Paolo Banchero reveals what he took from Mike Krzyzewski at Duke

Paolo Banchero played at Duke in the 2021-22 season, which happened to be legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski‘s final year at the helm. During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast, Banchero revealed what lessons he took away from Krzyzewski’s fountains of wisdom.

“He taught me more in those nine to 10 months than any coach has taught me in my life,” Banchero said. “One thing he always stressed, especially to me, was having a strong presence and a strong face, as he would say. But really, a strong presence, where any room you walk into, whether it’s a basketball gym, a media room, an interview, having a strong presence about you, having a strong appearance, strong look.

“You don’t want to show any forms of weakness. You don’t want to show fatigue. You don’t want to show frustration, sadness. You want to look strong in everything you do. I think that was something that as an 18-year-old going into college, I didn’t really understand at the time, or didn’t have a full grasp of what he meant when he would say that.”

Coach K not only installed wisdom in Banchero off the court, but helped the young star find success on it. Banchero was a star for the Blue Devils, reeling in All-ACC First-Team honors and the ACC Rookie of the Year Award.

In turn, the Orlando Magic drafted Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Krzyzewski’s life lesson began to hit home for Banchero when he reached the next level.

“Since I’ve left, I’ve seen exactly what he means and exactly what he was talking about,” Banchero said. “These rooms you’re walking into as a professional athlete, you don’t want to show weakness. You don’t want to show any of that because you’re being looked at as to the team as an investment, right? They’re going to pay you millions of dollars to represent their franchise.

“You don’t want to be a head case, showing all this emotion and being frustrated and pissed off. Obviously, there’s points where that does happen. But, just in general, as a leader of men, as a leader of a team, you can’t do that.

“I think him understanding where I was headed and what my goals were, he knew I wanted to be the No. 1 pick. He knew I wanted to be a star in the NBA. And so, I think he was preparing me for what comes with that and how I would have to handle myself.”

Banchero haș handled himself well. He was an NBA All-Star in 2024 and likely would’ve been again this year if it weren’t for a lingering oblique injury. With Coach K’s lessons still in mind, Banchero is hungry to continue to build his legacy at the next level.