Mike Krzyzewski reflects on relationship with Jim Boeheim following ACC Tournament matchup

Duke and Syracuse met in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, and the Blue Devils walked away with an 88-79 victory over the orange. The win allowed Duke to advance to the ACC semifinals, where the Blue Devils defeated Miami 80-76. Following the game between Duke and Syracuse, Mike Krzyzewski opened up on his relationship with Jim Boeheim.

On the court, Krzyzewski and Boeheim have an extensive relationship with one another. The two have been coaching against each other for many years in the ACC, and they also have experience together working with USA Basketball.

“We’re best friends,” Krzyzewski said of his relationship with Boeheim. “I don’t know if there’s anybody in coaching that could be better friends with another coach in his profession than me and Jim. I mean, that comes way before USA basketball, with P.J. Carlesimo and Mike Fratello. The four of us were like brothers, and then the 11 years with the U.S. Team.”

Duke went all the way to the ACC Championship Game, where the Blue Devils lost to Virginia Tech on Saturday night.

Krzyzewski and Boeheim’s relationship extends beyond the court

In addition to their relationship and history together on the basketball court, Krzyzewski and Boeheim have grown to become great friends. Their families are close, adding another level to the Duke-Syracuse matchups each season.

Krzyzewski said that Boeheim’s family is like his family, and that he roots for Boeheim and Syracuse whenever possible.

“I mean, we grew up — we saw Buddy and Jimmy grow up,” added Krzyzewski. “My older — two older grandsons are best friends with them. So they’re like family. My wife, Mickie and Juli are — they text and call all the time. So there’s nobody except a former player that I cheer for more than Jim. So it’s tough playing against them, and we were fortunate enough to win today.

“But his team did him proud. His team did him proud.”

Krzyzewski’s storied coaching career will soon be coming to an end. He is retiring following the conclusion of this season, meaning that his career will be over when Duke loses or wins the title. Krzyzewski is the all-time winningest coach in D1 college basketball history, with 1,170 wins over 46 seasons of coaching. The closest person to Krzyzewski? That would be Boeheim, who has 982 wins across 45 seasons.