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Coach K: USA Basketball Journey Has Been Good For Duke
5/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DURHAM, N.C. ? When Mike Krzyzewski was named head coach of USA Basketball's Senior National Team in October 2005, the Beijing Olympics were almost three years away and the sting of a third place finish in the 2004 Athens Games still resonated within the basketball community.
Beijing now is just around the corner and Krzyzewski's efforts to create a new culture surrounding USA Basketball will be put to a final test in a couple of months. The coach is pleased with how the national team program has developed and how a collection of about two dozen NBA stars bought into the concept of playing for the name on the front of their jerseys instead of the one on the back.
Krzyzewski knows he will be judged primarily on whether or not the USA can reclaim the gold medal, and that has certainly been objective No. 1 in the reshaping of the national team. But he has also insisted all along that it's just as important for this group to set a standard of how the game should be played. “The teamwork, camaraderie, enthusiasm, the attention to detail ? those type of things that make team basketball what it is. This team is showing that,” Krzyzewski said.
“Hopefully we'll show it at an even higher level and that will serve as an example to the kids coming up and playing the game ? where it's not just the sound bite and one highlight of a dunk, but a better appreciation for how to play the game. Our guys did that especially this last summer (at the Olympic qualifying tourney). They were very unselfish.”
Krzyzewski has involved his entire Duke staff in the national team operation during his three-year tenure. Former associate coach Johnny Dawkins has served as the player development director, Duke operations director Mike Schrage has been the USA's video coordinator and assistant coaches Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski have worked as floor coaches for practices and training camps every step of the way, supporting the efforts of USA assistant coaches Mike D'Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim.
Collins and Wojo will continue to work with Krzyzewski on the national team throughout the final push to the 2008 Olympics, beginning with training camp in July and continuing through the Games in Beijing. Krzyzewski would like Dawkins to remain on the staff as well, but his recent appointment as head coach at Stanford could influence that plan; Dawkins has not yet determined if he will have enough time to devote to the Olympics. Schrage is joining Dawkins' staff at Stanford and it's likely his new responsibilities will prevent him from remaining as the USA video coordinator.
Collins and Wojo both feel their coaching careers have been enhanced by the time they've spent with USA Basketball over the past couple of years. During training sessions, their primary roles have been to run the players through various offensive and defensive drills and assist them with their individual workouts. During competition this summer, they will partner with D'Antoni, McMillan, Boeheim and international scout Tony Ronzoni of the Detroit Pistons in studying video of upcoming opponents and formulating the scouting reports for each game in a format similar to what they normally do for the Blue Devils.
“It's an amazing experience,” Collins said. “When you think about coaching and the things you'd like to have a chance to do, for me coaching at Duke and being a part of the big games and the Final Fours and all the stuff that comes with it is great, but nothing can top the experience of representing your country and coaching the world's best players. To go out on the practice floor and actually do drills with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul ? they're the best in the world and I'm so grateful to Coach K for allowing us to be a part of it and wanting us to be there and help. It's one of those things you look back on for the rest of your life, as one of those experiences that is going to be unique and a once-in-a-lifetime deal.
“And those guys (the other USA coaches) have been great to work with. It's been great to be around those different minds. It's like you are at a coaching clinic for the whole summer. It's allowed me to learn a lot as a coach and really grow.”
Krzyzewski has heard insinuations that the time he has devoted to USA Basketball has had a negative impact on his Duke program, and he strongly disagrees with that train of thought, as do Collins and Wojo.
“It's been great,” Krzyzewski said. “Every once in awhile I hear people say that it's taken away from Duke. There's no way. It's only helped. I feel badly for our fans or anybody who feels that way. We're 50-17 the last two years, with the two youngest teams we've had in many years. I think our kids have done a good job, we just haven't finished well. Next year we have older guys, finally.
“USA Basketball hasn't worn us out. It's made our staff better. We've learned more about the game. It's invigorated us. And it's an honor for Duke to have its coach represent the United States. It's terrific.
“I feel good about the support Duke has given me in this, and I feel good about our chances. We've developed really good chemistry and we've created a group of players and people who know Duke now. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, these guys are my players. It's not just Grant Hill and Shane Battier now. So there's a different image of Duke in that community as a result of us interacting. It's a good thing. It's not just a good thing, it's a great thing.
“I think we've managed it well. Any recruit who has been lost or whatever has not been a result of us being involved with USA Basketball.”
Collins says the extra time that the Duke staff has spent together in basketball settings has only been positive for the Blue Devil program. “It's helped us so much,” he noted. “We don't talk about it at all during the season because there's nothing to talk about. All the NBA guys are playing with their teams and we're talking about what we're doing with our team.
“What we have taken from it is different things that we might run offensively or ideas defensively or stories we might be able to relate to our guys about how Kobe Bryant approaches things or LeBron James. That so far outweighs any negative that may come about. It in no way has affected anything we've done on the floor or in recruiting, and those are the two areas most important to running the program at Duke, along with our player development. All those things have been enhanced by this experience and by Coach K's association with the USA team. I always laugh and think it's ridiculous when people try to say that (it hurts Duke).”
According to Krzyzewski, a winning performance by the USA team this summer could be good not only for American basketball but also for Duke University.
“It can lead to a lot of different things, especially if we're successful and we win,” he said. “Take a look at the student profile here at Duke right now. What is our student makeup? It's not everybody from Illinois and New York. There are people from all over the world, and a lot of people with Asian nationality and Asian background. In China you become a very common name, so Duke is branded in there. We're going to have events in Las Vegas before we go over and in Macau where we have two exhibition games, with our university fund-raisers. I'm pleased that we're finally learning to do that.
“It will have a huge impact on our program, the kids who play for us and our university for years to come, as a result of doing this.”
The open recruiting period for this summer begins July 6 and Duke's coaches will be available to see prospects for most of the window, until they head to Las Vegas for Olympic training camp on July 19. It's possible that other staff members, including new assistant Nate James, could be permitted to go on the road for those final recruiting days. Krzyzewski, Collins and Wojo are slated to be back on campus before the 2008-09 team reports for the start of the fall semester.
The 12-man Olympic basketball roster is expected to be announced in June, along with three alternates. The top Blue Devil in contention for a spot is Carlos Boozer of the Utah Jazz, who had his best NBA season in 2008. Former Duke star Shane Battier of the Rockets was in the player pool but will be unavailable following a recent surgery. Elton Brand of the Clippers missed most of the NBA season with an injury and has said he will not be able to play with the Olympians this summer.
The national team will close its training camp in Las Vegas with an exhibition game, then head to Asia for four more exhibition contests before the Aug. 8 opening ceremonies. They'll begin play in the Olympics against host country China on Aug. 10 ? and they hope to finish in the gold medal game on Aug. 24.
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