Duke coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski and his former player, Johnny Dawkins along with Tyler Hansbrough, a former star from the Blue Devils' rival North Carolina, made up three of five members inducted into the Hall during a ceremony held Wednesday night in Chicago.
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They were part of the Hall of Fames' 18th induction class
Mike Krzyzewski was officially honored in the Class of 2023 after initially being named in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame's Founding Class in 2006.
Having Blue Devils and Tar Heels comprise 60% of the induction class wasn't lost on Krzyzewski.
"A couple of the greatest programs in any sport, to share this night with you guys from North Carolina and our guys from Duke, what a great night," Krzyzewski said.
Hansbrough reflected on what the ACC's biggest rivalry meant through the years.
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"Everyone always tries to say it's just another game, but it's not," Hansbrough said. "I mean, what Coach K built for Duke and then North Carolina, the rivalry, you know, your classmates, everybody gets worked up for it on campus. It's almost like you can't escape it."
Hall of Fame inductees reflect on rivalry before the ceremony
Krzyzewski added that each program made the other better.
Dawkins, now the head coach at UCF, called it a great rivalry.
"To be a part of that, I can't explain how much that means for both programs," Dawkins said. "I think it's made all of us better that have been a part of that rivalry.
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Dawkins was a two-time consensus All-American at Duke and a four-time All-ACC selection. He was named the 1986 Naismith National Player of the Year. As a senior, Dawkins led Krzyzewski's Blue Devils to the ACC championship and a runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament.
Hansbrough, who played for the Tar Heels from 2005-09, was All-America First Team all four years. He won consensus National Player of the Year honors in 2008 and remains the only four-time All-ACC First Team selection in league history since rules were changed to allow freshmen to play varsity basketball. Hansbrough led UNC to a Final Four in 2008 and then to a national championship the following year.
Krzyzewski is, the winningest coach in NCAA history in a four-decade tenure at Duke that saw him win 1,202 total games, five national championships, and 15 ACC titles.
The other two inductees were Herb Magee, who coached 54 years at Division II Jefferson, where he won nearly as many games as Krzyzewski -- 1,144, and the late talent scout Tom Konchalski, who spent 43 years evaluating prospective college basketball talent. He died in 2021 after a battle with cancer.