When the curtain lifts on a new college basketball season on Tuesday night, all eyes will be on Mike Krzyzewski, the legendary Duke men’s coach, as he leads the No. 9 Blue Devils against No. 10 Kentucky in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The doubleheader, which also includes No. 3 Kansas taking on Michigan State, will be the 74-year-old Krzyzewski’s final game coaching at the Garden in his farewell tour before he retires after his 42nd season at Duke.
While it promises to be an emotional night, and season, for Coach K, as he is known, the experience will also have implications for the coach who sits next to him on the bench, Jon Scheyer.