Duke wanted to hire former Blue Devils guard and current Harvard coach Tommy Amaker to replace Mike Krzyzewski, but the longtime Duke coach instead preferred for current associate head coach Jon Scheyer, according to a new book by New York Post sports columnist Ian O’Connor.
As was reported by the Post and ESPN, both of which shared excerpts of the book on Tuesday, university president Vincent Price wanted Amaker to be hired as Krzyzewski’s successor. However, writes O’Connor, Krzyzewski asked Scheyer about the possibility of following him the day he told his assistant coaches of his decision to retire.
Per the excerpts shared Tuesday, Krzyzewski called Amaker in what the book describes as “a very difficult conversation” with his former assistant. In the conversation, Krzyzewski explained that if Amaker left Harvard to join Duke as an assistant this season, he would force the demotion of a Blue Devils assistant and “create an awkward dynamic with Scheyer.”
Amaker played at Duke between 1983 and 1987, and still holds the school record for consecutive games started, with 138. He was an assistant coach at Duke from 1988—1997, before leaving to coach at Seton Hall. He later coached at Michigan and Harvard.
Scheyer has never coached at another program. Like Amaker, he played at Duke, and he was named first-team All ACC and a consensus second-team All-America during the school’s 2010 national championship run.
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Now in his 42nd season, Krzyzewski has amassed perhaps the greatest resume in college basketball history. Throughout his tenure he has won five national championships, made 12 Final Fours and has nearly 1,200 wins, the most in Division I history. Still, as Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg noted, he has maintained a close relationship with his players, no matter of the success level they achieved while playing for him.
“They could be No. 1 in the country,” Chip Engelland told SI. ( Engelland was a Duke forward during Krzyzewski’s first three years at the school, when the Blue Devils finished twice with losing records and never made the NCAA tournament). “And if you wrote him a thank-you note, whether it was for tickets or just you know, Hey, Coach, just want to let you know, I’m playing here, and thanks, he would write you back. It was incredible.”
