Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Central Arkansas in Durham, N.C. Duke on Nov. 12, 2019. (GERRY BROOME/Associated Press)
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a play during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Central Arkansas in Durham, N.C. Duke on Nov. 12, 2019.

GERRY BROOME/Associated Press

Duke’s Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski to retire after 2021-2022 season (Video)

Coach Mike Krzyzewski will retire after the 2021-2022 season, with associate head coach Jon Scheyer to take over.

June 2, 2021

Duke’s Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski will coach his final season with the Blue Devils in 2021-22, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The source said former Duke player and associate head coach Jon Scheyer will take over as Krzyzewski’s successor for the 2022-23 season.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the school has not commented publicly on the decision. An announcement is expected later Wednesday.

Stadium first reported news of the 74-year-old 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.

Krzyzewski led the Blue Devils to 12 Final Four appearances and a record 15 Atlantic Conference Tournament championships, while his teams spent a record 126 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP men’s college basketball poll.

Hired at Duke in May 1980, “Coach K” won national championships in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015, while setting the men’s career coaching victories record in November 2011.

He has tailored his approach to adapt with the times and his personnel. He won that 2010 title with a senior-laden roster, then claimed the 2015 one after pivoting to more “one-and-done” talent that headed to the NBA after a lone college season playing in Duke’s famously hostile Cameron Indoor Stadium.

His image became synonymous both with the elite private university in Durham, North Carolina, and the sport as a whole.

Along the way, he also took over the U.S. men’s national team — with NBA All-Star rosters featuring names such as LeBron James and the late Kobe Bryant — and led it to Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012 and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Duke missed the NCAA Tournament this past season for the first time since 1995, but the Blue Devils will welcome one of the nation’s top recruiting classes for the upcoming season.

Coach Scheyer played for Krzyzewski from 2006-10, with his last season delivering 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, elevating assistant coach Hubert Davis to become a first-time major college head coach.

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