"Mike, you're lucky."
Mike Krzyzewski has reminded himself of that fact on a regular basis ever since his Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four with a 79-69 victory over Southern California. In 21 seasons at Duke, the legendary coach has been to nine Final Fours, but he knows such honors can be few and far between. Since 1995, the Blue Devils have only been twice in seven opportunities.
Yet, when Krzyzewski held his post-East Regional press conference yesterday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Final Four was not the first thing discussed by Duke's coach. Instead, his comments, at least initially, focused on a different blessing to recently fall on the Krzyzewski household.
Although Krzyzewski always has a touch of playfulness in him when he greets the media, the grin on his face was especially wide yesterday afternoon when he walked into Cameron's press room to announce that his daughter Debbie had delivered her second son, Michael Giovanni Savarino. Savarino was born in healthy condition yesterday morning at Duke Hospital.
"It really helps put everything in perspective and it takes the nervousness out of [the games]," said Krzyzewski, who made a few jokes about the new-born not incurring his grandfather's less-than-stunning looks. "I don't want my daughters to think I need a grandson every time we go to the Final Four, especially Debbie. We want to go to the Final Four every year and we don't need that many babies."
After a few minutes, the conversation quickly turned to basketball and Duke's upcoming bout with the Maryland Terrapins Saturday in the Final Four's late game. Duke and Maryland will be meeting for the fourth time this season, with the Blue Devils holding a 2-1 advantage.
Freshman Chris Duhon said that preliminary preparation for Maryland has been guided by a relaxed and loose Krzyzewski, who has implored his players not to place additional pressure on themselves.
"No matter what the situation is, he's so confident and we know that he's going to lead us to the promised land," Duhon said. "The only thing we have to do is listen to what he says."
Much of the questions Krzyzewski responded to yesterday probed two matchups that have been slightly concerning for the Blue Devils this season. All-American Jason Williams will square off once again with lanky and pesky Steve Blake from Maryland, while center Carlos Boozer will be paired down low with Lonny Baxter for the first time since fracturing his third metatarsal against Maryland back in February.
Williams has found ways to score against everyone in the country, but Blake's long arms forced Duke's main ball-handler into 10 turnovers in the teams' first meeting before the dramatics of the final minute. Blake, whose deceptive speed and sound decision-making are often underrated, has also successfully run the Terps' offense without much difficulty against Williams.
Baxter, who has been on a tear recently in the NCAA tournament, has similarly enjoyed many of his best games against Duke the past two seasons. He recorded double-doubles each of the last two meetings with an average of 15 points and 11 rebounds in those contests. Nonetheless, Krzyzewski denied that he would devote an inordinate amount of time to the matchup at center.
"I'm concerned about everything. I'm not going to be more concerned about one thing than another," he said. "I don't know how you prioritize concern."
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