Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski is getting ready to coach in the Olympics of the third and final time this offseason as he’s dealing with a depleted roster that is banged up or scared of Zika.
Coach K has also been through a lot with his own health this offseason, as a report from Luke Decock of The News and Observer says that the Hall of Famer is recovering from four separate offseason surgeries. After planned surgeries for a double knee replacement and a hernia operation, Coach K had two unplanned surgeries on his left ankle in a 16-day span within the last two weeks. The Duke coach is still in a walking boot and expects to be fully recovered by the time the Olympics begin in August.
“It’s been a good spring to get better,” Krzyzewski said in the report. “My knee replacement has gone unbelievably well. My rehab could not be better. My hernia surgery, unbelievable. Never pain. The ankle has had some complications. I didn’t know I was going to have to do that but it needed to be done. … That was fairly intense. But it’s worked.”
Coach K also has plenty to say about the state of the American team entering the 2016 Olympics in Brazil including his thoughts on LeBron James choosing to sit out this summer.
For a 69-year-old coach to recover this quickly during an offseason for a commitment like this shows how much it means to Krzyzewski, especially in his final Olympics before he hands it over to Gregg Popovich. The final roster for USA Basketball is going to look very different than the core group of the last few trips, but they’ll still be favored for gold this summer.