Ranking the top 42 players of the Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke

42 years after his hiring, Mike Krzyzewski will officially call it a career following the conclusion of the 2022 postseason.

Krzyzewski, 75, was brought to Duke in 1980 after a six-year tenure as the head coach at Army, and the Army alumnus wasted no time in quickly building the Blue Devils into one of the nation’s greatest dynasties. Krzyzewski will undoubtably go down as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — head basketball coach in college history, having won five NCAA Tournaments in his time with the Duke Blue Devils. In addition to his five national titles, Krzyzewski has made 12 trips to the Final Four, won 13 regular-season ACC titles and 15 ACC Tournament trophies.

Now finishing up his farewell tour, Krzyzewski has amassed a 1,196-365 overall record as a head coach, including a 1,123-306 record at the helm of Duke. It’s been a historic 42-year run for Coach K, and as he finishes up his last year at the helm, CBS Sports compiled a list of the top-42 players in Krzyzewski’s 42 years at Duke.

CBS Sports: Top-42 players of the 42-year Krzyzewski era

1. Christian Laettner
2. Grant Hill
3. Jay Williams
4. Zion Williamson
5. JJ Redick
6. Johnny Dawkins
7. Danny Ferry
8. Elton Brand
9. Shane Battier
10. Bobby Hurley
11. RJ Barrett
12. Marvin Bagley III
13. Jahlil Okafur
14. Shelden Williams
15. Jabari Parker
16. Mark Alarie
17. Jon Scheyer
18. Nolan Smith
19. Brandon Ingram
20. Jayson Tatum
21. Carlos Boozer
22. Vernon Carey Jr.
23. Mike Dunleavy Jr.
24. Kyle Singler
25. Austin Rivers
26. Grayson Allen
27. Luke Kennard
28. Trajan Langdon
29. Chris Duhon
30. Kyrie Irving
31. Tre Jones
32. Gene Banks
33. Mason Plumlee
34. Chris Carrawell
35. Phil Henderson
36. Gerald Henderson
37. Luol Deng
38. Cherokee Parks
39. Tyus Jones
40. Wendell Carter Jr.
41. Tommy Amaker
42. Seth Curry

Coach K reveals first thing he wants to do following Duke retirement

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski won’t train basketball players anymore after this season – but he will be training a puppy. Coach K revealed on Thursday that his first priority in retirement is to get a new dog.

The longtime Duke head coach lost his dog, Blue, at 12 years old in August of 2021 to lung cancer. Blue, with his name obviously inspired by the Blue Devils, was a blond lab and a “good guy,” according to Coach K. Krzyzewski said at the beginning of the season that they were hoping to “recruit” a replacement but he didn’t want to train a puppy during the season.

A new canine will have to wait, however, as the Blue Devils push on towards the postseason.

Duke enters Saturday’s game versus UNC with a 26-4 record and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Reports earlier this week suggest that if the Blue Devils land their choice of location in the NCAA Tournament on the 1- or 2-line, they prefer Krzyzewski’s hometown of Chicago over the closer Philadelphia option.