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- Coach K’s retirement tour has been met with a lot of gifts from opponents along the way.
- On Saturday, the Duke head coach received his best gift yet from Louisville.
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Duke head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is in the middle of his final year. The 74-year-old, 47-year coaching veteran is set to retire at the end of the 2021/22 season and will go down as one of the greatest of all-time.
As part of his farewell tour, Coach K has received gifts from his longtime foes during his last game in their stadium. Louisville was the latest team to honor him and gave him the best gift yet.
The Blue Devils traveled to the KFC Yum! Center for the final time under Coach K on Saturday. Prior to the game, former Cardinals head coach Denny Crum and interim head coach Mike Pegues presented Krzyzewski with a custom Louisville Slugger baseball bat and an etched bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey.
Denny Crum and Mike Pegues presented Coach K with a Louisville Slugger bat and etched bottle of Maker’s Mark. pic.twitter.com/1pqyzH5PTv
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) January 29, 2022
Louisville Slugger, obviously, is based out of the Cardinals’ home city. The factory where every single bat is made is six blocks from where the game was played.
Giving Coach K a custom Duke bat was a local, thoughtful gift on its own. The whiskey took it to the next level.
Kentucky as a whole is known for its ‘Bourbon Trail’ and close ties to whiskey. Louisville is right in the middle of all of that.
Maker’s Mark, which is usually sealed by a red wax, gave Coach K a bottle sealed with Duke Blue. On the bottle face, just below the company logo, Krzyzewski’s face was etched into the glass.
— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) January 29, 2022
Whether Coach K goes home and drinks away the loss, celebrates the win with a glass of bourbon, or leaves the bottle on his shelf for a rainy day, it’s awesome.
Louisville presented the college basketball legend with the best gifts yet.