The independent news organization of Duke University
If you want the true reason why the 34-year-old is next in line to lead the Blue Devils, you should look into when he donned a Duke jersey. Scheyer’s playing career, well, that is what truly tells the story. Let’s rewind.
It’s easy to forget humble beginnings in favor of modern grandeur.
Today, with the vast majority of Krzyzewski’s career behind him, it’s easy to forget the beginnings that preceded the five-time national champion’s legacy. It’s easy to overlook the trials it took for him to become the winningest head coach in college basketball history—that first national title came more than 30 years ago, after all—but that wasn’t always the case.
From personalized letters to little league quips to private reflections, here is what Duke fans all over the country had to say, edited for length and clarity.
What’s making this ticket one of the hottest commodities in the entire world of sports? Well, this game is no typical game. It is the game of many “lasts.”
The Chronicle has a special print edition on specific distribution racks today to commemorate Coach K’s final home game. This keepsake issue is free to anyone on campus (quantities are limited; only one per person please). If you need a paid copy mailed to you, you can fill out the form here.
The game was a cruel metaphor for how Duke’s season has gone: It came out firing against a quality opponent, playing in a way that belied the newness of the team; then, as the going got tougher, the chemistry slowly deteriorated, until the Blue Devils found their backs against the wall.
After every Duke men's basketball game, the Blue Zone brings one player, one word and one stat. With Duke's blowout of Pittsburgh in the rearview, here's our breakdown.
Tied at 48 with just over two minutes to play, the contest was poised on a knife’s edge. Pittsburgh's shots were still falling fairly frequently and Duke couldn’t quite seize control of a game that since the halftime buzzer it had dominated.
With Duke set to close out the regular season Saturday at home against rival North Carolina, the Blue Zone previews a player from both sides who can be a difference-maker for his team.
I don’t know Coach K well outside of talking to him in press conferences and my 72 hours of fame after a brief exchange we had after a game a year ago, but I don’t think even he could have had the faintest idea that his legacy would grow to this.
Eight United States presidents. Five PlayStation consoles. The Harlem Shake. Mike Krzyzewski has seen them all during his tenure as head coach at Duke.
Krzyzewski’s time at Duke can really be broken down into the four main decades that he has coached through (sorry 2020-21 and 2021-22, you didn’t make the cut).
When it comes to Duke men’s basketball, Coach K isn’t just bigger than the program. He is the program.
When Krzyzewski walks off the court as head coach for the final time this spring, he may be finished calling out plays, but he will still have a community looking up to him as the exemplar of what it is possible to achieve through reaching their fullest academic potential.
“Every year I'm like, ‘Oh it's not a big deal,’ and it is actually kind of hard because you want her to do well and I want her team to do really well but obviously this is a day where we want to make sure Duke prevails,” Kimel said after the game.
In a match requiring determination down the stretch, the 10th-seeded Blue Devils overcame a 16-point deficit in the final 25 minutes to take down 15th-seeded Pittsburgh 55-52 Wednesday afternoon.
Playing against Notre Dame on the road, the No. 8 Blue Devils won decisively, outscoring the Fighting Irish 5-2.
Although relations between Duke and Pittsburgh are very friendly, indicated clearly by the Panthers honoring Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski before the game and the fact that Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel was a player and coach for Krzyzewski, the Blue Devils came out swinging Tuesday night.
In its penultimate act, No. 4 Duke cruised to a 86-56 win against Pittsburgh on the road at the Petersen Events Center.