The Duke Blue Devils were able to win a thrilling game over Wake Forest on Tuesday, but the game was only one part of the full story.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski did not coach the second half of the game after reportedly not feeling well towards the end of the first half. His ailment was left pretty vague after the game, but Coach K discussed the situation more clearly in an interview Thursday afternoon.
Coach K gives a health update after leaving Tuesday night’s game versus Wake Forest.
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“We went through a very taxing part of our season with four games in eight days,” said Coach K during a SiriusXM interview. “Late travel and I still prepare the same way. That day against Wake I wasn’t feeling that good, and during the first half I got light-headed.”
“I called Jon Scheyer and Chris Carrawell over and told them ‘I’m not feeling great, you guys do more. Don’t hold back.’ I started feeling a little better during the half, and as I was walking off the court at halftime I thought that I could pass out.”
Assistant coach Jon Scheyer served as the head coach for the second half of the game. The move was obvious as Scheyer is set to become Duke’s head coach next season following Krzyzewski’s retirement at the end of the year.
Krzyzewski added that he received an IV during halftime and that he is now feeling better. It seems that it was mostly fatigue that was affecting Krzyzewski, who celebrated his 75th birthday just 5 days ago.
The life of a college coach is extremely straining for anyone, much less someone at 75 years old keeping up with the wear and tear of travel and preparation.
Let’s hope that these issues are behind Krzyzewski and he can enjoy his final season at Duke in good health for the rest of the year.
[SiriusXM]
