Mike Krzyzewski to return on Saturday

Mike Krzyzewski will make his return to the sideline for Duke’s game against Pittsburgh.

Krzyzewski has been away from the team on a leave of absence due to back surgery to remove a fragment of a herniated disc. He last coached on January 4. His expected timetable for recovery was approximately four weeks. On Thursday, Duke announced Krzyzewski would be back for this Saturday’s home game.

Saturday. ???#HereComesDuke pic.twitter.com/Dxll7aqlPN

— Duke Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 2, 2017

During Coach K’s absence, former Blue Devil player and associate head coach Jeff Capel stepped in as interim head coach. The Blue Devil’s went 4-3 without Krzyzewski, including back-to-back losses to Florida State and Louisville. Since then, they’ve won three of their past four games and are 17-5 overall.

Eventhough Krzyzewski was not occupying his customary place on the sideline during Duke games, he was still very much in the news. Krzyzewski reinstated Grayson Allen from his indefinite suspension as a result tripping Elon’s Steven Santa Ana after just one game. It was a decision that even surprised Dick Vitale. You can read his comments here. Krzyzewski would later defend his decision.