Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game as Duke men’s basketball coach didn’t go as many would have predicted. North Carolina ruined the festivities by trouncing the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 94-81. Duke’s performance was so bad that Coach K felt the need to apologize to the fans, calling the effort “unacceptable.”
Though the result of that home game surely stings, it has no effect on Krzyzewski’s legacy as a college basketball icon. On Friday’s The Dan Patrick Show, Patrick noted the impact that Coach K has had on the sport and drew an intriguing parallel with another figure whose status is iconic in the sport, ESPN commentator Dick Vitale.
“Coach K started in 1980. His first win was against Stetson,” said Patrick. “But Dick Vitale started in 1979. And Dickie V would always talk about Duke, he loved the Dukies, everything about Duke. He was nicknamed ‘Dukie V’ at one point.
“But I thought about that, with Coach K ending his career and I don’t know if Dick Vitale will be able to call another game. I hope he’s just healthy enough to be able to watch basketball. He’s going through a lot now; he’s going through cancer treatment. But just the timing of this; we’re getting ready for March Madness. This is when Dickie V is at his best. It takes a lot out of him because he puts a lot into it.
“And I just thought about that, Coach K and Dickie V coming into college basketball really at the same time,” Patrick continued. “When college basketball was peaking, Dick Vitale was, then Duke. Duke became a brand, like Notre Dame and the Lakers and the Yankees, late-80s, early 90s. Then we started getting tired of hearing about Duke because ESPN put Duke on every single night. Dickie V loved Mike Krzyzewski.”
As Patrick points out, the careers of Krzyzewski and Vitale have run nearly the same length of time, along the same period. As Coach K nears retirement, Vitale nears what could be the end of his broadcasting career.
In Sunday’s Boston Globe, Chad Finn wrote about communicating with Vitale via text message because his doctors have told him he cannot speak for four weeks as he recovers from cancer treatment and vocal cord surgery. Imagine that: During March Madness, Dickie V — whom many consider the voice of college basketball — can’t speak. Amusingly, however, Finn confirms that Vitale texts just as he speaks, complete with some of his signature phrases.
At 82, perhaps Vitale won’t be able to continue broadcasting. The hope is that he can still watch college basketball for many more years to come. Maybe his path can continue running alongside Krzyzewski’s and the two can sit together and watch a game — maybe even a Duke-North Carolina clash — sometime in the near-future.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
