Is This It For Coach K? Duke Basketball's Mike Krzyzewski To Have Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

Hall of Fame men's basketball coach Mike "Coach K' Krzyzewski will be stepping aside from his post leading the Duke University program because he needs back surgery, the college announced Tuesday afternoon. While Coach K said he looked "forward to returning," his advanced age and decades of coaching the sport cast some doubt on his future in Durham, North Carolina.

"Dr. William Richardson, Dr. Friedman, and our medical team have worked tirelessly to help manage this issue for several weeks," Krzyzewski said in a statement to Duke Sports Information. "Together, we have determined that surgery is the best course of action at this time. During my recovery process, the team will be in the capable hands of Coach Capel, Coach James and Coach Scheyer. As soon as the doctors clear me to do so, I look forward to returning and giving our team 100% of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve."

The legendary basketball coach, whose surgery is scheduled for Friday, is 69 years old and has been in his current position for nearly 40 years.

The news harkens back to the 1994-95 season, when Coach K sat out most of the season because he had back surgery. The team finished with just 18 wins, easily the worst record in Coach K's tenure at Duke outside of his first season in 1980. Coach K did return to the program the following season, but he was 30 years younger than he is now.

While Coach K announced who would be guiding the top 10 ranked team in his absence, when he does actually retire, there are dozens of choices from his coaching tree who could become the program's next coach.

Capel is the obvious choice for the immediate interim, as he has the most experience among all of the current Duke assistant coaches. However, there are also a handful of very successful and extremely qualified head coaches in their own right who have either previously played for Duke under Coach K or worked for him as an assistant before moving on to their own respective programs.

Some of the leading contenders follow:

Tommy Amaker: Harvard University head coach

Mike Brey: Notre Dame University head coach

Jeff Capel: Former head coach at University of Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth University

Chris Collins: Current Northwestern University head coach

Johnny Dawkins: University of Central Florida and former Stanford University head coach

Bobby Hurley: Current University of Buffalo head coach

Steve Wojciechowski: Current Marquette University coach