A Look Ahead at the Final Season of Duke Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski
The announcement came as a surprise: Mike Krzyzewski, the longtime Duke men’s basketball head coach, would retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. Not only that, the program’s next head coach was a familiar face to many followers of Duke basketball — Jon Scheyer, a former Blue Devils player and current Duke assistant coach, who has the title of head coach-in-waiting for the upcoming season.
The news reverberated across the college basketball landscape, with good reason: Krzyzewski’s legacy is immense. Coach K is one of the most important figures in college basketball history, winning 5 national championships and appearing in 12 Final Fours in 41 seasons at Duke. Krzyzewski, who has also led the Blue Devils to 12 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular-season championships and 15 ACC Tournament titles, is the winningest coach in college basketball history (which includes five seasons at his alma mater, Army).
His influence also extends to players. Under Coach K, Duke has produced 28 NBA lottery selections and 41 first-round picks. Countless college basketball greats (many of whom would later star in the NBA) have suited up for Krzyzewski, including: Johnny Dawkins, Tommy Amaker, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Jay Williams, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, JJ Redick, Kyrie Irving, Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, and Zion Williamson.
In addition to his success at Duke, Coach K was also tapped by USA Basketball to be the head coach of the U.S. men’s national team. In his 11 years at the helm, Krzyzewski guided Team USA (and rosters composed of NBA stars) to gold medals at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. He also led the team to FIBA World Cup titles in 2010 and 2014.
Krzyzewski, who will turn 75 in February, said his decision was years in the making, and stemmed from discussions with his family and also his comfort with the program’s succession plan.
Scheyer understands the daunting task he faces succeeding Krzyzewski. In his senior season at Duke, Scheyer was captain of a team that won the 2009-10 national championship, the fourth title for Coach K.
Considered one of the top recruiters in college basketball, Scheyer has assembled a class for his first season that is currently ranked No. 1 in the country. It’s a promising start for what many Duke fans hope will be a smooth transition from the Mike Krzyzewski era to the Jon Scheyer era.
As the 42nd and final season gets underway for Coach K, we take a closer look at his successor, and look ahead at what to expect this season.
Who is Jon Scheyer? An Introduction to the Next Duke Head Coach
The 34-year-old Scheyer grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. In his senior season at Glenbrook North High School, Scheyer was a high school All-American and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball.
While at Duke, Scheyer was an ACC All-Freshman team selection, and was named a co-captain as a junior for the 2008-09 season, earning MVP honors at that season’s ACC Tournament.
As a senior in 2009-10, Scheyer capped a decorated career with a breakout season in helping to lead the Blue Devils to a national championship. Scheyer was named to several All-American teams, and was runner-up as ACC Player of the Year.
After a stint playing professionally in Israel and Spain, Scheyer joined Krzyzewski’s staff in April 2013 as a special assistant, and by the end of the 2017-18 season, was promoted to co-associate head coach. Scheyer had an unanticipated audition as head coach last season, stepping in for Coach K and leading Duke to a win over Boston College, a game Krzyzewski was forced to miss to quarantine after being exposed to COVID-19.
Considered one of the best recruiters in college basketball, Scheyer has been credited with leading the recruitment of big-time recruits such as current New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson. As head coach-in-waiting this season, Scheyer has gotten off to a fast start ahead of his first season, landing what many observers consider the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for next season.
Whether that translates to on-court success remains to be seen, but it’s a promising start for a first-time head coach who is set to replace a Hall of Fame figure at one of the marquee programs in college basketball.
Interestingly, archrival North Carolina finds itself in a similar position. Hubert Davis, a former Tar Heels star and assistant coach, is about to embark upon his first season as a head coach in the 2021-22 season, after he was promoted to the top job following the retirement of longtime UNC head coach Roy Williams, who won three national championships at his alma mater.
What to Expect in Mike Krzyzewski’s Final Season as Duke Head Coach
Duke enters the season No. 9 in the Associated Press preseason rankings (ESPN’s Jeff Borzello has the Blue Devils 11th in his preseason rankings), and many observers have the Blue Devils among the contenders to lift the national championship trophy next April at the Caesars Superdome, which is the site of this season’s Final Four.
Duke will be looking to bounce back from a tough 2020-21 season that saw the Blue Devils stumble to a 13-11 record, and a season that ended prematurely due to a COVID-19 outbreak that forced Duke out of the ACC Tournament. It was the first time since 1995 that the Blue Devils did not make the NCAA tournament.
Duke will be led this season by freshman forward Paolo Banchero. The 6-foot-10 Seattle native is considered a possible No. 1 draft pick in next year’s NBA draft, and is widely-considered the most college-ready freshman in the country. Fellow freshman A.J. Griffin, who is also generating draft buzz, will likely join Banchero in the starting 5, while another first-year player, Trevor Keels, is expected to provide scoring punch. A pair of transfers, Theo John (Marquette) and Bates Jones (Davidson), will be counted on to provide an interior presence.
Among the returning players, the Blue Devils will need sophomore guard Jeremy Roach, junior forward Wendell Moore Jr., and sophomore center Mark Williams — who will likely join Banchero and Griffin as starters — to take steps forward if Duke is to have legitimate national title aspirations.
Duke Blue Devils Tickets: Price Information, and What to Expect For Coach K’s Final Season
In this section, we provide some insight on ticket prices for Duke home and away games from the 2019-20 season (the last regular season uninterrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic) and for the 2021-22 season, the final season for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, which is already generating increased interest in tickets.
In the 2019-20 season, the average purchase price for Duke home games on TickPick was $313. For the 2021-22 season, the average purchase price for games at Cameron Indoor Stadium (as of October 29th, 2021) is $653. For away games, the average purchase price was $101 in the 2019-20 season, compared to $215 (as of October 29th, 2021) for the 2021-22 season.
The hottest ticket? Unsurprisingly, games against archrival North Carolina.
In the 2019-20 season, the average ticket price for a home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium against UNC was $1,742.21. For the 2021-22 season, the average ticket price is at $6,500 (as of October 29th, 2021). In 2019-20, an average ticket price for an away game at Dean E. Smith Center was $528.67 (information for 2021-22 was not available as of October 29th, 2021).
2019-20 Season Average Ticket Prices (Home/Away) 
2021-22 Season Average Ticket Prices (Home/Away) 
Duke opens the season on November 9th against coach John Calipari and Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, followed by a game against his alma mater, Army, at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 12th. The Blue Devils’ other marquee non-conference games include showdowns against preseason No. 1 Gonzaga on November 26th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Ohio State on November 30th at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
In ACC play, Duke will travel to Notre Dame and Louisville, and host Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. The Blue Devils will play home-and-away to Syracuse, Florida State, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Fittingly, the last regular season game of the Krzyzewski era will be March 5th against the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
With anticipation running high, save money when you want to catch Duke live this season by buying cheap Duke Blue Devils tickets on TickPick. Our ticket prices are 10% better than our major competitors for the same seats!
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