Coach K on Dean Smith

Duke legend discusses competing with UNC legend

This year’s first Duke-Carolina game came one day after the five-year anniversary of the death of legendary UNC coach Dean Smith. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski took time in his postgame remarks to talk about Smith.

“I think we became really good friends,” he said. “It took awhile. Once we started winning at the level that he won all the time, I understood him, and he knew I understood him. You don’t break a sprint record or any record unless you’re running with the best. I think both of our programs have made each other better. He made our program better by us competing against him. I’ll be forever grateful to him.”

In his retirement, Smith gave Krzyzewski a recommendation for a high-profile role.

“He was the guy, when they were choosing the Olympic coach, in the room said, ‘Mike should have it,’” Krzyzewski said, his voice catching. “I’m going to start crying.”

Smith retired as the winningest coach in college basketball history, a position Krzyzewski now holds.

“It’s a hell of a thing,” he said. “As good as we are, I’m not sure the number of wins—we might have more, but as a man, we should all aspire to be who he was. As a man, I recognize that. The other thing I recognize is the loyalty of his players, which we have now too. A lot of that stuff, we tried to emulate from what he did, and now, we have two programs that do it, and they both played tonight in a magnificent game.”