Coach K: 'I love Dean Smith'

Posted: Saturday March 15, 2008 09:30AM ET

Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski stood on opposite sides of college basketball's ultimate holy war for all those years, raging in that beautiful never-ending drama that has defined the Duke-North Carolina rivalry. They have gone jaw to jaw, program to program, national championship to national championship. They are of different generations but bound by a rare brilliance that intersected not just in Cameron Indoor Stadium and the Smith Center but across the basketball universe. "I love Dean Smith," Krzyzewski, 61, said recently, sitting in a meeting room inside Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. "I'm not saying that (love) was there all the time," Krzyzewski said. "I probably understand him better than anyone in the history of the conference. There have been a lot of great coaches and (Smith) is one of them. For him to be there that long and go through that cycle, the changes of only one team making (the NCAA tournament), the integration of our league, he kinda touched the whole thing."

Charlotte Observer

Mike Krzyzewski , AP

Mike Krzyzewski , AP

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He said he loves you, and you know that can't be bad. He said he loves you, and you know you should be glad...

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I knew there was something different about this guy. I knew it. There was something about his body language. I mean, it is ok by me, but I just knew it.

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LMAO at Irish! :-)

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He may love Dean Smith, but I don't think he and Roy Williams are on each other Christmas card list. Maybe some other kind of list though.

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I think he's sending a signal to Dean Smith with the shape of his mouth in that picture. He's saying, "No, I mean, I REALLY LOVE YOU. Get it?"

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localboy54 ...I did not want to say anything, but since you started it ( sort of ) , let remind you of a truth. If it looks like a Duke, and smells like a Duke, then it is probably a Duke..

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Irish - I have to give it to ya .. Gody is by far the best down syndrome player I've ever seen. I didn't think that was possible but he's proven me wrong ..

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Awwwwww...........I hope they find happiness.They make such a cute couple.

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Just wondering, does this story qualify as a "truth" or a "rumor"?

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CoachWilliams and CoachK are fierce competitors in a sport and area where supremacy is fleeting and the fans rabid. I believe they respect each other, just as CoachK was expressing his respect for CoachSmith. Right now, UNC is tougher, older, and has a tough 'big man' closer and Duke doesn't ... but this two-team pendulum swings back and forth in terms of exceptional excellence, much to the benefit and enjoyment of those of us who do not hail from those parts but who do enjoy and appreciate fierce team basketball. Each school's partisans feed off hatred of the other, which is sad in a way. Better to appreciate the rivalry and and support them both except when they face off, and then go for your favorite.

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L - is for the way you look at me, O - is for the only one I see, V - is very very extraordinary, E - is even more tha anyone that I'll adore.

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