Class Notes

Long before he became the winningest coach in college basketball history, Mike Krzyzewski played and coached for Army West Point in three games at Rochester’s Louis Alexander Palestra on the River Campus.

And he left with a perfect record.

Known throughout the basketball universe as “Coach K”—a five-time national champion with Duke University—Krzyzewski was a senior captain for the Black Knights when they visited Rochester on March 8, 1969. Krzyzewski scored four points in a 59&#dash;46 win—the regular season finale for both teams—and Army West Point went on to finish fourth in the National Invitational Tournament. That team was coached by another future legend, Bobby Knight.

The 2021&#dash;22 college basketball season marks Krzyzewski’s swan song as a Hall of Fame college coach. He announced last June that he was retiring after the season, his 42nd at Duke. He entered the year with 1,177 victories, the most by any male or female coach in NCAA history.

At venues along the Blue Devils’ way, fans of the sport are recognizing Krzyzewski’s legacy.

Krzyzewski returned to the Palestra twice as head coach of the Black Knights in 1978, with Army West Point rolling 88&#dash;44 on February 10 and 80&#dash;60 on November 27. After the February loss, Rochester coach Mike Neer ’88W (MS) said Army’s defense was even more challenging than national powerhouse North Carolina had been a year earlier in a 103&#dash;44 romp over the Yellowjackets.

“They’re tougher physically,” Neer said. “They just keep coming at you.”

—Jim Mandelaro