Coach K Update - Retirement Is A Relative Term

Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski retired last summer after an illustrious and in many ways unprecedented career. He spoke to the AP’s Joe Reedy recently about what he’s been doing and while retirement is a fact, he’s only retired from coaching. The rest of his endeavors continue unabated:

“It’s been good. I don’t miss coaching. I coached for almost five decades. I knew I did not want to coach anymore, but I didn’t want to retire. I do a lot of speaking. I’m on the road at least once, sometimes twice a week, to different locations, and I’ve learned a lot doing that.”

The most interesting part of that is the last bit. As a coach, Krzyzewski focused on learning, and did so until the very end. It’s really remarkable that at 75, he is still focused on what new things he can learn and apply to his life.

Aside from speaking, Krzyzewski maintains his media endeavors. He’s still doing Basketball and Beyond on SiriusXM and he also. has a new documentary on HBO with LeBron James called Chasing Greatness.

It’s obvious from the title what it’s about. Coach K of course coached James with the US Olympic team. James was leery of playing for a college coach and it took him - and the other Olympians - some time to be comfortable. Adapting to professional players and their requirements is one of Krzyzweski’s many notable accomplishments. He’s famously hard-nosed but he observed, listened and adapted. The result was a brilliant renaissance, three gold medals and enduring respect from James, who calls himself “an honorary Dukie.”

We haven't seen it yet but it’s queued up and should be great.