DURHAM, N.C. – Georgia Tech’s last scheduled game against Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski did not end without incident.
After directing words and a pointed finger in the direction of the legendary coach, and possibly at him, Yellow Jackets star guard Michael Devoe found himself in a little bit of hot water during and after Tech’s 69-57 loss to the No. 2 Blue Devils on Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t there, I didn’t see anything,” coach Josh Pastner said. “But in the heat of the moment, you can’t do that. No matter what the situation is, no player should ever talk to an opposing coach.”
Near the six-minute mark of the second half, Tech was making a comeback against the Blue Devils. After Devoe drove to the basket for a layup to cut the lead to 55-47, Krzyzewski called timeout. In that charged moment with his team rallying, Devoe happened to be right in front of the Duke bench as that happened, and turned to the Duke bench and pointed, first at Krzyzewski before slightly adjusting the direction, and spoke in Krzyzewski’s direction before heading back to the Tech bench. The sequence was captured on the ACC Network broadcast.
“I never said anything disrespectful to him during the game,” Devoe said. “I’m just a competitor, and I just want to compete. That’s all it was.”
After Devoe’s gesture, Krzyzewski started to walk after him, apparently irritated by his actions, before speaking with an official. After another official spoke with Devoe, the coach and player appeared to make peace before the ball was inbounded to restart play.
Devoe said he apologized to Krzyzewski after the game.
“I have the utmost respect for coach K,” Devoe said. “What he does for this program and what he’s done for college basketball is tremendous.”
Asked how Krzyzewski responded to the apology, Devoe answered, “He said, ‘You don’t know who you’re talking to.’ I was just trying to compete with him, and that’s all it was.”
Krzyzewski was not asked about the matter in his postgame news conference.
It was not unlike an interaction that Krzyzewski had after Duke’s NCAA Tournament loss to Oregon in 2016. After Oregon star Dillon Brooks, with his team well ahead in the final seconds but the shot clock running out, took a long 3-pointer to avoid a shot-clock violation. In the handshake line, Krzyzewski told him “You’re too good of a player to do that,” creating a stir for a couple of days, particularly after Brooks explained what Krzyzewski said and the coach at first denied saying anything to him about his sportsmanship.
In the postgame handshake line Tuesday, Pastner and Krzyzewski spoke for close to a minute, far longer than the typical greeting. Pastner said afterward that Devoe’s interaction with Krzyzewski was part of the conversation.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but I will talk to Michael, have that private conversation, and I know Michael Devoe has nothing but the highest level of respect for coach K,” Pastner said.
It was the final scheduled game between Tech and Krzyzewski, as the Hall of Famer is retiring at the end of the season, his 42nd at Duke.
“I hope we get to play them again in the conference tournament,” Pastner said. “That would be a great opportunity. But if not, it’s been a great honor and privilege and a blessing to be able to coach against him for our teams to compete against him.”
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