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The Best of Friends: Mary Garber, Krzyzewski, Knight formed an unusual friendship
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Published: September 22, 2008
Two of college basketball's coaching giants considered a little old lady from Winston-Salem among their dearest friends.
Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Bob Knight, now retired, can't recall when or how they first met Mary Garber, but each kept up a professional relationship and a friendship that lasted almost 30 years.
"I love Mary," Krzyzewski said. "I'm one of tens of thousands of people who love Mary. She's been a friend; a really good friend."
Garber, a longtime sportswriter for the Winston-Salem Journal, died yesterday. She was 92. Her career in sportswriting began in the 1940s when World War II drew away the men who normally did the job, and she went on to become a pioneer in journalism.
Krzyzewski met Garber in the days after he became Duke's coach on May 4, 1980. He had only a small number of sportswriters to deal with in his previous job at Army, and few, if any, were women.
Garber was one of the first female sportswriters Krzyzewski met. She was 64 then, but Krzyzewski didn't wonder if someone's grandmother had accidentally stumbled into one of his postgame press conferences.
He discovered quickly that Garber knew what she was doing, more so than some of the men who covered ACC basketball.
"She asked good questions," Krzyzewski said, beginning to smile. "First of all, I couldn't see her because she was so small. There was this voice, and all of a sudden you find her. She always asked great questions.
"I always trusted her that she wasn't going to spin anything or anything like that. She just became a really good friend. I think she was the epitome of honesty and truthfulness and writing about people. She just knew people real well."
A Duke blanket often covered Garber's bed after she moved into an assisted-living facility. Krzyzewski didn't send it to her, but he did stay in touch over the years. He sent her Duke memorabilia when he had something he thought she might enjoy or something he thought might brighten up her day.
Garber had a special touch as a sportswriter, according to Krzyzewski.
"You enjoyed an interview with her," he said. "You would end up talking outside of the interview. She wanted to know you as a person.
"She got to know my family at an ACC Tournament. She was just a very genuine person."
Knight, the man with more victories than any other college coach, might have been closer to Garber than Krzyzewski. When his Texas Tech team played in Winston-Salem in March 2007 in the NCAA East Regional, Knight planned to visit Garber. He had a busy day getting his team ready to play Boston College, but he had time for Garber.
She was in declining health then and wasn't having a good day when Knight wanted to visit. She turned down his request through her late sister, Neely. Knight was hopeful of at least talking to her by phone, but she did not have one in her room and didn't own a cell phone.
They didn't speak to each other then. In his press conference the day before Texas Tech played, Knight used the occasion to praise Garber for being a good person and a good sportswriter. When he learned late last year that Garber's sister had died, he sent condolences and some Texas Tech memorabilia.
Garber and Knight were an odd match. She was barely five feet tall and never said a word unless necessary. Knight is 6-5 with a volcanic temper that could erupt in a flash. The opposites not only attracted but also formed a bond.
On March 12, 1978, Knight was in Charlotte to coach his Indiana team in the NCAA East Regional. Indiana won 63-62 against Furman to advance. Knight wasn't pleased with his team, and he let a few profanities fly in the postgame press conference.
He looked down from the dais and saw Garber sitting in the front row.
"Mary, you don't mind if I cuss some do you?" Knight asked.
She looked up briefly from her notepad.
"No, I don't mind at all," she told Knight. "It doesn't bother me."
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
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