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He plants the seed early in recruiting

"I remember when Coach K was recruiting me and came to our house [in Sterling, Va.]

"My mom, Martha, she loved her plants. Coach Krzyzewski was doing the home visit, sitting in a chair, rocking back and forth, back and forth until he knocked over a whole plant stand worth of plants.

"There was dirt everywhere. I thought, 'Oh man. I really wanted to go to Duke. I hope mom still likes the school.' And she did. She still watches every one of Duke's games to this day."

NBA TV analyst Billy King, Duke player 1985-88

Any way you spell it, Coach K can be funny

"When you get older and get together with former players, you don't talk about the games but about the funny stuff that happened in the locker room or something Coach K did that was funny but wasn't intended to be funny.

"One time Coach K was going on and on to us about paying attention to detail, how we needed to be able to pay attention to detail and be critical of ourselves and say tough things to each other when the situation called for it.

"Right after that we went through the game plan and one key point was about rebounding. He wrote it up on the board and spelled it -- REBOUD.

"Billy King was a freshman at the time, and he leaned over and asked me, 'Do you think he wants us to point that out?' And I said, 'Yeah. Good call. You do it.' And, no, Billy did not."

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, Duke player 1983-86, Duke assistant 1990-92

You're not playing for Bob Knight anymore

"During summer camp, the staff would always play pickup games against campers and Mike would play. Back then, Cameron Indoor Stadium wasn't air-conditioned. So you're in your 30s, sweating, and it's a great workout.

"The campers would try to put together teams to beat us but they never did. Of course, we cheated ... . But Mike, he was so intense; he'd be playing like he was back at Army playing in the NIT for [Bob] Knight.

"So one day, Mike took a charge and it knocked out a cap on his front tooth. He leaves and gets it fixed then comes back the next day and he's playing again and takes another charge and gets the same cap knocked out.

"Bob Bender and I looked at each other, and we're both shaking our heads. All Bender and I are worried about is getting shots up, so me and Bob tell Mike, 'Hey, it's over. Playing for Knight? That's over. You can shoot a little now. Take some shots, why don't you!'

Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, Duke assistant 1988-95

'... don't walk around looking for seashells'

"One of the funniest things ever, though it wasn't funny at the time, happened my freshman year before the Carolina-Duke game in Chapel Hill.

"We were shooting around in Cameron. Coach K had just walked in, and that was the signal for the managers to collect the balls so we could start our walk-through for the game.

"I was standing next to the ball rack, so I bent over and picked a ball up to help out. Right at that moment, Coach comes in cursing, saying, 'What are you doing?' Then he tells Coach [Pete] Gaudet, 'Roll the ball out!' and he goes to the floor chasing it.

"He says, 'Here at Duke, we don't walk around looking for seashells.' I guess that's what I looked like I was doing. So he dives on the floor, yelling, 'This is my ball! It doesn't say 'Wilson'! It says 'Krzyzewski'!'

"I was thinking, 'This guy is nuts,' but he was always challenging guys like that. One time, at halftime at Clemson, I guess he didn't feel we were going all out, and he did it in his suit.

"I don't know if he does that now with his [artificial] hips. He's older, but, actually, he looks better now than he did when I was there.

Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, Duke player 1993-97

'I'm proud to be one of his guys'

"Those other guys have better stories than me. I don't have any funny kind of roasting stories.

"Obviously, it's a grand achievement to have those kind of numbers. I marvel at what Coach K continues to do, and not just thinking about the wins. I marvel more just about him as a man, how he's conducted his life with his family.

"That's what those other stories here are about; they transcend decades and Coach K just keeps going and going. I'm blessed to have had a chance to play for him and work for him. I'm proud to be one of his guys."

Harvard coach Tommy Amaker, Duke player 1984-87, Duke assistant 1989-97

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