Mike Krzyzewski is going into his final NCAA tournament. (0:56)
Mike Krzyzewski was in the midst of discussing his team's approach to this year's NCAA tournament -- Duke's first since the 2019-20 season and, with retirement coming, his 36th and last March Madness --
Most of the time, they don't realize it's one-and-done until it's done.
That is not a flawed mentality for the legendary Duke coach. He is embracing the approach he is taking on this last dance.
I want to be in the moment, and I have tried to do that all season. I am excited.
There have been plenty of moments this season, but some of the biggest havens have gone Krzyzewski's way. Duke lost in his last home game. In his final game in the conference, the Blue Devil fell to Virginia Tech.
The emotional burden of his farewell tour likely took its toll on the team, but Krzyzewski thinks those losses are not indicative of their potential in the NCAA tournament.
This week is about getting them mentally fresh, not just physically fresh. That is a lot for those kids.
For the majority of the team, the game will be a career milestone. Theo John and Joey Baker have played in the NCAA tournament before, with a total of 24 minutes of game time.
The Blue Dukes are hoping to shift the focus from the current narrative surrounding Krzyzewski's last game to what could be the players' grand finale, too, according to forward Paolo Banchero.
We are thinking about our last game as a group. We are not trying to end the season early. We all enjoy being around each other. We have been working hard. We know how much work was done to get to March Madness. That is our motivation. That is all we are thinking about.
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