RIO DE JANEIRO – Mike Krzyzewski never thought he would have the opportunity to coach the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team once NBA players were allowed to play.
“In my mind and I think in every college coach’s’ mind, it should be an NBA coach,” Krzyzewski said. “Chuck Daly and P.J. Carlesimo gave me an opportunity to be assistant. I thought that was the crown jewel I would have.”
But the U.S. men faltered, losing to Argentina in the semifinals of the 2004 Athens Olympics and finishing with a bronze medal, the first time U.S. hadn’t won gold since the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The U.S. also failed to medal at the 2002 FIBA World Cup.
Apathy set in. Culture, leadership and pride in country were needed.
After a search that included a 20-plus-member committee, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo in 2005 asked Krzyzewski to coach the team.
“It was not a hard decision to make because that’s the ultimate honor,” Krzyzewski said. “Did I expect to be asked? No, I did not. And I’m OK if I wasn’t asked. As long as we’re winning, whatever USA Basketball thinks is right, you go along with it. When I was asked, I wanted to do it and I wanted to do it the very best.”
Krzyzewski had just turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2004 when the opportunity to coach the U.S. emerged.
“That was a gift,” he said. “Obviously, I opened the package and wanted it.”
For love of country and love of coaching, he was the right coach at the right time: West Point man and championship coach at Duke.
“For where USA Basketball was at that moment and the need to select someone, what he represents as a coach, person, leader, motivator and communicator were what we needed,” Colangelo said. “I also loved the fact that he was a military guy in terms of discipline and preparation. I didn’t see any negatives.”
Krzyzewski’s tenure as the U.S. coach nears its end. At most, he has two games left. The U.S. plays Spain in the semifinals on Friday (2:30 p.m. ET), and if it gets by Spain, it can play for its third consecutive gold medal under Krzyzewski on Sunday (2:45 p.m. ET).
A gold would put an exclamation point on Krzyzewski’s 10-plus year run. As the U.S. coach since 2005, Krzyzewski is 58-1 (a loss to Greece at the 2006 FIBA World) with 51 consecutive victories, including 23 in a row at the Olympics. The domination includes two Olympic gold medals and two FIBA World Cup gold medals.
For Krzyzewski, there is no time for nostalgia right now. Later, sure. But not now. Several times during the USA’s training camp in Las Vegas and the Olympics, Krzyzewski said he wasn’t interested in the past or the future.
“All of us need to be in this moment – not ‘this is my last time’ or ‘the third gold medal for Carmelo,'” Krzyzewski said. “It’s this team and that’s what we’re trying to do: be in this moment with this team.
“They’re not going to play because it’s my last time being the Olympic coach. I have to coach them like it’s my first time, and that’s the way we’re going to do it.”
If the U.S. wins gold, it may be his best coaching job at the Olympics. With 10 first-time Olympians and six players who had never played in a major international competition, the U.S. has struggled.
Krzyzewski has appreciated this experience because of more than just representing the USA and coaching the best players in the world. His assistants have included Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Monty Williams, Tom Thibodeau.
“I’ve learned more in the last 11 years doing this than I ever learned in the 30 years previous about the game, people and preparation by being in this environment,” Krzyzewski said.
He had gotten to a point in his coaching career where he didn’t go to coaching clinics to learn, he went to deliver the keynote seminar. But surrounded by great players and great coaches, Krzyzewski became a better coach for the U.S. and for Duke.
Four years ago, Krzyzewski said London was his final tournament as U.S. coach. Less than month later, he called Colangelo and said he wanted to remain involved.
“He said, ‘I feel I’m just as much a part of USA Basketball as I am Duke.’ That said it all,” Colangelo said.
This is it for sure for Krzyzewski. San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich – another military man with several championships – has been named coach for the next Olympic cycle.
“Popovich is the right guy at the right time going forward,” Colangelo said. “Coach K has lived up to everything that we could’ve thought about.”
