Jump Ball: Is Coach K the greatest college basketball coach of all time?
Jump Ball is a series in which theScore's college basketball editors debate topics from around the game.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski recently won his 1,000th game, making him the first Division I coach to ever reach the mark. Given all of the success he has accumulated in his career, there's only one question left to ask.
Is Coach K the greatest college basketball coach of all time?
Gino Bottero: Coach K didn't just become great overnight. He's been great for a long time, and has kept his team playing at a high level for decades. His accomplishments at West Point, Duke, and with USA Basketball put him in an elite class all his own.
Isaac Owusu: While Coach K's longevity and 1,000 wins are a major deal, there are many more factors that go into being the greatest college basketball coach of all time. The modern media's obsession with Duke and its coach would lead many to believe that he is in a class of his own, but the likes of John Wooden, Dean Smith and Pat Summitt belong in that conversation as well.
Bottero: Maybe more impressive than his 1,000 wins are the 40 seasons Krzyzewski has served as a collegiate basketball coach. His success and longevity are simply unrivaled. No other college basketball coach has won national championships in three consecutive decades.
Owusu: Only John Wooden won 10 national championships, and that's more than double Coach K's title count. Combining his time at UCLA and Indiana State, Wooden never won fewer than 14 games in a season. Coach K has six seasons with 14 or fewer victories on his resume.
Bottero: Krzyzewski has earned the respect of his peers at a level others only dream about, and that respect extends beyond his players and those in the program. Some in the media have asserted that his ability to influence game officials borders on being an unfair advantage for the Blue Devils.
Owusu: Where some see respect, others feel hatred. Those antics and the elitism are a reason for the general disdain felt for Duke basketball by observers, and it all comes from the top. In fact, the so-called "Duke Way" that's been the heart of so many Blue Devils teams is rather suspect.
Bottero: Even in an era of one-and-dones, Krzyzewski has kept his focus on the bigger picture. More impactful than any of his successes on the hard court is the 98 percent graduation rate among student-athletes who have spent four years in the program during Krzyzewski's tenure.
Owusu: Graduating students at such a high rate is a great accomplishment and shouldn't be trivialized. But Krzyzewski's players fail to graduate on the court: he hasn't coached a single player who's made the Hall of Fame, and only two of his players have won an NBA title.