Krzyzewski talks hospital stay after N.C. State game

After missing Tuesday's win at Georgia Tech due to health concerns, all was back to normal Saturday for Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Krzyzewski felt ill after Duke's team meal Monday and did not travel with the team to Atlanta, instead watching the game from Duke University Hospital. Tuesday's contest was the first game since 1995 for which Krzyzewski was absent from the sidelines, but the physical distance didn't stop him from watching the game with his normal passion and fervor.

“I was on the seventh floor of the hospital, watching the game, so now I’m yelling and the nurses come in," Krzyzewski said after Saturday's 88-80 win against N.C. State. "I’m okay, but I was under the heart section because a lot of the stuff I was doing was in that. People were wondering when I yelled 'Marshall!' and 'Derryck, no...'"

Without Krzyzewski, associate head coach Jeff Capel took the reins against the Yellow Jackets, and Krzyzewski heaped praise upon Capel and the rest of his staff for how they handled the situtation. The 68-year-old head coach—who indicated he didn't anticipate any lingering health effects the rest of the season—was released from the hospital Wednesday morning and went back to working with the team that afternoon in good spirits.

But first, he had to make sure his players would accept his return.

"I explained to [the team] what happened—full disclosure, all of the stuff," Krzyzewski said. "I asked them if it’s alright to be here, and they said 'Yeah,'and I said 'Well, that’s smart of you because I still control playing time.' I guess I’m like a parent—we provide the food."