The coronation became official Tuesday night when Mike Krzyzewski, the supposed "savior" of USA Basketball, agreed to a second term as Olympic coach.
Not to be ornery here, but the way I see it, Kobe Bryant was actually the savior when the United States won the gold medal in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. Krzyzewski’s debut in international play featured this semifinal result in the 2006 World Championships:
Greece 101, USA 95.
Two days later, this was the result of the gold medal game:
Spain 70, Greece 47.
Didn’t say much for Coach K’s defense. Spain allowed 54 fewer points than the United States, and it should be remembered that Pau Gasol sat out that game with a foot injury.
Bryant was not on that 2006 team. When he arrived at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, it made a monstrous difference. The U.S. had a player who approached defense with the attitude of Joey Chestnut eyeing a plate of hot dogs.
Jason Kidd, who also did not play in 2006, helped direct the 2008 team and players such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were two years older. All that helped.
But Bryant was the leader on the court, clearly the best player in the world. He still is.
Although I don’t blame Krzyzewski for taking a second term as the senior men’s team coach, I do believe some great coaches who have been nothing but loyal to David Stern and the NBA have been insulted.
Utah’s Jerry Sloan has been the poster child for consistency. He’s the longest-tenured NBA coach with 21 seasons. He’s won 1,137 games. He’s coached teams to 50 or more victories 12 times. He’s made two appearances in the Finals, losing only to Michael Jordan. And he’s paid his dues by being an Olympic assistant coach for USA Basketball.
Krzyzewski has been at Duke 29 years and has won three national championships — the last in 2001.
But Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs for 13 seasons and has won four NBA titles since 1999. USA Basketball puts a large premium on coaches participating in their programs and, like Sloan, Popovich also has served as an Olympic assistant.
Sloan is 67 and Popovich is 60. In 2016 — the first chance either will get to coach an Olympic team — Sloan will be 74 and Popovich will be 67. It is doubtful that either will be considered.
"My judgment was we’ve got the right team together," USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. "[Krzyzewski] has earned the opportunity to do it again if he chose to do it again, and there were outstanding people available if he chose not to."
Krzyzewski certainly deserves credit for directing Team USA to the 2008 gold medal — just as he deserves criticism for the 2006 failure.
But since NBA players began representing USA Basketball in 1992, there has not been one second when they were on the floor against a team with superior talent. Not one second. In short, Krzyzewski and Team USA did exactly what they were supposed to do in 2008.
The embarrassments of 2006, 2004 and 2002 were a result of bad coaching, bad playing and bad player selection. Whoever decided to put Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson and Larry Brown together in 2004 has obviously gone into hiding and is referred to in USA Basketball circles as "He Who Shall Not Be Named."
The 2002 team had plenty of talent but a cavalier attitude that proved to be fatal at the World Championships, with losses to Argentina, Yugoslavia and Spain.
This is no attempt to diminish Krzyzewski, but a lot of coaches could do what he has done. He also coached the 1990 World Championship team, and that group did not win the gold medal.
In the history of U.S. play in the Olympics and World Championships, only two coaches have lost twice — Hal Fischer in the 1967 and 1970 World Championships and Mike Krzyzewski in 1990 and 2006 — and the latter time with pros.
It seems odd that with David Stern the de facto boss of the U.S. Olympic effort and Colangelo, who’s been involved with the NBA for more than 40 years, as the managing director of the senior national team, someone from the college ranks gets to coach in two Olympics.
Krzyzewski has resisted overtures to coach NBA teams in the past, and in terms of international play, that was a good choice.
Because as Jerry Sloan and Gregg Popovich can attest, if Krzyzewski were in the NBA, that would almost certainly mean that he would have no support from the most influential people in the NBA as the Olympic coach.
Source
Not to be ornery here, but the way I see it, Kobe Bryant was actually the savior when the United States won the gold medal in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. Krzyzewski’s debut in international play featured this semifinal result in the 2006 World Championships:
Greece 101, USA 95.
Two days later, this was the result of the gold medal game:
Spain 70, Greece 47.
Didn’t say much for Coach K’s defense. Spain allowed 54 fewer points than the United States, and it should be remembered that Pau Gasol sat out that game with a foot injury.
Bryant was not on that 2006 team. When he arrived at the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, it made a monstrous difference. The U.S. had a player who approached defense with the attitude of Joey Chestnut eyeing a plate of hot dogs.
Jason Kidd, who also did not play in 2006, helped direct the 2008 team and players such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul were two years older. All that helped.
But Bryant was the leader on the court, clearly the best player in the world. He still is.
Although I don’t blame Krzyzewski for taking a second term as the senior men’s team coach, I do believe some great coaches who have been nothing but loyal to David Stern and the NBA have been insulted.
Utah’s Jerry Sloan has been the poster child for consistency. He’s the longest-tenured NBA coach with 21 seasons. He’s won 1,137 games. He’s coached teams to 50 or more victories 12 times. He’s made two appearances in the Finals, losing only to Michael Jordan. And he’s paid his dues by being an Olympic assistant coach for USA Basketball.
Krzyzewski has been at Duke 29 years and has won three national championships — the last in 2001.
But Gregg Popovich has coached the Spurs for 13 seasons and has won four NBA titles since 1999. USA Basketball puts a large premium on coaches participating in their programs and, like Sloan, Popovich also has served as an Olympic assistant.
Sloan is 67 and Popovich is 60. In 2016 — the first chance either will get to coach an Olympic team — Sloan will be 74 and Popovich will be 67. It is doubtful that either will be considered.
"My judgment was we’ve got the right team together," USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said. "[Krzyzewski] has earned the opportunity to do it again if he chose to do it again, and there were outstanding people available if he chose not to."
Krzyzewski certainly deserves credit for directing Team USA to the 2008 gold medal — just as he deserves criticism for the 2006 failure.
But since NBA players began representing USA Basketball in 1992, there has not been one second when they were on the floor against a team with superior talent. Not one second. In short, Krzyzewski and Team USA did exactly what they were supposed to do in 2008.
The embarrassments of 2006, 2004 and 2002 were a result of bad coaching, bad playing and bad player selection. Whoever decided to put Stephon Marbury, Allen Iverson and Larry Brown together in 2004 has obviously gone into hiding and is referred to in USA Basketball circles as "He Who Shall Not Be Named."
The 2002 team had plenty of talent but a cavalier attitude that proved to be fatal at the World Championships, with losses to Argentina, Yugoslavia and Spain.
This is no attempt to diminish Krzyzewski, but a lot of coaches could do what he has done. He also coached the 1990 World Championship team, and that group did not win the gold medal.
In the history of U.S. play in the Olympics and World Championships, only two coaches have lost twice — Hal Fischer in the 1967 and 1970 World Championships and Mike Krzyzewski in 1990 and 2006 — and the latter time with pros.
It seems odd that with David Stern the de facto boss of the U.S. Olympic effort and Colangelo, who’s been involved with the NBA for more than 40 years, as the managing director of the senior national team, someone from the college ranks gets to coach in two Olympics.
Krzyzewski has resisted overtures to coach NBA teams in the past, and in terms of international play, that was a good choice.
Because as Jerry Sloan and Gregg Popovich can attest, if Krzyzewski were in the NBA, that would almost certainly mean that he would have no support from the most influential people in the NBA as the Olympic coach.
Source
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