The Duke of Blue Devils are scheduled to play their rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels, at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Krzyzewski held a news conference on Thursday, telling reporters he “tried not to think about it too much but I know it’s going to be emotional.”
“By being in one place and having a good level of success all the time, you can make a lot of friendships,” he said.
Krzyowski said he “would have nothing to do with our basketball program” after his retirement, but that he and his wife would remain as ambassadors for the university.
“She’s been mine for 42 years, but she’s a Duke forever,” he said. “All I can do to help Duke and Duke athletics, I’ll do.”
Krzyzewski has chosen Duke’s assistant coach and former Blue Devils player Jon Scheyer to become the school’s next coach, according to Jeff Goodman of the field.
While at Duke, Krzyzewski developed some of the biggest stars in the NBA, including Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
From there, he worked as a head coach at the US Military Academy Prep School in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, for two years before graduating as an assistant coach at Indiana University, the statement said. He did that for another year before returning to his alma mater, West Point, in 1975 as head coach.
Krzyzewski took the lead as Duke coach in 1980, according to the university.
Announcing his retirement last year, Krzyzewski said in a statement that he and his family viewed the decision as a celebration. He said he’s also “grateful and honored” for leading two college programs – West Point and Duke – alongside the United States national team as a basketball coach.
Krzyzewski was appointed head coach for Team USA in 2005. Under his rule, the team won gold medals at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
CNN’s Amir Vera and David Close contributed to this report.
