How Blue is Duke Devil Blood?
How good was Duke before Coach K?
Mike Krzyzweski, aka Coach K, has announced he will retire in 2022 after 42 seasons as head coach of Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team.
His teams have won five national championships and have reached the Final Four 12 times. Because of this, Duke has been referred to as one of college basketball "blueblood" programs.
But is it really a blueblood?
And what is a blueblood program, anyway?
I would suggest a blueblood program has a record of consistent success going back generations; even when there are dips, the program recovers and returns to prominence before long.
In other words, the program is much richer than the achievements of just one coach.
That's why I'm not sure about Duke.
So I looked at all nine teams that have won three or more national championships (since the NCAA Tournament began in 1939). Let's call them all "bluebloods" for the sake of argument. Then I took out the winningest coach of each program.
UCLA without John Wooden: 11 national championships go to 1; the program's overall .688 winning percentage* falls to .641.
Kentucky without Adolph Rupp: 8 go to 4; .762 winning percentage falls to .734.
North Carolina without Dean Smith: 6 national championships go to 4; .735 falls to .711.
Indiana without Bob Knight: 5 championships to 2, .634 to .592.
Duke without Coach K: 5 championships to 0, .710 to .633.
UConn without Jim Calhoun: 4 championships to 1; .637 to .615.
Kansas without Phog Allen: 3 national championships to 2; .727 winning percentage stays the same.
Villanova without Jay Wright: 3 national championships to 1; .657 to .636.
Louisville without Denny Crum: 3 national championships to 1; .652 to .626.
Duke is the only program of the nine that has won a national championship with only one coach. In 1980, when Coach K took over, it certainly didn't have "blueblood" status. Then again, who did? UCLA had no championships without Wooden at that point, and Kentucky had only one without Rupp. The only 2-time national champions were Oklahoma State, San Francisco, and Cincinnati, none of whom have won a title since.
But Duke did have an historically strong program before Coach K took over. Without Coach K, it still has four Final Four appearances, which ties for 21st all time. Without Coach K, its .633 winning percentage would be 22nd all-time (with Coach K, it's .710 and fourth). Duke was by no means a David in a land of Goliaths; if Duke had performed to its previous historical standards over the past 41 seasons, it would still be a top 25-30 program.
If we excluded the winningest coaches of each program, Duke ranks ninth of nine in national championships with zero. But in terms of winning percentage, it ranks sixth.
Here's how it would look:
Kentucky, .734
Kansas, .727
North Carolina, .711
UCLA, .641
Villanova, .636
Duke, .633
Louisville, .626
UConn, .615
Indiana, .592
Not only is Kentucky the winningest program, but it won the national championship with five different head coaches., Kansas and North Carolina each have won it all with three different head coaches.
Coach K did a lot for Duke, but it will be a while for Duke’s blood to get as blue as theirs.
*Obviously, that is not a percentage, which means "per hundred" but is rather a ratio, or "winning frequency per one." I don't like the common usage of "percentage" but have no inclination to replace it.
James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you find value in his articles, subscribe. Your support through Paypal helps keep him going. You may contact him for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com.