College basketball writers Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander and Reid Forgave interviewed more than 100 coaches from around the country asking who they thought was the most powerful man in college hoops and their picks may or may not surprise you, but what shouldn’t come as a shock is who received the most votes.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski was voted college basketball’s most powerful – receiving 43.7 percent of the votes. Kentucky head coach John Calipari came in second with 20.4 percent of the votes.
So why did his peers deem K the don? Here’s what some of the coaches had to say according to CBS Sports.
“It’s K because of his USA Basketball influence. … His thoughts have more weight than anybody else’s. And I would think, probably with Nike, he has juice there too.”
“Coach K is the biggest deal in our sport. And the USA Basketball thing is what took it to another level. He gets [expletive] done. Who else could get that Marvin Bagley deal done like him? And he’s bullet-proof too. Corey Maggette situation. Nothing comes of it. Lance Thomas situation. Nothing comes of it. Totally bullet-proof. Have to respect it.”
“He’s coached the best in the world with USA Basketball, won all those gold medals and titles. He’s got Nike influence. And did you see Kevin Durant at Peach Jam? Who’s the coach KD went out of his way to stop and talk with? Coach K. Kids notice that.”
Build up a resume like his over a 43-year career and you’d be teflon too. Check below for their full list of hoops’ heavy hitters.
| Rank | Power player | Entity | Vote percentage |
| 1. | Mike Krzyzewski | Duke | 43.7 percent |
| 2. | John Calipari | Kentucky | 20.4 percent |
| 3. | Jim Delany | Big Ten | 8.7 percent |
| 4. | Bret Just | CAA | 6.8 percent |
| 5. | Jay Bilas | ESPN | 5.8 percent |
| T6. | Adam Silver | NBA | 1.9 percent |
| T6. | Dan Gavitt | NCAA | 1.9 percent |
| T6. | Rick Pitino | Louisville | 1.9 percent |
| T6. | William Wesley | CAA | 1.9 percent |