Still, as Mike Krzyzewski jogged up the Reliant Stadium tunnel following the Blue Devils’ 78-71 victory over Baylor, it didn’t take him long to realize that something was missing.
“Hey Coach!” an usher yelled. “You forgot your wife.”
Krzyzewski couldn’t help but chuckle as he turned and saw his bride, Mickie, trotting toward him. Somehow, amid all the hoopla, he had neglected to share the moment with the person he loved the most.
“Sorry about that,” Krzyzewski said as he pecked Mickie on the lips. “It was all so crazy out there.”
The Blue Devils had reached the Final Four 10 times under Krzyzewski before Sunday – but all of those appearances were before 2004. In other words, by beating Baylor in the South Regional final, Duke ended its five-year drought of advancing to college basketball’s final weekend.
“It’s good for us to get this, but we’re happy for him, too,” center Brian Zoubek said of Krzyzewski. “This is not just another Final Four to him.”
Indeed, as much heat as the senior class of Zoubek, Jon Scheyer and Lance Thomas had taken for their early NCAA tournament exits, even more criticism had been directed toward Krzyzewski.
Duke has won just one ACC title since its last Final Four appearance, and only three Blue Devils players in the last five years have been first-round selections in the NBA draft.
With Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels dominating Tobacco Road – before this year, Duke lost four straight home games to its heated rival – there were those who questioned whether the Hall of Fame coach had “it” anymore.
“Through all the struggles we’ve had as a senior class, he’s been right there with us,” Zoubek said. “He’s been fighting for us. He’s had to deal with all the criticism and the hatred and everything that comes along with not doing as well as people had hoped.”
Some Blue Devils fans were also peeved that Krzyzewski agreed to coach the United States in the 2008 Olympics because they thought it took away from his work at Duke.
Scheyer said he never sensed that Krzyzewski was “worn down” by the barbs that were thrown his way. If anything, they made the coach stronger.
“It hasn’t been good having sad locker rooms at the end of every season,” Scheyer said. “But the one thing that’s unbelievable about coach is the passion that he brings into every season, every game. Never once can I say that he hasn’t had that.”
Anyone who needed to be reminded of just how good of a coach Krzyzewski truly is needed only to watch Sunday’s game against Baylor. The Bears were bigger, stronger, longer and glaringly more athletic than the Blue Devils, but the pesky zone defense that worked so well for Scott Drew’s squad all season didn’t seem to rattle Duke.
The Blue Devils had no problem finding open looks during a game in which they shot nearly 50 percent (11-for- 23) from 3-point range. They also didn’t back down from a menacing Bears squad that was as physical of a team as they’ve seen all season
Duke scored 23 second-chance points against Baylor and out-rebounded the Bears 43-37.
“We had to work harder than any game this year to get this win,” Scheyer said. “We had to play our butts off.”
That’s part of the reason why this has been one of Krzyzewski’s more impressive coaching jobs.
Other than Kyle Singler – who scored just five points Sunday – Duke doesn’t have any players who are headed for NBA stardom. And Scheyer joked about how one analyst referred to him and his teammates as “alarmingly un-athletic.”
Plus, this was supposed to be a transition year for the Blue Devils, who lost two of their top players (Gerald Henderson and Elliot Williams) from last season.
When Duke was awarded a No. 1 seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, critics whined that the Blue Devils were undeserving because their conference was as bad as it’s been in years. Yet here are the Blue Devils, the only No. 1 seed that’s still alive heading into the Final Four in Indianapolis.
As much credit should go to the Blue Devils, equal praise should be heaped on Krzyzewski, who continues to maximize the potential of a squad that takes pride in its resolve.
“I’ve never had a group exactly like this one,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re not a great team, but we’re a really good team, and we have great character. To be around that character on a day-to-day basis is so fulfilling to me.”
When Krzyzewski finally reached the locker room Sunday, he told his players not to worry about West Virginia, their next opponent.
Not yet, anyway. He said he wanted his team to relish in the moment, to sit back and absorb what it accomplished in the face of doubters. Duke’s players said they hope their coach takes time to do the same thing.
“This is special for Coach, because for four years he’s watched us blossom into what we are now,” Thomas said. “But this team still has a lot more in the tank.”
Krzyzewski, it now appears, does, too.
David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer
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