Duke legend Coach K, Jon Scheyer and more bid farewell to veteran assistant with heartwarming message: "Love you and respect you" 

Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski and coach Jon Scheyer showed love to Will Stephens after the Blue Devils bid farewell to the veteran assistant on Saturday. They shared heartfelt messages on Instagram for the team's Executive Director of Sports Performance, who retired after 27 seasons with Duke.

Stephens played a huge role in making Duke a college basketball powerhouse. He helped the Blue Devils reach the Final Four seven times and win three national championships. During his time at Duke, the Blue Devils sent 55 players to the NBA, 39 of whom were drafted.

"Will, congratulations on an amazing career and thank you for sharing that career with mine," Coach K said. "You've made my career a hell of a lot better and by the way, you've made every young man that's been on our program under your tutelage better."

"Not just in strength and athletic ability, they became better people. As good as you do, with all the strength and conditioning, to me, the most important thing about you is you are a good man."

Coach K concluded his message by thanking Stephens for being a truly special friend, adding that he loves and respects him.

"I love you and respect you," Coach K said. "I'm so glad that God has been good to me. We've been able to become such close friends."

The current Duke coach was the next to give his greetings to Will Stephens.

"I want to give a big shout-out and say thank you to Coach Will Stephens," Scheyer said. "For the last 25 years, he's been an incredible strength coach for us, but he's impacted our program in more ways than you'd ever know unless you're on the inside every single day."

"He's helped build our culture to what it is. He's been an example of consistency, hard work and developing the tough competitive culture that we have here."

Jon Scheyer ended his message by congratulating Stephens on the next step in his career.

How Jon Scheyer and Will Stephens fared in their final season together at Duke

Will Stephens and Jon Scheyer will forever remember their final season together at Duke. Teen phenom Cooper Flagg joined the Blue Devils ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, making Duke one of the favorites to win the national championship.

Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer looks on during the game against the Houston Cougars. Photo: Imagn

The Duke Blue Devils secured the No. 1 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season and the ACC Tournament with a 31-3 record. They reached the Final Four in style, beating Mount St. Mary's, Baylor, Arizona and Alabama by an average of 23.5 points.

Their hopes of winning the NCAA title came to a shocking end, though, in the Final Four against Houston. The Blue Devils lost 70-67 in the national semifinals after the Cougars unleashed a 9-0 run in the final minute.