Mickie Krzyzewski has always been in charge of the men's basketball team's annual end-of-season banquet. Her status hasn't changed, but the show certainly has.
Krzyzewski and sports information director Mike Cragg began talking in January about making this year's banquet different, to compensate for Mike Krzyzewski's hip-replacement surgery and inability to host the show all by himself as he normally does.
They came up with tonight's Celebration Awards Show, which commemorates the first 93 years of Duke's men's basketball history. The event will include several videos, speeches by a number of past Duke greats and the presentation of this year's awards. Whereas Mike Krzyzewski always used to host the event, his recent hip surgery is limiting him to just one speech this year, and the night will be hosted by CBS broadcaster Jim Nantz instead.
"Jim has kind of been a friend of Duke basketball for years," Mickie Krzyzewski said. "When we called and asked him about doing it, he was fired up. When he agreed to do it, that kind of stepped up the night to a higher level."
With Nantz hosting, CBS also produced a montage of Duke highlights in the Krzyzewski era played to the same "One Shining Moment" tune that the network uses for every Final Four. It will be shown at the end of the evening.
In addition, there will be a video commemorating the team's 93-year history, one looking back at this season and a presentation for each of Duke's three graduating seniors, Justin Caldbeck, Taymon Domzalski and Trajan Langdon.
The event starts at 8 p.m. and will last two hours. Plenty of seats are still available to students at $20 apiece in the bleachers along with tickets for the general public at $30 and $50 in the upper seating level.
The four banners, including one for a perfect conference record, that the team earned during the season will adorn the stage, and the current players, all of whom are expected to attend, will sit with their parents facing the podium.
To Mickie Krzyzewski, the timing couldn't be more perfect, coming after the team's loss in the national championship and recent decisions by several players to leave Duke early.
"To me, what that did to this celebration is add a dimension of healing," she said. "I would like to remind the 6th Man that in Coach K's philosophy, this is the final game. Those 6th Men who left the season feeling so disappointed, this will make you leave the season smiling again.
"If you're a Duke fan, you've got to be here. What else are you going to be doing tonight that's better than this?"
Note: Student tickets will be on sale on the Bryan Center Walkway today from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The tickets cost $20 and include an end-of-year poster, program and commemorative ticket.
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