Welcoming the Champs

Cameron was filled as the 2015 NCAA men's basketball champions returned to campus. Photos by Chris Hildreth/Duke Photography

With Duke down by nine points late in Monday night's NCAA championship game, 12-year-old Jack Sullivan was nervous.

"Things started to look a little dark," said the youngster from Wilson, a lifelong Duke fan who reads Coach K's books and someday hopes to become a sports broadcaster. "But then Grayson Allen came in."

The young fan's darkness faded as the freshman Allen sparked a comeback that lifted the Blue Devils to their fifth national men's basketball title against the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA championship game.

On Tuesday, Jack and his parents, Wayne and Mandy, drove about an hour and 15 minutes to join several thousand fellow Duke fans to celebrate the 2015 title with Coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils team.

"One of the reasons we won was not because we were pursuing a fifth (championship), it was because we were pursuing our moment," Krzyzewski told the crowd from a stage set up at the north end of Cameron, his players lined on the stage behind him.

"I'm not trying to insult my other teams (but) this has been my favorite year," he said. "My guys have been an absolute joy to coach. Every day has been really good."

Krzyzewski spoke of how different players stepped up at key moments during the season, such as when starters had to sit the bench because of foul trouble. At that moment the camera focused in on Allen, and the crowd roared.

Late in Monday's game, Allen replaced freshman standout Jahlil Okafor, who went to the bench with four fouls. Averaging only four points a game, Allen ended the night with a team second-highest 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.

"All of you should remember that all it takes is one person to ignite something … in anything you do," Coach K told the crowd.

Okafor, who returned to the game late and scored several key baskets, is expected to go high in the NBA draft if he decides to leave Duke, and other players may also leave early. Krzyzewski said he didn't want to get into who might return for the 2015-16 season and encouraged the audience instead to "bask" in the moment.

Coach K added that he received congratulatory call Tuesday morning from President Obama, who invited him and the team to visit the White House.

Thousands of Duke fans cheered as the team entered Cameron Indoor Stadium Tuesday. 

He handed the microphone to point guard Quinn Cook after praising the senior's leadership of the team.

Cook noted that some 7,000 raucous fans watched the championship game from Cameron and thanked them for their support throughout the season.

Calling his teammates "brothers" and a "blessing," Cook then praised the team's coaches, trainers and academic staff. "These guys have made my senior year magical," he said.

After the half-hour celebration, Duke junior Aubrey Temple, a native of Richmond, Virginia, said he loved the energy of the event and is glad to have experienced a championship season.

"The good thing is, I have next year, too," he said.