The Legends Club: Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry (2016)

by John Feinstein

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Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends�??University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano�??by the king of college basketball writers, #1 New York Times bestseller John Feinstein On March 18, 1980, the immensely powerful Duke basketball program announced the hiring of its new coach�??the man who would resurrect the team, restore glory to Duke, and defeat the legendary Dean Smith, who coached down the road at UNC Chapel Hill and had turned UNC into a powerhouse. Duke's new man was Mike Krzyzewski. The only problem was, no one knew who Krzyzewski was, he had a so-so record in his short time as head coach of Army, and worst of all, no one could even pronounce his name. The announcement caused head scratches . . . if not immediate calls for his head . . . and on this note his career at Duke began. The table was set nine days later, when on March 27, 1980, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. The hiring didn't raise as many eyebrows, but with the exuberant Valvano on board, two new coaches were now in place to challenge Dean Smith�??and the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold. In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, this extraordinary rivalry�??and the men behind it�??come to life in a unique, intimate way. The Legends Club is a sports book that captures an era in American sport and culture, documenting the inside view of a decade of absolutely incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball allegiance in a hot-bed area. Getting to the roots of the NCAA goliath that is followed religiously by millions of fans today, Feinstein uses his unprecedented access to all three coaches to paint a portrait only he could conjure. The Legends Club is destined to be one of Feinstein's bi… (more)

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Good description of ACC basketball in the eighties and nineties. It was a little too Coach K for my taste but pretty fair. (

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Kate.Koeze | Apr 15, 2022 |

A few years back I was very disappointed when John Feinstein's planned authorized biography of Coach Dean Smith didn't happen, but I was impressed with his decision to drop the book. Feinstein quickly realized that Coach Smith's dementia was too far along for him to truly participate in the writing of the book and rather than just plow ahead with it he cancelled the project. It would have been an important book for him to write and would have sold very well, making Mr. Feinstein a lot of money, but he walked away from it for the right reasons. This book is about the trio of coaches in the Triangle who were such contrasts in style but all of whom have great success on the court. I can tell that a lot of this material was probably already written and there are connecting passages that often identify someone who is then identified in the exact same way a few pages later. But that is a minor quibble, the writing is, as always with Mr. Feinstein, clear, direct and insightful. I thought he did a pretty good job of finding ways to link and contrast the three men and I found the later sections about the ends for Coach Valvano and Coach Smith to be moving. I will also admit that I came away with a better feeling about Coach K although I still dispute some of the "defenses" Mr. Feinstein throws his way. All in all an interesting book about a time I know well as I was in school in Chapel Hill from 1981 to 1985 and witnessed the start of this "club." (

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MarkMad | Jul 14, 2021 |

Fairly written and represented, author John Feinstein gives readers an inside look at the never-boring relationships that existed between Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Valvano as they led their teams in the competitive ACC. Basketball fans will enjoy this interesting book detailing how the successes and failures of these 3 coaching legends forever linked their lives together. (

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coachtim30 | Dec 27, 2018 |

John Feinstein is my most favorite author of sports books, particularly those related to college basketball. He covers a thirty year basketball rivalry among Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State. Most of this book centers on the coaching rivalry between Dean Smith from North Carolina and Mike Krzyzewski from Duke. After North Carolina State won the NCAA Tournament in 1983 under Jim Valvano, they have struggled to keep up with their other NC competitors. Valvano was the most interesting character of the three coaches and his struggle against cancer was heroic and inspiring.

I found the friendship between Valvano and Krzyzewski very interesting given their polar opposite personalities. There are a lot of great stories about the competition for recruits and the competition on the court. The ACC was my second favorite brand of basketball in the 1970s and early 80's. (My favorite was Big 5 basketball.)

This book is well researched and a pleasure to read if you like college basketball. Plenty of great stories. (

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writemoves | Jan 30, 2017 |

Every sport has times and places that become the pinnacle of that sport. A strong case can be made that North Carolina college basketball in the 1980s and 90s is one of those zeniths. Feinstein argues that the rivalry between the legendary coaches of North Carolina, Duke, and North Carolina State is what made their basketball so great. The author also provides respectful insight on the complex relationships between these men and the realities of playing and coaching at the highest levels of a sport. While the initial appeal will be to college basketball aficionados and sport fans in general, the stories of these men’s lives and careers is interesting enough to appeal to a broader audience. (

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MarianneDawn | Aug 8, 2016 |

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Original title

The Legends Club : Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano and an Epic Basketball Rivalry

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People/Characters

Important places

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Durham, North Carolina, USA

Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

Important events

NCAA National Championships

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Epigraph

Dedication

This is for Ken Denlinger, who taught me about college hoops, journalism, and life.

First words

in a very real sense, this book ws born on February 28, 1975- Dean Smith's forty-fifth birthday.

Quotations

As long as I am health and enjoying it, I'll coach and right now I am both.

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends�??University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano�??by the king of college basketball writers, #1 New York Times bestseller John Feinstein
On March 18, 1980, the immensely powerful Duke basketball program announced the hiring of its new coach�??the man who would resurrect the team, restore glory to Duke, and defeat the legendary Dean Smith, who coached down the road at UNC Chapel Hill and had turned UNC into a powerhouse. Duke's new man was Mike Krzyzewski. The only problem was, no one knew who Krzyzewski was, he had a so-so record in his short time as head coach of Army, and worst of all, no one could even pronounce his name. The announcement caused head scratches . . . if not immediate calls for his head . . . and on this note his career at Duke began.
The table was set nine days later, when on March 27, 1980, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. The hiring didn't raise as many eyebrows, but with the exuberant Valvano on board, two new coaches were now in place to challenge Dean Smith�??and the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold.
In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, this extraordinary rivalry�??and the men behind it�??come to life in a unique, intimate way. The Legends Club is a sports book that captures an era in American sport and culture, documenting the inside view of a decade of absolutely incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball allegiance in a hot-bed area. Getting to the roots of the NCAA goliath that is followed religiously by millions of fans today, Feinstein uses his unprecedented access to all three coaches to paint a portrait only he could conjure. The Legends Club is destined to be one of Feinstein's bi

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