Duke basketball: Possible clue to Coach K retirement date

Why does the Duke basketball staff appear hesitant to hand out 2022 offers?

At this time last year, the maskless Duke basketball coaches were four months removed from offering scholarships to their two current 2021 pledges, Paolo Banchero and AJ Griffin, who rank No. 3 and No. 6 overall, respectively, on the 247Sports 2021 Composite. Heck, it had been some 15 months since they’d officially begun their ongoing pursuit of No. 1 prospect Patrick Baldwin Jr.

Fast forward to the present. Still, not a single 2022 recruit has received a Duke basketball offer, potentially signaling a retirement date in sight for 73-year-old head coach Mike Krzyzewski as the legend enters his 41st season at the helm in Durham.

We’ll get back to this guesswork here in a minute.

First, some might say the primary reason for the holdup on the 2022 trail is the focus on adding a couple of finishing touches — namely, Baldwin Jr. — to the 2021 haul. Look, though, at this time last year, the 2020 collection still needed filling out, yet that didn’t prevent Krzyzewski and his gang from full-on chasing after the likes of Baldwin Jr., Banchero, and Griffin.

Others might say the recruiting restrictions are to blame for the delay. And there’s probably some truth to that considering Coach K is generally meticulous and highly selective when choosing targets. But he must know five-stars are committing quicker than ever these days, despite the absence of visits and in-person scouting; in fact, already two of 2022’s top five are off the board.

OK, so maybe the recruiting mastermind is just trying to play it cool, or hard to get.

As of late, however, conversations between the Duke recruiters and high school juniors have primarily been with four-stars, which is certainly out of the ordinary for a program that has been nothing short of a one-and-done magnet across the past decade.

Actually, roughly half of the 15 players in the 2022 class who have heard from the Blue Devils are four-stars. Putting that into perspective, Coach K has never actively pursued a four-star for 2021 and only went after a few for 2020.

ALSO READ: Jon Scheyer laying the groundwork with underrated recruit

Now, Duke’s latest 2022 chat was with a mere three-star, power forward Kyle Filipowski, whose No. 159 composite ranking is considerably lower than that of those who would typically garner even the slightest interest from the Blue Devils this early in a recruiting cycle. Furthermore, it’s worth noting there have been no reports of Coach K being the one to call a 2022 recruit.

Seems like a shift in Duke basketball recruiting strategy, but to what end?

Given the commitments from Banchero and Griffin, in addition to the clear desire to land Baldwin Jr. plus one or both of 2021 five-stars Caleb Houstan and Trevor Keels, it’s not as if the Blue Devils should be anticipating a low number of early departures after the 2021-22 season.

Rather, it could be quite the opposite. Consider that four freshmen on the 2020-21 roster are prime two-and-done candidates in DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach, Mark Williams, and Jaemyn Brakefield, meaning they too could bolt after the 2021-22 season. Plus, it’s conceivable one or both of sophomores Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore will end up being three-and-dones.

Put simply, at that juncture, there’s a real possibility the Blue Devils will need five or more replacements in the form of 2022 recruits. Therefore, one would think Coach K ought to be on the ball in terms of wooing the premier guys in the class. The exact reason for not doing so is unknown, but it is a cause for speculation:

1. Perhaps, the Hall of Famer isn’t sure he can guarantee a probable one-and-done that he’ll still be on the Duke basketball throne come the 2022-23 season; if true, he may still be trying to figure out a proper honest pitch to give 2022 five-stars and their families should he and his cohorts decide to enter any such battles.
2. Perhaps, there’s a simple explanation for the fact associate head coach Jon Scheyer is the one who has seemingly spearheaded the process of handpicking potential 2022 targets, including a handful of Midwesterners like himself who are seen as longterm college projects.
3. Perhaps, giving Scheyer more freedom in shaping the future is all a part of the transition plan; besides, it’s no secret the 2010 Duke national champ looks to be an obvious candidate to either replace the NCAA’s all-time wins leader or stay in his current role under a new boss in hopes of the program achieving some sense of post-K stability.

Granted, all this speculation in no way proves that Mike Krzyzewski is absolutely planning to retire following the 2021-22 season, perhaps with a dream of walking out on top thanks to Banchero, Griffin, & Co.

Nevertheless, Duke’s 2022 recruiting efforts thus far sure do have the look of a clue that some seismic shift is in store around that point in time.

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