Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said he received his second COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday and dealt with side effects that affected his coaching performance the next day.
Krzyzewski, 73, said Thursday he received his first vaccine in mid-January. Duke will face North Carolina at 6 p.m. ET Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. No fans will be allowed at the game amid the pandemic.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), for about 6-7 hours, I got knocked back,” Krzyzewski said. “So I conducted my practice not in the same way that I am now. I feel really good now. I hope that was the reaction that I’m through.”
The hall of fame coach was forced to miss a Jan. 6 game against Boston College after coming into contact with a member of his family on Dec. 30 who tested positive for COVID-19. He returned to Cameron Indoor Stadium for a Jan. 8 home game against Wake Forest and has had no issues since.
“Did I say the right things? Was I in the right mood? Did I express it the way I wanted to express?” Krzyzewski said. “Last night I spent a lot of time thinking about, did I get that across? We’re about to have practice with the team, and I want to go through some things to make sure they understood what I was trying to put across yesterday.”
Saturday will mark the first time since Feb. 27, 1960 that Duke (7-6, 5-4) and UNC (11-6, 6-4) have both entered this game unraked in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.
Credit: USA Today