Duke aims to send Coach K off a winner

Mike Krzyzewski knows all the attention and hype that will follow what amounts to his farewell tour with ninth-ranked Duke.

He’s also determined to focus on how to get his Blue Devils to win another Atlantic Coast Conference championship or return to the Final Four than his upcoming retirement, which will end a Hall of Fame career unlike any other.

“I’ve told my staff and everyone around me not to use the word ‘last,’” said Krzyzewski, who has a Division I-record 1,170 career wins with five NCAA titles. “This is my 47th year, my 42nd year at Duke. I’m going after it the way I’ve gone after it every year.”

The 74-year-old Krzyzewski announced in June he would retire after this season, with former Blue Devils player and associate head coach Jon Scheyer taking over as his successor.

The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9 last season) are coming off an uncharacteristically struggle-filled season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They return just four players who saw significant minutes for a young team that missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.

But the Blue Devils have restocked with another touted recruiting class and are again the ACC favorite, led by preseason player and freshman of the year Paolo Banchero.

“No matter what, for all of us, there’s an emotional piece to this,” Scheyer said. “And it’s important that we don’t get too far ahead, that we don’t get too sentimental. But also we’re going to use that as motivation.

“He doesn’t want it to be about him. … But there’s no question every one of us as coaches, every one of us in that locker room, wants to send him off on an incredibly special season.”