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Coach K comments on Bo Ryan’s sudden decision to retire

NCAA Duke Wisconsin Final Four Basketball

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, right, shakes hands with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski before the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament championship game Monday, April 6, 2015, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

AP

Duke and Wisconsin battled for the national championship last season and it was apparent how much respect there was between Mike Krzyzewski and Bo Ryan.

While Ryan started to mention thoughts on retirement this summer, it still caught many in the college basketball world by surprise, including Coach K.

[RELATED: Did Bo Ryan quit on his team?]

Krzyzewski commented on Ryan’s retirement during his show, “Basketball and Beyond” on SiriusXM. You can read text of what he said below.

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“It’s a surprise when it happened. It’s not a surprise that it did happen because Bo had said that this would be his last year and then was kind of going back and forth well maybe it wouldn’t be. But once you say it is going to be your last year, man, that means you’ve been thinking about it for at least a little bit. From what I understand there are no health issues. That’s the very first thing I think about when something happens during the year, but he did not say that. He was very positive and very complimentary about his administration - Barry Alvarez, the athletic director, one of the really esteemed people in college sports, and his president, and the whole University of Wisconsin community, the good people that would understand that the time has come.”

The move also caused Coach K to reflect on Ryan’s career a bit, including the recent back-to-back Wisconsin Final Four teams.

“The time that he spent there he’s really built Wisconsin to be one of the nation’s best programs. Going to these two straight Final Fours the last two seasons and winning over 70 games in those two years. Really established Wisconsin, and it had never been established really. They had some success but Bo was able to give them sustained success. I want to congratulate him on a great, great career. He was also a Division III national championship coach. He’s a lifer and someone who has always given good stuff to the game. We’re going to miss him.”