Coach K reveals first thing he wants to do following Duke retirement

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski won’t train basketball players anymore after this season – but he will be training a puppy. Coach K revealed on Thursday that his first priority in retirement is to get a new dog.

The longtime Duke head coach lost his dog, Blue, at 12 years old in August of 2021 to lung cancer. Blue, with his name obviously inspired by the Blue Devils, was a blond lab and a “good guy,” according to Coach K. Krzyzewski said at the beginning of the season that they were hoping to “recruit” a replacement but he didn’t want to train a puppy during the season.

A new canine will have to wait, however, as the Blue Devils push on towards the postseason.

Duke enters Saturday’s game versus UNC with a 26-4 record and a chance at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Reports earlier this week suggest that if the Blue Devils land their choice of location in the NCAA Tournament on the 1- or 2-line, they prefer Krzyzewski’s hometown of Chicago over the closer Philadelphia option.

Ticket prices skyrocketing to all-time high for Coach K’s final home game

If someone is wanting to attend Saturday’s ACC matchup between Duke and North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium and hasn’t yet purchased tickets, it’s certainly going to cost them.

In what’ll mark legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game as the Blue Devils’ leader, Cameron Indoor Stadium will undoubtedly have an electric atmosphere on Saturday – and the ticket prices reflect that.

According to Front Office Sports, the current ticket price just to get inside Cameron Indoor Stadium for Duke vs. North Carolina is $3,690, while the average ticket price is $5,392. As Front Office Sports points out, the game is trending towards being the highest-selling game between the two teams in the history of StubHub.

Cameron Indoor Stadium – which holds 9,314 fans – is bound to have a sellout crowd on hand to send Coach K off the right way. Although Duke will still have both the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament to play, Saturday’s game vs. North Carolina will be the very last time that Krzyzewski stands on the sidelines at Cameron Indoor Stadium to coach a game.

Duke and North Carolina are scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN. The network’s College GameDay show will also be on the scene Saturday for their pregame and halftime shows to capture the special day for Coach K.

On3’s Tyler Mansfield contributed to this report.