Pleading Guilty and Serving 12 Months of Probation, What Happened With Coach K’s Player and Grandson?

Mike Krzyzewski aka Coach K appeared in 24 consecutive tournaments between 1996 to 2019 and took the Blue Devils to new heights. But while he was known for his discipline and hard ball approach, the same cannot be said about his grandson and player who pleaded guilty and served 12 months of probation.

The contrast and comparison becomes blatant as Coach K remains the most successful coach in NCAA history who boasts a 1,202-368 overall record. But his own bloodline couldn’t match his legend.

The curious case of Coach K’s grandson?

In the fall of 2021, Coach K’s grandson Michael Savarino was charged with a DWI (Driving While Impaired) after he was pulled over while driving then teammate Paolo Banchero’s car. Banchero who has since joined the NBA and now suits up for the Orlando Magic was also charged by the police for aiding Savarino as the duo were pulled over in rural Orange County.

Michael who was aged 20 then, was sentenced 12 months of probation and 24 hours of community service as he pleaded guilty in court for his reckless behavior. Furthermore, the youngster was also charged with two other felonies for underage driving and failure to yield to a stop sign. Both charges were later dropped, as the young gun completed his community service and attended a victim impact panel during that time.

After completing his 12 months of probation, Savarino transferred out of Duke that very year as he decided to enter the transfer portal and take his talents to New York University. Michael who joined Duke in 2019 as a walk-on was highly regarded as one of the better players from Division II but was unable to materialize that talent during his time in Durham as he fell down the pecking order despite Coach K being his grandfather.

Born to Coach K’s eldest daughter Debbie, Savarino now suits up for the NY Violets and looks to resurrect his career after his fall from grace due to his DWI incident. While his recklessness might have put an unnecessary burden on his image, the star has slowly been building himself in New York as he leads the team today as a captain. Averaging 10 points while shooting .415 from the three line, the youngster has been able to redeem himself in the big apple but failed to lead the team to the NCAA tournament as they ranked 4th in the UAA division.

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Although not yet a star, Michael Savarino’s hunger to better himself might get him to the NBA as he looks to step out of his grandfather’s shadow.

Coach K’s reaction to grandson’s DWI charge

Coach K was a happy man when it was announced that Michael Savarino would be joining the Blue Devils as a walk on for the 2019 season.

Savarino who was suiting up for the Durham academy during that time was plauded by his grandfather for his exploits as he replied to the news stating, “He’s earned it, Michael was a really good player at Durham Academy, well-coached there, they had their best season ever. Played on a talented team this year. Michael is a leader, he’s a good shooter, player. He’s also an outstanding student.”

While Coach K wasn’t wrong in his assessment of his grandson, he wouldn’t have guessed that he would be speaking about him again in a negative light just a year later as he spoke to the media about his DWI incident before a game in 2020.

Coach K spoke about this incident during his pre-match press conference during a game against Gardner-Webb University as he left Savarino from the line up but started star man and fellow accomplice Paolo Banchero.

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Elaborating on this situation Coach K said that the incident was a violation of their standards as he explained how he would handle the situation stating, “We are already handling it internally, but this is a violation of our standards and the decisions we make will be in conjecture with the authorities.”