Krzyzewski worked as an assistant under Knight at Indiana for one season before taking over as head coach at Army in 1975. He graduated from West Point and served as an officer in the United States Army for six years before starting his coaching career. His five national championships are bested only by UCLA's John Wooden (10), while his 1,097 wins at Duke are the most for a coach at a single program.īefore joining Duke, Krzyzewski played point guard for Army under coach Bob Knight from 1966-69, serving as captain in his final season. So, to the countless members of our extended family, thank you very much."Ī three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year and five-time ACC Coach of the Year, Krzyzewski has amassed a 1,097-302 (.784) career record over 41 years at Duke with 25-plus wins in 22 of the last 24 seasons dating back to 1997-98. Our family is eternally grateful to everyone who contributed to our career for the past 46 years. For us, there is no greater joy than being part of our players' respective endeavors through basketball, and more importantly, their lives off the court. Certainly, I have been blessed to coach some of the finest young men and greatest players in basketball history as a direct result of these unique opportunities. That, coupled with 11 unforgettable years as the United States National Team coach, has resulted in a remarkable journey. "Our time at both West Point and Duke has been beyond amazing and we are thankful and honored to have led two college programs at world-class institutions for more than four decades. "My family and I view today as a celebration," said Krzyzewski in a statement released by Duke. In his 46-year coaching career, Krzyzewski has won 1,170 games, the most in men's college basketball history. Krzyzewski, who turned 74 in February and is famously known as "Coach K," led the Blue Devils to five NCAA Tournament championships, 12 Final Four appearances and 27 combined ACC titles in tournament and regular-season competition since taking over the program ahead of the 1980-81 season. If the experiment to replace Mike Krzyzewski is going to fail, and that’s not saying we expect it to fail, it has to fail first with Jon Scheyer at the helm because of the stability he brings to the program and his recruiting prowess.Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire following the upcoming 2021-22 college basketball season, the school announced Wednesday. The level at which the Blue Devils are bringing in top recruits is staggering.ĪLSO READ: Duke needs last second heroics as Coach K departs earlyĭuke has the top-ranked recruiting class in 20, including three of the nation’s Top-5 players entering Durham next season. Jon Scheyer only has head coaching experience in spurts when filling in for Mike Krzyzewski when he has been ill.ĭespite the lack of experience as a head coach, Scheyer is the best recruiter in college basketball. Duke basketball only had one option to replace Hall of Fame coach Harvard has been to four tournaments in 13 eligible seasons under Amaker but none since the 2014-15 season, and it recruits at a high level for an Ivy League school yet does not target players that Krzyzewski has during his tenure at Duke. Tommy Amaker only led the Pirates to one NCAA Tournament in four seasons and did not get to the Big Dance with the Wolverines in six years at the helm. The 56-year-old Amaker does have the experience of being a head coach at Seton Hall, Michigan, and Harvard, with a 437-287 career record, but does not have much postseason success to speak of. In his new book, Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski, Ian O’Connor divulged the information that the program wanted to hire Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker while Krzyzewski wanted to hire Scheyer as his replacement.Īmaker, like Scheyer, played for and coached alongside Krzyzewski during his time in Durham, but there is no debate as to who should have been the next leader of the Blue Devils.ĪLSO READ: Reports show controversy picking Coach K successor The consensus was that the Duke basketball program made the right decision in hiring Jon Scheyer to replace Mike Krzyzewski following the 2021-22 season until a report surfaced on Tuesday. The Duke basketball program made the right hire in its coaching search.
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