On a day devoted to celebrating his illustrious career, Mike Krzyzewski delivered an impromptu message of persistence following Duke's 94–81 loss to North Carolina.
After briefly leaving the floor to talk to his team in the locker room, Coach K returned to the court to address the horde of teary-eyed fans reeling from the Blue Devils’ regular season-ending defeat in his last game coaching inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
An emotional Krzyzewski, standing at a mic placed at center court, told those in attendance, “I’m sorry about this afternoon,” before being met with a wave of sympathetic response. After urging the crowd to “be quiet” so he could finish his thought, the 75-year-old coach quickly reminded fans that Duke’s superb season is not over yet.
“Let me just say, it's unacceptable,” he continued, “Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable. And I'll tell you, this season isn't over, alright?”
Aside from bragging rights and the chance to send Coach K out a winner, the Blue Devils entered Saturday’s game with little to play for from a basketball standpoint.
The team had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and a share of the regular-season championship in its Tuesday win over Pittsburgh. Notre Dame’s loss to Florida State on Wednesday made Duke the outright regular-season champs for the first time since 2006.
Coach K‘s defiant rallying cry should give the Blue Devils plenty of motivation as they look to run the gauntlet in Brooklyn during next week's conference tourney.
