DURHAM, N.C. — Legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is set to coach his final home game on Saturday against rival North Carolina. It is a moment in college basketball that won’t soon be forgotten.
On game day, there will be talk of numbers, wins, national championships and gold medals. However, a better measurement of what Saturday will mean for the college basketball world and Duke fans is the amount of tissues used and emotional "thank yous" directed Coach K's way.
As Krzyzewski questioned during his midweek media availability: "It’s your last game in Cameron, its crazy how did that happen how is it here?"
Preparing Cameron Indoor Stadium for that culminating game and working tirelessly to make sure everything goes according to plan is Jon Jackson.
Jackson, Duke's Deputy Director of Athletics and Men's Basketball & External Affairs, has been with the school's program since 2000. The road to get there was certainly not a direct lane to the hoop, but more like a Coach K play on a dry erase board that ends with a perfect three.
"[I] grew up a big sports fan, went to Penn State and realized maybe there is a career there," Jackson deadpans with a smile over Zoom. "And I have been fortunate to fall into a job that doesn’t feel like a job for the past 30 plus years."
During the game against rival North Carolina on Saturday, ESPN will attempt to honor and salute 42 years of Coach K's legacy in only a days worth of coverage for a national audience. That is where Jackson—who has a role in the branding of Duke basketball—and his staff come in, handling the "asks" from ESPN.
"One thing that has been great about Duke over the years [and] that I have enjoyed [is when] we will pull the curtain back, but never the whole way back," said Jackson. "I think that helps create an aura of the program and coach that has helped build the brand over the years."
Jackson's journey to Duke started in central Pennsylvania's Annville and Lebanon, even making a detour up north through Bradford county. He saw Penn State win a national championship in 1986 and spent a brief moment with Penn State and the University of Florida. The stops included the U.S. Olympic Committee and Southern Methodist University. Now, since 2000, Jackson has observed the mystique of Duke, palpable as soon as people walk in the doors of the campus's infamous basketball stadium.
"You get people to come to Cameron for the first time, and they are just in awe," said Jackson. "It is a great reminder that what we do have is really special."
On Coach K's self affirmed "senior day," it will mark his final time coaching in front of the "Cameron Crazies."
Yet, the goal for Saturday remains the same as any other game, according to Jackson: "What we want to do is win, and we can enjoy that after as coach says his good bye to Cameron."
And that is the Duke brand.