Why Auburn basketball's Bruce Pearl compared Duke Coach K to Dick Vitale at March Madness
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Bruce Pearl and Auburn basketball are sharing an NCAA Tournament court with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski this weekend.
Coach K, who announced his retirement from basketball after this season, will lead the Blue Devils against Cal State Fullerton on Friday (6:10 p.m. CT) in the first round. Duke is the other No. 2 seed playing in Greenville, on the opposite side of the bracket from Auburn (27-5).
Pearl, a multi-decade coaching veteran himself, was asked what Krzyzewski means to the game of college basketball Thursday during his press conference.
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"What he's done as an Olympian, representing our country, winning gold, what he's meant to all the coaches that have looked up to him doing it the right way — all the assistants that have gone on and been great teachers and mentors themselves," Pearl said. "It's kind of like Dick Vitale and what he did to college basketball in his position is akin to what Coach K has done as a leader of our coaching profession. And he's done it with dignity. He's done it with class. He's done it his way.
"He is competitive. He is tough. He's fierce. That's how he grew up. That's how he worked his way through the Army and through the ranks. He's never tried to be somebody he wasn't. And I respect him for that."
Auburn faces Jacksonville State (21-10) in its first-round game Friday (11:40 a.m. CT, truTV) at Bon Secours Arena. Duke is in the second session.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Bruce Pearl compares Duke Coach K to Dick Vitale at March Madness
