Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
Mike Krzyzewski

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski moved to tears by tribute celebrating his career ahead of Final Four

Erik Hall
The Fayetteville Observer

TBS aired a nearly 10-minute tribute to Mike Krzyzewski during Saturday's NCAA men's Final Four pregame show. 

The format was similar to the John Madden tribute that FOX aired in December. It had the Duke men's basketball coach sitting in a chair watching large screens of clips with people talking about him.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was one of the people in the video. Several of Coach K's former Duke players – Carlos Boozer, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Christian Laettner, Jon Scheyer, and Zion Williamson – were included. USA Basketball team players, like Carmelo Anthony, James Harden and Kevin Durant, were also included. 

Krzyzewski got emotional when his daughters and wife, Mickie, spoke near the end of the video.

"Get chills man," Krzyzewski said about halfway through it.

Krzyzewski is retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season. He's been the Duke head coach since 1980.  

Mike Krzyzewski during Duke's practice on Friday.

No. 2-seeded Duke enters the matchup with rival North Carolina 32-6 overall. Most recently, Duke defeated Arkansas 78-69 on Saturday in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.

No. 8 seed North Carolina comes into the game 28-9 overall. On Sunday, UNC beat Saint Peter's 69-49 in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. 

'Biggest game in college basketball history':Former Duke, UNC players hype Final Four clash

Coach K's 42 Duke teams, ranked:Which Blue Devils squad is No. 1?

March Madness:Why Turner Sports will have to wait to cash in on possible Final Four TV ratings bonanza

The winner advances to face either Kansas or Villanova in the NCAA Tournament national championship game on Monday. 

In their earlier meetings this season, Duke beat North Carolina 87-67 on Feb. 5 in Chapel Hill, and North Carolina beat Duke 94-81 on March 5 in Durham. 

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik

Featured Weekly Ad