Krzyzewski not letting up in final season
Outside of the ACC, most basketball fans don’t seem overly concerned about the final tour of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski announced last summer that he would be retiring from Duke, where he started coaching for the 1980-81 season. He coached five seasons at Army before that.
In his career with the Blue Devils he has become the winningest men’s coach of all time. Not counting Tuesday night’s game, his current alltime record is 1,191-365, a .765 winning percentage.
He has won five national championships and been runner-up twice. He is tied with UCLA’s John Wooden for most Final Four appearances with 12.
He could set a new record this season.
Krzyzewski turned 75 years old Sunday, but he hasn’t slowed down.
In his last rodeo, the Blue Devils are 21-4 overall and 11-3 in the ACC standings heading into Tuesday night’s game with Wake Forest.
They were also No. 11 in the NCAA NET rankings.
A lot of schools have honored him before their games. Of course, North Carolina didn’t. They are arch rivals much in the way Alabama and Auburn are in football.
That three of his four losses were within the ACC might say a lot about the league’s strength.
Duke’s only loss outside of its conference was on the road at Ohio State, 71-66, and the Buckeyes are No. 17 in the NET.
Duke’s conference losses were to Miami, Florida State and Virginia, and the Blue Devils get a chance for payback against FSU and Virginia in the next week.
Coach K, as most who can’t spell his last name call him, has always been known for having teams with great spacing and passing lanes.
In the past few years, he broke with his rule that the Blue Devils would never hang a banner of a team if all the players didn’t graduate and started recruiting oneand-done players.
Almost every coach has changed their philosophy about one-and-dones.
Late last month, two billboards went up in Durham, N.C., honoring Krzyzewski, and they were paid for by ESPN, a small price to pay for all the ratings he gave the broadcast company.
With a starting lineup of one junior (a 4-star recruit), two sophomores and two freshmen (all 5-stars), Mike Krzyzewski’s final dance may be through March into New Orleans in April.
It isn’t the best kept secret in Arkansas, but it is one of the most successful almost secrets.
In beautiful little Batesville with the White River running through it is the home of Bad Boy Mowers.
No, this is not a business note. Those are for Andrew Moreau in his Sunday column, but the manufacturer of zero-turn mowers and dozens of other products is bringing the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) to Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock on Feb. 25-26.
Bull riding is an incredibly thrilling and dangerous sport, thus the title of the event, Unleash the Beast.
Decades ago, yours truly rode a bull in the World’s Toughest Rodeo.
Once was all it took. If memory serves, the ride lasted about two seconds or halfway through the first buck.
Bad Bow Mowers is also bringing George Strait to Simmons next month.
They have been involved with several events, including hosting a college football game for a few years and recently the only sponsor of the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour as well as the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bad Boy Mowers was created in a garage by Phil Pulley and Robert Foster, but that was just the prototype.
The mowers, which are shipped worldwide, have always been manufactured in Batesville’s Industrial Park.
The company is celebrating its 20th year and is giving back to its home state.