If you are going to be making some college basketball picks in March in games featuring the Duke Blue Devils, then it might look a bit different this year. Duke has been one of the best college basketball teams over the last three decades, but they are now playing with a different leader.
At the end of the 2021-22 season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski stepped down from leading the Duke program and handed that job over to Jon Scheyer. “Coach K” hand-picked Scheyer to take over for him after he retired, but things haven’t always gone smoothly in the transition.
Even though Coach K is no longer with the Duke basketball program, he has still been in the news a ton of late. He is someone that won’t ever be able to vanish from the national spotlight, but he continues to do some things around the Duke program that draw attention.
Coach K Speaks With Current Team
It wasn’t a bad start for the 2022-23 Duke Blue Devils team, but there were some rough moments. Head coach Jon Scheyer has been trying to figure some things out, but Coach K continues to try and offer some guidance.
In early December, Coach K was on hand at a Blue Devils practice with former star Carlos Boozer. The initial reason for the appearance was simply to support Boozer and his speech to the team, but the legendary coach had to get in a few words as well.
Boozer began the talks by describing his time at Duke and how much he misses his former teammates. Having legendary players back to give a speech is not something that is new, but it was Coach K that provided the most meaningful message.
It was Coach K who either coached or recruited a majority of the players on the current roster. He spoke about creating bonds with current teammates and also spoke about the legacy that the current players can create while playing for the Blue Devils.
Honored By Durham
Coach K has already received plenty of awards and accolades from the NCAA and Duke University, but now Durham is honoring the retired coach. During a Durham City Council meeting in December, it was announced that Coach K was going to receive a couple of special honors or awards.
The first honor bestowed upon Coach K was a key to the city of Durham. This is not uncommon for cities to award residents a key to the city, but it is only given to those that have achieved something extremely special in life.
Getting a key to the city is not something that is going to draw a ton of attention, though, but the Durham City Council wanted to take an additional step to honor the longtime coach. It was a unanimous decision to rename a major highway in honor of the man that led the Duke Blue Devils basketball program to so much success.
A resolution was passed to rename a three-mile stretch in North Carolina to “Coach K Highway,” and it’s appropriate that the stretch of road passes right by Cameron Indoor Stadium. The name won’t officially be changed until a decision is made by the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Coach K and his family moved to Durham, North Carolina over 40 years ago when his coaching career began. He has since become one of the most important people to ever reside in that area of the country.
A Change With Team USA
Not only did Duke University have to find a new coach when Coach K retired, but Team USA will also be under new leadership moving forward. Coach K is always going to be most known for his work at Duke, but he also did a terrific job with the U.S. national team.
It was during his work at Team USA that Coach K was able to form such a great bond with some of the best players in the league. Coach K was the man that got Team USA back on top of the world when it came to international basketball, and he was able to get a ton of big personalities to work together.