As Scheyer's squad prepares to face Houston in San Antonio for a spot in the national championship, the Blue Zone takes a look at the last time a Duke coach made his first Final Four:
There is no question that Duke’s former head coach Mike Krzyzewski had to work incredibly hard to build Duke’s legacy as a top basketball program. Currently, head coach Jon Scheyer seems to be following in his footsteps quite well.
Krzyzewski began his coaching career at Duke in 1980 after spending five years at the helm of West Point, but it took some time for the Blue Devils to enter the national spotlight. Particularly during Krzyzewski’s second and third season with Duke, the team was not playing as well as fans had hoped. Some even asked for the coach to be fired. However, Tom Butters, Duke’s athletic director at the time, saw something special in the Chicago native and extended his contract for five more years. During that time, Krzyzewski captivated the eyes of many and forever changed the legacy of Duke.
Particularly in the 1985-86 season, Duke started to etch its name in history. On Feb. 26, 1986, the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 for the first time under Krzyzewski and beat Clemson to set a school record for 28 victories in a season. Just a few days later, on March 2, Duke beat North Carolina 82-74 to give the Blue Devils their first ACC regular season title since 1966, as well as their first undefeated home record since 1978.
Additionally, on March 9, Duke defeated Georgia Tech in a close game with a final score of 68-67, giving Krzyzewski his first-ever ACC Tournament championship. Further excitement awaited this notorious coach just a couple of weeks later as the Blue Devils beat Navy 71-50 to lead them to Krzyzewski’s first Final Four. Duke then beat the Kansas Jayhawks by four points and limited All-American Danny Manning to four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Sadly though, the Blue Devils lost 72-69 to Louisville in the national championship game. Duke still finished with an overall record of 37-3, setting school records for both wins and winning percentage.
While Duke’s name is commonly associated with a championship-caliber team, it took tremendous effort on Krzyzewski’s part to build that perception. Without his dedication and commitment to Duke, along with Butters taking a bet on the former West Point player and coach, the Blue Devils arguably would not have been as highly regarded as they are now. For Krzyzewski to start to make great progress in his sixth season with Duke is commendable, and it helped pave the way for later success.
Comparing the circumstances around Krzyzewski’s first appearance at the Final Four to Scheyer’s first trip as a head coach to the Final Four, there are interesting parallels that can be drawn. Duke’s name and legacy is certainly a credit to Krzyzewski. This fame propelled Scheyer to formulate strong recruiting classes over the past few years, but it is also a testament to Scheyer’s incredible work ethic to achieve success after taking the place of one of the greats.
Krzyzewski finished with a record of 37-3, but if Duke is able to obtain two more victories to win the championship, Scheyer will also have a 37-3 record after being in his First Final four as a head coach. Similar to the 1985-86 season, this year’s Blue Devils were undefeated at home, which gave them good momentum as they headed off to play in away games. They also won the ACC Championship, as did Krzyzewski in his sixth season. Additionally, both Krzyzewski’s squad in 1985-86 and Scheyer’s current team beat its opponent quite well in the Elite Eight matchup, providing an even bigger boost of confidence before the Final Four game.
While a lot of the season statistics align fairly well when comparing Krzyzewksi’s first Final Four with Scheyer’s, a key difference is that Scheyer is now continuing to pave the way in making great contributions to the history of Duke basketball. Although Scheyer is a young coach, what makes him stand out is that he was a player and assistant coach working alongside Krzyzewski, and he still actively seeks his advice.
Though Scheyer is preserving Krzyzewski’s legacy in Duke’s name, he continues to show why the Blue Devils are a force to be reckoned with.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.