Mike Krzyzewski and the final act of an unmatchable journey
By Martin Rogers
FOX Sports Columnist
If you’re on any kind of a budget and you want to see Coach K do his thing in person one last time — whether it be the first occasion, the 10th or so many you’ve lost count — get yourself to Las Vegas. Or Columbus. Or South Bend or Clemson.
Because unless you’ve hit the Powerball jackpot, being in the same building as a departing legend doesn’t come cheap this season. That’s the case wherever you are. Trying to channel a glimpse of college basketball history at Cameron Indoor Stadium? That's darn near impossible.
Mike Krzyzewski made the announcement that this would be his final season as Duke’s men’s basketball coach back on June 2. It was as stunning as the news that a gentleman aged 74 is plotting retirement can possibly be. On the surface, it shouldn’t be a shock at all. Yet somehow it was.
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Krzyzewski has been part of the sport’s fabric for so long that for most of us, it is impossible to remember a time when he wasn’t. His career began when dunks were still illegal. His time in Durham predates the possession arrow, the shot clock and the 3-point line.
He has been brilliant enough to win five NCAA titles, secure 15 ACC Tournament triumphs, take 12 regular-season championships and send 72 players to the NBA. He is gracious enough that it remains eminently possible to like him and to truly, deeply despise the team he represents.
Few figures in sports have made such a lingering mark. It’s not often that they come along, and it's even more uncommon that you get a heads-up that they’re embarking on a farewell tour. It's no surprise then that each and every one of Coach K's games this season is a grand occasion, a feeling that will only increase as we get closer to the end.
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"I told my staff and everyone around me not to use the word ‘last,’" Krzyzewski said. "I’m going after it the same way I’ve gone after every year. As soon as you start saying … ‘let’s remember this thing’ or whatever, you open up the door for rationalization of not putting it all out."
Coach K might not be doing nostalgia, and that’s fine. Everyone else is all-in.
A few months back, Duke created a waiting list to even apply for tickets. But on the secondary market for home games is where the real chaos is happening.
At a charity auction, one flush (significantly less flush now) individual paid $1 million for four seats for the last regular-season game Krzyzewski will coach, appropriately at home against North Carolina on March 5.
"I do think that will be a tough ticket," Krzyzewski conceded. You think?
On Stubhub, floor seats for the North Carolina game have been listed well above six figures. As of Tuesday morning, the cheapest seat, a true nose-bleeder, could be had for $6,250 — parking pass and barbecue pork sandwich not included.
Alternatively, there are home tickets for Appalachian State in mid-December for $249. How about $389 for Cleveland State? As the quality of opposition increases and the finale nears, the figures jump: $1,300 for Florida State, $900 for Virginia, $1,176 for Syracuse.
"To think you are there and seeing history being made in person," longtime fan and former Duke employee Chuck Hemric told Spectrum News, "I don’t even have enough adjectives to describe it. Just to see Coach K weave all that together — that is what I refer to as magical."
It wouldn’t really matter if Duke were poor this season. The sense of occasion would likely be nearly as great. But as it turns out, they have the look of genuine potential, cruising to a 107-81 win over The Citadel on Monday that was overshadowed when Bulldogs coach Duggar Baucom was taken to hospital after collapsing courtside.
The Blue Devils are 6-0, with their next outing a definitive test: No. 1-ranked Gonzaga on Friday in Vegas. Everything has been smooth sailing for Krzyzewski's team this season, except for an unwanted interlude in which star freshman Paolo Banchero was charged with aiding and abetting impaired driving while riding in the back of a car he owned, with Krzyzewski's grandson, Michael Savarino, as the driver. Savarino was charged with DWI and arrested on the scene. Banchero was charged but not arrested.
Banchero is brilliant, possessing extraordinary skill for a college player, let alone a freshman, but the real star is Krzyzewski, whether he wants to be or not. He impresses because that’s who he is, with all those decades of saying the right thing, doing the right thing, encouraging young men in the right way.
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That’s why they’ll flock to Cameron all season, like they always do, just a little more special this time, for the final act of an unmatchable journey. They’ll go, cost be damned, for the chance to say goodbye — and thank you.
Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider Newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.
