A Thunderous Farewell at Duke for Coach K, Even in Defeat

Mike Krzyzewski walked Cameron Indoor Stadium’s sideline for the last time as Duke’s maestro. There was also a basketball game, which Duke lost.

DURHAM, N.C. — Before we get to the score, you should — no, you must — know what it was like at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday evening. That is the only way to appreciate what happened.

The occasion was the final game in which Mike Krzyzewski, winner of the most Division I men’s basketball games in history, would patrol the Cameron sideline as Duke’s maestro. Saturday was the appointed time for the faithful to holler or croak whatever they could through the din.

What came was an expulsion of emotions in surround sound, passions built up over 42 seasons that yielded some of the finest college basketball ever seen. For one last Krzyzewski-fueled Saturday night at Cameron, the range tore through once more: grief and glee, shock and ecstasy, all measurable in decibels.