What should Carolina have done about honoring Coach K?
That is a difficult question and it is aside from what all the other schools on Duke’s schedule have done during this swan song regular season that ends Saturday evening when the Tar Heels visit Cameron for another ESPN “Sonic Blockbuster.”
The greatest rivalry in college basketball has both its high and low sides. Because it exploded during the cable TV age, the hyphenated Duke-Carolina has become bigger than the brand of either school. That has helped both immeasurably.
All coaches and players who have participated proudly say it was among the thrills of their lifetime. Even fans, some of whom have never attended one of the games, feel the same way since they long ago staked out their shade of blue.
The truth is, there are so many layers to this rivalry – from the recruiting battles that began with Art Heyman and Larry Brown to the programs regularly exchanging ACC supremacy to the great stars and greater games over the last 60-plus years.
For UNC, there’s no right or wrong answer. Coach K gave Dean Smith a nice tribute before the 2015 game over there. Roy Williams gave Coach K a plaque for his 1,000 wins before the rematch here. Not everyone liked either of those gestures.
On the ACC tournament documentary series, Krzyzewski said that he and Smith were “intense competitors and later were intense friends.” Some UNC alumni and fans call “BS” on that since they could not remember the Duke coach ever saying he “loved” Smith while Smith could still speak for himself.
Before Carolina introduced Coach K with a photo on the big screens and extra words at the February 5 game, a few hundred students welcomed their last sight of Krzyzewski in the Dean Dome with a vulgar chant. That was wrong and would have angered Smith. But much worse was Dick Vitale unevenly bashing UNC to millions of social media followers, considering the Crazies’ rude behavior over the years.
𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐭. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0X22x7blgN
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 5, 2022
It’s one thing to respect the achievements of a rival coach, but no need to shower him with praise like a member of the family. Because he is not.
Photo via Carolina Athletics.
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