Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski on Thursday was "firing political salvos across state lines" as his team prepared for its opening round NCAA Tournament game in Greenville, S.C., according to Kevin Armstrong of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Krzyzewski referred to North Carolina's controversial HB2 as a "stupid thing." Krzyzewski: "I don't want to be too political right now. Look, it's a stupid thing." Armstrong noted South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its capitol two years ago, in turn allowing NCAA events to return to the state, and Krzyzewski said, "South Carolina is known for great basketball and this is a great town. We feel really great about being here. It would be nice if our state got as smart so we could host not just basketball tournaments but concerts and other NCAA events. Maybe we'll get there in the next century" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/17). In Raleigh, Luke DeCock notes North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams has been even "more outspoken in his criticism of HB2." Williams referred to HB2 as that "stupid rule." On Thursday, he called the situation "very, very sad" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 3/17).
BIG LOSS FOR GREENSBORO: In Greensboro, Jeff Mills in a front-page piece notes the city was supposed to host tournament action this year, but by moving it to Greenville, Duke now "faces a possible second-round game against South Carolina in the Gamecocks' backyard." Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau President Henri Fourrier said, "There’s no way to replace that sort of loss. There’s an intangible, too, when you talk about the national television exposure that we’ll lose. And that’s residual, goes beyond just the weekend, as teams move on in the bracket there are replays of when they were in Greensboro" (Greensboro NEWS & RECORD, 3/17).
