As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The college basketball world will never be the same after the 2021-2022 season, as Duke Men’s Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski will be retiring and riding off into the sunset after this upcoming season.
According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium, Krzyzewski has chosen assistant Jon Scheyer to succeed him. Scheyer played for Coach K and even won a national championship in 2010 before joining the coaching staff in 2014.
Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in men’s Division-I basketball history with 1,170 victories. The next closest coach is Syracuse legend Jim Boeheim with 982 wins.
Coach K also ranks first in NCAA tournament appearances and wins, Final Four appearances, and he’s second behind John Wooden in national championship wins.
Krzyzewski began his coaching career at Army where he spent five years, compiling a 73-59 record with an appearance in the NIT tournament. Krzyzewski was then named the head coach of the Blue Devils in March of 1980.
After starting his career at Duke, Krzyzewski went 38-47 in his first three seasons and there was a lot of people wanting him fired. Instead he was given a contract extension and the rest is history.
Krzyzewski will enter this final season with 1,097 victories at Duke with a winning percentage of 78.4%.
Some of the greatest college players of all-time have been coached by Krzyzewski over the years including Christian Laettner, Shane Battier, Grant Hill, JJ Redick, and most recently Zion Williamson. Coach K also has had the most players ever drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Krzyzewski has had opportunities to make the leap into the NBA, but has declined those opportunities to remain at Duke. The Hall of Famer has also won multiple gold medals as head coach of the USA Olympic team.
Coach K has played a huge role in changing the game of basketball and even creating the greatest rivalry in college basketball (Duke vs. North Carolina).
College basketball won’t be the same when Coach K steps away.
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