Coach K's Farewell

In his last game coaching at Cameron Indoor, Coach K's tribute showcased why Duke is so polarizing.

March 8, 2022

Source: CBS Sports

This past Saturday, arguably college basketballs greatest ever coach was given a special tribute before leading the Duke Blue Devils from the sideline at Cameron Indoor Arena one last time. Coach K was deserving of every bit of it, as a coach that has compiled a record of 1196-366 (.766) dating back to 1975 where he began his career at Army. Barring a championship in this upcoming NCAA Tournament, Coach K exits Duke having led the program to five NCAA championships, the most recent of which came against Wisconsin in 2015. Final Four wise, Coach K led Duke to the final weekend on 12 occasions. This year will mark Coach K's 36 NCAA Tournament appearance at Duke, where he has compiled a record of 97-30. This is before even discussing Coach K's coaching accomplishments, where has has won the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award three times and ACC Coach of the Year five times. Coach K was a USA Coach three times as well, where he has played a role in leading America to three Gold Medals. There are, of course, many more impressive stats for Duke during the Coach K Era but these are the most significant ones in my opinion worth highlighting. Duke legends such as Grant Hill were in attendance to commemorate their former coach.

Duke is a very lovable or hateable school, and both sides are clear to see why. They carry the same aura as teams like the Yankees and Lakers since they always win in some capacity on a yearly basis. As a blue blood basketball program with a historic arena that serves as one of the greatest sports venues, much less just college basketball, in the country this makes sense. It is hard to argue with what an amazing program Duke has and track record to be inspired by.

It was following Coach K's ceremony where UNC came back and beat their archival that it was easy to see why Duke carries the stigma it does. Duke "nerds" were ridiculed following the game for being pictured all over the arena crying. following the loss. Of course, many from the outside ran with this perceiving it to epitomize who they think Duke is as these folks carry a perception of Duke (whether true or untrue and if true if over embellished) of how this personifies the snobby, bratty, seemingly stuck-up nature of their school culture and basketball team.

The focus regardless of the result should have still been on Coach K and the legacy he has established forever on Dukes campus. But, of course a rivalry between two blue blood programs that hate each other will always find a way to still skirt the narrative in a partially different direction. "There is always a chance for fireworks between these two programs BABY!" as Dick Vitale might say. It will be interesting to see if Duke seems UNC one more time under Coach K's tenure, as the ACC tournament and NCAA Tournament take shape over the course of the next two weeks.