DURHAM, N.C. — NFL quarterback Tom Brady quickly reversed his retirement plan but Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is sticking to his.
The Hall of Fame basketball coach, whose career ended Saturday at the Final Four when Duke lost, 81-77, to North Carolina, said Wednesday he will not renege on his decision.
He is retired from coaching after 47 years, including the last 42, with the Blue Devils.
"I'm done with the coaching part of it," Krzyzewski said on the latest episode of his SiriusXM radio show, which aired Wednesday night. "But wow. You know, I've been so lucky to be in it for 47 years, almost five decades of coaching at either West Point or Duke, and then 11 years with U.S. How lucky can you be? To be in that arena with two of the best institutions in the world, and then to represent your country in the global arena, it's been an unbelievable honor. And I've loved it."
On Monday, former Duke guard and current ESPN personality Jay Williams raised the idea of Krzyzewski sticking around for another season after Duke assistant coach Nolan Smith decided to leave to become a top assistant at Louisville.
But that was never a possibility, said Krzyzewski, 75.
The 34-year-old Jon Scheyer, named as Krzyzewski's successor when the retirement plan was announced last June, has been elevated from associate head coach to become Duke's new head coach. He's already made moves to fill his staff, lining up former Elon head coach Mike Schrage to come to Duke as an assistant coach to join associate head coach Chris Carrawell with Amile Jefferson moving up to assistant coach from director of player development.
On Wednesday, Krzyzewski said the leadership qualities he saw in Scheyer as a high school player and during his playing career have grown since he returned to the coaching staff in 2014.
"He's evolved and he's gonna continue to evolve because he is a lifelong learner," Krzyzewski said. "He's a very, very curious person and wants to continue to get better. And that's what a leader has to be. And he will allow, I've seen him do this, he's allowed others to lead. He will not be a micromanager. He will not do that. That's the reason we made this plan because he has shown all that stuff, including a pretty good knowledge of the game, a real good knowledge of the game."
Scheyer joined Krzyzewski on the radio show, offering his thoughts on the leadership lessons he's learned from Krzyzewski, calling him "the best leader I've ever been around."
"Coach has never asked any of us, whether it's on his staff or his players, to do anything that he wouldn't do himself," Scheyer said. "And I think for any leader, I think that's really important. And that goes into the time and energy that he puts into every single day, every single part of our program. I've been able to see it firsthand for the last nine years. I saw it firsthand as a player in a different way. But as a coach it's a much different perspective."
Duke recruiting class
Duke went 32-7 this season, winning the ACC regular-season championship and reaching the Final Four for the 13th time in Krzyzewski's tenure. Scheyer has the No. 1-ranked recruiting class coming in for next season and has a class of committed players for 2023 that's also among the nation's best.
"It's his class," Krzyewski said. "The guys who are coming in in a couple months, they came here knowing they were gonna play for Jon, not me. And so he's established that level along with the guys on his staff, that level of relationship and trust. So now going for another class, he's already done that. And then they get a chance to see how it turns out next season. And then that's your body of work."
Scheyer said he believes he and the program are set up to continue the level of success it achieved under Krzyzewski, who retired with a record 1,202 career wins.
"I feel very confident," Scheyer said. "I feel excited. I know it's not gonna be easy. I know no matter what there's gonna be criticism and attention on everything we do, but I think how else would you want it? For me I'd rather have it that way any day of the week."
