Krzyzewski is having surgery on his lower back to remove a fragment of a herniated disc, Duke announced Monday. Associate head coach Jeff Capel will step in to run the 12-2 Blue Devils after Wednesday’s game against Georgia Tech. Krzyzewski needs four weeks to recouperate
“Dr. William Richardson, Dr. Friedman, and our medical team have worked tirelessly to help manage this issue for several weeks,” Krzyzewski said in the news release. “Together, we have determined that surgery is the best course of action at this time. During my recovery process, the team will be in the capable hands of Coach Capel, Coach James and Coach Scheyer. As soon as the doctors clear me to do so, I look forward to returning and giving our team 100% of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve.”
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The decision comes immediately after then-No. 5 Duke shockingly was blown out by unranked Virginia Tech in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. The Blue Devils — ranked No. 8 in Monday’s Associated Press poll — entered the season ranked first by nearly every publication, but injuries and the team-imposed suspension of star Grayson Allen have led to shakiness.
Capel inherits an opportunity, then. “Coach K” is 69 years old, and while he has not put a date on his retirement, it likely will come sooner rather than later. This Duke team is working five-star freshmen Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden into the rotation after they all started the season injured, and the potential remains for a championship-level team by March.
Krzyzewski stepped away previously because of back injury in 1995. Pete Gaudet famously took over one of the worst teams of Coach K’s career, going 4-15 before Krzyzewski returned the following season to a reloaded roster.
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Capel has greater expectations on him. He also has head-coaching experience, with a 162-110 record (with 13 victories expunged by an NCAA violation) at VCU and Oklahoma from 2002 through 2011. He brought the Sooners to the 2009 Elite Eight with Blake Griffin. Duke’s standard is even higher.
