Three years into Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure as Duke’s basketball coach, he hadn’t sniffed the NCAA Tournament as Bill Foster’s successor. The local media cranked up the heat ahead of a pivotal Year 4.
The Durham Sun noted Krzyzewski had benefited from mostly “favorable press” up to that point, but it was time to start winning — or face the music. A headline in the Sun after Duke lost 17 games in Krzyzewski’s third season blared: Pressure builds for Krzyzewski to win.
As sportswriter Al Featherston wrote, Krzyzewski “has produced few miracles,” although the scribe added it was too soon to label him “a loser.” The hometown newspaper ramped up criticism of Krzyzewski’s insistence on playing man-to-man defense, as the hot seat made its way to Duke.
“I’m sensitive to pressure,” Krzyzewski told the media in 1983. “I’m sensitive to how it affects my players.”
Sensitive, maybe, but Coach K responded beautifully. His fourth season showed he had Duke on the upswing. He was onto something with that whole man-to-man defense idea, too.
The Winston-Salem Journal predicted Duke would contend for last place in the ACC in 1984. Instead, Duke reached the NCAA Tournament, exiting in the second round.
Out with the pressure. In with the praise.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Duke’s 1984 season comes to mind because Jon Scheyer, Coach K’s hand-picked successor, faces some pressure, albeit of a different ilk, amid his fourth season.
Duke will get all of the pressure and none of the benefit of being the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. The selection committee did the Blue Devils no favors by slotting them into a loaded East Region that features a who’s who collection of elite coaches.
Jon Scheyer: Duke 'where you wanted to be' entering March Madness
Pressure becomes an omnipresent companion when succeeding a legend and coaching Duke. Enviable resources and a powerful brand accompany the job, too, and Scheyer continued Krzyzewski’s assembly line of talent.
Fresh off one-and-done Cooper Flagg, now here’s another freshman sensation, Cameron Boozer. He’s a 20-10-5 guy. That’s 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists. Actually, make it 25 or 30 points, on certain nights.
And, if Duke doesn’t win the grand prize with such a star-studded squad, it begs the question: Why not?
Duke possesses everything it needs to win a national championship. Of course, you could say the same thing about Arizona and Michigan, too.
“This is what you wanted,” Scheyer said on ESPN on Selection Sunday. “This is right where you wanted to be, in a position to play in the NCAA Tournament. You’re the 1-seed. You’ve earned this opportunity.”
The tournament remains a volatile journey, even for blue bloods as good as this one — or as good as Scheyer’s previous team. One minute you’re up by 14 points in the second half of a Final Four game, the next minute Flagg is left trying to find the words to describe Duke’s “heartbreaking” collapse against Houston.
Even after that stunning exit, you were smart to double down if you owned stock in Scheyer and Duke.
Duke’s succession-of-a-legend plan fared better than most do. Coach K executed a clean handoff to his understudy, and every season of Scheyer ball exceeded the last.
- 2023: Second round.
- 2024: Elite Eight.
- 2025: Final Four.
- 2026: ?
The thing about consistently raising the bar? It makes ensuing leaps more taxing.
Don’t pity Scheyer. He signed up for this. Anyway, what most coaches would give to have his roster full of blue-chippers. More are on the way in Duke’s latest recruiting class, meaning this won’t be Scheyer’s last shot at a national championship, just his next shot.
Duke history of NCAA Tournament success in a coach's fourth season
Year 4 tends to be an inflection point for Duke coaches. Vic Bubas reached the Final Four in his fourth season in 1963 and won the third-place game. (Remember that old thing? I don’t. The third-place game predates me.)
Foster's Blue Devils reached the 1978 national championship game in his fourth season. Kentucky beat Duke in the finals. Foster left Duke in 1980 to coach South Carolina and later Northwestern. He never again reached the NCAA Tournament after leaving Duke.
Coach K turned the corner in his fourth season before exiting in the NCAA’s second round after Tommy Amaker missed what would’ve been a game-winning jumper against Washington. A swift exit, but 24 wins were enough to relieve the pressure and quiet the Durham Sun.
The headline in the newspaper the next day?
Krzyzewski’s program takes a giant step.
No more questioning whether Coach K was up to the job. Instead, Durham Sun sports editor Frank Dascenzo wrote this: “Krzyzewski’s fourth season was a bonanza. He didn’t strike a match. He lit a fire.”
Now, Scheyer carries the torch, and the Blue Devils burn red hot in his Year 4, that historically golden season for Duke coaches.
Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pressure on Duke, Jon Scheyer in NCAA bracket? Coach K can relate
