Televangelist Oral Roberts was a ubiquitous television presence in the 1970s. I have no reason to believe that he and Mike Krzyzewski ever met. They traveled in different circles.
But there was a several-degrees-of-separation encounter of sorts. Early in his Duke tenure Krzyzewski recruited a seven-footer named Mark Acres. The Acres family was pretty religious and Krzyzewski probably realized he was fighting a losing battle in an in-home visit when Acres’ mother told him that her son needed to go to college someplace where he could be close to God.
Krzyzewski responded that Acres should come to Duke because God coached eight miles down the road.
That will be my only Dean Smith reference. Promise.
Acres ended up at Oral Roberts. As did his father Dick, first as an assistant coach, then as a head coach. And a brother.
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