Ex-Duke players reflect on coach Mike Krzyzewski's lifelong, fatherly care: 'He's always there'

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DURHAM, N.C. – Bobby Hurley didn't hesitate when asked about his most meaningful memory of coach Mike Krzyzewski. And it had little to do with the two national championships he won with the Blue Devils – Coach K's first of five rings – in the early 1990s. 

During his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings, Hurley was involved in a car accident that left him with life-threatening injuries. It was December 1993 and, in the middle of coaching obligations for Duke's season, Krzyzewski flew to be with Hurley in the hospital – offering emotional support as if Hurley were still playing point guard for him.  

"He knew I needed him," said an emotional Hurley, now the head coach at Arizona State. "He just knew. I was struggling to make it through. He flew across the country and left the team when he was busy coaching to be with me.

"I was done playing for him but he showed me the relationship is lifelong – for the highs and especially the lows. That's powerful to me to know he's someone I can count on in my life. I'll always feel that. It was just an amazing gesture."

Hurley's story of Krzyzewski showing up at a tumultuous time is hardly rare. They call it "The Brotherhood" for a reason. Around 80 former Duke players are poised to honor Coach K during Saturday's Duke vs. North Carolina game at Cameron Indoor Stadium – the final home game of the 75-year-old Krzyzewski's coaching tenure, spanning more than four decades with the school. 

Chris Collins, who played for Krzyzewski for four years in the mid-1990s and later served on his staff for 13 years as his top assistant before taking over at Northwestern, said Coach K's intuition to be there for his players in good times and bad is what separates him. 

"It really is a life contract when you play for him. He's always there in our darkest hours," Collins said. "And somehow he just knows when we need him. He has three daughters but never had any sons of his own. In a lot of respects, I think he believes that the guys he's coached are like his sons. He treats us like that. He's been a second father to me. 

"I remember my second year coaching at Northwestern, the same night he won his 1,000th game, we had a 13-point lead with four minutes to go vs. Maryland and lost on a tip-in buzzer-beater. I was completely distraught driving home from the airport and my phone rings and it's Coach K. On one of the greatest days of his career, when he could've been celebrating with his family, he thought of me because he knew I needed a pick-me-up. That gives an example of who he is to us."

The brotherhood

Krzyzewski told reporters this week he's been tempering the emotions as he prepares for his curtain call. "Who would’ve ever thought? It’s my Senior Day," Krzyzewski said. "It was mine for 42 years, but it's Duke's forever." 

Collins, who choked up thinking about Krzyzewski's last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, said: "I'm sure on Saturday when he sees four generations of players standing with him, it'll hit him hard. To have the Duke bond, that brotherhood, it's all because of him, we're all bonded through him where I feel close to Johnny Dawkins, who played before me, and Jayson Tatum or Zion Williamson, who played after me."

A majority of the 80-plus players who will honor Krzyzewski at the game all traveled to Durham the night before for a dinner with their former coach. Carlos Boozer, who played for Coach K in the early 2000s as a key member of Duke's 2001 national title team alongside Jay Williams, Shane Battier and Mike Dunleavy, said he's been giving Krzyzewski some of the same advice the coach gave him over the years – to cherish and take in the moment. 

"I'm about to be emotional out there my damn self, so I know he's going to be feeling it," Boozer said. "I just want him to embrace the moment and immerse himself in it... This is it. His last home game. He gets to end on his terms – against North Carolina. It's why we all went to Duke, to play in the greatest rivalry in college sports."

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, who played for Duke from 1982 to 1986 while putting the program on the map with two Final Fours, said watching what Krzyzewski built over the years and finally seeing it end  strikes an emotional chord because Coach K's longevity – and expectation of greatness – has almost spoiled fans and ex-players alike. 

"I'm just grateful that as a fan, a former player, we've had him coaching all these years, that he's had a successful wheel for 40-plus years. I was honored to be at the start of that," Bilas said. "There are a lot of ways he could've retired, but to have him walk off into the sunset, with a farewell tour like he has this season, that's special for all of us. I'm not looking forward to the end of it, but I'm glad we're getting this opportunity to celebrate his final year." 

'How to stand up to Christian Laettner'

Boozer said that similar to Hurley, Collins and Bilas, Krzyzewski's influence on him has been most felt off the court. 

"I've known Coach since I was 17 and I'm 40 now," Boozer said. "He's been there for me through everything, when my kids are born, he was there for me through a divorce. One of the greatest things he helped me with was how to maneuver once I became an All-Star in the NBA. He showed me how important it was to prioritize family. He'd always say, 'Tell people you have meetings. I tell people that when I need to spend time with (his wife) Mickie and my daughters.'" 

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Duke associate head coach Jon Scheyer, Krzyzewski's replacement taking over at the end of the season and a former player who guided the Blue Devils to the 2010 national title, said Coach K's family-centric culture has had a lasting effect on how he operates as a man – separate from coaching. 

“What people who don’t know him don’t get to see is just how unbelievably kind he is,” Scheyer said. "He's got 42 years of coaching players, and he cares about every damn one of them. The respect and care he has for all of us, how he carves out time, it's inspirational." 

Hurley said as a coach now, Krzyzewski's ability to manage relationships is most inspiring. 

"It's scary the energy levels he has, the passion he's been able to keep, and it's centered on knowing people," Hurley said. "We built trust through open communication. I remember when I was playing, he'd bring me into his office and talk to me about how to stand up to Christian Laettner. He loved having a competitive and stubborn guy like Christian on his team, but he also didn't sugar-coat how he could be to play with sometimes. He knew how to manage the relationships piece." 

Collins echoed Hurley's sentiments: "No one has a fire burning inside more than Coach K, his competitiveness and will to win. But it's that relationship piece to him that drives him the most.

"It's not about wins and losses, it's about the success stories, the ups and downs he's helped us all with. Not the championships, but the mentoring and fathering piece." 

Follow college basketball reporter Scott Gleeson on Twitter @ScottMGleeson.