How many times has Coach K led Duke to the Final Four?
By John Buhler
Mike Krzyzewski has a chance to make history if Duke gets to the Final Four in his last season.
With Mike Krzyzewski calling it a career after one last NCAA Tournament run, Coach K could make history with one more Final Four appearance.
Coach K took over the Duke basketball program in 1980 after leading his alma mater at West Point. It was not easy for him initially, but by the mid-1980s, Duke began to make its climb into national prominence. The Blue Devils made it to the Final Four for the first time under his watch in 1986. By 1991, Duke won its first of five national championships under the iconic head coach.
Should Duke defeat Arkansas in the Elite Eight, it will be the 13th Final Four appearance for Coach K, which would be the most of all time for a men’s coach.
Duke basketball: How many Final Four appearances has Coach K made?
Entering the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Krzyzewski has guided the Duke program to 12 Final Four appearances. His most recent appearance came in 2015, which was Duke’s most recent national championship. Duke has won it all in its two most recent Final Four appearances and in three of its last four with the lone exception being during the 2004 run when they fell to UConn in the semis.
What makes a potential 13th Final Four appearance so special is it would break the tie Coach K has with John Wooden for most all-time with 12. Though it has been several generations since the late Wooden dominated on the hardwood coaching the UCLA Bruins, his name is synonymous with coaching excellence. For later generations, Krzyzewski has been that for the Duke program.
A 13th trip to the Final Four would mean Coach K and the Blue Devils are going to New Orleans.
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