Eight unforgettable Duke losses ... and one North Carolina loss (wink, wink) ... that made Mike Krzyzewski. 800 victories and there wasn't a loss or two that also might have egged on Krzyzewski during his career? You don't get to be one of six NCAA Division I men's coaches to win 800 games without gleaning some lessons from a few missteps. Staff writer Luciana Chavez looks at the 8 that keyed his drive to 800.

UCONN 77 | DUKE 74

MARCH 29, 1999

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Duke had the best team in the country and might have been considered one of the best teams in ACC history had it beaten the Huskies in the national title game.

A physical battle with Michigan State sapped the Devils of some energy that they could have used at the end of a nip-and-tuck national title game.

At the end, Mike Krzyzewski put the game in senior Trajan Langdon's hands without calling a timeout. Langdon traveled on the game's last possession and Duke never had a chance to go for the tie.

To this day, Krzyzewski thinks it was the right call and still allows his team to go with the flow of the game in tight spots without calling timeouts.

But, in the aftermath, Krzyzewski, for the first time, lost underclassmen -- Elton Brand, Corey Maggette and William Avery -- to the NBA Draft.

VIRGINIA 109 | DUKE 66

MARCH 11, 1983

ATLANTA --Walking out of The Omni after losing to the Cavaliers in the first round of the ACC Tournament and finishing 11-17, Mike Krzyzewski said he felt "like a leper."

That night, at an Iron Dukes dinner, Krzyzewski's wife, Mickie, overheard some Duke boosters calling for her husband's job and returned to her room.

Krzyzewski and his staff skipped the dinner, too, and ended up at a Waffle House. Assistant sports information director Johnny Moore took the knives off the table, afraid of what Krzyzewski might do, though the coach said it wasn't that bad.

Still, when Moore raised a glass to "forgetting tonight," an embarrassed Krzyzewski set his jaw and said, "Here's to never forgetting tonight."

That night made Krzyzewski determined to control the program himself. Now, through the program's Legacy Fund, all player scholarships, one manager scholarship and one assistant coach's salary are endowed. Also, the new academic support building/practice facility that bears Krzyzewski's name was built, without university funds, solely through donations to the men's basketball program.

ARKANSAS 76 | DUKE 72

APRIL 4, 1994

CHARLOTTE -- Duke was playing in its own backyard. Athletic director Tom Butters had chaired the NCAA Tournament selection committee. Grant Hill was playing in his final college game.

You'd think that'd be enough fairy dust to see the Blue Devils through to another title.

Hill was almost a one-man show that season. But, doing one of his best coaching jobs, Mike Krzyzewski molded Hill and a cast of characters into a national title game team.

Arkansas guard Scotty Thurman ruined the dream when broke a late 70-70 tie with a 3-pointer, and Arkansas celebrated with then-President Bill Clinton, a devoted Razorbacks fan, afterward.

In the end, the effort spent in the loss and other things, like a bad back and hip, nagged at Krzyzewski. He'd receive NBA job offers. He'd be bothered when an offseason trip to Europe had to be canceled because some players weren't doing well academically. This all went on as he got to know new Duke president Nan Keohane.

And one of the most stressful times of Krzyzewski's career bled into the next season.

LOUISVILLE 72 | DUKE 69

MARCH 31, 1986

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