The 75-year-old lost a high-class semi-final at 77:81 against the North Carolina Tar Heels with his team on Saturday (local time). At his farewell “K” remained modest as always. “It’s not about me, but about the boys here,” said Krzyzewski, who is loved by the players for his warm way.
The two long-standing rivals did not donate in the 40 minutes of playing. For the decision, Caleb Love, which turned the decisive two free throws before the end. Thus, “Coach K”, coaches with most victories (1202) in US college basketball, his tenth finals in 42 years with the Blue Devils.
The final opponent for North Carolina will be the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday. She defeated the Villanova wildcats with 81:65 and now want to fulfill the dream of title after they were the best team in 2020, but there was no final tournament because of the Corona Pandemic.
Eleven years long national coach
Krzyzewski had started his post at the Blue Devils 1980, more successful than the 75-year-old was only John Wooden (UCLA) with ten championships. Krzyzewski worked for eleven years as a national coach (2005-2016), during this time, the Team USA took three times Olympia and twice World Cup gold. Only one game was lost under his direction – the World Cup semi-final 2006.
The Hall-of-Famer, son of Polish immigrants and trained at the Military Academy West Point, is replaced to the new season from his previous assistant coach Jon Scheyer.