Two Coaching Legends. Two Titles.

Mike Krzyzewski, head basketball coach of Duke University, presenting a vanity basketball jersey to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: University of Connecticut head women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma during a game against the University of Texas on March 23, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University and Geno Auriemma of the University of Connecticut.  Two college basketball coaches with legacies as long as their last names, leading athletes of different genders to championship after championship, whether it's for an NCAA title or an Olympic gold medal. 

Both have coached many great players over the years.  For Coach K it was Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Christian Laettner.  For Auriemma it was Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi.

This week both coaches added to their respective legacies.  Krzyzewski won his fifth national men's championship Monday night at Indianapolis, as Duke defeated Wisconsin 68-63.  Freshman Tyus Jones led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while fellow teammate Grayson Allen scored 16.

Auriemma's Huskies won their third consecutive women's championship Tuesday night in Tampa, Florida, defeating Notre Dame 63-53.  Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Moriah Jefferson both scored 15 points.  Junior Breanna Stewart, who has never known anything but championships since the moment she set foot on the UConn campus, had eight points and 15 rebounds.

Auriemma now has as many national championships as John Wooden of UCLA had, which is ten.
Even though Auriemma achieved his over a 20-year period, and Wooden took 11 years between 1964 and 1975 to get his.

Both Krzyzewski and Auriemma have had their critics:  Coach K for the way he operates on the basketball court, and for recruiting players like Tyus Jones, who would be in the NBA now if they didn't have an age and eligibility rule.  Auriemma for his abrasiveness, and for his team's dominance being partly responsible for the lack of parity in women's college basketball.

For as long as they choose to be around, Mike Krzyzewski's and Geno Auriemma's teams will continue to dominate their fiefdoms of college basketball.  Why?  Because the best players, no matter where they come from, will always gravitate to them.  Donors and university presidents will always support them, unless they do something horrible.  The media and fans will always fawn over them.  The world is their oyster, as long as they keep winning.