When I heard the story of how Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and apologized to a young reporter for remarks he made after the Blue Devils’ loss at Louisville last week, it took me back.
Not so much to memories of Coach K. My path only crossed his twice in a decade and a half of covering college basketball, once at Duke in the final day of the 1982-83 regular season and once in Dallas at the 1985-86 NCAA Final Four.
Duke lost both times.
It’s not all that common. Krzyzewski is in his 41st season at Duke, and he hasn’t had a losing season since his third year. He’s closing in on 1,100 wins at Duke and he has only 296 losses.
This year hasn’t been all that good. After a victory against Georgia Tech last night, the Blue Devils are just 6-5 and a middle of the pack team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. That victory snapped a three-game losing streak that culminated in Louisville.
Jake Piazza, a reporter for the Duke student newspaper, asked the coach what the next step forward was for the Blue Devils. Coach K danced around the question and then asked the student what he was majoring in and said he should show a little empathy.
Other than talking down to the kid a little, Krzyzewski’s comments weren’t that bad, and he called the kid later to apologize. It reminded me of my own encounter with a legendary coach 35 years ago,
It was March 14, 1986, the day off between games one and two of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. I was in Ogden, Utah, for a sub-regional covering Missouri. The Tigers had lost in the first round the day before, and there was a press conference for the four teams that had advanced to the second round.
One of those teams was North Carolina, coached by the legendary Dean Smith. The big story there was that for the first time, Smith had a senior class that had never been to the Final Four. So when seniors Brad Daugherty and Steve Hale sat down at the interview table, I asked the first question.
“There’s been a lot of talk recently about you being the first senior class of Coach Smith’s not to get to the Final Four. Is this something you think about at all?”
They didn’t get a chance to answer. Smith stepped out onto the stage and said, “I don’t think that’s a fair question. How many other teams here have been to the Final Four in the last three years?”
My question went unanswered. It didn’t really bother me, although I could have pointed out that the coach waiting for his turn at the table was Louisville’s Denny Crum, who had been to four Final Fours, one of them in the last three years.
The next day, UNC beat Alabama-Birmingham, 77-59, to advance to the regional semifinals in Houston.
After the postgame press conference, Dean Smith sought me out.
“I owe you an apology,” he said.
“Coach, you don’t owe me anything,” I replied.
He persisted. “Your question yesterday was a fair one. I stepped in because I’m trying to keep these guys from feeling the pressure of those expectations.”
“Thank you, I said. We shook hands and parted company.
We met again one last time in February 1989. I was working in Reno and covering Nevada-Reno, and I was delighted to see that there was a game of the schedule with North Carolina, at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels won easily, 109-86, and since they weren’t the team I was covering, I didn’t get to talk to Coach Smith.
As for 1986, those seniors didn’t get to the Final Four. They lost to Louisville the next time out, and Louisville went on to win the NCAA title.
Ironically, their victory in the finals came over Duke and Mike Krzyzewski.
Isn’t life strange?