“I love the fact that he’s growing like this and wanted to be in that environment,” he told Stevens. “Some people would call it pressure. But he wanted the opportunity to expand his abilities, and they’re just not shooting and ball-handling, they’re leadership-wise.”
In spite of Irving’s tremendous basketball skills, what Krzyzewski finds most impressive about his former player is his ability to maintain a “strong face” — something that he frequently discusses with his players.
“I tell our guys all the time you don’t always speak with words,” he explained. “You speak with how you look. I think [Kyrie has] become much more vocal, but he really has a strong leader’s face.”