Mike Krzyzewski bans Duke players from their own locker room until they start playing better

Mike Krzyzewski is not happy.

The Duke basketball coach is on a leave of absence while he recovers from back surgery, but he still made sure his players are aware just how unhappy he is with the way things have been going lately. The Blue Devils are 2-3 since Coach K left and have won only one of their last four games.

During a team meeting at his house earlier this week, Krzyzewski told the players they would not be allowed inside the team locker room until further notice, according to multiple media reports.

The ban won’t be lifted until the team starts playing what has come to be accepted as Duke basketball again, the reports state.

Acting Coach Jeff Capel was asked about the situation during a radio interview Thursday.

“It’s pretty disappointing when stuff that happens within a locker room gets out like that,” Capel said. “The one thing I will tell you is that when I was a head coach, and I’m pretty sure any head coach at any point, different points during the season, have done things that they think will motivate their team, and we are certainly no different. But I’m not going to discuss stuff that goes on inside our locker room.”

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii