To honor Coach K, even the state’s highest-ranking UNC fan wears Duke blue
There was no battle of the blues at the North Carolina governor’s mansion on Thursday, even though the biggest rivalry in college basketball was front and center.
Instead, Gov. Roy Cooper — one of the state’s biggest UNC fans — hosted a celebration in honor of Mike Krzyzewski, arguably the greatest college basketball coach of all time.
Krzyzewski coached the Duke men’s basketball team for 42 years. He also coached the U.S. national team, leading the country to Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012 and 2016. The Hall of Fame coach retired earlier this year, after losing Duke’s final home game to its biggest rival, UNC.
The occasion Thursday was Krzyzewski’s induction into the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest honor North Carolina’s governor can bestow, one that grants recipients the privilege of giving the state toast.
Cooper went to UNC-Chapel Hill for his undergraduate and law degrees. This isn’t the first time this year state political and basketball leaders have had a crossover episode. UNC defeated Duke in the NCAA Final Four as the Democratic governor and Republican state House Speaker Tim Moore, both wearing Carolina blue shirts, cheered for UNC.
But on Thursday, Cooper actually wore a Duke blue tie, and gubernatorial dog Violet wore a Duke collar. Violet and Dalmatian dog Sadie, another First Pet and one whose birthday was Thursday, greeted guests on the mansion lawn for a ceremony with a surprising amount of sportsmanship, given the situation. Joining Krzyzewski and Cooper for the ceremony was Duke University President Vincent Price, who recited a version of the state toast with Krzyzewski as the subject, and state Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue, a Duke Law graduate.
Blue called Krzyzewski the GOAT, which stands for Greatest of All Time, for his incredibly successful coaching career but also his work for the Durham community and state. Among the Durham leaders there for the event were N.C. Central University men’s basketball coach Levelle Moton, state Sen. Mike Woodard, state Rep. Vernetta Alston and former Durham Mayor Bill Bell.
Cooper recited the state toast as he was giving Krzyzewski the Order of the Long Leaf Pine:
“Here’s to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here’s to ‘down home,’ the Old North State!”
Saying he will never retire as a teacher-coach, Krzyzewski spoke about teaching, education, his time at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, his support for Cooper, his friendship with Dean Smith and his love of Durham and North Carolina.
“We have the best state, and we have the best governor,” Krzyzewski said. Krzyzewski didn’t mention any interest in switching from sports to politics, but he praised Cooper’s leadership and said he would not only “follow him, I would fight for him.” Neither of them took reporters’ questions after the ceremony.
At one point during the ceremony, emergency vehicles passed with sirens on, which spurred a joke later from Krzyzewski.
“I thought with all the sirens, that was Roy [Williams] and Hubert [Davis] coming in. They usually like to make a big scene. We Duke people, we come a little bit quieter,” Krzyzewski said, to laughter. “Anyway, it’s good to have both, right? That’s what makes the state so good.”
Williams retired as UNC men’s basketball coach a year before Krzyzewski, and Davis is the current UNC coach. Krzyzewski said the Duke-UNC rivalry has made them better, and extensively praised the late Smith, who was UNC coach when Krzyzewski came to Duke in 1980.
Cooper said regardless of your fandom, “it’s impossible to deny the essential role Coach K has played in uplifting not only the greatest rivalry in college basketball, but the greatest rivalry in sports. I said it, and I’m prepared to argue it.”
Cooper said he both loved and hated every time the two teams played each other.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 1:51 PM with the headline "To honor Coach K, even the state’s highest-ranking UNC fan wears Duke blue."
.jpg)