Feb. 5, 2005
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
DURHAM, N.C. – The silence at Cameron Indoor Stadium was deafening.
Mike Krzyzewski lay on the court after collapsing from an apparent dizzy spell during a timeout in the first half. While his assistant coaches and the Duke training staff gathered around him, even the Cameron Crazies were quiet.
After several seconds, Coach K got up, returned to the huddle and finished out the game. So did his players.
J.J. Redick had 17 of his 26 points in the first half and Shelden Williams got his fifth straight double-double, helping the fourth-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 25 Georgia Tech 82-65 Saturday.
Williams finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, and Daniel Ewing added 16 points for Duke (17-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had lost two of its previous three games. That included a rare one at Cameron, where the Yellow Jackets (13-7, 4-5) ended the Blue Devils’ 41-game home winning streak last season.
But clearly the focus in this one was on Krzyzewski, the 57-year-old coach celebrating his 25th season in Durham.
During a timeout 8{ minutes into the game, Coach K was talking to one of the referees and suddenly fell to the floor. He lay on his right side, facing his bench, but never appeared to lose consciousness.
But Krzyzewski was up and back in front of his players to complete the timeout.
When referee Reginald Cofer later went to check on him, Krzyzewski took the opportunity to complain about the officiating, and Cofer walked away smiling.
The fall had little effect on the game. At the time, the Blue Devils led 15-12, and a dunk by Georgia Tech’s Isma’il Muhammad later cut the lead to one. Redick started a run of nine unanswered points with a 3-pointer, and although the Yellow Jackets briefly rallied to within one, Duke kept control throughout.
A 17-4 spurt spanning halftime made it 51-37, and the margin never got under eight down the stretch.
Georgia Tech has lost five of its last seven games, all without injured guard B.J. Elder (hamstring). He got hurt in an overtime loss at Kansas and missed his ninth straight game.
Jarrett Jack scored 18 points and Luke Schenscher had 11 for the Yellow Jackets.
