NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP - FINAL FOUR: NORTH CAROLINA VS DUKE

April 2, 2022

Mike Krzyzewski

Wendell Moore Jr.

Paolo Banchero

Trevor Keels

Caesars Superdome

Duke Blue Devils

Semi-Finals Postgame Media Conference

North Carolina - 81, Duke - 77

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Duke.

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: First of all, congratulations to North Carolina. Hubert and his staff and those kids have done a heck of a job. And tonight was a battle. I mean, it was a game that the winner was going to be joyous and the loser was going to be in agony. And that's the type of game we expected.

We would have liked to have been on the other side of it, but I'm proud of what my guys have done. And they've been an amazing group for me. The youngest team I've coached. And we had our chances tonight. And they made a couple more plays than we did. But our guys played their hearts out. But I'm proud of them. I love my team. And my staff loves them. And they've been just a joy for me to coach.

Q. What were your emotions when you were walking off the court for the last time?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: It's not about me, especially right now. As a coach, I'm just concerned about these guys. I mean, they're already crying on the court. And I mean that's the only thing you can think about.

And then going into the locker room, I've said my entire career -- or when I knew what the hell I was doing -- that I wanted my seasons to end where my team was either crying tears of joy or tears of sorrow because then you knew that they gave everything.

And I had a locker room filled with guys who were crying. And it's a beautiful sight. It's not the sight that I would want. I'd want the other. But it's a sight that I really respect and makes me understand just how good this group was.

And that's what I'm concerned -- I don't want any of these guys to leave and say, I should have made that one free throw; I should have made that one -- we win and we lose together. And we've won 32 games and two championships together. And that's what I want them to realize.

Q. You might be one of the few people who might have seen or remember Houston-UCLA in '68. You've been on the tournament stage, 100 tournament games. Can you put this game into perspective since it had never been played until tonight?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: I think it reached a level that you would expect. Those kids from both teams played their hearts out. I mean, the crowd was standing most of the game, I think. It was a heck of a game. And so it met up to that. It was disjointed, which games like that can be, but I think it met up to that level.

And I'm proud of my guys. We had our chances in the last minutes. You have a one-point lead, if you can get a stop. But they're good. They put a lot of pressure on you offensively.

Q. Can you just reflect on your career?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: I'm not thinking about my career right now.

Q. Could you talk about what it's meant to you to make this magical run with these guys?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: For these guys, they've been a joy. We made our announcement it would be our last year -- I told my wife, Mickie, look, we're going for it. And I'm going to put everything into it. And I got a group, they're young, but I think they've got a chance.

And I was right about that. I was right about that. So every day -- we had a few bumps in the road, but they won 32 games. And they turned it around in March where they've been beautiful young men to coach. I could not ask for more.

Q. You talked about the tears for them, but you're obviously dry-eyed right now. You have you perspective obviously that they don't have. What is your perspective on all that, and how do you keep your emotions in check right now?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: I think when you have three daughters, 10 grandchildren and you've been through quite a bit, you're used to taking care of the emotions of the people you love and that you're responsible for. And that's where I'm at. And I'm sure at some time I'll deal with this in my own way.

But for right now we need to deal with our family. We've developed a family. And in the last three ball games before this one, these guys made unbelievable plays right after one another to put us in this position. But tonight we still made some plays but not enough -- but not enough.

Q. Paolo and Trevor, you've only been with Duke for one season, of course, but I'm wondering what you have learned about the Duke brotherhood, what that means to you, less so kind of the alumni base but how you've experienced it this season with this team?

TREVOR KEELS: Brotherhood, I mean, it's a family. It's always been my dream to play for Duke since I was a little kid watching it on TV. And when I got the offer and I committed, I was all in. I knew it was a brotherhood. But I didn't know it was this type of level. Like everybody's family. Everybody wants what's best for each other. Everybody loves each other. And it's probably the best group I've ever played with.

Every day they all talk to me, tell me, give me motivation, held me responsible for everything. And I'm happy that I played with them. And I'm happy I was able to come here and play with this group. I can't ask for nothing else.

PAOLO BANCHERO: Yeah, it's much more than just a saying. That's what I learned. Just coming here, being from the Seattle, the West Coast, far from home, these guys embraced me from day one. And Coach, recruiting me, he lived up to everything he told me.

It made me a better player. Made me a better man. And I thank him for that. And I'm just proud to have played with this group. We gave it our all, and it sucks we came up short, but I'm proud of the effort that we put in and the way we went out.

Q. Coach, you always talk about next play, on to the next play. Is there another message or certain message that you would give the players, with your exit, and the fact what happened tonight?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: At some time. Let's deal with tonight and the season. And obviously we're concerned about all their futures and making sure that we give them good guidance and advice and support in how we move forward.

And they know that I'll always be with them. So they know that. And we'll be able to move on as a program. But my relationships with them will always be there. Look, these guys are really good. They weren't good, they were really good. And they've been a joy. They've been a joy.

Q. For the players, when you hear that, that you've been a joy, what has it meant for you to be with him in this final ride?

WENDELL MOORE JR.: I think for me it's been everything. Like these two guys up here, it was a dream of ours to come here. Coach delivered on every promise he gave us, and even more. Like Paolo said, he not only turned us into better players but better people. And we have someone like that of his caliber, he doesn't have to take the time to do any of that. He does it with his heart. He does everything with his heart. He loves each and every one of us dearly. And we all love him. So we can do nothing but thank him for everything he's done for us.

TREVOR KEELS: Yeah, like Wendell said, since I've been here, Coach K always has been there for me. He got on me at times when I need to be got on. And like Wendell said, he wants the best for us. And I think everybody can say that on the team. Not just only him, but everybody on the staff, including managers, everybody. It's a whole collective effort.

And I think all of us left it out there and played with joy. We had fun out there. We came up short, but we for sure had fun out there.

PAOLO BANCHERO: Just being able to go to war with Coach and the team for the whole season -- he was so committed to us all year. Never made it about him. And you're just proud that we were able to go out and fight, be in a fight with Coach every game.

You don't get time to think about it right now, but I'm sure, when we look back on it, we're going to be proud that we got to play for him. And he had our back the whole year, had our back every game. Put a lot of trust in us. Always believed in us.

Q. When the sting of tonight eventually eases up a little bit, do you think your lasting memory of this final tournament will be what your kids gave you in those final five minutes against Michigan State?

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: Or throughout the tournament, I think. You don't define a season with one game or one minute of a game. You define a season by what's happened throughout the whole season. It's been a heck of a year for us. And how these guys turned it around after we didn't play well in our last four regular season, including the tournament, was really one of the best things that's happened for me as a coach in the last five, six years.

For a young group to really flip the switch like that and play that level of basketball -- and at times we played that way tonight that, part of the reason that we were not able to play was because we were playing against a really good team that they also did that.

And I'll be fine. I've been blessed to be in the arena. And when you're in the arena, you're either going to come out feeling great or you're going to feel agony, but you always will feel great about being in the arena.

And I'm sure that that's the thing when I'll look back that I'll miss. I won't be in the arena anymore. But, damn, I was in the arena for a long time. And these kids made my last time in the arena an amazing one.

Q. I know you said you're trying to manage the emotions. One emotion that seems to be coming out for you now is empathy. Could you talk about using that empathy to lift these guys up. They're clearly hurting. We just heard Wendell --

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: Yeah, we are, privately. It's tough to hug them in front of you. But maybe not, you might think I'm showing off or it doesn't mean that much.

But, no, we've had -- and we will. Like, you take care of the people you love. And you take care of the people who have been committed to you and have believed in you. And they check every box. So we're going to help them get past this and then move on because these are all really young guys. They have amazing futures ahead of them -- amazing futures ahead of them. And we want to be a part of that. We want to help them with that.

Q. You talked about being in the arena. Can you talk about whether it's this team or other teams, talk about the joy you had in bringing them to achieve what they could achieve. Talk about what that meant to you.

COACH KRZYZEWSKI: Well, if I was in the arena alone, I would always come out with agony. So whenever I've gone into the arena, I've brought these guys or a U.S. team, or whatever.

So as a coach, you are allowed to go into that arena with amazing competitors. People who want to achieve at the highest level. And if you can teach them to achieve together at that highest level, then you come out of there in good shape.

So that's the beauty of being a coach and having the opportunities that I've had. And coaching them has been an amazing opportunity for me. Are you kidding me? We had two years of COVID. Last year 13-11. And I believe in these guys. And I should. And they came through. They did not win tonight, but they came through in an unbelievable fashion.