Duke Basketball Surprises Coach Mike Krzyzewski With New Puppy

What do you give the man who has spent over 40 seasons dedicating his life to coaching Duke University basketball? A new puppy, obviously.

During the end-of-year banquet for the Duke men's basketball team on Thursday (April 14), Coach Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski was surprised with a new pal to keep him company during his retirement. Because Coach K announced he was retiring at the end of the season, this would be his final banquet as head coach so the team wanted to make sure it was a memorable one, per WFMY.

"Since you have a lot more time now, coach, we felt you needed something to train, so we want you to meet the new member of your family," said Jon Scheyer, who was named as Coach K's replacement. That's when the team brought out the surprise: a four-legged furry friend aptly named Coach.

Coach K was all smiles as he looked at his new buddy, giving the audience a wave of a paw and even eliciting a chorus of "Awws" from the crowd as the newest member of the family gave Coach K a few kisses.

The team shared the sweet moment on Twitter, showing how excited both Coach K and his new puppy are to meet each other.

The puppy surprise wasn't completely out of nowhere. According to the news outlet, Coach K has previously stated that he wanted to get a dog when he retired after his last dog, Blue, died in 2021.