Duke basketball: The real reason Coach K wants a farewell tour

Mike Krzyzewski is doing his job to ensure lasting Duke basketball success.

Being a top performer in your field for a long time gives you the right to a farewell tour. Earning it comes from more than just wins or losses. Guys like Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant earned the farewell tour because they contributed to the advancement of their sports. Now, there’s nobody more deserving and who has done more for his sport than Duke basketball’s Mike Krzyzewski.

If you have been a head coach for 40-plus years, won 1,170 games, and brought home five national championships, you deserve to be celebrated.

Coach K has never been someone to go out of his way to bring attention to himself or his program. All the attention he has received over the years is a byproduct of his accomplishments. He understood that winning and doing things the right way will bring enough attention.

Aside from all the games won and players sent to the NBA, one of Coach K’s greatest accomplishments is building the Duke basketball brand. Aside from maybe the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Cowboys, the Blue Devils have become bigger than any other sports brand in America.

A farewell tour to help strengthen the Duke basketball brand

I don’t believe the 74-year-old Mike Krzyzewski wants a farewell tour for selfish reasons.

But there will be more eyeballs on the program this coming season than ever before. Every single game will be a coronation and celebration of Krzyzewski’s legacy. Every game will likely be nationally televised. And now that fans are being let back into arenas, there are sure to be sold-out crowds trying to catch one last glimpse of the Duke basketball goat.

The media will be following Coach K’s every move and be there to document it all. There’s no doubt media members will try to get as much as they can before it is all over.

I suspect Coach K will be holding nothing back. He will talk to all the media, answer all their questions, and provide plenty of content for writers and creators. I think we will see sides of him that we haven’t really seen before. It will be his last ride, so nothing will be held back.

The constant attention surrounding Coach K next season will bring an insane amount of exposure to the program.

He will have his last Champions Classic game, last game at Madison Square Garden, last non-conference game, last conference game, last road game, last game at UNC, last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, last game in the ACC Tournament, and last game in the NCAA Tournament.

Almost every game the Blue Devils play next year will be a milestone moment. Fans, media, and everyone in the hoops world will want to be a part of Coach K’s last go around. Duke basketball will be on constant display and dominate the narrative next season.

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Yes, Coach K obviously wants to be celebrated and smell every rose along the way. You can’t blame a guy for wanting to be showered with love and admiration one last time. He has not only done a lot for the Blue Devils but also college basketball as a whole.

But Coach K also cares about the future of Duke basketball. He built it to what it is today and wants to elevate the brand to its highest point before he steps away.

Coach K is not just doing this farewell tour for himself, but to bring even more attention and revenue to the program.

So let’s enjoy this final season, the last time we get to see a walking goat on the sidelines. There will be more legendary coaches in college basketball, but none quite like Coach K.