Mike Krzyzewski ‘to step down’ as Duke basketball coach after upcoming season

Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has reportedly decided to retire after the upcoming season, ending a Hall of Fame career that has included five national titles and an NCAA Division I record 1,170 victories thus far.

Stadium’s Jeff Goodman was the first to report the news, which promises to shake up the basketball world. In addition to his successful 41-year tenure at Duke, Coach K, as Krzyzewski is known, also guided the US men’s team to three Olympic gold medals. 

Duke’s associate head coach Jon Scheyer is expected to replace Krzyzewski, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 

Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, known to generations of fans and players as ‘Coach K,’ has reportedly decided to retire after the upcoming season, ending a Hall of Fame career that has included five national titles and an NCAA Division I record 1,170 wins thus far

Duke’s associate head coach Jon Scheyer is expected to replace Krzyzewski, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to ESPN , Duke had considered replacing Krzyzewski with outside candidates, including Harvard coach and former Blue Devils star Tommy Amaker, but ultimately went with Scheyer, who helped recruit current NBA stars Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson to the Durham, North Carolina basketball powerhouse

Coach Mike Krzyzewski pictured alongside Zion Williamson during the 2018-19 season 

According to ESPN, Duke had considered replacing Krzyzewski with outside candidates, including Harvard coach and former Blue Devils star Tommy Amaker, but ultimately went with Scheyer, who helped recruit current NBA stars Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson to the Durham, North Carolina basketball powerhouse. 

Scheyer played for Krzyzewski from 2006-10, with his last season resulting in his mentor’s fourth NCAA title. Scheyer joined the Duke staff for the 2013-14 season and rose to his current role following the 2017-18 season.

Scheyer served as interim coach last year for Duke when Krzyzewski was sidelined for a January win against Boston College due to COVID-19 protocols. Scheyer has never been a college head coach.  

The news comes almost two months to the day that another Hall of Famer in the state — North Carolina’s Roy Williams — announced his retirement after 33 seasons as a head coach with Kansas and the Tar Heels. UNC also turned to a former player on the bench, elevating Hubert Davis to take over in his first time as a major college head coach. 

Krzyzewski’s five D-1 men’s titles trails only UCLA legend John Wooden, who had 10 in his decorated career. Furthermore, Coach K’s 97 NCAA Tournament wins is first among all men’s coaches, and his teams were ranked in the Associated Press Top-25 poll a record 126 weeks.

Mike Krzyzewski (center) of the Black Knights poses with coach Bobby Knight (left) in 1966

The news comes almost two months to the day that another Hall of Famer in the state — North Carolina’s Roy Williams — announced his retirement after 33 seasons as a head coach with Kansas and the Tar Heels. UNC also turned to a former player on the bench, elevating Hubert Davis to take over in his first time as a major college head coach

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Born to a Polish-American family in Chicago, Krzyzewski graduated from Archbishop Weber high in 1966 before enrolling at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he played for future Hall of Famer Bob Knight.

After serving as an officer in the US Army and overseeing teams of servicemen, he went on to coach at West Point, posting a 73-59 record from 1975 until 1980. 

In 1980, Krzyzewski made the fateful decision to sign with Duke, a small, prestigious school with an outdated gym that traditionally struggled to compete with Tobacco Road rivals like North Carolina and North Carolina State. 

Krzyzewski began his tenure with a joke about his complicated name at his opening press conference. When asked to spell it for reporters, Krzyzewski politely said each letter before adding: ‘If you think that’s bad, you should have heard it before I changed it.’ 

Since then, Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils teams have appeared in a dozen Final Fours, beginning in 1986, and have captured five national titles (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015). Perhaps nearly as important has been Duke’s performance in the ACC Tournament, which the Blue Devils won 15 times under Krzyzewski. 

Over the last four decades, Krzyzewski has coached some of the game’s biggest names, including Williamson, Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Christian Laettner, Jay Bilas, Billy King, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, JJ Redick, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Carlos Boozer, Shane Battier, Johnny Dawkins, Jayson Williams, and Brandon Ingram.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of Duke is presented with the trophy after defeating Arizona 82-72 in the NCAA National Championship Game of the Men’s Final Four tournament at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota

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