Coach K's legacy is firmly cemented in Cameron. The verdict is still out on his final Duke team
DURHAM, N.C. — I have a close friend whose birthday is July 4th.
He makes the same joke every year.
"Did you see all the fireworks for me?"
I imagine that's how Fayetteville native Joey Baker is feeling this week.
Amid the intensified fanfare of Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final game at Cameron Indoor — with ticket prices ranging from $3,890 to $99,998, at least 80 former players that include Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, J.J. Redick and Grayson Allen planning to attend and salutes from across the sports worlds — Saturday's contest against rival UNC will also be Baker's senior day.
The Duke reserve forward is Coach K's last true four-year senior, a relic of college basketball's past before one-and-done recruiting and the transfer portal became vogue for the sport.
"It's a celebration that he deserves," Baker said Thursday of Coach K. "It's a really cool moment in sports history. I'm just excited to be able to go out there and play in it."
Baker, along with graduate transfers Theo John and Bates Jones, will be celebrated Saturday but Baker knows they'll be a footnote on a historic day.
This game will be all about celebrating Krzyzewski's many accomplishments over the last 42 years at Duke: five national titles, 1,197 wins, countless NBA draft picks, Olympic gold medals and a legacy that will remember him as arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all time.
“Actually, I said that to my staff this morning," Coach K said Thursday. "I said, ‘Who would have ever thought it’s my senior day?’ I won’t be concerned about me using up all my energy in warmups. I’ve tried not to think about it that much, but I know it will be emotional."
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This season, however, is still about this team and the journey together. Yes, they want their coach to leave Cameron a winner, but they know the rest of this season will be what defines them for years to come.
"This whole season, he (Krzyzewski) mentioned it, well, kind of sprinkled it in, that this season is not about his last season," Baker said. "He's maintained that it's about us and our team. That can't change on Saturday. Obviously, we have motivation to send him out the right way, but we still have to stay focused and play for each other."
No. 2 Duke (26-4, 16-3 ACC) clinched the ACC regular-season title earlier this week and will be the No. 1 seed at the ACC Tournament with a double-bye into the quarterfinal round. If the Blue Devils win out, they'll have an outside shot at earning a No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament later this month, putting them in prime position to deliver the school a sixth national title.
Baker has yet to decide if he'll return for his fifth year at Duke, but if he does, this team will look completely different. The Blue Devils have as many as four first-round draft picks on this squad including potential No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and A.J. Griffin, who has skyrocketed up draft boards the last two months and could be a top-five selection.
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The pressure to win Saturday, and every game for the rest of the season, will rest on the shoulders of a team with an average birthdate below the legal drinking age. Coach K's job will be to shield them, as much as possible, from that pressure.
"They’re playing the game, I’m not playing the game," he said. "I’m responsible for making sure that they have the best chance to win that game and I’ve got to keep my eyes on the road for that.”
It seems, at least on the surface, to be working. Duke enters Saturday's game on a seven-game win streak; its last loss coming to Virginia (69-68) two days after beating UNC 87-67 on Feb. 5.
"We definitely aren't feeling any pressure, because we have each other to lean on," junior forward Wendell Moore said. "The main thing we want to do is go out there and have fun. At the end of the day, it's still a basketball game for us."
David Thompson is an award-winning reporter for the USA Today Network covering NC State and Duke athletics. He can be reached at dthompson1@gannett.com, at 828-231-1747, or on Twitter at @daveth89.