Featherston: Coach K Finds Olympic Inspiration

DURHAM, N.C. - Mike Krzyzewski put the U.S. Olympic basketball team through a brief workout in Las Vegas last week, then took the team to New York for a weekend of promotional activities.

He didn't realize how valuable the trip was going to be until he made it.

“I was concerned we were doing so much, then at the end, I thought, ?Thank God we did so much' because we felt so much,” Krzyzewski explained to a group of reporters Wednesday. “That's got to be part of the experience.”

Coach K and his staff put the 12 players selected for the U.S. national team ? plus first alternate Tyson Chandler ? through a brief workout in Vegas.

“They were in pretty good shape,” he said. “They'll be in even better shape when they get back.”

He's talking about when the team re-assembles in Las Vegas at the end of July to prepare for the trip to Beijing for the Olympic Games. The brief June get-together was more of an organizational and promotional affair.

“We looked at it as mind and spirit,” Krzyzewski said.

The workout in Vegas was followed by a flight to New York City.

“We got in to New York at midnight,” he explained. “We were delayed a long time because of the weather ? about nine hours.”

But even at that late hour, the team had an affair to attend.

“We finally got in at midnight and went from Newark to Harlem,” Krzyzewski said. “There were a bunch of people waiting for us ... it's about 12:30 at night and we go into a museum that Nike has made. Outside, you don't think it's anything, then you go inside and it was unbelievable. There was a [huge] wall with the American flag and 350 pairs of shoes. There were pictures and displays of the past Olympics. There were displays of our team and two amazing pictures ? one of Kobe [Bryant] and one of LeBron [James]. And the guys were presented their uniforms in beautiful boxes.”

The players were blown away by the setting and the ceremony.

“Chris Bosh was standing next to my wife Mickie and he said, ?Wow, I'm beginning to understand just how big this thing is.' What I'm saying is, we were uplifted. We all felt like, Wow!”

Krzyzewski had his own epiphany the next day. After a few hours sleep, the coaches and players and staff went to Rockefeller Center.

“Instead of an ice rink, there was a basketball court that said USA Basketball with people from all over the world doing interviews,” Coach K said.

The Olympic party then boarded a ferry for Ellis Island, where the players posed for team pictures. That's when the Duke coach found himself overwhelmed.

“The feeling I had personally ... my grandfather came through Ellis Island,” he said. “I was telling our campers the other night about dreaming and imagination and I said, ?Can you imagine my grandfather standing there, talking to the guy next to him, saying, ?You know what, some day my grandson is going to be the coach of the U.S. national team.' And the other guy would have said, ?Get back on the boat and go back,'

“I think of stuff like that. I'm a grandfather now. How lucky are you? I think all of our guys identified in some way, personally and collectively. I think it's going to make us a better team having that feeling.”

Krzyzewski was asked about the pressure he feels coaching the Olympic team.

“It's very exciting,” he said. “I think it's the biggest responsibility I've ever had. I'm exciting about it ... I don't feel pressure.”

Coach K touched on a number of topics during his press conference, noting:

He confirmed reports that Tyson Chandler, the young big man from the Hornets, will serve as an alternate ? just in case the team loses a player before August 6 (the deadline when rosters must be frozen).

He insisted that Chandler was not specifically brought on board in case center Dwight Howard, who sat out the Vegas workout with an injury, can't go.

“That was all precautionary,” Coach K said of Howard's status. “If they had had an NBA playoff game that night, he would have played. In fact, he's starting workouts now.”

The same applies to Kobe Bryant, who will undergo surgery to repair his injured hand after the Olympics.

“He played with that injury all postseason,” Coach K said. “He'll get it fixed after we're done.”
P.J. Carlesimo will coach an all-star team that will scrimmage against the Olympic team in Vegas later this month. When Krzyzewski was an assistant coach for the original “Dream Team” in 1992, a team of collegiate all-stars, including Duke's Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill (along with such standouts as Chris Webber, Eric Montross and Allan Houston), scrimmaged the first professional Olympic team that featured such stars as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Pat Ewing and Charles Barkley.

Krzyzewski confirmed that the collegians actually beat the pros in their first scrimmage ? kind of.

“We were in San Diego and [1992 head Olympic coach] Chuck Daly is really smart,” Krzyzewski recalled. “The first day they scrimmaged for like 20 minutes. The college kids got the most points. But like Jordan played like three minutes. Chuck wanted them to lose.

“Our Dream Team ? not that they blew it off, but it didn't matter that they were playing. Then all of a sudden, Chuck threw that at them.

“The next day [the college all-stars] didn't score for about 10 minutes and got beat by 40 in 20 minutes. It was just Chuck's way ... his old Duke background.”

Daley, who won fame as the coach of the Detroit Pistons in the NBA, served as an assistant to Vic Bubas at Duke from 1964-69.
Krzyzewski said that his Olympic duties won't interfere with his recruiting duties at Duke, even though co-associate head coaches Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski will join him in Las Vegas to help train the Olympic team.

“This whole thing has been good for everything I've been associated with ? including Duke basketball and Duke University,” Krzyzewski coach said. “It's made us better as coaches.”

He admitted that he's not on the road recruiting as much, but quickly added:

“There's no way that hurts our recruiting,” he said. “What hurts recruiting is if I can't make decisions on kids and start relationships with them. This has all been good.”

The NCAA will allow Duke some flexibility this summer while three Blue Devil coaches are involved with the U.S. national team. That dispensation is not specific to Duke ? Davidson coach Bob McKillop, who is coaching the U.S. Under-18 team this summer, will get the same help.

In Duke's case, new assistant coach Nate James will still be free to travel and scout during the July evaluation period. Director of Basketball Operations Chris Spatola, who normally wouldn't be allowed to recruit off-campus, is expected to be cleared to make some trips in July.
Krzyzewski is excited about the chance to work with Carlos Boozer again. The Utah big man played for Coach K at Duke from 2000-02.

“Carlos is a great selection [for the Olympic team],” Coach K said. “He is really a smart player. He's such a team player. He's an outstanding rebounder and can be a physical presence. Also, he's respected by all these guys. All of those guys would like Carlos to be on their team.”

Krzyzewski suggested Boozer, beyond his basketball skill, is a special player.

“Carlos is really one of the best guys who ever played here,” he said. “All of the guys in the Duke family love Carlos. He's like a brother to everybody.”
Krzyzewski recruited just two of the 12 members of Olympic team to Duke ? landing Boozer out of Alaska and losing Kobe Bryant when the Philadelphia prep phenom elected to jump straight from high school to the NBA.

The Duke coach also made one recruiting trip to see Dwight Howard as a prep star in Atlanta.

“I got to see Dwight one time and as I saw him, I said, ?Goodbye!'” Krzyzewski said, realizing that Howard was NBA-ready. “I knew any trip to Atlanta was wasting my time.”

Featherston: Coach K Finds Olympic Inspiration

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