The eyes of the college basketball world were on Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday evening.
via: People
Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski coached his final home game for the Duke University Blue Devils on Saturday night in one of the most anticipated events of the season.
Duke lost to the University of North Carolina Tarheels with a score of 94-81 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
Krzyzewski, who announced last year that the 2021-2022 season would be his last, has led Duke to five NCAA Tournament wins and 12 Final Four appearances during his four decades as head coach.
Along with the late John Wooden, he is considered one of the best college basketball coaches of all time.
Tickets to the game were matching levels usually reserved for the Super Bowl — according to ESPN, some of the best seats to the game were sold for more than $50,000 each. Tickets for the upper-deck, the cheapest in the stadium, were selling for between $4,000 and $5,000 on Friday, CNBC reported.
Leading up to Saturday night, reports said the university had invited all 208 former players from Krzyzewski’s career to the game, with at least 80 confirmed to be attending. They include Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, J.J. Redick, and Grayson Allen, according to the News and Observer.
“I’ve tried never to look in the past too much, or the future, but, you know, a little bit of thinking yesterday,” Krzyzewski said before the game, CBS reported. “This is your last game. At Cameron. Like, it’s crazy. How did that happen? How is it here?”
“Just let it happen and see what the hell happens,” he added.
Krzyzewski took over as Duke head coach in 1980 after five seasons as head coach of the Army Cadets at West Point, which followed his five-year stint as an officer in the U.S. Army.
Under Krzyzewski’s first three seasons of leadership, Duke went 38-47. But Krzyzewski managed to turn the program around, and the Blue Devils went on to win the NCAA championship in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015.
“I can say without hesitation that Mike Krzyzewski is the greatest coach in the history of men’s college basketball,” Duke president Vincent Price said last year after Krzyzewski announced his retirement plans.
Krzyzewski won a record 1,196 games during his career leading up to Saturday night. He has been named Coach of the Year 12 times in eight seasons, according to the university, and was named ACC Coach of the Year five times.
Krzyzewski also coached the U.S. Men’s National Team several times, including when the team won a gold medal at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics.
The Blue Devils will now turn their focus to the Men’s NCAA Tournament, which will start on March 15. While Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils will compete in at least one more game, the tournament will take place at a variety of locations around the country, none of which are in North Carolina.
Congratulations on a historic career Coach K.
