SITTING AT THE podium in Duke’s Scharf Hall, the legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski makes clear that, in what will be his final season before retiring, there will be no talk of “lasts.” In fact, the word has been all but banned from his team’s vocabulary for the foreseeable future. Coach wants to “live, not savor,” focus on the present and remain in the moment.
OK, so no “lasts”—but there should be plenty of talk of “firsts” in Durham this year, especially since freshman phenom Paolo Banchero arrived on campus. The Seattle native already made history by signing a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal to become the first college athlete featured in the video game NBA 2K. He is also the first player to join the Blue Devils from the state of Washington since Quin Snyder in 1985. While countless talented prospects have come through Duke’s program, Banchero is perhaps the first with his specific skill set at his size—he is a legitimate 6-10 but can do just about everything on the floor. Oh, and Banchero might very well be the first overall pick in the NBA draft come June…
But let’s not get ahead of
