On K, Valvano, and a 50th Anniversary We All Missed

[Tom B.]

The ties between Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Valvano are well-chronicled. We all know how they became close friends in the years after Valvano left coaching, and during his battle with cancer. But their history goes back way before that.

They came to the ACC in the same year (1980) and were about the same age (Valvano was 34, K was 33). Before coming to the ACC, they both coached at schools in New York form 1975-1980 -- Krzyzewski at Army, and Valvano at Iona. Their Army and Iona teams played each other five times in those years (Valvano was 3-2 against Krzyzewski in those games).

(Aside: Valvano's last Iona team, in the 1979-80 season, was also his best one. Built around future NBA center Jeff Ruland, they won the ECAC-Metro and went to the NCAA Tournament, beating Holy Cross in the first round before losing narrowly (74-71) to #11 Georgetown in the second round. That Iona team went 29-5 overall, including a regular season win over then-#2 Louisville, which would go on to win the national championship. Valvano left Iona for N.C. State after that season, and was succeeded at Iona by Pat Kennedy, who'd also go on to coach in the ACC at Florida State.)

But did you know that Krzyzewski and Valvano also once played against each other in college? The 50th anniversary of that game was earlier this year -- Army vs. Rutgers, February 17, 1967. Krzyzewski was in his second year at Army, and Valvano was a senior at Rutgers.

Army won, 77-59. K scored 17 and Valvano scored 12. (See article and box score below -- and note the misspelling of "Krzyzewski" in the box score from the Rutgers newspaper.)

Rutgers' coach at the time was Bill Foster, who'd later (in 1974) become the head coach at...Duke. He'd stay there for six years, until 1980, when he was succeeded by...Krzyzewski.


Article from the Home News of New Burnswick, NJ:

Rutgers Golden - Army Home News.jpg


Box score from The Daily Targum, the Rutgers campus newspaper:

Rutgers Golden - Army Targum 2.jpg

[Jeffrey]

Well, K, 20 turnovers?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Well, K, 20 turnovers?

Looks like Army only really went 7 deep... Go figure.

[ipatent]

I thought Knight was going to break his arm if he shot...that must have been a late game situation.

[Jim3k]

Looks like Army only really went 7 deep... Go figure.

Well...I count eight. But two didn't score, so maybe it's only six.

[YmoBeThere]

But two didn't score

I'm getting 3 that didn't score for Army.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'm getting 3 that didn't score for Army.

You are right. I just saw the goose egg line at the bottom and struck it.

So much for my witty comment.

[cspan37421]

Well, K, 20 turnovers?

Not necessarily all on him.

[Troublemaker]

Man, sports cliches / coachspeak have not evolved, e.g. "one game at a time", "letdown", etc

[Tom B.]

A little more trivia:

• That 1966-67 Rutgers team was quite good. Valvano was the starting point guard and averaged 18.1 ppg, but the team was built around Bob Lloyd, who was a first-team All American (the first in Rutgers' history). They went 22-6 in the regular season and earned a bid to the NIT -- the last one played at the old Madison Square Garden. They made the NIT semifinals before losing to eventual NIT champion Southern Illinois, which was led by future NBA Hall of Famer and Knicks great Walt Frazier. Then they beat Marshall in the third place game.

• Valvano wasn't the only future ACC coach that Krzyzewski played against that season. On December 29, 1966, Army played Maryland in the finals of an invitational tournament in Charlotte. Maryland's point guard was Gary Williams. Maryland won, 57-54 (I haven't been able to find a box score, though).

[devildeac]

A little more trivia:

• That 1966-67 Rutgers team was quite good. Valvano was the starting point guard and averaged 18.1 ppg, but the team was built around Bob Lloyd, who was a first-team All American (the first in Rutgers' history). They went 22-6 in the regular season and earned a bid to the NIT -- the last one played at the old Madison Square Garden. They made the NIT semifinals before losing to eventual NIT champion Southern Illinois, which was led by future NBA Hall of Famer and Knicks great Walt Frazier. Then they beat Marshall in the third place game.

• Valvano wasn't the only future ACC coach that Krzyzewski played against that season. On December 29, 1966, Army played Maryland in the finals of an invitational tournament in Charlotte. Maryland's point guard was Gary Williams. Maryland won, 57-54 (I haven't been able to find a box score, though).

Early proof that despite billy pecker's (sic) blatherings, Duke did not get all the calls. (I believe his actual expression was closer to, "Duke sure is getting a lot of the calls here.")

[Indoor66]

A little more trivia:

• That 1966-67 Rutgers team was quite good. Valvano was the starting point guard and averaged 18.1 ppg, but the team was built around Bob Lloyd, who was a first-team All American (the first in Rutgers' history). They went 22-6 in the regular season and earned a bid to the NIT -- the last one played at the old Madison Square Garden. They made the NIT semifinals before losing to eventual NIT champion Southern Illinois, which was led by future NBA Hall of Famer and Knicks great Walt Frazier. Then they beat Marshall in the third place game.

• Valvano wasn't the only future ACC coach that Krzyzewski played against that season. On December 29, 1966, Army played Maryland in the finals of an invitational tournament in Charlotte. Maryland's point guard was Gary Williams. Maryland won, 57-54 (I haven't been able to find a box score, though).

Another aside on that Southern Illinois team: Southern Illinois defeated the Vic Bubas coached Duke team to win that NIT.

[Olympic Fan]

Another aside on that Southern Illinois team: Southern Illinois defeated the Vic Bubas coached Duke team to win that NIT.

That 1967 Duke-Southern Illinois game was the first time an ACC team played in the NIT. NC State and Virginia had played in the tournament before joining the ACC, but in 1951 college basketball's first great gambling scandal -- centered on New York and Madison Square Garden -- tainted the NIT. Several major conferences, including the Southern and two years later, the new ACC, banned participation in the NIT.

ACC coaches had been pushing for years to lift that ban and the NIT was doing everything in it power to entice the ACC.

Finally, in 1967 -- at almost the last moment -- the ACC lifted the ban. But there was a problem -- the first round of the NIT was played at the same time as the ACC Tournament. The NIT was so anxious to get an ACC team that it offered a bye into the second round.

Duke lost a tough ACC title game to North Carolina (Dean's first ACC title) on Saturday night, Mar. 11, in Greensboro. Two nights later (Monday night, Mar. 13) they have to play Southern Illinois in the second round of the NIT (all games in Madison Square Garden in those days). Obviously, Southern Illinois -- led by a marvelous guard named Walt Frazier. Bob Verga led all scorers with 24 points, but he was just 9-for-29 from the floor. Southern Illinois would, of course, go on to win the title. The wins over Duke in the second round and Rutgers in the semifinals were the two closest games the team played en route to the title -- both nine-point wins.

BTW: Mike Krzyzewski's greatest moment as a player came against an ACC team in the second round of the 1969 NIT. He shut down ACC Player of the Year John Roche as Army upset South Carolina.

[Jeffrey]

Not necessarily all on him.

I'm sure they were not all his. K is still alive.

[Tom B.]

BTW: Mike Krzyzewski's greatest moment as a player came against an ACC team in the second round of the 1969 NIT. He shut down ACC Player of the Year John Roche as Army upset South Carolina.

A game in which K and Army faced yet another future ACC coach -- Bobby Cremins.

Army lost in the next round to Boston College, which included future BC and Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien. O'Brien coached the BC team that upset UNC in the second round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament, which led to one of my favorite Sports Illustrated covers ever.


SI cover.jpg

[Reilly]

... On December 29, 1966, Army played Maryland in the finals of an invitational tournament in Charlotte. Maryland's point guard was Gary Williams. Maryland won, 57-54 (I haven't been able to find a box score, though).

Some ACC assistant coaches during that 1966-67 season:

Chuck Daly (Duke)
Tom Davis (MD)
Larry Brown (UNC)
Donnie Walsh (So Carolina)
Billy Packer (WFU)

[Indoor66]

Some ACC assistant coaches during that 1966-67 season:

Chuck Daly (Duke)
Tom Davis (MD)
Larry Brown (UNC)
Donnie Walsh (So Carolina)
Billy Packer (WFU)

Another famous name associated with Duke was Hubie Brown who was an Assistant to Vic in 1969.