Former Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski enjoying retirement

June 2, 2022

Former Duke University basketball team head coach Mike Krzyzewski appeared to have been enjoying his retirement life after coaching the Blue Devils for 42 years.

Hitting retirement straight after wrapping over one thousand games in his career, one of the league’s most decorated coaches reportedly has been spending most of his time with his family, a new puppy, traveling around, and other retirement-related activities since he retired in April this year.

Coach K, as many people call him, shared a glimpse of what his retirement life looked like. The former coach said his granddaughter’s graduation from high school had a tremendous impact on him.

“Eight of my grandchildren were there. And usually graduations can sometimes be long, but it was beautiful,” Krzyzewski said Wednesday. “I was driving home with my wife Mickie—and I said, ‘It was interesting. I only thought about that.’”

“And for most of my life, wherever I was at, I was never completely where I was at. You’re always thinking of something else. And I like that.”

‘He’s at peace. He’s in a great spot’ says successor Jon Scheyer

Despite being retired, Krzyzewski was spotted during the annual K Academy adult fantasy basketball camp on Wednesday this week. Coach K shared his retirement activities and spared time to answer questions thrown at him.

“You’re not thinking of everybody,” Krzyzewski said about retirement. “You’re thinking of you and your family, and whatever responsibility that you want, not the responsibilities that you may just have to do. That keeps you fresh.”

Prior to his retirement in April, the 75-year-old had collected an extensive track record of coaching college basketball. He began his coaching career after he was discharged from active duty in the military back in 1974.

The young coach was hired as an assistant coach for the Indiana Hoosiers that year. Shortly after, he returned to West Point at age 28 as Army Cadets head coach, the team that he played for back in 1966-1969 as a guard.

After coaching the Army Cadets, Coach K was hired by Duke University to coach its men’s basketball team, the Blue Devils. The five-time ACC Coach of the Year led the team to win five NCAA Tournaments and a total of 13 NCAA Regional Final Four appearances. The most recent Final Four Coach K made with the team was just this year in April when the Blue Devils were defeated by North Carolina.

With over a thousand games accumulated throughout his career, Krzyzewski recorded a 1,129–309 (.785) overall with Duke University and a total of 1,202–368 (.766) in his career.

Earlier in April, former Duke player Jay Williams made a theory that Coach K would return to lead the team. The former coach was quick to debunk the claim, adding while appearing on ESPNU Radio that he was not going to “pull a Tom Brady” move.

Krzyzewski’s replacement and successor, head coach Jon Scheyer, said that retirement suited Coach K well. Scheyer jokingly added that Coach K showed off pictures of his new silver Labrador puppy all the time.

“He’s at peace. He’s in a great spot,” Scheyer said. “Was he talking about his dog?”

Gus
Gus Anderson
Gus Anderson is a gambling wizard. As a kid he dreamt about becoming a Tennis, Hockey and Golf professional but ended up as a gambling professional with focus on both sports & casino.