Home/NBA

USA Today via Reuters

USA Today via Reuters

It was a beautiful ride for the Duke Blue Devils led by the special Coach K. Mike Krzyzewski is widely regarded as the greatest coach in college basketball. This was the last ride for Coach K. He had already decided to retire after 42 long years of coaching great young players to become the best versions of themselves.

His dedication towards college basketball was tremendous. He rejected many offers from the NBA over the years. Mike’s last interview as a coach was just as humble and special just like his 42 years.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

From 1980 to 2022, Mike led the Blue Devils to five national titles: 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles. However successful Coach K may have been, he got it slightly wrong in his last game. The Duke lost an intense, to and fro game. It would have been befitting if the last match of Coach K would have ended with one more national championship but the Blue Tigers were eliminated in the final four. Former Bulls’ star shed some light on why that happened.

Also read: Shaq talks about Coach K.

Jay Williams praises young star and sheds light on how the special Coach K got outclassed

Jay Williams on KJM expressed his views after the Duke Blue Devils exited in the final four after losing to North Carolina Tar Heels in an intense game that ended 81-77. North Carolina emerged victorious and that was down to a good performance from Hubert Davis’ side.

Jay talked about North Carolina’s win. He shared that UNC’s coach Hubert Davis got it right in the end. He was also in high praise of young point guard Caleb Love. Jay said, “Caleb Love, I said on the show, he’s the one dude that scared me because he’s a wow factor and Mark [Williams of Duke] was late to get up on that screen. And he hit a dagger. You know [it] was just key. It was one of those games you know like where you just, you’re emotionally fatigued.” Caleb Love hit impressive 28 points and the 20 year old was absolutely amazing.

USA Today via Reuters

Jay also mentioned that there were some questionable decisions from the Duke’s perspective. Although the last game was not the best one, Coach K bids farewell to basketball with a bag full of memories, success and greatness.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

USA Today via Reuters

The US team under Coach K won 3 gold medals at 2008, 2012, and the 2016 Olympics. They also won 2 gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 FIBA World Cup. For the time span of 2009-2016, the US team had won everything more than once. They showed complete dominance over the world in basketball.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Read more: Coach K and his standards for the US national team.

Mike Krzyzewski will always remain one of the most respected people in the NBA. We wish him the best of luck and happiness in his retirement.