Welter: Coach K built a program that everyone could be a part of

By Pat Welter

I remember my first real college basketball memory. It was 1999 and I was filling out a bracket for the first time. I was a fourth grader, and a fifth grader was running a pool for money.  He was the same kid who sold laser pointers on the playground.  I'm sure he's running a successful business all these years later.  Hopefully a legal one.

As a kid in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, a lot of us didn't have a team we were allegiant to. For me and many of my friends it was UNC or Duke. The colors signaled royalty on the playground. If you had UNC or Duke basketball shorts you were a king. If you were lucky enough to have a pair, you just prayed that you didn't stain them or tear them over the adventures of the day. It didn't have to be spring or summer to wear them either. 45 degrees in March was more than warm enough. 

In 1999 Duke was loaded. Shane Battier, Trajan Langdon, Corey Maggette, Elton Brand. I remember Maggette entering the NBA draft was super-controversial. In reality it was foreshadowing for the one-and-done recruiting that has come to define modern Duke. I picked Duke to win it all that year. They lost to UConn in the finals. I didn't win the pool money, but I was hooked. I was on my way to becoming a college basketball fan for life.

Over the years the Duke players have obviously changed, but one thing has remained the same: Coach K. Mike Krzyzewski isn't just a college basketball coach, he is the lens through which we watch the sport.

You either love Duke or hate Duke. Either way you have an opinion. Saturday night at Cameron was surreal for so many reasons.  For me it was like seeing a library of basketball memories displayed in front of me like a movie selection menu on Netflix.  Behind Krzyzewski and the Duke bench were 96 former players. Langdon was there, so were Battier and Brand. It was like it was 1999 again, but it was also every other decade or year that Krzyzewski had coached.

You can't lose a figure like Krzyzewski and not have it affect the sport. College basketball is changing rapidly. With Krzyzewski out of the picture, it will never be the same. His succession plan was intended to put Duke in a position to preserve what he's built. Hubert Davis and UNC beating Krzyzewski in his final game at Cameron should give Blue Devil fans hope that this succession plan can work. The Tar Heels are one full regular season in. The Carolina blue is still beautiful, and the rivalry is still one of the best in sports.

I don't know if Jon Scheyer can keep Duke at this level. It seems unreasonable to think he could, but I look at all of those former players in the stands, the celebrities, the Cameron Crazies and think this kind of tradition won't easily go away.

Krzyzewski built a brand, and he built a family. There's his wife, children and grand children who were at center court with him after the game. There are his former players and anyone who has attended Duke,  but there's also all of the people who love and hate his program all over the country.  They might have another favorite team, but everyone has Duke.  This March, kids all over the country will be filling out a bracket for the first time, and they are going to look long and hard at Duke.  Coach K's final game at Cameron is a night I will tell my grandkids about.  I might even buy them a pair of Duke shorts.