Nobody enjoys a good NCAA Tournament battle more than Mike Krzyzewski and he doesn't mind the few scars left by the few he's lost. But Friday, he looked ahead to today and said, "I won't like tomorrow."
He won't like today because his Duke Blue Devils are playing the Missouri Tigers at the Greensboro Coliseum and it will be like coaching against his son. For four years, Quin Snyder played for Krzyzewski and they went to three Final Fours. For six years, Snyder sat at Krzyzewski's elbow as an assistant coach before leaving before last season to coach Missouri.
It's too soon for this. Two years. Snyder still calls Coach K, often to ask about this situation or that.
Sometimes Coach K calls Snyder to rejoice about a victory the Tigers have won. Now, they have to go against each other in a big game.
"I would choose not to play Quin's team anytime," said Krzyzewski, "because it's his team. He's like a member of my family and I'm like a member of his. Why would you want to compete against somebody you love? I wouldn't want to do that, not by choice.
"Of utmost importance is that this is momentary. Whatever happens, win or lose, should not impact either of us. A lot of times it does. In my case, I know it won't."
Krzyzewski may have been thinking about the time he beat his former boss, Bobby Knight, and Knight refused to shake his hand, effectively ending what had been a good relationship.
Asked about that Friday, he said, "My relationship with Bob Knight is a private matter."
Snyder is in no mood to face his mentor. "I used to wear that jersey," he said. "That's tough. But you have a job to do and it's competitive. I know what (Krzyzewski) is in my life and I know what I am to him. I have the ultimate confidence in that relationship."
As for the Blue Devils, Snyder is a big fan.
"I love their players," he said. "I root for them all the time."
One of Missouri's toughest tasks today will be dealing with Shane Battier, who is the Naismith National Player of the Year and a near-unanimous choice as an All-American. He is the face of college basketball, gracing the covers of a large number of magazines. Had Snyder not come to his rescue, though, he may never have come close to that.
Battier said, "I love Quin Snyder like a brother. He was instrumental in my development as the person and the player I am today. When I was a freshman, I really didn't enjoy basketball. It was too heavy for me. I'd look at my stats and say, 'Who cares?' But he really lightened up the game for me."
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