Duke basketball head coach released a statement on the retirement of Roy Williams.
The college basketball world was stunned on the morning of April 1 as North Carolina head coach Roy Williams announced his retirement, including Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Despite the many social media accounts for college basketball teams trying to pull off April Fools’ Day jokes, including Duke, the North Carolina Tar Heels dropped the bombshell news right in the middle of the jokes.
Many first thought that it was an April Fools before a variety of reporters confirmed the initial press release.
The Duke Men’s Basketball Twitter account first released a brief statement congratulating Williams on a fantastic career before Krzyzewski released his prepared remarks.
https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1377632904113745920?s=20
https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1377698420115247112?s=20
The Duke Hall of Famer put it perfectly saying, “Like everyone, I was surprised to read today’s announcement about Roy Williams’ retirement.”
In recent years, there is typically a heroic sendoff for players and coaches who are retiring, typically announcing the decision prior to the start of the season so teams can honor the person who will be hanging it up.
ALSO READ: Roy Williams shockingly retires from North Carolina
It was even more of a surprise to learn that Williams was calling it quits following the most challenging and absurd season in recent memory due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the various protocols teams had to adhere to and the lack of fans in buildings for a majority of the season.
Ironically enough, Roy Williams’ final regular-season victory came against the Blue Devils, and he kissed the court following the win, in what turned out to be one of the first signals of things to come.
“College basketball is losing one of its greatest coaches and a man who genuinely cares about the game of basketball, and more importantly, the people who play it,” Krzyzewski added.
Roy Williams’ announcement creates questions about Duke basketball head coach
The decision to retire from the 70-year-old Roy Williams only created a conversation about how much longer the 74-year-old Mike Krzyzewski will roam the sidelines in Durham.
Reading between the lines in his statement, it seems as if Krzyzewski will not have a surprise announcement like Roy Williams, and there could plenty of notice before he decides to hang up the whistle and clipboard.
ALSO READ: Duke coaching staff on verge of unexpected shakeup
Now, all that is left is to see who the Tar Heels will hire to replace the legend, and perhaps it could give some clues as to what Duke will do to eventually replace Krzyzewski if North Carolina hires a former player/assistant under Williams or goes outside the program for its next head coach.
Roy Willams ends his career with a 19-25 all-time record against Duke, 1-3 during his time with the Kanas Jayhawks and 18-22 with the North Carolina Tar Heels.