Dick Vitale Pens Tribute to Duke's Mike Krzyzewski Ahead of Final Home Game

ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale wrote a tribute to retiring Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski ahead of his final home game.

Scott Gleeson of USA Today relayed the entire letter, which will run on television Saturday with Dan Shulman narrating. The segment can also be found now on ESPN.com.

"I'd simply say, coach, you have been Awesome, baby, with a Capital A," Vitale wrote in part.

"Your coaching record is proof of the solid gold Hall of Famer you are. But I know Mike the man as well. And man, are you special. ... As I have endured a six-month fight with several cancers, I have felt your caring ways. Your countless messages have lifted my spirits like you can't even imagine. Yes, my friend, you are the GOAT as a coach. But you are also one of the best people I have ever met."

Vitale and Krzyzewski have been titans in men's college basketball for the last four decades. 

Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, when the network began. He became a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

Krzyzewski has coached at Duke since 1980, winning five national championships and making 12 Final Fours. He is a three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year and earned a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Vitale would almost certainly be calling this game under normal circumstances, but he is in the middle of a total voice rest for a four-week period as part of his treatment for dysplasia and lesions on his vocal cords. He was previously diagnosed with melanoma and lymphoma in 2021.

His voice will still be heard via his letter, however, as Coach K leads his No. 4 Blue Devils for the final time at Cameron Indoor Stadium against archrival UNC at 6 p.m. ET.