By AARON BEARD
AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski thinks most records will be broken, except when it comes to John Wooden’s 10 NCAA championships at UCLA.
The Blue Devils’ Hall of Fame coach is tied with Wooden for the most Final Four trips with 12, this week’s being his first since winning a fourth title in 2010. He also owns records for the most wins in men’s Division I history and most NCAA Tournament victories.
But when asked Thursday in Indianapolis about Wooden’s legacy that included a run of seven straight titles, Krzyzewski made it clear he doesn’t think Wooden’s mark is reachable for anyone _ even though Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called Krzyzewski “a modern-day Wooden” in that same news conference.
“He was able to adapt and coach great talent and get them to play as one for a long time,” Krzyzewski said. “No one has done that to that level. Coach Wooden left a tremendous legacy and really something that’s not going to be topped.”
Krzyzewski has 1,016 victories in his 40 seasons, 943 coming over 35 years at Duke. He also has 86 NCAA tournament wins.
This year marks four decades since Wooden’s final team hoisted the NCAA title trophy once more. Wooden died in 2010.