Mike Krzyzewski thinks the Duke basketball team can win the National Championship.
Thursday night will be the first time the Duke basketball team takes the floor in the NCAA Tournament without Mike Krzyzewski as its head coach since 1984.
However, the Hall of Famer is keeping tabs on his former team in his first year of retirement and he envisions a length run for the Blue Devils.
“I think we’re good,” Krzyzewski said on his SiriusXM radio show, Basketball and Beyond with Coach K.
“I think we have a chance to win it all.”
"He's not following anybody, he is setting his own course."
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) March 15, 2023
Coach K is proud of @JonScheyer and @DukeMBB after taking home the ACC Tournament Championship and says the sky is the limit in the NCAA Tournament.
Full - https://t.co/gkISMXhfC1 pic.twitter.com/8DJgUO1iJF
Duke was given a No. 5 seed in the East Regional on Selection Sunday, despite entering the NCAA Tournament with a nine game winning streak and an ACC Tournament Championship, and will play No. 12 seed Oral Roberts on Thursday night.
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Mike Krzyzewski only attended one Duke game this season and it ironically began its nine game winning streak against Notre Dame as his former assistant coach, Mike Brey, was coaching his last game in Cameron Indoor Stadium with the Fighting Irish.
Coach K admires Jon Scheyer patience with Duke basketball team
Jon Scheyer saw some struggles at the beginning of the season as his team battled multiple injuries and absences before it finally got to get healthy and gel as a unit, as Coach K noted.
Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead both missed a large portion of the offseason with injuries and despite coming back relatively quickly into the regular season, Whitehead suffered another injury in ACC play right as things appeared to be rounding into form.
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Duke also saw its junior point guard Jeremy Roach miss extended time during the season due to a lingering toe ailment.
“I think they are getting better,” Krzyzewski said.
“They have to be careful. The ACC Championship is a springboard…we are going to put a banner up for that, but let’s go chase another banner.”
Tipoff between the Blue Devils and the Golden Eagles is set for 7:10p.m. ET (CBS) from Orlando, Florida.