Duke basketball: Reports show controversy picking Coach K successor

There was controversy in the Duke basketball program picking the successor to Mike Krzyzewski. 

There has been very little chatter this season about Jon Scheyer being named as the successor to Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke basketball program following this year.

Well, until now.

In a report from Ian O’Connor of the New York Post, Duke officials wanted former Blue Devil and current Harvard coach Tommy Amaker to replace the Hall of Famer while Krzyzewski wanted Scheyer to be the next head coach of the team.

The idea is very similar to what happened with North Carolina earlier in the spring when Roy Williams retired and wanted Hubert Davis to replace him while the school is rumored to want someone else.

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The Tar Heels ended up hiring Davis.

O’Connor details the dilemma in Durham in his new book Coach K: The Rise and Reign of Mike Krzyzewski, which is scheduled to be released next week.

Amaker played at Duke from 1983-87 and then joined Krzyzewski’s staff as an assistant from 1988-97 before he became the head coach at Seton Hall.

The 56-year-old has a 437-285 record as a head coach since 1997 in stops at Seton Hall, Michigan, and Harvard with four NCAA Tournament victories during that time.

Harvard has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2015.

Duke basketball associate head coach fits better in Durham

Jon Scheyer also played at Duke from 2006-10, winning a National Championship.

After a brief professional career, Scheyer returned to Durham as an assistant coach in 2014 and quickly became one of the best recruiters in the county.

Scheyer has National Championships as a player and an assistant coach.

The 34-year-old is now widely considered the best recruiter in the county and is not stopping after being named as the next head coach of the Blue Devils with the best two recruiting classes in the country in 2022 and 2023.