Jim Boeheim shares what Coach K means to him, college basketball

The Duke Blue Devils ended Syracuse‘s season Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the ACC Tournament 88-79 thanks to a last-minute push from head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s squad. With the loss Orange headman Jim Boeheim will never lead the charge against Coach K again due to his impending retirement following the Blue Devil’s season.

“We’ll have dinner together in the future. That’s the only time I want to see him,” Boeheim joked after the loss.

The two all-time great ACC coaches have a great relationship, which was highlighted when Krzyzewski called in to Boeheim’s radio show last month as “Mike from Durham,” who declared he’s been a lifelong fan of the long-time Syracuse coach.

“I’ve been a fan of Coach Boeheim’s for almost five decades,” Krzyzewski said on the radio show. “I’m going to have a chance to watch the Syracuse-Duke game this weekend, and I was wondering if there was an opportunity to meet him and maybe get an autograph and picture.”

That was for Duke’s road game against the Orange, where the Blue Devils ultimately defeated Syracuse handily 97-72 in Coach K’s final trip to the Carrier Dome, which is college basketball’s largest arena.

Now that Krzyzewski is out of Boeheim’s hair for good (at least on the court), life will be a little easier for the Syracuse legend, and the rest of the ACC for that matter. That doesn’t mean Boeheim doesn’t recognize Krzyzewski’s contributions to college basketball and how he turned Duke into one of the most storied programs in NCAA history.

“I’m glad I’m not matching up against his players anymore, I’ll tell you that,” Boeheim said. “… We’ve had some great games, some great battles. He means more for college basketball than anybody … What he’s done for the game, you can’t really measure that.”

While Coach K is done after this season, Boeheim confirmed he will return for at least one more season in Syracuse, but can’t say the same about some of his players that are graduating.

“These guys, you’ll miss a lot, you won’t see them, but unfortunately, you’ll see me next year,” Boeheim said.