RESOLUTION HONORING COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI
WHEREAS, On May 2, Chicago's native son and pride of Chicago's Polish community, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, will serve as Grand Marshal of the 124th annual Polish Constitution Day Parade; and
WHEREAS, The parade will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Wacker Drive and Dearborn Street and will attract tens of thousands of spectators, featuring 100 marching units; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski grew up in Ukrainian Village, graduated from Weber High School and went on to play college basketball at the United States Military Academy at West Point; and
WHEREAS, After serving in the United States Army, Coach Krzyzewski became an assistant coach to Bob Knight at the University of Indiana; and
WHEREAS, From 1975 to 1980, Coach Krzyzewski was the head coach at his alma mater, West Point, where his team posted a 73-59 record; and
WHEREAS, As head coach of the Duke Blue Devils, Coach K has led his teams to five national championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015), 12 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season championships, 13 ACC Tournament championships, and 10 consecutive Top-10 AP Poll finishes between. 1997 and 2006; and
WHEREAS, On April 6, 2015, Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils won their 5th National Championship under Coach Krzyzewski's direction; and
WHEREAS, On January 25, 2015, Coach Mike Krzyzewski earned his 1000th career victory against the Red Storm of St. John's University in New York City at Madison Square Garden; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski is the first Division 1 men's basketball coach to reach 1000 wins; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski has coached 28 All-American selections, seven National Players of the Year, six National Defensive Players of the Year, 49 NBA Draft selections, and 18 NBA Lottery picks; and
WHEREAS, Coach K is a four-time Olympic gold medal winner, taking top honors in 1984 and 1992 as Team USA's assistant coach, and in 2008 and 2012 as its head coach; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski has been named "National Coach of the Year' 12 times, and has received many other recognitions, including "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated in 2011, and "America's Best Coach" by Time magazine and CNN; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001, the Army Sports Hall of Fame in 2009, the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 2011; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski is a best-selling author of such books as "The Gold Standard: Building a World Class Team", "Leading with the Heart", and "Beyond Basketball: Coach K's Keywords for Success"; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski is an influential leader in his community, giving freely of his time, energy, talents, and financial support to various organizations, including the Emily Krzyzewski Center, which he and his wife, Mickie, founded to inspire economically disadvantaged students to dream big, act with character and purpose, strive for academic excellence, and reach their highest potential as future citizen leaders; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski continues to inspire his players and serve as a role model to his former players, some of whom served or continue to serve on his coaching staff, or who have joined the coaching staff at other universities or professional teams; and
WHEREAS, Coach Krzyzewski is beloved and admired by the Duke University community and countless others around the world; and now therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members ofthe Chicago City Council, assembled this fifteenth day of April, 2015, do hereby congratulate Coach Mike Krzyzewski on the occasion of his remarkable success and for being honored as this year's Grand Marshal of the Polish Constitution Day Parade; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable cop/ of this resolution be presented to Coach
Mike Krzyzewski. it ^
Edwproj^K Burke Alderman, 14th Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That May 2, 2015 shall be COACH K DAY IN CHICAGO in recognition of Coach Mike Krzyzewski's significant accomplishments at Duke University as well as his numerous contributions to Polonia in Chicago; and