(Introducing: new writer Andy Moore, with a take on the Real Coach K.)
This year, Coach K will become the all-time winningest coach in college basketball history. He will win his 903rd game, possibly with flair against Michigan State in Madison Square Garden, and this will put him above his mentor Bob Knight. It will be a monumental achievement, and the unceasing media coverage around the thing is going to be a chance for reporters to exercise their favorite hobby—legacy defining.
And here’s what they’ll say: 903 is huge. It not only means he’s the winningest coach in history, it may mean he’s the greatest coach ever, especially when taking into account the relatively primitive college landscape that helped enable John Wooden’s success. After all, when Krzyzewski retires, he may have over 1,000 wins and four or more national championships. He will completely have changed a previously moribund basketball franchise, he will be a large part of why the ACC is still the most important conference in college basketball, and he will have expertly guided a clean program in a time when everyone seemed a little dirty.