(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
We can all agree that Mike Krzyzewski is a pretty recognizable guy. But everybody who wants to go behind the scenes at the NCAA Tournament still needs to show the proper credentials.
Even Duke’s Hall of Fame coach.
Coaches in the tournament are given special pins to wear on their jackets or shirts so that security guards know to let them onto the court, into the locker rooms and other restricted areas at the various arenas.
Krzyzewski laughed Tuesday as he told the story of how he once didn’t immediately flash his badge during last weekend’s two-game tournament stay in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“They give you this pin that you’re supposed to wear all the time. So I walk in _ I’m not wearing my jacket, I just hold it and I put the pin on _ and I’m walking by and one of the guards said, ‘Coach K, do you have your credential?’” Krzyzewski said.
“And I think if you said ‘Coach K,’ you should know that I probably have one. Now if they just said, ‘Do you have your credential?’ then I’m OK. But it’s like you get a little anal about (it). I felt like the military police arguing.”
The lesson? Don’t forget your pin, even if you have more wins than anyone in men’s Division I history.