Coach K: It's Been a "Really Long" Season

Coach Mike Krzyzewski was very emotional on the court at the end of Duke’s win over Georgia Tech Tuesday. The win snapped a three-game losing streak and moved the Blue Devils back over .500 on the season. And it’s been a long season.

“Just the fact that this is from August first,” Krzyzewski said. The Blue Devils reported to campus on that date and, other than a brief trip home for the holidays, have been there ever since, due to COVID protocols. “This has been a long journey and every team goes through it different. We have not had a positive case yet—knock on wood, but we’ve had interruptions. It’s long for anybody but for a young group, it’s really long.”

The Blue Devils have also struggled on the court, which makes the season seem even longer.

“Losing three games, the last one being a very winnable game for us, it can go the other way really easy,” Krzyzewski said. “We’ve had two good days of practice and a great meeting last night before they had a snack and went to bed. They responded. So I’m just so happy for them. I’m as happy as I was disappointed for them on Saturday. Same level.”

To get the win over Tech, Duke needed to hold off several Yellow Jacket runs in the second half to cling to their lead.

“It goes to leadership,” Coach K said. “(Jordan) Goldwire really did a good job—and Wendell (Moore Jr.) of settling us down. You expend so much energy trying to stop them and you can let up a little bit or rush or not be poised. I thought we had good poise at the end. Not that we were rattled or anything at Louisville, but we just worked as a unit better tonight. Again, it’s a young team. Hopefully we can continue to do that.”