The college basketball world is going through a changing of the guard.
And the latest earthquake has rocked Tobacco Road.
First, Roy Williams of North Carolina, who won three national championships, retired two months ago at age 70. Now, word out of Durham is that Mike Krzyzewski of neighboring Duke, perhaps the most iconic college basketball coach in the modern era of the sport, will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. Coach K, who will be 75, is the winningest coach in college basketball history with 1,170 victories, with all but 73 coming at the ACC school. He has also coached the Blue Devils to five NCAA Tournament championships and won three gold medals in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 summer Olympics.
The only thing left to do now is erect a statue outside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Krzyzewski arrived at Duke from West Point in 1980 and spent his first three years rebuilding the program. He led Duke to the NCAA tournament every year but one from 1984 through 2019. But he looked washed out and exhausted during the 2021 pandemic shortened 13-11 season that ended prematurely after a walk on tested positive for Covid-19 before the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament and the Devils had to drop out.
Coaching was more difficult because players are different. Loyalty is an antiquated term and there is no longer a willingness to overcome adversity. Unhappy with playing time? Just transfer. There are no rules. Over 1600 Players put their name in the portal, seeking greener pastures. Blue bloods like Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina who were used to reloading, didn’t have enough practice time because of the pandemic to build chemistry or confidence.
Perhaps next year is be a good time to walk away and remember the good times.
College basketball is changing with a surge of one and done prospects who are considering the G-League and the Overtime Elite League as an option. The idea of elite student-athletes staying four years and earning their degree has become all but an impossible dream, with so many players thinking about getting to the NBA as quickly as possible and the biggest NBA stars taking a pass on the Olympics after a long season.
Krzyzewski owned the 90s, winning back to back championships in 1991 and 1992 and going to to win titles in 2001, 2010 and 2015. The Blue Devils won at least 30 games 14 times and and 12 ACC regular season championships and 15 tournament titles. The numbers speak for themselves. Krzyzewski is tied with John Wooden for the most Final Four appearances with 12 during the 64-team tournament bracket. But the Devils have only been to the Final Four once since 2010 and have not been back since 2015, even though they had the most talented team– with three freshmen– Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish– who were Top 10 picks in the NBA draft.
Krzyzewski’s coaching success with NBA players and player development made him a magnet for the best prospects. More than 60 Duke players have been drafted by the NBA under K, with three– Elton Brand in 1999; Kyrie Irving in 2011; and Williamson. Another dozen have drafted in the top five.
He has a shot to win another title in his final season. Duke will enter the season with Top 15 talent, given the fact 7-0 sophomore Mark Williams, junior guard Wendell Moore and sophomore point guard Jeremy Roach are back to form a solid nucleus and the Devils has signed three McDonald’s All Americans– 6-9, 260-pound power forward Pancho Banchero of Seattle O’Dea, 6-7 forward AJ Griffin of White Plains, NY Archbishop Stepinac and 6-5 Trevor Keels or Paul VI in Northern Virginia. And this could become a huge victory tour as Krzyzewski visits ACC campuses one final time. . .
Krzyzewski’s retirement opens up one of the most high profile jobs in all of college sports. Much like ACC rival North Carolina, which replaced Williams with former UNC player and assistant coach Hubert Davis, the Blue Davis are expected to stay in the family to name a successor. As of right now, associate head coach Jon Scheyer seems like the favorite. Scheyer is only 33 years old, the same age as Krzyzewski was when took the Duke job. He has been on the staff for four years. But he has no experience as a head coach and is stepping into the biggest shoes in the college game.
