bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671
DURHAM -- Even if today's game between Duke and Maryland wasn't for first place in the ACC, it wouldn't be a standard Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
About 100 former players and staff members are expected be on hand to recognize Coach Mike Krzyzewski's 1,000th game at Duke, which also happens to fall on his 63rd birthday.
It's also a chance to celebrate Krzyzewski's 30th season and Cameron's 70th birthday.
It's difficult to fathom such numbers, especially for Krzyzewski, who never has forgotten a much more modest set of numbers.
"It's hard for me to believe that on Saturday I'll be coaching my 1,000th game. I always remember being 38-47," Krzyzewski said. "I coach every game remembering that I was 38-47 my first three years. That's a long way to a thousand, and if we kept going that way, the record wouldn't have been very good.
"But the record is pretty damn good, and it's because of the people who committed themselves to play here and be assistants here and manage here. So to come back for that one day and say, 'Let's try to beat Maryland and let's try to remember those 30 years and 1,000 games,' I think is good. Any school would celebrate that."
Thanks in part to the unwavering support of former athletic director Tom Butters in the wake of some early calls for a coaching change, Krzyzewski reached the modest mark of 100 games at Duke on Jan. 11, 1984, a 73-60 victory over Appalachian State.
That victory improved Krzyzewski to 52-48 but more importantly improved his fourth Duke team to 14-1, a team that went on to earn the Blue Devils' first NCAA Tournament bid under Krzyzewski. Two seasons later, the Blue Devils were in the Final Four, and the rest -- including three NCAA championships -- is hoops history.
Krzyzewski is 780-219 at Duke, including a 20-4 record this season. The No. 8 Blue Devils currently lead the ACC at 8-2, with Maryland (16-6, 6-2 ACC) sitting in second place heading into today's showdown (1 p.m., WRAL).
"That's a lot of games. It's crazy," Duke junior Nolan Smith said. "I'm just excited to get to play in that game for him and get him a win."
The former Blue Devils in town -- from pre-Krzyzewski legends such as Coach Vic Bubas and star player Art Heyman, all the way to recent standout J.J. Redick -- gathered for a reception at the Washington Duke Inn on Friday evening, and they'll be recognized at halftime today.
Krzyzewski will join them for an after-game party, at which he fully intends to reminisce about the past 30 years rather than the outcome of today's game.
"Once the game is over, I'll try to stay in that moment of longevity and not in the moment of Saturday, whatever just happened," Krzyzewski said. "The people who come back deserve that, and I want to be a part of it."
