Mickie Krzyzewski, wife of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, was in the middle of the Blue Devils` on-court postgame celebration along with the couple`s three daughters.
”It was kind of confusing,” she said. ”I wanted to be out there and celebrating, but I also wanted to stand back and watch the celebration. I knew I was going to miss something either way, but Mike motioned for us.”
Mickie was asked if her husband wanted his elusive first national title more than he let on.
”Of course he wanted it,” she said. ”But one of the reasons he wanted it was because of the depth of feeling for this team. I haven`t seen him love a team like he loved this one for a long time.”
If it didn`t annoy Mike that some people put an asterisk on his past Final Four success, it did annoy his wife. ”I told my sister I was going to start introducing myself as Mickie, wife of Mike `Never Won the Big One`
Krzyzewski of Duke `Never Won the Big One` University.
”It was annoying mostly because the charm of college basketball is that there`s a brand-new team every year. This team never lost the big one. This team won the big one.”
– Bobby Hurley, who capped an outstanding NCAA tournament with a 12-point, nine-assist performance in the championship game, was reminded once more-probably for the last time-about his poor showing in last year`s Final Four. ”I was really embarrassed,” he said. ”I couldn`t even cry. The games I cry after are the close ones, the heartbreakers.”
Asked if Monday night got the proverbial monkey off his back, Hurley responded, ”If I didn`t say that, I`d be lying. . . . What makes this win so satisfying is that no one thought we could do it. A lot of people said, `Why even have an NCAA tournament? Just give Vegas the trophy. I guess those people aren`t saying much now.”
– The Final Four all-tournament team included three players from Duke-Christian Laettner, Hurley and reserve guard Bill McCaffrey-Kansas` Mark Randall and UNLV`s Anderson Hunt, whose 29 points in the semifinal loss to Duke was the one-game high by any player in the Final Four. Laettner was named the Most Outstanding Player.
– The nine assits by Hurley tied him for second in national title games with Alvin Franklin (Houston, 1984) and Michael Jackson (Georgetown, 1985). His two-game total of 16 tied for third-best in a Final Four with Franklin`s 1984 total.
– Laettner went 12 for 12 from the free-throw line Monday night to finish 112 for 132 in NCAA tournament games, making him the career leader in both attempts and free throws. Cincinnati`s Oscar Robertson held the record for free throws with 90, while UCLA`s Lew Alcindor held the previous record for attempts with 119.
– If Krzyzewski looked tired Monday night, it was for good reason. He had little sleep after the Blue Devils` victory over UNLV Saturday night, waking up early Sunday morning for a coaches` breakfast. Sunday night, you had to figure there was the normal restlessness before a national championship game. But Sunday, Krzyzewski said it didn`t bother him. ”I`m from Chicago,” he said. ”I`m used to having to get up for school early and catching the CTA.” – Assuming they would make it to Monday night`s championship game, the UNLV traveling contingent had a charter flight booked for Tuesday morning. But seniors Greg Anthony and Stacey Augmon wanted to get out of town as soon as possible after their 79-77 loss to Duke and purchased one-way tickets to Las Vegas for early Sunday. Under NCAA rules, the two were required-and did-pay their own way.
