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Duke Blue Devils: Potential Candidates to Eventually Replace Mike Krzyzewski

By Chris Godfrey

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Tommy Amaker (Harvard)

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Coach K’s first great point guard got off to a fast start as a college basketball coach. Tommy Amaker breathed life into a dormant Seton Hall program after leaving the Duke bench. His work in Jersey was rewarded with an opportunity at the University of Michigan. After finding success with a perennial afterthought program like Seton Hall, big things were expected for Amaker in Ann Arbor.

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    • After a disastrous post-Fab Five era that left the program destitute, Amaker was sold as the answer to all Maize and Blue problems. Unfortunately, Amaker’s philosophies never meshed with the Big Ten’s style of play, and his teams frequently underachieved.

    Amaker played for the Postseason NIT Championship twice (winning once), but never got the Wolverines to the Big Dance. So why is he a candidate to replace his mentor at Duke?

    When Amaker was canned by Michigan, he immediately fell on his feet at Harvard. It didn’t take long for him to revolutionize the way we think about Ivy League basketball. Amaker has recruited top tier talent at the elite academic institution, not allowing anyone to scare him away from recruiting four-star prospects. He’s done this even as he’s faced criticism and questions about allegedly recruiting athletes that aren’t up to snuff academically.

    Despite the minor controversy, Amaker’s Crimson has made four straight NCAA Tournaments (winning their first game on two occasions) and his recruiting successes continue (this year he will bring in ESPN’s #43 prospect, Chris Lewis). That type of transformational impact may convince Duke that he can continue Coach K’s legacy.