YouTube Gold: Coach K’s Introductory Press Conference

In 1980, Duke was in the market for a new coach. Bill Foster was unhappy, and for some reason, thought that South Carolina was a solid move.

It wasn’t: South Carolina had left the ACC on June 31, 1971 and was still an independent, a disastrous decision made by then-AD Paul Dietzel and basketball coach Frank McGuire. South Carolina joined the SEC in 1990, and has never really been much of a factor there.

Duke AD Tom Butters made what appeared to be a curious decision, hiring Army Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who had just come off of a 9-17 season.

Butters introduced Krzyzewski, calling him as “the brightest young coaching talent in America.” Time would prove that assessment correct, but not many people believed it at the time. The Duke Chronicle actually ran a headline that said “This is not a Joke.”

Coach K said that that he was coming from one great school to another, and that “Duke basketball is excellent, has been excellent, and we hope to continue that tradition.”

Mission accomplished.

By the way, the funniest part of this video is the reporter, as he keeps saying “Krishefshki.”

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