LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Don't call it a Farewell Tour.
"I'm not the Rolling Stones," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski joked when a "farewell tour" was mentioned after his team beat Louisville 74-65 in the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday.
Coach K is making the rounds of college basketball and the Atlantic Coast Conference for the last time before his retirement, but the Hall of Famer is dealing out as much appreciation as he is getting.
At least, that was the case in Louisville. The program had its own Hall of Famer and Krzyzewski's opposing coach in the 1986 NCAA championship game, Denny Crum, present him with a special Louisville Slugger bat and a custom bottle of Maker's Mark with his face etched on it. But the big honor, Krzyzewski said, was getting to see Crum.
Mike Krzyzewski and Denny Crum talk before Duke's game at Louisville on Jan. 29, 2022.
"Thank you, Louisville," Krzyzewski said. "You could not have honored me in a higher manner than to have Denny -- I'm going to get emotional. He's one of the true icons of the game and someone that I've admired my entire life, when he worked for Coach (John) Wooden, and then the amazing job he did here. And anyway, that was really -- I hugged him a few times you guys, you don't get a chance to be with people of that level. But that was really a great thing. And so thank you."
Krzyzewski has featured in a couple of Louisville's most historic games. He was on the opposite sideline for the 1986 championship, and again when the Cardinals made the 2013 Final Four, when guard Kevin Ware suffered a broken leg during the game on the way to Louisville's 2013 NCAA on-court national championship.
He said none of that came to mind as he spoke with Crum, though.
"I focused on Denny, and I wasn't thinking of former games, I was thinking of his excellence, and its impact on the game," Krzyzewski said. "Literally, he's one of the iconic coaches in the history of our game. And, look, he he's stayed with you all (in Louisville), right? I mean, he, he helped build this culture, or built it, and what class and dignity, and he stayed here, so I was just thinking how cool it was for me. What an honor it was for me to be with him. And maybe in the summer I'll think about why we didn't get a charge called on that block (in the '86 title game). Oh, I'm sorry. And why we didn't rebound an airball."
Duke was facing Louisville in its first game since coach Chris Mack departed via a mutual agreement with the school. But Krzyzewski said he expects the program to weather its current turbulence.
Asked what he would say to Louisville fans in the midst of transition, Krzyzewski encouraged fans to hang tough, that better times are ahead.
"Just what I would say to Duke fans when I when I retire," he said. "The program's bigger than any one individual no matter what that individual has done for the program. And if you've done enough, if you've done a lot like Coach Crum, right? Danny will always be a part of it. But he's never going to be bigger than it, just like me, I'm never going to be bigger than Duke basketball. You guys have one of the one of the best programs in the history of college basketball, and an incredible fan base of loyalty. I've watched Louisville forever. And I can't remember when it wasn't outstanding. And so that's what I would say, just move on, just give Mike (Pegues), whatever you're going to do, give these kids this support. They fought like crazy today and they played winning basketball. And a lot of games left. And with this veteran team that they have, they got a chance to go on a roll."
Krzyzewski may have spoiled Louisville's restart, but he didn't leave the home team empty-handed.
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