Over the years, Mike Krzyzewski has seen a lot of basketball. A lot of good, some bad, but mostly good. After almost 42 years of coaching in the same place, you’d think that nothing could bring him to tears anymore. He’s seen everything you could imagine. He’s been there and done that. There’s only so much that can happen with overtly orange basketballs on a small rectangular court.
But then his final-ever team at Duke survives an absolute battle with Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 of the Men’s NCAA tournament. A 78-73 win that felt a lot closer than the margin might indicate. Show tremendous toughness in that sort of victory, and you’ll even move the legendary coach.
CBS’s Tracy Wolfson asked Krzyzewski about the Duke team’s “grit” in beating the Red Raiders. He couldn’t help but gush and choke up.
"I coach that guy, holy mackerel" 🥺
Coach K gets emotional talking about @DukeMBB’s grit & @Pp_doesit's determination. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/1mRL8My68G
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2022
What a fantastic moment all around.
You’ve managed to do something special when you’re getting Coach K to swallow his words in a victory bask mid-sentence. Not to be overlooked, if you’re likely NBA lottery pick Paolo Banchero, you know you’re an incredible talent if Krzyzewski is glowing about you — unprompted — in the same interview.
Duke is on to the Elite Eight against Arkansas. Something tells me that by the end of this month, we’ll see Krzyzewski, at minimum, fighting back the tears again. That’s what coaching should be all about: Being proud of your players.
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