Duke basketball: 10 realistic candidates to succeed Coach K when he retires

2. Bobby Hurley, Arizona State head coach

The Sun Devils lost their sixth game in a row on Monday night, and the second in a row to rival Arizona no less. They are now 4-8 on the season and just 1-5 in Pac-12 play. But this year’s struggles (pandemic driven or otherwise) don’t negate the three straight 20-win seasons that preceded it, or Hurley’s 97-77 record now into his sixth season at ASU. Prior to that, he went 42-30 in two seasons at Buffalo.

Hurley of course played point guard at Duke, highlighted by back-to-back national titles in 1991 and 1992. But he has built a solid coaching resume, so any novelty attached to the idea he’d return to Duke to succeed Coach K is backed up by credibility. If he wants the job of course.

1. Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette head coach

In his seventh season as head coach at Marquette, it can be easy to forget about “Wojo.” The Golden Eagles are 8-7 so far this season, after at least 18 wins in each of the last five seasons. Wojciechowski has a 123-88 record during his tenure.

Wojciechowski played at Duke (are you sensing a theme, here?) from 1994-1998. Then he stepped right into coaching at his alma mater, with a long run as an assistant (1999-2014) under Coach K before getting the job at Marquette.

If he is wanted to succeed Coach K, and/or Coach K endorses him, it presumably will be a hard opportunity for Wojciechowski to turn down. The same can probably be said for a lot of other potential candidates, but what may be a path of less resistance back to Duke puts Wojciechowski No. 1 here.

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