Might Have Been Coach A, Not Coach K...

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Coach K, stands at the top of the coaching profession for his body of work at Duke University - three NCAA Championships, 10 Final Fours (third most in history), and 11 ACC Championships, and for leading the U.S.A. Men's basketball team to GOLD in the 2008 Olympics. Pretty heady stuff. I confess pain as I write this being a Terp and knowing far too many of those accomplishments came through the dispatching of the University of Maryland Men's varsity basketball team. By the way, the fan behavior toward Krzyzewski and his family and players when at Maryland is an embarrassment to the University, students, and alumni. But, I digress...  Coach K is synonomous with Duke basketball, leading the university to name the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium after him. (Which reminds me of the time when Duke seniors all signed the floor in his honor on senior night and Maryland beat them - a particularly sweet win. But, I digress.)
I believe it was in 1950 that Coach A was asked to come and serve as a "consultant" - a non-assistant assistant coach to then coach Gerry Gerard by athletic director Eddie ("Indoor Stadium") Cameron. Coach Gerard, stricken by cancer, was going to need a replacement but there was no timeline. Coach A was asked to unofficially assist and eventually replace Coach Gerard. It wasn't long before Coach A grew uncomfortable with waiting for the man to die. He did not stay.
Coach A - for Arthur - made decisions about his own future which left plenty of room on the stage for Coach K to eventually take the Duke program to great prominence. Had Arthur stayed, it might have played out differently, because his career choices led him to become the most famous and influential coach of all time. You see, Arthur never went by that name. He was best known as, "Red."
Red Auerbach won nine NBA championships - eight in a row. His energy, creativity, and tenacity paved the way for NBA success. Read more about this engaging man in Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game; John Feinstein; Back Bay Books; 2004.  There are numerous other books by and about the Celtic championship years if you are so inclined.