Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski offered high praise to rival Roy Williams after the North Carolina coach announced his retirement Thursday.

Krzyzewski had nothing but kind words for the man he has competed against for 18 years in the ACC:

"We have all benefited from his longevity in and commitment to coaching," Coach K said. "His legacy is secure as one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history."

Williams won 903 games in 33 seasons at UNC and Kansas with three national championships.

Williams was the fastest coach in NCAA history to win 900 games and is the only coach with more than 400 victories at two different schools.

With nine Final Four appearances and 18 conference regular-season titles, his resume is as strong as nearly anyone's in the history of the sport. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

The words from Krzyzewski show the respect Williams has among his peers.

The Duke Twitter account also honored the coach Thursday despite the rivalry between the two schools:

Florida State head coach Leonard Williams said: "The landscape of college basketball has changed tremendously, but the Carolina tradition because of Roy Williams is as strong as it has ever been. He is a Hall of Famer in every sense of the title, and we want to wish him and his family well as they begin this new phase of their lives."

He created a standard that won't be easy to match for the next coach at North Carolina.