Duke basketball is dealing with Grayson Allen’s suspension, chemistry issues and now Coach K is taking a leave of absence.
This has been one odd season for the Duke Blue Devils.
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The ACC favorite was the number one team in the country coming into the year and looked like the clear cut favorite to win the National Championship.
But before the 2016-17 campaign even tipped off, Duke dealt with multiple injuries to their elite freshman, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Marques Bolden. Grayson Allen then suffered a toe/foot injury in the opening weeks that limited his explosiveness and abilities.
Despite all that, Duke only lost one game (to Kansas on a Frank Mason III game winner), and defeated teams like Rhode Island, Michigan State and Florida to open the season.
With everyone finally back in the lineup against Tennessee State in the middle of December, the thought was that Duke would finally be ready to show their true colors.
That was anything but the case.
Allen tripped a third player in two seasons and was suspended indefinitely. Giles and Bolden haven’t had much of an impact. Luke Kennard, who has been the best player on the team this season, questioned his teammates’ desire to win. Duke was romped by Virginia Tech in a game that they showed very little effort and intensity on the defensive end.
And now this.
Hall of Fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski will undergo back surgery on Friday and is expected to take a leave of absence for at least four weeks. Krzyzewski is expected to coach on Wednesday against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, but following that outing, Jeff Capel will take over as head coach for the time being.
“Dr. William Richardson, Dr. Friedman, and our medical team have worked tirelessly to help manage this issue for several weeks,” Krzyzewski said via a statement released by ESPN. “Together, we have determined that surgery is the best course of action at this time. During my recovery process, the team will be in the capable hands of Coach Capel, Coach James and Coach Scheyer. As soon as the doctors clear me to do so, I look forward to returning and giving our team 100% of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve.”
It’s one thing to be dealing with Allen’s tripping issues and a lack of chemistry that could eventually be fixed. However, to do it without a Hall of Fame head coach, this will be anything but easy.
It doesn’t seem as if everyone has bought into Duke’s goal of winning a National Championship. There was too much one-on-one action against Virginia Tech and Kennard’s comments a couple weeks ago were telling.
This team isn’t ready to win the chip, not yet at least. They have the most talented roster in the nation and have the highest ceiling of any unit in the country. But can they really fix these issues without Coach K? Does this delay Duke from reaching their ceiling? Do they reach their ceiling at all?
Communication is not going to be shut down between Coach K’s staff and himself, however, who knows if he truly will be able to return in four weeks. That all depends on how the surgery goes and how Coach K is feeling weeks from now.
And this is a lot to ask of Capel.
The Blue Devils play Boston College on Saturday at home, but also have to face Florida State, Louisville, Miami and North Carolina State over the next couple of weeks. The ACC is the toughest conference from top to bottom in the country and not having a Hall of Fame head coach roaming the sidelines doesn’t help Duke’s case.
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Suddenly, the ACC looks wide open at the top. Louisville, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Florida State are licking their chops. Why? Because maybe the Blue Devils aren’t going to be as good as everyone thought they would be.