Dick Vitale reveals his greatest college basketball coach of all-time

A legendary coaching career will be coming to an end this weekend. Regardless of how the Duke Blue Devils fare in the Final Four, longtime head coach Mike Krzyzewski will be retiring at the end of the season. Ahead of Duke’s matchup with the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four, ESPN icon Dick Vitale tabbed Krzyzewski as his pick for the greatest college basketball coach of all time.

Vitale made his pick for the greatest of all-time in a lengthy Facebook post on Thursday, heaping some great praise onto Krzyzewski.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion in the world of sports as that is what really made me fall in love with the various magical moments. My take as to the greatest coach of all time in college basketball to me is Mike Krzyzewski,” Vitale said. “Let me tell you why I feel that way. I guess it all depends on what criteria you utilize to make your choice. For some it is all about the number of national titles won. If that is your way of thinking than clearly your choice would be the former great leader at UCLA JOHN WOODEN who won 10 national championships.

“My method involves the total resume which means total wins, success in league competition, plus overall NCAA achievements. The # of wins by Coach are scary 1202 W’s an all time record that will never be broken. Factor in the most trips to the Final Four 13 & 5 national championships is just mind boggling. Let us not forget that he also led the USA to 3 gold medals. Also the era of competition is so intense & much more competitive. The VBDI’s final assessment is that COACH K is the greatest COACH of ALL TIME to work a college sideline. Yes he is the GOAT.”

Vitale has good reason to pick Krzyzewski as the greatest of all time

In his long coaching career, Krzyzewski has amassed 1,202 wins, the most ever. He has a career record of 1,202-367, a win percentage of .766. Krzyzewski has been at Duke for the past 42 seasons.

In addition to having the most all-time wins, Krzyzewski has led Duke to five national titles and 13 appearances in the Final Four, including this season.

On Saturday night, Krzyzewski will be looking to cement his legacy as one of the greatest coaches the sport has ever seen. By beating UNC on Saturday, Krzyzewski would not only be advancing to another title game, but he would be putting himself in a position to win a national championship in his final game ever coaching. Vitale already has plenty of reasons to pick Krzyzewski as the greatest to ever coach in college basketball, but another title this season would almost be like icing on the cake.