Duke Blue Devils: Coach Mike Krzyzewski to Return Saturday
The Duke Blue Devils will get a familiar face on the bench against the Pitt Panthers.
On Groundhog Day, the Duke Blue Devils were obviously waiting to see if the elusive Coach K would see his shadow and perhaps that would signal six more weeks of recuperation. That would be six more weeks of locker room ban, six more weeks of lineup experimentation, and just six more weeks of doubt.
However the Mike Krzyzewski emerged from his burrow and decided it would be an early spring for Duke and that he would be returning for the game against the Pitt Panthers on Saturday. The Pitt game is strategically placed. It gives Krzyzewski the chance to shake off the rust against a team that can’t seem to get out of the basement in the ACC.
A win or even loss against Pitt would get Coach K back in the swing of things to prepare for the real challenge. That would be the arrival of the North Carolina Tar Heels to Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Tar Heels are the traditional rival in the fierce competition. They also could represent the ACC leader when the game rolls around.
More from Duke Blue Devils
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- Four North Carolina players selected in first round of MLB Draft
- N.C. State at Duke: Staff Predictions
- N.C. State makes strong case for NCAA Tourney berth with win over Duke
- Duke vs North Carolina Staff Predictions
Coach Jeff Capel has gone 4-3 over the time that his boss was gone. That essentially means that he prevented the ship from sinking while not really helping the cause either. He did get to work out some kinks with the Duke lineup and perhaps we will see Coach K take advantage of this new Luke Kennard centered team.
Next: Miles Plumlee to Hornets
Coach K will have some work to do to get Duke back up the ladder. Fortunately for him the league has decided to beat itself up so Duke is only a couple of games out of fourth place. Fourth place would guarantee that important bye week at the beginning of the ACC Tournament. Duke’s talent is good enough to beat any opponent on its schedule, now we shall see if the execution appears.