Mike Krzyzewski has led Duke to four national championships and 15 Final Fours. (GETTY IMAGES)

Mike Krzyzewski recently became the winningest coach in Division I men’s college basketball. He surpassed his friend and mentor, Bob Knight, who had 902 victories during his Hall-of-Fame career.

Krzyzewski notched victory No. 903 at Madison Square Garden in front of many of his former players at Duke. Spearheaded by a truckload of All-Americans during his 31 years as the King of Durham, N.C., Coach K has had some of the best teams in college basketball. He won four national championships and reached the Final Four 15 times. But which team is the best? OneManFastBreak.net examines Krzyzewski’s five greatest teams:

5) 2010: SINGLER SENSATION

What started out as a good team turned into a great team by season’s end. The 2009-10 Duke team lived and rarely died by the 3-point shot. Led by forward Kyle Singler and guards Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, the sharp-shooting Blue Devils led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring margin (+16.2), free throw percentage (.761), 3-point field goal percentage (.382) and 3-point field goals made (7.4 per game). Scheyer, Singler, and Smith became the second trio in Duke history to each score at least 600 points in a season. Singler saved his best for the NCAA Tournament as he was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four in leading the ACC champions to a 61-59 victory over Butler in the championship game in Indianapolis. Duke finished the season 35-5.

4) 2001: BATTIER TESTED

The 2000-01 Blue Devils, which finished 35-4 and 13-3 in the ACC, may have been Coach K’s most talented team with six players drafted in the NBA, and five remain active in the league.  The anchor of the team was Carlos Boozer. The 6-9 chiseled forward, who currently plays for the Chicago Bulls, was one of the best low-post players in college, averaging 18 points and nearly nine rebounds per game during the 2000-01 season. Boozer was surrounded by snipers in the perimeter. Forward Mike Dunleavy Jr., the son of the former NBA great and a member of the Indiana Pacers, was a deadly 3-point shooter and can handle the ball like a guard. Jay Williams was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft, but his career was cut short by a devastating knee injury suffered after a motorcycle accident. Point guard Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) and forward Dahntay Jones (Pacers) were very strong perimeter defenders and didn’t mind doing the dirty work. The most celebrated player from the 2001 team was Shane Battier. The 6-8 forward, who now plays for the Houston Rockets, was a Krzyzewski’s favorite and the emotional leader of the Blue Devils. Battier’s No. 31 jersey is one 13 numbers hanging in the rafters at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

3) 1991: REBEL SLAYERS

One of Krzyzewski’s motivational tactics is to never allow his teams to forget losses. When Duke was destroyed by UNLV in the 1990 national championship game, Krzyzewski admitted that his team was simply not on par with the Runnin’ Rebels but he made sure the core group of that Duke team (Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Brian Davis) never relinquished the taste of that bitter defeat. The 30-point loss to UNLV remained in the minds of his players, and they responded by using that setback as motivation. The rematch between Duke and UNLV in the 1991 Final Four was probably Krzyzewski’s finest hour as a coach. He kept reminding his team they were better than Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels, even though he told the media the Rebels were the superior team. Krzyzewski had been to three straight Final Fours prior to 1991, and he was undeservingly being labeled as can’t-win-the-big-one coach. He proved everyone wrong with a stunning upset of undefeated UNLV, which boasted future NBA standouts Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon. The 1990-91 Duke squad, which finished 32-7, may not have been Krzyzewski’s most physically talented team, but it was his strongest team mentally.

2) 1986: THE FOUNDATION

Even though the 1985-86 Blue Devils team lost in the NCAA championship game to Pervis Ellison and the Louisville Cardinals they remain the school’s most important team. Why? Because Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, Jay Bilas, David Henderson, Danny Ferry, Billy King, Quin Snyder, and Mark Alarie were the foundation of Coach K’s program. Without them, there would be no Duke Dynasty. They were there during the infancy stages of the program when many doubted if Krzyzewski’s system was going to be successful. Amaker and Dawkins formed arguably the best backcourt in the ACC. Dawkins led the team in scoring (20.2 points per game) and was a consensus All-American. Alarie, Henderson and Bilas started in the frontcourt while King, Snyder and Ferry, a talented freshman, provided scoring punch off the bench. The ’92 team won a record 37 games and had just three losses.

1) 1992: THE LAETTNER SHOW

Duke and Kentucky staged an all-time classic NCAA Tournament battle in the 1992 East Regional final at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. Down by a point with 2.1 seconds left Grant Hill throws a perfect length-of-the-court inbounds pass to Christian Laettner, who grabs the pass at the free throw line, takes one dribble and swished a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to advance Duke to the Final Four. It is one of the most dramatic plays in the history of the tournament, and it led to Krzyzewki’s second consecutive national title. The 1992 Duke team – which won 34 games and finished 14-2 in the conference – was led by Wooden Award winner Laettner. The 6-10 forward never lacked in confidence and his swagger permeated throughout the team. Laettner was surrounded by excellent perimeter players: Bobby Hurley, Thomas Hill, Grant Hill and Brian Davis. Thomas Hill was a shooting guard who could score in the paint and Davis completed Laettner in the frontcourt with his energy and athleticism. Grant Hill, a sophomore in 1992, was the team’s Swiss army knife. He could play four of the five positions and can create his own shot. Hurley was the point guard from New Jersey who may not fit the mold of a classic basketball player but he always got the job done and ran the offense to near perfection. Krzyzewski says his ’92 team was not only his most confident team but it was also his most determined. Laettner and Co. won the NCAA title the previous season and had a huge bulls-eye on their chest. But they cleared every hurdle and became the first team since Wooden’s UCLA squad to win back-to-back championships.

– (Home page photo courtesy of US Presswire)

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Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh is quietly silencing his critics in the 2011 Eastern Conference finals. (US PRESSWIRE)

Prior to the start of the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer hinted that the Miami Heat have only two real superstars on the team, an obvious slap-in-the-face directed at Heat forward Chris Bosh.

Bosh claims he wasn’t upset with the comment, but you bet he read Boozer’s remark and wasn’t very pleased about it. Some players say they’re not affected by bulletin-board material, but every athlete in the world uses every little diss, no matter how big or small, as motivation.

Three games into the Heat-Bulls series, Bosh is playing like a man looking to put a muzzle on someone (hello Mr. Boozer!). He scored 30 points in Game on 12-of-18 shooting, and in a pivotal Game in Miami the supposed third wheel in the Big Three cog poured in 34 points on 13-of-18 shooting to push the Heat to a 2-1 series edge.

“I just want to be aggressive and have some kind of imprint in this series,” Bosh told TNT’s Craig Sager. “I had an aggressive Game 1. Game 2 was so-so but we still won. Here on our home floor I just wanted to be aggressive and it turned out to be a good game.”

Bosh has been so efficient in the series that even even the outspoken Joakim Noah has nothing but good things to say about the much-maligned Heat star. “He played excellent,” Noah said.

LeBron James said he changed his game plan in Game 3 to accommodate Bosh, allowing him to get more looks at the basket. “If I needed to get it going offensively I could, but the great thing about it is CB had it going. When we have someone on our team going, we continue to give the ball to him. The team feeds off his energy offensively and he brought it home for us.”

Bosh is without a doubt winning his one-on-one battle with Boozer, who has been real quiet in this series. Boozer did post nice numbers in Game 3 (26 points and 17 rebounds), but he only had 14 and 9 and 7 and 8 the previous two games, not exactly the type of numbers the Bulls were hoping from their high-priced free agent acquisition during the summer.

If the Heat are going to advance to the NBA Finals, the Heat know they need Bosh to play like an All-Star. Statistics show the Heat almost unbeatable when Bosh plays well. And so far the former Toronto Raptor is making Boozer eat his words.

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Forward Chris Bosh is expected to opt out of his Toronto Raptors contract on July 1.

It was fitting that Carlos Boozer and Joe Johnson were eliminated from the 2010 NBA playoffs on the same night because both may have played their last games for their respective teams and could very well be playing elsewhere next season. Another free agent who is expected to leave is Chris Bosh.

Bosh, Boozer and Johnson have said they are going to opt out of their contracts on July 1 and join a robust list of super free agents that could include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen and Amare Stoudemire.

Bosh says the Toronto Raptors are “still in the mix,” but who is he kidding? The fact that the Raptors selected a power forward in Thursday’s NBA Draft is a sign that they don’t think Bosh is returning to Canada.

Among Bosh’s hottest suitors are Miami, Chicago, Dallas and New York. The 6-foot-11 power forward has decided to ditch the Raptor dreads for the Georgia Tech clean-cut look, a symbolic move that could mean he is now ready to move on. He recently had dinner with D-Wade and claims free agency did not come up during their conversation. Yeah, right! That’s like saying men buy Playboy magazine to read the articles.

If you believe what Bosh told the Miami Herald recently, the Heat are the favorites to sign him. But Bosh could also be throwing out feelers out there to get a reaction from other ballclubs, forcing them to up the ante.

After the Jazz were swept by the L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, Boozer told ESPN’s J.A. Adande the Jazz needed to improve to advance in the playoffs. “We have to improve. We have to improve. We have to get better,” said Boozer, who has been with the Jazz since 2004.

Notice Boozer referred to the Jazz as “We,” a clear indication that he intends to stay. But do the Jazz want him back?

The way the team in constructed right now, Utah is just not equipped to handle bigger teams such as the Lakers, the Magic and the Celtics. The Lakers’ length was a huge factor in the conference semifinals, and bringing the undersized Boozer back would not be a smart basketball decision for Jerry Sloan and the Jazz management.

The Jazz need more size in the frontcourt. They have too many undersized forwards on the team: Boozer (listed at 6-9 but he’s more like 6-7), Paul Millsap (listed at 6-8 but probably closer to 6-6), C.J. Miles (listed at 6-6 but plays more like a guard) and Wesley Matthews.

Millsap and Boozer are interchangeable. You can’t play them at the same time because they play the same position and they virtually take up the same amount of space on the court. Utah signed Millsap to a $32-million deal last summer so they are committed to him for the next four years, making Boozer (who made $12 million this season) expendable.

The Heat has James, Bosh and Stoudemire atop their wish list, but would settle for Boozer if Plan A, B and C falter.

The Hawks are in the same predicament as the Jazz. Atlanta has three forwards in their frontcourt and doesn’t have a legit center on the roster to command double teams on offense and defend the paint on defense. That lack of a true post presence showed up in the conference semifinals against Orlando as Al Horford (6-8), Josh Smith (6-9) and Marvin Williams (6-7) simply couldn’t handle Dwight Howard in the box.

The Orlando-Atlanta series was the most lopsided in NBA history. From the opening tip of Game 1 to the final whistle in Game 4, the Hawks were never in the series, losing Game 1 by 43 points and Game 3 by 30. The Magic had a 25-point average margin.

It got so bad for the Hawks that some fans didn’t bother to show up for Game 4, and those who showed up booed with a passion.

Is the door completely shut for Johnson in terms of returning to Atlanta next season?

“It’s still open. It’s still open. I’ve been booed louder than that. I’ve got a thick skin,” said Johnson, who shot just 29.8% in the series and averaged 12.8 points – eight below what he averaged in the first round.

Though Johnson hasn’t closed the door on the Hawks, a team he has been with for past five seasons, the two-time All-Star is certainly open to hearing what other teams have to offer. Money talks, and Johnson would be selling himself short if he doesn’t test the free-agent market and find the best deal for him.

The 2010 free-agent class has two tiers on the first page. The first tier, also known as “the franchise” list, has two players: James and Wade. Those are the only two guys who deserve the maximum contract. The rest are second- and third-tier guys who are All-Star players but more suited for secondary roles.

Johnson falls into the second tier class. He is without question the best player on the Hawks, but he’s not someone who is good enough to carry an entire franchise on his shoulders. But if Johnson is paired up with a first-tier All-Star, then you have quite a 1-2 punch.

The Hawks brought in Jamal Crawford this season not just for scoring punch off the bench but also as a possible replacement in case Johnson leaves. There is still a good chance Johnson returns to Atlanta, but teams such as the Bulls, Heat, Knicks and other teams with cap room are willing to overpay for Johnson’s services.

Chicago is a very strong possibility because Johnson can share the spotlight with budding star Derrick Rose and the Bulls won’t have to alter what they do offensively because Johnson can slide into the shooting guard or small forward position without a hitch.

This offseason could prove to be one of those landmark times in the league, much like the Summer of ’96 when Shaquille O’Neal and Alonzo Mourning changed the landscape of the NBA by signing massive free-agent contracts with the Lakers and Heat, respectively.

Expect the first domino to fall prior to July 1.

Photos courtesy of NBA Entertainment/Getty Images.

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Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer pretty much had his way against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2010 playoffs. He averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds in the series and beat up on Denver big men Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen.

Now, Boozer is on the other side of the beatings. In two games against the big, bad L.A. Lakers, Boozer’s averages are down to 19 points and 12 rebounds; decent numbers but not good enough to get the Jazz over the hump – three tall humps to be specific.

The Lakers’ frontline of 7-foot center Andrew Bynum, 7-foot forward Pau Gasol and 6-10 forward Lamar Odom have become the story of the conference semifinals. All three are highly skilled big men with a ton of length, something Boozer and the Jazz are lacking.

Boozer, who is listed at 6-9 but is probably closer to 6-8, has struggled to find easy shots against the Lakers, and the same goes for 6-7 Paul Millsap, 6-5 Wesley Matthews and 6-6 C.J. Miles. Millsap’s numbers are actually up from the first round (21 points and 10 rebounds), but his shooting percentage is way down. After making 61% of his field goals against Denver, the Utah sixth man is shooting 51% against L.A.

Despite being down 2-0 and having been dominated 101-78 on the boards in the series, Boozer remains confident his team will bounce back and make this a series.

“We’re not going to be frustrated. We’re not going to be demoralized. We’re not going to back down. We’re not going to give up,” said a determined Boozer, who will be a free agent this summer.

“We’re going to keep fighting, we’re going to keep attacking and stay aggressive. Some of them calls could have been fouls, but weren’t. We’ll keep attacking them and hopefully we can get some more calls in Salt Lake City.”

Boozer believes the addition of Andrei Kirilenko will give the Jazz a boost in this series on both ends of the court.

“Andrei will help out a lot,” Boozer said of Kirilenko, who has been out since the playoffs began. “His length, his size, his skill set, his play-making ability. Obviously his defense and he can give Kobe a different look. It’ll be good to mix it up with him. I don’t expect for him to play a lot, but the time he’s on he can make a difference.”

Boozer said he and his teammates can’t worry about the Lakers’ shot-blockers (L.A. had 13 blocked shots in Game 2) and must continue to stay aggressive around the basket.

“We can’t worry about anything else, we just have to keep playing,” Boozer said. “If we have a lane, we’re going to drive and if we have a jump shot we’ll shoot it with confidence. They’re good. They’re big, they’re long, they play good defense. But we can’t shy away from them. We have to go right at them.”

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The Utah Jazz has no shot against the L.A. Lakers.

What? Say that again.

The Utah Jazz has no shot against the L.A. Lakers.

The reality of the Utah-L.A. series is this, the Lakers are very familiar with the Jazz and they will use the same formula that has worked for them the past two seasons: use their superior size, strength and length to control the paint.

“We’ll be ready,” Bryant said of the matchup in the Western Conference semifinals. “No scouting report necessary, for either team. We know their offense inside out and they know our offense inside out, as well as the defense. We play each other so many times, including preseason, we’re just extremely, extremely familiar with each other.”

“Everybody knows we have trouble with the Lakers,” said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose team has been eliminated from the postseason by the Lakers the past two years.

“They’re big and long and we’re not big and long. When it’s all said and done, you come and play and do the best you can,” Sloan added. “Our guys will lay it out there and compete, and that’s all you can ask them to do.”

Utah lost the season series 3-1, and one of the Laker victories came without Bryant.

In the four meetings, the Lakers held the Jazz to 88 points per game, 43% shooting from the field (27% from 3-point range) and L.A. enjoyed a +4 rebounding edge. Against the rest of the league, Utah averaged 104 points per game and nearly 50% shooting.

Carlos Boozer (6-9), Kyrylo Fesenko (7-1), Paul Millsap (6-8) and Wesley Matthews (6-5) will be at a major disadvantage against the Lakers’ frontline of Andrew Bynum (7-0), Pau Gasol (7-1), Lamar Odom (6-10) and Ron Artest (6-7). Fesenko is the only Jazz player who can match up height-wise vs. the Lakers, but the rookie center has just six playoff games under his belt.

Boozer, who dominated the Nuggets’ big men in the first round, enjoyed a season in which he averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds. But against the Lakers, Boozer’s numbers are down (16 points and nine rebounds). Boozer gives up almost three inches against Bynum and Gasol, which limits his post-ups.

Last year, the Lakers bounced the Jazz in five games in the opening round and the year before that the Lakers took them out in seven games in the conference semifinals.

“Third time is a charm, right?” said Jazz guard Deron Williams, who is a game time decision for Game 1 because of a sore elbow. “It’ll be a tough series. They’re always tough. They’re the defending champs until somebody defeats them. Hopefully we can be a little tougher with them, be a little more physical. They are usually a team that tries to come out and blow you out in one quarter and they’ve done that to us on several occasions. We’ll just have to be ready to go.”

So, unless the Jazz sprout some more height the next few days, it will be extremely difficult for them to combat the size and length of the Lakers. A sweep is not out of the possibility. More likely, the Jazz might be able to squeeze one win out of this series but that’s about it. Expect the Lakers to be in the conference finals.

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