Krzyzewski to return Saturday

Mike Krzyzewski is returning this weekend to coach his Duke Blue Devils.

The Hall of Fame coach announced Thursday night on his weekly radio show that he will make his return Saturday against Pittsburgh after back surgery kept him out for four weeks.

His return falls in line with the four-week timeline the school projected when his leave of absence was announced on Jan. 2.

Krzyzewski revealed on the SiriusXM radio show that he’s been attending parts of Duke’s practices for the past week and a half, slipping into the locker room to watch on closedcircuit television when fatigue would set in. He says his assistants would visit his house after every practice to discuss and evaluate what happened on the court.

“Basically, though, I’ve been doing stuff every day, really, with our program,” Krzyzewski said. “Not as much with the physical nature, but with preparation and some of the things that you just have to do in running a big-time program.”

Duke (17-5, 5-4 ACC) went 4-3 with associate head coach Jeff Capel running the team in Krzyzewski’s absence. The 21st-ranked Blue Devils won two road games in 48 hours — at Wake Forest and at No. 20 Notre Dame — after losing three of their first five games without the winningest men’s coach in Division I history.

Krzyzewski stepped away from the team to have a fragment of a herniated disk removed from his lower back on Jan. 6, the fifth surgery since the end of last season for the coach who turns 70 on Feb. 13.

The team has been in the hands of Capel, who also led the team for one game last year when Krzyzewski missed a trip to Georgia Tech due to high blood pressure and dehydration.

“Guys are accustomed to hearing his voice, so when he took over as the interim head coach it wasn’t shocking,” Krzyzewski said.

Also: Nebraska retired the jersey of Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue, who played for the Cornhuskers from 199598. … Bobby Watson, a key player on Kentucky’s 1951 national championship team died Tuesday of unspecified causes. He was 86.