Mike Krzyzewski gives shoutout to Dean Smith, states North Carolina got basketball arena right

As Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski gets ready for his last trip to the Dean Smith Center on Saturday, he got a little nostalgic. That’s unusual for him — at least, so he says.

“I really put things in the past quickly so that I can be in the moment,” he said when asked about his first game at the Smith Center on Jan. 18, 1986. “Maybe when I do retire, I’ll relive some of those tapes and whatever.”

But when it comes to the late Smith, the namesake for North Carolina’s arena and one of the best coaches in college basketball history, Krzyzewski reflected on his former rival’s career. North Carolina named the arena after Smith, who passed away in 2015, in 1986, and Krzyzewski is happy the name hasn’t changed after all these years.

“What really is good is that Carolina named the arena after the appropriate man, Dean,” Krzyzewski said this week. “It’s the Smith Center. He deserves that, and hopefully in the future, no one will sell that. We have a tendency to sell those things. Because that’s earned.

“He’s one of the greatest coaches of any sport ever, and the fact that that arena’s named after him is so appropriate.”

Krzyzewski hasn’t had very good luck at the Dean Dome, though. He has a 15-20 record as an opponent there — the second-best record by an opposing coach at that arena. But he has a chance to add one more win to that total on Saturday before retiring. His Duke squad faces North Carolina Saturday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Coach K talks preparation for return to raucous Dean Dome for rivalry game

Duke. North Carolina. Mike Krzyzewski’s last run in the Dean Dome with 20,000 blue-blooded fans. The mission is understood — this game means a little more.

Krzyzewski’s trip to Chapel Hill in 2021 is one he’d like to forget. Not only did his Blue Devils get crushed 91-73, but it wasn’t in the normal Duke-North Carolina atmosphere. Thousands of passionate fans weren’t screaming at the top of their lungs for over two hours.

Former UNC head coach Roy Williams was able to march into Cameron Indoor in their last meeting and pick up a 91-87 victory over Duke in his final game coaching against the Blue Devils. The game was regarded as one of the best of last season — something that is expected on a yearly basis, let alone Krzyzewski’s final road trip in the rivalry.

Krzyzewski has seen the highs and lows of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry since he became head coach at Duke during the 1980-81 season. Overall he’s 16-19 against North Carolina on the road, the second-best win percentage of any coach against the Tar Heels in Dean Dome history (min. five games). He only trailed Tony Bennett, who sits at .500 (4-4).