By Tony Duckworth, Sr., tonyduckworthsr@gmail.com
Final 4. 68 teams have been reduced to four. The Final 4 is a culmination of what many argue is the greatest tournament in sports. I agree. The 2025 version of the semifinals will feature the four #1 seeds. 2008 is the only other time this has occurred.
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Auburn (32 – 5) | Duke (35 – 3) | Florida (34 – 4) | Houston (34 – 4) have won a combined 135 games (.894). These teams are the last four standing, while Duke is playing the best basketball coming out of the Sweet 16. Vegas has Duke favored to win the championship, followed by Florida, Houston, and Auburn.
I don’t recall ever picking all four teams correctly on my bracket even though I have selected every #1 seed before. As referenced in last week’s column, I picked Florida to defeat Houston for the naty. Now that the dust has settled, I predict Duke to beat Florida to claim their sixth National Championship.
Scheyer. You don’t want to be the coach to follow a legend. You want to be the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend. At least, that is what the talking heads say. A case can be made that Duke head coach John Scheyer has been the best ever at following a legend. Many place Mike Krzyzewski as the greatest basketball coach to ever prowl a sideline. Coach K led the Blue Devils to 13 Final Fours and 5 National Championships. This included the rare feat of winning back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992.
The heir apparent Scheyer, former Duke player and long-time assistant, bleeds Blue Devil blue. As Coach K’s hand-picked successor, he has his 35 – 3 squad as the favorite heading into this weekend. What makes this year’s team unique is that they are led by three freshmen. Going into the season, teams utilizing the transfer portal, NIL, and COVID seniors were the clear favorites to cut down the nets. Analysts claim this is the best Duke team in a decade.
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The 37-year-old Scheyer has led his team to winning 31 of their last 32 games. A weak ACC made it easier for Duke to stack wins, but this is a remarkable run that included an ACC tournament championship. Scheyer’s head coaching record is 89 – 21 (.809) | 48 – 12 (.800) in the ACC with last season’s Elite 8 appearance highlighted by this season’s Final 4 run.
Duke is led by player of the year candidate Cooper Flagg. The Maine native Flagg is a 6′ 9″ guard / forward combo who averages 18.9 PPG | 48.3% FG | 7.5 RPG | 4.2 APG. In addition to his offensive stats and star-caliber ability to make others around him better, Flagg’s length and athleticism allow him to showcase his stellar defensive abilities. The other future NBA lottery picks are freshman Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. These three freshman are sensational.
Memories. Back in my college men’s basketball coaching days, I always enjoyed attending the annual National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) annual convention. Who wouldn’t enjoy this event given it took place in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final 4? For sports fans who love a live event, the Final 4 semi-finals need to be added to your bucket list.
The fifteen replica courts I have displayed in my home office allow me to reminisce. Without boring readers with multiple memories, allow me to indulge about my first ever.
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The scene was 1993 in New Orleans. This was my first trip to the Big Easy, and I quickly learned the French Quarter by day was much different than following sundown. If you know, you know.
Check out this roster of head coaches. Roy Williams’ Kansas team dropped their match-up to Dean Smith’s North Carolina squad 78 – 68. Steve Fischer’s Fab Five won over Rick Pitino’s Kentucky team in overtime 81 – 78. Talent over experience. At that time, this was the largest attended basketball game ever. In the championship game, UNC defeated Michigan 77 – 71. This game included Chris Weber’s infamous timeout when it was a 2-point game with 11 seconds remaining. Sadly, even though it was a compelling game, that was the most memorable play of the game.
Two post-game memories include me walking from the Superdome after the game, and congratulating a still-dejected Roy Williams who hadn’t recovered from losing to his mentor Dean Smith in the semi’s. Ole’ Roy was gracious and acknowledged me. The other memory was seeing the Fab Five after dark on Bourbon Street, and Michigan’s Chris Weber laughing off all the UNC fans blowing whistles and gesturing “T” for the timeout gaffe.
Not bad for my first Final 4.
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Braves. OUCH!
Tony Duckworth is a native of Macon and currently resides in Albany. Tony worked in intercollegiate athletics for thirty-one years. Between 2007 – 2023 he was an NCAA Division II Director of Athletics at three different universities, including Albany State, following ten years as a head men’s basketball coach at two colleges. Follow Tony on the X platform at @tonyduckworthsr.
