| All season long, Mike Krzyzewski has found evidence that he made the right decision. All the tributes from storied foes and cherished anecdotes from dozens of former players combined to make him feel that leaving like this — after 40 years and on his own terms — was the perfect farewell. All the changes in college basketball that he doesn’t much care for? They merely entrenched the thought it was time to hand things off to a younger man, and over the course of the campaign, he discovered nothing to change his mind. All the things his wife and family have lined up to occupy his days when he’s done? He’s looking forward to them, and they all served to confirm his choice. Nothing is shifting him from that line of thinking now. The moment Coach K loses for the final time, his career is over, his legend assured, his achievements baked into the history books. Yep, Krzyzewski is done. He’s just not done yet. And that final loss, the one that will wrap it all up? Don’t be so certain that it will actually happen. For Duke is fighting. Having survived its latest scare, a 78-73 Sweet 16 win over Texas Tech on Thursday, its squad is primed and dangerous. They’re not the ones with the “X” on their backs anymore. The frightening part is over. They’ve gotten past it. Now, they’re hunting a golden finale for their coach, and with each passing hurdle, it becomes increasingly feasible. No team came into the tournament with more pressure on its shoulders. Krzyzewski’s group had a fear looming over them — of being known as the group that sent Coach K into retirement on the back of an embarrassing upset. You could see the nervousness in the regular-season closer — a shocking defeat to North Carolina — in what was no Blue Devil’s idea of an appropriate Krzyzewski swan song at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The jitters were there again in Coach K’s final ACC Tournament, where Virginia Tech’s fearless streak to the conference title could not be denied. And again in the opening portion of the NCAA Tournament, when Krzyzewski’s players were hamstrung by the occasion, throttled by the immediacy of what defeat would mean. But they got through it then, finding inspiration late against Michigan State. It was the same on Thursday. A big surge in the closing minutes was enough to see off the Red Raiders, with Duke flawless in mindset down the stretch, rising to the occasion rather than being cowed by it. Krzyzewski may see four of his crew — Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Wendell Moore and Mark Williams — selected in the first round of the next NBA Draft. Yet it was his fifth starter, Jeremy Roach, who powered the team into the Elite Eight, taking control of all aspects of the game when it mattered most. When a team fights through pressurized situations often enough, it starts to welcome the feeling. There is a saying in business: Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Duke now has a look of a team that’s in that spot. Roach doesn’t play mistake-free basketball, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a player with more determination. He has suddenly become the face of this new-look Duke, a team with fire in the belly and a newfound lightness. Winning a national title is always the goal in Durham, but now that the possibility of a demoralizing early exit has been eliminated, the Blue Devils are on a freeroll of sorts. Krzyzewski was positively giddy afterward, throwing in a dose of homespun charm and a few “Holy mackerels” in his postgame interview, hugging his wife Mickey as he headed down the tunnel. Make no mistake, though, the old warrior spirit burns as brightly as ever within. All the memories, all the nostalgia, all those great players and iconic seasons, they are for him to think about on long dog walks over the coming years. Now, with the pomp and ceremony that highlighted the end of the regular season complete, he’s living in the present. Finally, his players have found themselves able to do the same. “We want it,” Roach said. “Real bad.” Now opportunity presents itself. Gonzaga, the top overall seed, would have been a mouthwatering matchup in the Elite Eight. That blockbuster is not to be after the Bulldogs were toppled by Arkansas just minutes after Duke beat Texas Tech. Duke is now third-favorite to win it all at FOX Bet at +450, trailing only Kansas and Houston. It is a position few truly expected. They said this was a good Duke team, but one probably not capable of chasing a championship. There were some who scoffed at whether they were worthy of a No. 2 seed. But the script has started to flip. The group that felt it had everything to lose now believes it has it all to gain. For all his experience, Coach K had no precedent for this kind of situation, this kind of goodbye, because it only happens once, and the first time is the last time. As usual, though, he’s found a way to figure it out. Coach K, and Duke, are still going — and hungry for more. It’s still the right time for him to leave, just not quite yet. |
