Duke basketball: Six reasons Coach K may never retire
By Matt Giles
5. K may hate the thought of taking it easy
What exactly is Mike Krzyzewski supposed to do if he was to retire? Live on cruise ships with wife Mickie? Hang out poolside with any Dukies onboard? Paint? Sculpt? Golf? Garden? Go so berserk from his couch over some Cameron Crazies chant that one of his grandchildren has to explain to him exactly what he either misheard or misinterpreted?
Nah, if he has the energy to do any of the above, there’s no reason to think he won’t have the vigor to continue hanging out with real-life Blue Devils inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on a daily basis. Also worth noting, though now-late UCLA great John Wooden was an exception — and Coach K could possibly join the “Wizard of Westwood” in this regard — history shows that longtime coaches who suddenly set aside their lifelong passion in retirement age tend to shortly thereafter, whether coincidental or not, suffer some type of advanced deterioration.
Tolerance for student-section antics aside — besides, he apologized the next day for his infamous January tirade, something a true old grump would find inconceivable — Coach K still comes across as a spry guy who shows no signs of slowing down when it comes to building connections with college kids. Anyway, what’s so wrong with desiring nothing more than to wake up and seize every single day with some Duke basketball challenge occupying one’s mind? That sounds like a pretty sweet retirement plan in itself.
Finally, let’s explore the argument for spelling COMPETE with a K…