Summary of Ian O'Connor's Coach K

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 The neighborhood around Leavitt and Augusta Boulevard was home to many of Krzyzewski’s relatives. They were the grandchildren of Polish immigrants who firmly believed in an honest day’s work and in the American dream that suggested they could someday have lives like those of the wealthy people they labored for.

#2 Mike and his brother, Bill, were raised by their mother, Emily, and father, William. They were both raised Catholic, and they understood that the teachers and priests were always right. They did not get into trouble very often.

#3 Mike Krzyzewski, the basketball coach, was a member of the Columbian family. They met on summer mornings at the schoolyard, played sports for three hours, stopped in at the neighborhood social center, and then returned home for lunch and maybe a quick viewing of Bozo’s Circus on WGN.

#4 The Weber team was made up of mostly Columbo kids, and they were always willing to play with them. They were a gang in name only, and harmless.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669382492

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Insights on Ian O'Connor's Coach K

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The neighborhood around Leavitt and Augusta Boulevard was home to many of Krzyzewski’s relatives. They were the grandchildren of Polish immigrants who firmly believed in an honest day’s work and in the American dream that suggested they could someday have lives like those of the wealthy people they labored for.

#2

Mike and his brother, Bill, were raised by their mother, Emily, and father, William. They were both raised Catholic, and they understood that the teachers and priests were always right. They did not get into trouble very often.

#3

Mike Krzyzewski, the basketball coach, was a member of the Columbian family. They met on summer mornings at the schoolyard, played sports for three hours, stopped in at the neighborhood social center, and then returned home for lunch and maybe a quick viewing of Bozo’s Circus on WGN.

#4

The Weber team was made up of mostly Columbo kids, and they were always willing to play with them. They were a gang in name only, and harmless.

#5

The Krzyzewski family was very close, and they took great pride in what they had. They all made sure the streets and sidewalks were clean, the flowers were watered, and the small lawns were cut.

#6

At Weber, Krzyzewski felt at home. It was a no-bullshit place where students were required to wear a collared shirt, tie, and slacks, and where the priests and brothers were extremely strict about the rules.

#7

In 1964, Krzyzewski was a captain of the varsity heavyweights - the school teams were divided by player size into the heavies, lightweights, bantamweights, and flyweights. He was six feet one, 175 pounds, and wore number 44. In a team yearbook photo, Krzyzewski stood alone in front, ball in hands, while teammates, coaches, and priests stood in rows behind him.

#8

Mike was a great player, and he proved it by tearing up the Catholic League, which was the rough and tumble league shaped by Big Ten physicality. He regularly scored more than 20 points per game.

#9

On that Friday night, February 26, 1965, Krzyzewski put on a show at the best possible time in front of a crowd at Loyola. He scored 18 of his 33 points in the final quarter to give Weber a 69–58 victory and the North Section championship.

#10

When Mike met with Army coach Robert Montgomery Knight, his teammates couldn’t help but stare. At six five, Knight had been a large presence on Ohio State’s 1960 national championship team. Now the second-youngest major college coach in America, he was only six years older than Krzyzewski.

#11

Mike’s parents were extremely devoted to their son, and spent whatever money they could spare on his Catholic education. When Mike decided he didn’t want to be a soldier, his parents were not happy about it. They spent two weeks ripping into him in kitchen-table conversations in Polish, loud enough for Mike to hear.

#12

Some of the Columbos were more