Former Duke assistant coach and ESPN analyst tragically passes at age 47
· Yahoo Sports
College basketball analyst and former Duke Blue Devils assistant coach Chris Spatola passed away Tuesday unexpectedly at the age of 47.
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Spatola had a remarkable career by all accounts, leading the Patriot League in scoring for two of his four seasons with the Army. Over four seasons as a player, Spatola averaged 13.9 points, 2.6 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 0.6 steals while shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc.
After spending five years as an Army officer, earning the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Spatola turned to coaching and was hired by Mike Krzyzewski. Just like Spatola, Coach K also had played guard at Army.
Serving as an assistant coach under Coach K from 2007 to 2012, Spatola was part of four ACC title teams and the 2010 NCAA championship squad. He later spent time coaching with Team USA basketball, winning gold at the 2008 Olympics. Despite leaving Duke, Spatola and Coach K literally became family, as he married Coach K's daughter Jamie, and the couple had three children together. Following his coaching career, Spatola began at ESPN as a basketball analyst in 2015.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Former Duke assistant coach and ESPN analyst tragically passes at age 47