Monday, May 14, 2012

Krzyzewski going back to Olympic well one more time in 2012

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski is in Dallas today, talking up the 2012 men’s Olympic basketball team that he will coach again with hundreds of media types at the Olympic Media Summit. The 65-year-old coach made a bit of news by saying he would not coach the Olympic team again in 2016 -- he has been the national team's men's coach since 2006, and the team has gone 49-1 since then.

"I think this is the last time," Coach K said. "Hopefully we can win the gold medal."

I’m in Dallas, too, and will have a full column on Coach K and why he’s doing this again after directing the U.S. to a gold medal in 2008. But here are a few highlights from what he has said today:

-- He considers coaching the U.S. men’s national team the “ultimate honor” of his career – and remember, this is a man who has won multiple national championships as a college coach and is in basketball’s hall of fame. “As good as I thought it was, it’s better,” Krzyzewski said. “The best honor of my coaching career has been to be the United States national coach.”

-- As mentioned above, he won’t coach the U.S. team in 2016, so this is his last go-around at the Olympics (Coach K also was an assistant for the “Dream Team” Olympic team of 1992).

-- Krzyzewski agreed to shoulder the Olympic coaching load again when Jerry Colangelo, the national team’s director, asked him to do so late one night in Chicago over pizza and wine following the success of 2008. “I’m a cheap date,” Coach K joked. “Get me after midnight and I’ll say anything.”

-- Anthony Davis is the only player without NBA experience in the 18-man pool that will be cut on July 7th to the 12-man Olympic team. So it’s possible that Davis – who the Charlotte Bobcats have a 1-in-4 chance of getting in the next NBA draft, depending on how the Ping Pong balls roll in the NBA draft lottery May 30th – will be both a Bobcat and an Olympian. The biggest concern for the U.S. is that it may not have enough big men, particularly since Dwight Howard is injured and won’t be able to play.

“He’s an outstanding athlete,” Coach K said of Davis, adding that he liked the fact Davis didn't need the ball to be effective. “His defensive ability is what separates him.”

26 comments:

Bruce said...

He'll retire from Duke next...Bawhahahahahaha!

Anonymous said...

Good luck Coach K...greatest basketball coach alive, another gold will make him and Henry Iba the only 2-time gold medal winners.

Anonymous said...

Geno Auriemma is a better coach than coach k...just sayin'

lildevil_66 said...

Geno...are you kidding me??? And I guess he will retire from Duke next...because he'll be there until he retires. Good luck Coach, you are definetly the best choice for the job. Go USA!!

Anonymous said...

greatest of all time.

Bruce said...

Too bad his Duke teams have stunk it up recently...Lehigh comes to mind...what a joke! Lol...

Anonymous said...

Germany or Italy will dominate Team USA this year

lildevil_66 said...

Bruce sounds like a Tarhole fan...3 worjds for you Bruce Back 2 Back!!! When the Tarholes repeat, let me know,

Bruce said...

Anon...4:40pm. Want to bring up the past? UNC 5 NCAA Championships/Dook 4. 132-102 UNC vs Dook head to head...lastest result 88-70 in Durham...shut your pie hole...

Anonymous said...

Isn't Coach K a Pollock? Just sayin'

Anonymous said...

Bruce - Duke just won the title in 2010... How many has UNC won since 2010? Just saying... He has won lately. Sure this year was a letdown - but Duke will make one more serious run before K retires which is likely in the next few years.

Anonymous said...

Also Bruce - this thread is about Coach K so look up his record against UNC and post that on this thread.

Bruce said...

Coach K is a tool...Bawhahahahahaha

Anonymous said...

hahahah - Bruce you are having too much fun... How are you going to stir anything up with that????

Anonymous said...

To the sad bunch of Walmart Tarcheats who will root for Team USA to lose because of Coach K: I feel sorry for you, you're a disgrace to this country.

You know who you are.

Anonymous said...

5:46,

Tarholes will absolutely root for Team USA to lose. Envy trumps country for any Hole fan.

Remember, this is the same jealous fan base that hangs out in Greensboro strictly to root against Duke, writes a book titled "Duke Sucks" to make themselves sleep better, and whose alums get disbarred for covering up evidence exonerating innocent Duke athletes.

Go team USA

Anonymous said...

BRAVO 5:55 PM!!! SO TRUE!!

Anonymous said...

Duke will have another letdown year and will retire from Duke by 2015...I guess the Dookies can always look foward to football or baseball season...Lol...

Michael Procton said...

A letdown year? You mean the kind of year where they'd end up in the NIT and not even win it after being ranked #4 in the preseason? That's simply not the kind of thing that happens at Duke. Maybe you should look over to Orange County for such an example.

Anonymous said...

Duke will be 0-2 against UNC this year and finish 3rd (behind UNC) in the ACC this year...the Plumlees are a joke, and Seth Curry is a goon. Lol...

Anonymous said...

Tough talk for a UNC team that's dropped 4 of the last 6 vs. Dook. Just worry about meeting expectations this year, you guys haven't done that in a while...

Anonymous said...

K needs to replace injured D-Rose with Kyrie ASAP.

Anonymous said...

88-70/132-102 Enough said...UNC is the flagship school of the Tar Heel state...as we all know.

Anonymous said...

K 4, Dean 2.

Avg. Duke alumni salary: $132,000

Avg. UNC alumni (not that any of you are) starting salary: $78,000

Winning!

Unknown said...

John Wooen #1, Dean Smith #2, Bob Knight #3, Rupp #4, Coach K #5.

Unknown said...

OK. So maybe K is #4..vs