The NCAA champions arrive Tuesday in Cameron Photo credit: Chris Hildreth

Durham, NC - Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski had lost his voice Tuesday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but not his sense of humor or his pride in his team.

"It's good to be home," he said in a raspy voice, one day after working to be heard above a crowd of more than 70,000 at the NCAA championship game.

He then pointed to the stadium scoreboard, which still showed Duke's 61-59 victory over Butler that gave Duke its fourth NCAA basketball title under Krzyzewski. "It's good to see that score. It will be even better to see that fourth banner hang here."

(See video, audio and photos from the game and post-game celebration on goduke.com)

Some 9,000 students, faculty staff and community members packed the floor and upper deck of Cameron to welcome back the Blue Devils from Indianapolis. With Durham Public Schools off for spring break, the stadium had a large population of some of Duke's youngest fans.

Following Krzyzewski's remarks, the team's seniors, Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas, each addressed the crowd. All thanked the fans for their support and their teammates for their effort. "This is the best team I will ever play on in my life," Thomas told the cheering Cameron crowd.

The seniors were followed by junior starters Kyle Singler, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four who was greeted with chants of "One More Year!" from the Cameron faithful, and Nolan Smith. Krzyzewski turned emotional as he discussed his thoughts on winning the tournament 30 years after Smith's father led Louisville to the title. Derek Smith father died when Nolan was 8.

The team's scheduled 1 p.m. arrival was delayed by more than an hour, but most of the crowd didn't mind the wait as they watched a re-broadcast of the championship game, interspersed with video updates of the team's transit from the airport to campus. Other snapped up championship T-shirts on Cameron's upper concourse.

Samantha Kazub of the Department of Athletics was one who enjoyed reliving the previous night's heart-stopping game. "I was here in Cameron last night," she said. "It's still exciting [watching the game]."

The team arrived in Cameron at the moment the replay of the championship game had ended.

Otis Collier sat in the upper deck beneath Duke's three previous national championship banners. He brought along his niece and nephew, ages 8 and 10, respectively.

"It's historical," he said. "I want them to be a part of what's going on here. This puts the university into the elite of the Kentuckys and UCLAs. It's proving a team can win without having the greatest players."

Collier, a graduate of Kentucky, said he's been a Duke basketball fan since 1984, and has lived in Durham for 30 years. He said he appreciates Coach K's integrity and work ethic and believes the Duke basketball program has brought Durham worldwide attention.

Andrea Pretorian, a senior pre-med student majoring in biology, said she never paid any attention to college basketball while growing up in New York City. "I grew up with the NBA," she said.

Now, she's a true Cameron Crazy. Hours after watching the championship game on the video screen in Cameron Monday night, she was back for Tuesday's welcome home celebration.

"I feel like it's important to support our team and stand up for Duke," she said Tuesday. "I feel there's not as much national support as there should be for Duke. It's great to be here to celebrate."

After the celebration, some of the players hung around to sign autographs. Nolan Smith made one young fan's day. "I'm so never giving this up!" the boy shouted as he took away a prize.