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Mike Krzyzewski blasts NCAA, reacts to Jim Larranaga retirement: 'It's ridiculous what we're in'

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•about 20 hours•

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Former Duke HC Mike Krzyzewski and former Miami HC Jim Larranaga
© Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images

Over the last few years, iconic coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams and Jay Wright stepped away from the sideline. Last month, Jim Larranaga became the latest to do so, citing the changing college sports landscape – fueled by NIL and the transfer portal – in his decision to step away from Miami.

Krzyzewski pointed out the impact the changes in college basketball have on coaches’ responsibilities. In the process, he blasted the NCAA for how quickly things shifted.

Krzyzewski called the current landscape “ridiculous” as he reacted to Larranaga’s decision. While he said players should be able to profit off their name, image and likeness, he noted the lack of “step-by-step” process by the NCAA to prepare for the NIL and portal world.

“Most of us – and I’m saying this, and our listeners might laugh because we’ve made a lot of money – but when we got in it, you didn’t make a lot of money,” Krzyzewski said on his SiriusXM radio show. “You made a living. You did what you loved, and you loved college basketball and you loved the development of people, young men. And then, boom, you started making a lot of money, and then players should still make a lot.

“So it’s changed, but it’s changed so dramatically. There wasn’t like a step-by-step process … and that’s the NCAA’s fault. They should have been doing something for the last 30 years to allow more and more, and we wouldn’t be in all this stuff right now. It’s ridiculous what we’re in.”

In a press conference announcing his decision to step away, Larranaga cited conversations about NIL that ultimately led him to leave mid-season. Krzyzewski – like many across the college basketball world – praised him for the person he is.

But the legendary Duke coach also lamented how “disheartened” Larranaga looked in that press conference. At the same time, though, Krzyzewski said he felt the sincerity.

“My hat’s off to Jim for his career,” Krzyzewski said of Larranaga. “But again, it was sad for me to see how disheartened he was. He was giving up a thing that he gave his whole life to, and again, I know people are out there, ‘Yeah, he got paid money,’ and all that. Let’s just keep quiet for a little bit.

“There is a genuineness to what who he was, and I’m so glad he expressed it so that we could feel him, not just hear him. I felt what he was saying, not just heard what he was saying.”

Larranaga left Miami as the program’s all-time winningest coach, totaling a 274-174 record with the Hurricanes and a 745-507 mark for his career. He also led the program to its first-ever Final Four appearance in 2023, but said the conversations about NIL started after that season. That laid the groundwork for him to ultimately step away part-way through the 2024-25 campaign.