Duke legend Jay Williams believes there is a possibility that the all-time winningest coach in college basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, could return to lead the program next season despite his recent retirement tour.
On his radio show, Keyshawn, JWill, and Max, Williams said that the main reason he thinks Coach K would come out of retirement is that Duke could lose the No. 1 recruiting class for 2022.
The concern of Duke recruits jumping ship stems from Duke great Nolan Smith leaving the Blue Devils to become the new associate head coach at Louisville. Since the Cardinals and Blue Devils are conference rivals, Williams believes he could recruit against Duke for his newest program and that the ranking could change if any 2022 commits decide they want to go elsewhere.
“Here’s why I give it [Coach K returning] a legit chance because if you’re Nolan Smith, and you have a great relationship with all these players, you’re in the conference, man. You’re at Louisville,” Williams said. “It turns into recruiting battles, man, and it weakens your hold on the number one class. So, if you’re Coach K, how do you strengthen that hold? By coming back.”
Duke has the consensus No. 1 ranked recruiting class of 2022, highlighted by Derrick Lively and Dariq Whitehead. The class was recruited mainly by head-coach-in-waiting Jon Scheyer. It’s unknown if Coach K will come out of retirement, but the program seems to be in good hands with Scheyer taking over.
