Inside the NBA weighs in on coach Mike Krzyzewski deciding to retire from Duke following the upcoming college season.
Duke Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski will coach his final season with the Blue Devils in 2021-22.
Duke player and associate head coach Jon Scheyer is reportedly set to take over as Krzyzewski’s successor for the 2022-23 season.
More details: https://t.co/I3xujyGFLT pic.twitter.com/ynYx9q2NXA
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 2, 2021
Stadium first reported news of Krzyzewski’s final season with Duke, which he has led to five national championships, most recently in 2015. With 1,170 victories, he is the winningest coach in men’s college basketball history, with 1,097 of them coming during his 41 years with the Blue Devils.
In terms of a connection with the NBA, Krzyzewski has seen 67 of his players get drafted, including 41 first-round picks. Of those 67 players, 28 have been lottery picks in the Draft and has had at least one player taken in 33 of the last 40 NBA drafts.
Under Krzyzewski, 14 freshmen have been lottery picks: Corey Maggette (1999), Deng (2004), Kyrie Irving (2011), Austin Rivers (2012), Jabari Parker (2014), Jahlil Okafor (2015), Justise Winslow (2015), Brandon Ingram (2016), Jayson Tatum (2017), Marvin Bagley III (2018) and Wendell Carter, Jr. (2018), Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish (2019).
Duke missed the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 1995, but the Blue Devils welcome one of the nation’s top recruiting classes for the coming season.
Several of Krzyzewski’s former players are serving in NBA roles as well, including Jazz coach Quin Snyder, Atlanta Hawks part-owner Grant Hill, Philadelphia 76ers GM Elton Brand, New Orleans Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon and Miami Heat vice president of analytics and development Shane Battier.
Aside from his ties to the NBA, Krzyzewski also oversaw one of USA Basketball’s most successful eras when he was appointed its coach on Oct. 26, 2005. The U.S. National Team went 88-1 under Krzyzewski, winning gold medals at the 2007 FIBA Americas, the 2008 Bejing Olympics, the 2010 FIBA World Championship, the 2012 London Olympics, the 2014 FIBA World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was 24-0 in the Olympics as a coach and ended his tenure with the U.S. National Team on a 76-game winning streak.
Mike Krzyzewski (center) led a star-laden 2008 U.S. Men’s National Team to a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics.
During that time as coach of USA Basketball, Krzyzewski coached several legendary players including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Chris Bosh, James Harden and more.
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.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
