Durham, North Carolina. Mike Krzyszewski didn’t want it to end like this, but after Duke’s 94–81 loss to North Carolina in his last home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, he seemed glad it was over.
“I find it hard to believe it’s all over,” Krzyszewski told the crowd, who turned up – some spent $10,000 or more for a ticket – to say goodbye. “So I just want to say that the regular season is over.”
This season has been a long one, and although Saturday wasn’t the official finish, it may have been the end of his farewell tour, and for that he was grateful.
Krzyzewski announced his retirement last June. According to him, he made this decision in order to spend the last season, to devote himself entirely to coaching – no recruiting, no worries about the future, only one final run for the championship. But this plan will never work. The basketball world wasn’t about to just watch Krzyzewski, the best coach of all time, ride off into the sunset. His career required a requiem.
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So, at every stop on this season’s schedule, Krzhizhevsky was the main story. There were honors at some stops. In other cases, emotional reunions. In North Carolina, just a month ago, there was a befitting lack of fanfare, only rival fans unleashing their fury on the enemy for the last time. Then, on reflection, they played basketball, and Duke won all but four.
Then came Saturday.
The Blue Devils circled it a month ago. Of course, it was a game of rivalry, but they had already crushed North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which was a significant victory in a season in which Duke also beat Gonzaga and Kentucky. The game also did not have much value in the standings. The Blue Devils have already won the ACC regular season title on a seven-game winning streak. No, Saturday was all about how this team wrote its own chapter in Krzyzewski’s legacy, sending their coach back on track. Only it didn’t happen.
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“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know that date was coming,” said star striker Paolo Banchero. “Everyone knew. This is more than just a regular game. It was important. And it sucks that we lost.”
The funny thing is, Krzhizhevsky didn’t seem to mind much.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Krzyszewski said. “Let’s just practice and see what happens in tournaments. It’s been a surreal few days.”
1:55
In his last home game against Duke, Mike Krzyszewski comes out to thunderous applause from former players he has coached as well as fans.
The whole trip was surreal – part documentary, part eulogy, part circus and, somewhere in the mix, basketball. After Saturday’s defeat, before the start of the post-match ceremonies, Krzyzewski apologized to the fans present, and they in unison refused to accept it. They weren’t here to see Duke win, even against the hated North Carolina. They were here because of Krzyzewski, to hell with the results.
This is uncharted territory in a place like Duke for a coach like Krzyzewski. Winning is always the No. 1 challenge. And perhaps that’s what seemed so out of the ordinary this season. There was a victory, but only in the context of what it meant for the larger narrative. And Saturday was the last curtain, the culmination of the story that Krzhizhevsky began back in June.
Banchero, like his coach, wanted to find some meaning in losing. It was a lesson. It was the motivation. It was a catharsis.
However, in reality, this was the end the Duke was waiting for – for better or for worse.
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Endings are, of course, followed by new beginnings, and this seemed to be the most important thing for Krzyzewski on Saturday. For his team too.
The story of his departure will continue in the ACC and NCAA tournaments, but will no longer be in the spotlight. The camera will move away from the coach, at least for a while, and focus on the team – a team that Krzyzewski really believes in, is good enough to win it all.
Banchero noted that all of the worst moments of Duke’s season happened here in Cameron in front of home fans who came out to every game to pay tribute in the countdown to Saturday.
3:41
Mike Krzyszewski discusses with Res Davis his last home game at Duke.
There are no more home games, and that’s okay.
“On the road and everywhere we were hungry, and we will not be playing the NCAA Tournament here,” Banchero said. “We look forward to getting on the road and catching up.”
However, this is not so much an opportunity to redeem himself as a chance to turn the page, to look at what lies ahead, and not at the 42 years of Krzhizhevsky’s career that preceded this latest run.
Banchero is still one of the most dynamic big men in the country. Wendell Moore Jr. remains a veteran offensive leader, the beating heart of the roster. Mark Williams, A.J. Griffin, Jeremy Roach, Trevor Keels all seem to fit their roles exactly as they should, as if this was the real story that Krzyzewski wanted to write for this season. And now, after a year of games where it was about more than just the final score, the focus is on the team.
This is the real ending that Krzyzewski wanted.
“I wanted this year to be a really good coaching job, not a retirement year, and I wanted to stay hungry,” he said. “I think so, and I will. Until it’s done.”