Folks who visit this
blog know well my devotion to the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Green Bay
Packers. I’ve said often enough that my
devotion to these two teams goes all the way back to the 1960’s. That’s a damn long time.
For 35 years, I’ve
also been a devout fan of the team America loves to hate—the Duke Blue Devils.
The Great State of
North Carolina is home to some of the best men’s college basketball teams in
the country—the Tarheels, Wolfpack and Demon Deacons—but Duke, now there’s a
team!
A list of some of the
Duke players who have gone on to the NBA include Johnny Dawkins (1987), Mike
Gminksi (1991), Christian Laettner (1991), Bobby Hurley (1994), Grant Hill
(1995), Cherokee Parks (1996) and J. J. Reddick (2007).
Most everyone in
North Carolina is a rabid Tarheels fan. I’m a “Dookie” and damn proud of it. That
makes me a target of some fierce teasing from friends who simply cannot fathom
why I would root for Duke.
While there is no
championship, no conference title or Gold Medal on the line, No. 5 Duke hits
the hardwoods against The Red Storm of St. John’s in Madison Square Garden. It’s the same venue where Coach K became the
winningest coach in college basketball history.
On that night his
mentor and friend, Bobby Knight, was calling the game for ESPN. When the buzzer
sounded and Duke had defeated Michigan State 74-69, Coach K walked over to the
broadcast table and told Knight he loved him.
It was a remarkable moment when the two switched places in the NCAA
record book.
The Garden is special to Coach K. “Kids dream, and coaches
dream, of playing in this place…Just the way the court is lit, the sound, how
the ball bounces, there are different sounds here. The Garden sounds different;
the horn sounds different and it’s all good. Those are things that people
recall when they think of their playing days, so it’s a great experience for
us,” he said.
A win today against
13-5 “Johnnies” would bring his record to an astonishing 1000 wins. Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to 4 NCAA
Championships, 11 Final Fours, 12 ACC regular season titles and 13 ACC
Tournament Championships.
No matter the outcome
of the game today, Coach Mike Krzyzewski is a legend. I think it’s fair to say his level of
achievement is otherworldly.
GO DUKE!
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