SAN FRANCISCO — With 4.8 seconds left and Texas Tech finally subdued, Mike Krzyzewski turned to the Duke fans behind his bench and threw a right fist in the air. It wasn’t exactly a haymaker swing, but who cares. At age 75, after staring career-ending elimination in the face for the second successive game, the Duke legend had lived to punch another day.
He’d coached a floor-slapping, defense-changing gem of a victory, delaying his retirement for at least two more days. The most captivating storyline of this NCAA tournament keeps going.
K’s coaching endgame has changed shape and tenor several times this month alone.