Duke Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire after 2021-2022 season

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Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Coach K will retire from coaching after next season
Longtime Duke Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire from coaching at the end of the next season.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Longtime Duke Men's Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire from coaching at the end of the next season, sources say.

Coach K has been the head coach at Duke since 1980. He has won more basketball games than any other men's basketball coach in history.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said Coach K plans to retire after the 2021-2022 season. He is also helping the university pick his replacement.

The school has yet to confirm the expected departure.

Duke made it official that former Duke player Jon Scheyer will take over coaching the team. He 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.

Who is Jon Scheyer? Meeting the Duke basketball assistant who will be Coach K's successor

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.

Coach K was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2001. He has won five national championships at Duke and has taken the Blue Devils to the Final Four on 12 occasions during his 40 seasons at Duke.

He has won 12 regular-season ACC championships and 15 conference tournament titles while producing 28 NBA lottery picks -- and 41 first-round selections -- over the years.

His five national titles rank second only to former UCLA coach John Wooden, who won 10.

His 97 NCAA tournament wins rank No. 1 among all coaches, as do his 126 weeks ranked atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

In addition to his unmatched college coaching resume, Coach K also headed up the US men's national team. As coach he's lead that team to three gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016) in the Summer Olympics. He was also an assistant coach for the 1992 "Dream Team."

The announcement comes the same offseason that his rival at the University of North Carolina, Roy Williams, announced his retirement from coaching.

"Mike's been fantastic for the game of basketball. He's been fantastic for college basketball. He's been fantastic for the ACC, the greatest rivalry in sports -- Duke, North Carolina basketball," Williams said of the retirement announcement on Wednesday.

"Mike's been fantastic for the game of basketball," he said.

Fellow Durham coach, Levelle Moton, of North Carolina Central University, is a big fan of Caoch K.

"When you think of Duke University, the reality is you think of one person," said Moton, head coach of the NC Central University men's basketball team. "It's rare you come across individuals who will walk away and be considered one of the greatest coaches regardless of sport."

"When you think of Duke University, the reality is you think of one person."

Moton said Coach K jumped at to speak at a tip-off banquet at NC Central back in 2017. Even before that, he said Coach K invited him to lunch when he took the job for the Eagles in 2009.

"His advice was simple: Just be yourself," said Moton, who also praised Coach K's work off the court with the Emily K Center. "Be truthful and be yourself and that's it."

The Associated Press contributed.

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