Later tonight, longtime Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski will lead his Blue Devils into Cameron Indoor Stadium for one last matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The rivalry between Duke and UNC was raging long before Coach K joined the program. And one month before he even coached his first game, the now-legendary coach was given his first taste of the intense competition between these two powerhouse programs.
After Michael Jordan withdrew his name from consideration, Coach K sent a letter to his Wilmington, NC home. Of course, the future national champion/NBA legend would ultimately attend the University of North Carolina.
“Dear Mike, I am sorry to hear that you no longer have interest in learning more about Duke University, however I do want you to know that my staff and I wish you the very best in your college career. You are a fine young man and you should make an immediate impact on whatever you chose,” he wrote in 1980.
One month before Coach K coached his first game at Duke, he wrote a letter to a kid named Mike who he lost to rival North Carolina in a recruiting battle. pic.twitter.com/6nvTe2P6NS
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 5, 2022
Coach K certainly could’ve used Jordan’s talent in his first years as head coach of the Blue Devils. Through his first three seasons, Duke logged two losing records and failed to make the NCAA tournament. In his freshman season with the Tar Heels (1981-82), Jordan helped the program to a national title with a go-ahead jumper in the championship game.
Despite not landing Jordan, Coach K went on to have an incredible career with the Blue Devils — claiming five national championships of his own and becoming the winningest men’s college basketball coach of all-time.
Tonight’s Duke-UNC matchup will tipoff at 6 p.m. ET.
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