Duke fans watched their Blue Devils fall to North Carolina on Saturday in a game that ended with the Tar Heels dismantling Duke, 74-63. Afterward, Coach Krzyzewski said he was happy “to turn the page” and not dwell on what happened.
Duke basketball has a lot to be proud of this season. They are currently ranked #3 in the country and have won four straight games. But after Saturday’s loss to North Carolina, it is time for the Blue Devils to turn the page on what has been an up-and-down season.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Mike Krzyzewski didn’t want it to go this way, but he appeared relieved after Duke’s 94-81 defeat to North Carolina in his last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“It’s hard for me to believe this is over,” Krzyzewski said to the audience, some of whom had paid $10,000 or more for a ticket. “So I’m simply going to call it a wrap on the regular season.”
This season had been lengthy, and although Saturday wasn’t the formal finale, it was likely the end of his farewell tour, which he was grateful for.
Last June, Krzyzewski announced his retirement, claiming that he took the choice so that he could concentrate exclusively on coaching for one more season — no recruiting, no worry about the future, just one final push for the title. But that strategy was doomed to fail. The basketball world wasn’t about to sit back and let Krzyzewski, the most successful coach in history, ride off into the sunset. A requiem was necessary for his career.
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As a result, Krzyzewski was the main topic at every stop on this season’s tour. There were honors at some of the stops. At other times, there are tearful reunions. Just a month earlier, there was an appropriate lack of fanfare at North Carolina, with opposing supporters venting their fury on the adversary one more time. Then they played basketball games as an afterthought, and Duke won all but four of them.
Then there was Saturday.
This one has been circled by the Blue Devils for months. Of course, it was a rivalry game, but Duke had previously destroyed North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a statement victory in a season in which the Blue Devils had also defeated Gonzaga and Kentucky. The game didn’t have much of an impact on the standings. The Blue Devils had already claimed the ACC regular-season championship with a seven-game winning run. Saturday, though, was about this team writing its own chapter in Krzyzewski’s career and sending his coach out on the right foot. That, however, did not occur.
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“I’d be lying if I claimed I wasn’t aware that this moment was approaching,” remarked star forward Paolo Banchero. “Everyone was aware of the situation. It’s more than just a typical game. It was crucial. And it’s a shame we lost.”
Krzyzewski, on the other hand, didn’t appear to mind at all.
Krzyzewski stated, “I’m happy this is finished.” “Let’s just coach for now and see how the competitions go. It’s been a strange couple of days.”
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Endings, of course, are followed by fresh beginnings, and Krzyzewski appeared to be focused on that on Saturday. It’s also for his team.
The narrative of his retirement will be told throughout the ACC and NCAA tournaments, but it will no longer be front and center. For a little moment, the camera will shift away from Krzyzewski and concentrate on the squad, which Krzyzewski feels is capable of winning it all.
The worst moments of Duke’s season have all occurred here, at Cameron, in front of the home fans, who have turned out each week to pay their respects in the lead-up to Saturday’s game.
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Rece Davis gets down with Mike Krzyzewski to talk about his last home game at Duke.
There will be no more home games, which is just good.
“We’ve been hungry on the road and everywhere else, and we won’t be playing in the NCAA tournament here,” Banchero said. “We’re excited to go out on the road and make up for it.”
It’s not so much an opportunity for atonement as it is a chance to flip the page, to look forward rather than back at the 42 years of Krzyzewski’s career that led up to this last run.
Banchero is still one of the country’s most dynamic big men. Wendell Moore Jr., the veteran in charge of the offense, is still the team’s lifeblood. Mark Williams, AJ Griffin, Jeremy Roach, and Trevor Keels all seem to be precisely the right match for their positions, as if this is the true tale Krzyzewski wants to tell this season. After a year of games that focused on more than just the final score, it’s now the team’s turn to take center stage.
That is the true finish that Krzyzewski desired.
“I wanted this year to be a very successful coaching job, not a retiring year,” he added. “I also wanted to remain hungry.” “I believe I have and will continue to do so. Until this is accomplished.”
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