Coach K apologizes to Oregon for postgame comments

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has apologized for his comments following his team's Sweet 16 loss when denying he lectured Oregon forward Dillion Brooks on sportsmanship.

Coach K said he "reacted incorrectly" to a reporter's question about his exchange with Brooks after the top-seeded Ducks eliminated his defending NCAA champion Blue Devils with an 82-68 decision Thursday night in a West Region semifinal at Anaheim, Calif.

Krzyzewski released a statement Saturday that said: "Today, I spoke with Oregon head coach Dana Altman and apologized to him for my remarks to Dillon Brooks following our game. It is not my place to talk to another team's player and doing so took the focus away from the terrific game that Dillon played.

"In the postgame press conference, I reacted incorrectly to a reporter's question about my comment to Dillon. Clearly, the story that night was about Oregon advancing to the Elite Eight, and the outstanding game they played. I sincerely hope I did not create a distraction for Coach Altman and his team at this critical time of year. Certainly, I have the utmost respect for the Oregon program and their tremendous accomplishments."

Brooks hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down with seven seconds left in the game.

Brooks, who scored 22 points, celebrated after he hit the shot and said after the game that Krzyzewski told him that he is "too good of a player to be showing off in the end."

Krzyzewski told reporters after the game that he only congratulated Brooks.

"I didn't say that," Krzyzewski said Thursday night when asked about the exchange. "You can say whatever you want. Dillon Brooks is a hell of a player. I said, 'You're a terrific player.' And you can take whatever he said and then go with it, all right?"

Audio from CBS released Friday supported Brooks' account of the exchange.

"You're too good of a player to do that," Krzyzewski said.

"I'm sorry, Coach," Brooks said.

"You're too good of a player," Krzyzewski said.

Altman addressed the controversy with reporters on Friday as Oregon prepared for Saturday's NCAA Tournament game against second-seeded Oklahoma.

"At the end of the game, there was a difference in the shot clock and the game clock," Altman said. "I told Dillon to shoot it. So if anybody's got a problem with it, it should be directed at me."