. He isn’t. Most importantly, Coach 1K isn’t either.