Krzyzewski reflects on West Point years, praises current Army program

Except for the 40 minutes of game-time Sunday, Mike Krzyzewski might be Army's biggest fan.

A former soldier and basketball player at the United States Military Academy, Krzyzewski sad he was incredibly impressed by the grit and camaraderie of this year's Army team, telling reporters he felt the Black Knights could be worthy of an NCAA tournament berth come mid-March.

"I think Army could play anybody that we've played and have a chance to beat them. I think they're that good," Krzyzewski said. "I could not be more impressed with them."

As a player for Bob Knight at West Point in the late 1960s, Krzyzewski was a part of a pair of top-20 ranked squads—which Duke's head coach jokingly said was "not because of me." Going through the postgame handshakes after the Blue Devils' 20-point win, the memories came back a little bit for Krzyzewski: "When I'm shaking hands with them....'That was me.'"

West Point is also where Krzyzewski got his start as a head coach—his first career win came 39 years ago this weekend, a Nov. 28, 1975 victory against Lehigh.

After Krzyzewski came to Durham, the Army program suffered. In the ensuing 34 seasons, half of them ended in single-digit wins. The Black Knights have finished with a winning record just twice in that span, most recently a 16-15 ledger in 2012-13.

Now closing in on career win No. 1,000, Krzyzewski said his time on the sideline as a Cadet player and coach has brought back memories, though he tried to focus solely on the x's and o's of Sunday's game.

"That's my base. I wear my wedding ring and I wear my West Point ring with a Duke stone. I love West Point," Krzyzewski said. "I love the fact that I had that opportunity, and then I had an opportunity to coach there. One of the reasons I'm a good coach here is my five years there."