Quotes by Mike Krzyzewski

“The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.”

“We lost, and thats the main thing that went wrong,”

“J.J. was sensational once we found him. We did not do a good job of finding him at first, but once we did, he had one of his best games.”

“We were not worthy of our jerseys, our Duke jerseys, in the first half.”

“Its not like we have not had close games. Weve just been able to win them, and as a result, the reality sometimes doesnt set in that youre weak in certain areas or youre not doing certain things well. ... When you win, sometimes it overshadows a poor performance.”

“Things happen in a game, and he took responsibility for it. I hope ... hes not punished. ... That kids a hell of a player.”

“J.J. played spectacular tonight. He was there when we needed him to be there. We needed him to be there in order to get the win and he was there. They played very well and we beat a good team. It is quite an accomplishment.”

“When we dont match another teams intensity — that doesnt happen very often — then all of a sudden we do J.J.-watching, where were watching J.J. play. We might as well get tickets and sit behind the bench. No one is doing anything out there.”

“Its always an honor to be ranked high, but whatever is said about you, you take it and then take a realistic look at yourself and who you are. I would look at us and say weve got a chance (to win it all).”

“The signing of the floor was not about Maryland or any particular opponent. Its about us. Its about us reminding each other that this is our floor, and we dont take it for granted. Thats the only thing.”

I have a rule on my team: when we talk to one another, we look each other right in the eye, because I think its tough to lie to somebody. You give respect to somebody.

In high school, in sport, I had a coach who told me I was much better than I thought I was, and would make me do more in a positive sense. He was the first person who taught me not to be afraid of failure.

Ive tried to handle winning well, so that maybe well win again, but Ive also tried to handle failure well. If those serve as good examples for teachers and kids, then I hope that would be a contribution I have made to sport. Not just basketball, but to sport.

I think some parents now look at a youngster failing as the final thing. Its a process, and failure is part of the process. I would like it if the teacher and the parents would connect more. I think that used to be, but were losing a little bit of that right now.

The thing I loved the most - and still love the most about teaching - is that you can connect with an individual or a group, and see that individual or group exceed their limits.

My ambition in high school was to be a high school coach and teacher, and thats still what I do: teach.

Playing sport was somewhat frivolous, but I liked it. I rebelled a little bit, and wouldnt go to music lessons and things like that, but I would go and play ball. My parents learned to love it because they saw how much I got out of it.

Leadership is an ever-evolving position.

I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.

To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.