Chansky's Notebook: No Rock-A-Bye Bye

No rocking chair for Coach K this weekend.

Fans have wondered how UNC will recognize Mike Krzyzewski’s last visit to the Smith Center as Duke’s head coach when the teams meet Saturday at 6 pm on ESPN. Apparently, the answer is “hardly,” as Coach K continues his farewell tour in his swan song season.

According to Steve Kirschner, UNC’s associate athletic director for communications, the only thing different from a normal visit by any opposing team is that, during the announcement of starting lineups, something will be “mentioned” when Krzyzewski’s name is called out.

Regardless of what other schools have done (like a baseball bat at Louisville!), UNC won’t give him the golden rocking chair that some 75-year-old retirees receive. Will that mention include that Coach K has most wins in the history of Division I basketball (okay with me) or that he has a 49-46 lifetime record against the Tar Heels (not okay with me) or that his head-to-head numbers against Roy Williams are 22-18 (definitely not okay?)

After all, Ol’ Roy who was feted at halftime of Saturday’s blowout win over State actually had the best record in the country over his 18 seasons at Carolina, including 3 national championships, 5 Final Fours and consecutive NCAA title game appearances, plus 9 ACC regular-season crowns.

Kirschner reminded the media last week that UNC was the only school to give Krzyzewski a plaque for reaching 1000 wins when Duke played here in 2015, as part of the sellout crowd booed the announcement.

There is even a backstory to that truism.

Dean Smith had died a few weeks before Carolina’s visit to Cameron, where Duke offered a pre-game ceremony for the departed Hall of Fame coach. The teams and coaches formed an interlocking circle at midcourt before tip-off and bowed their heads for a very touching moment of silence.

So when the Blue Devils came over for the regular-season finale, UNC presented a plaque to Coach K before the game. The fans who booed were quickly drowned out by the more decent people on hand.

No rocking chair or plaque this Saturday, a few extra words for Coach K’s last official trip to Chapel Hill, and hopefully politically correct ones.

Photo via AP Photo/Gerry Broome.

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Chansky’s Notebook: No Rock-A-Bye Bye

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