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ESPN personality Stephen A Smith wants Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski to win the men's college basketball national championship because he believes they deserve the moment.
Krzyzewski is beginning his final postseason after announcing his retirement before the season. Duke (26-5) is ranked seventh in the nation.
Smith wants Krzyzewski to end his career on top.
"I'd love it. I'd love it. I would love to see him go out and win the national championship." Smith said on ESPN's "First Take."
Smith believes that Coach K going out with his sixth national title would be a fitting ending:
"Because of what he has meant to the game, to be quite honest with you. I think that it would be a phenomenal story."
Coach K's time at Duke and his coaching legacy
Mike Krzyzewski is considered by many, including Lebron James, to be the greatest coach of all time. Krzyzewski has led Duke to five national championships and 12 Final Four appearances. He has also coached the USA Men's National Basketball Team to three Olympic gold medals. (He was also an assistant coach on the 1992 "Dream Team.")
The former assistant under Bobby Knight at Indiana has the most wins for a college coach in NCAA Division I history (1,196-366, 76,6%).
But being on top has not always been easy.
"But lets face reality, you know when you're on top, a lot of people throw shade at you, a lot of people hate on you, and that's certainly been the case with Coach K and Duke," Smith said.
Krzyzewski's status as one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time is not in question. The opportunity to end his career with a national championship provides him with a chance to have a storybook ending.
Few athletes or coaches get the opportunity to go out on top, but Krzyzewski has that chance.
Seventh-ranked Duke will play Syracuse on Friday in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The Blue Devils will then learn their NCAA Tournament path on Sunday, when the field is announced.
Krzyzewski's Duke teams have secured 35 NCAA Tournament berths, including 24 consecutive appearances from 1996 to 2019. His teams have made 16 Elite Eight showings and nine championship games.
Only UCLA's John Wooden, with 10, has won more national titles in Division I men's college basketball.
Guess the Lakers players!
