Word: krzyzewski
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...Mike Krzyzewski fancies himself a business guru. And why not? Coach K has built Duke into a hoops dynasty (they've won a ridiculous 78% of their games over 26 seasons) and is a highly sought speaker on the corporate lecture circuit. But now, as the coach of the confederacy of millionaires also known as the U.S. national team, he's the CEO of a daunting turnaround project to restore America's basketball and sporting pride. And despite his outward cool, he was scared stiff when he signed on. "Because it's not Duke now, I'm saying, 'Will they...
...basketball World Championship, which starts Aug. 19 in Japan, takes on added urgency. The Americans desperately need a lift and for Coach K, frightened or not, to lead the way. "This is a new beginning," says Rick Carlisle, coach of the NBA's Indiana Pacers, who believes that Krzyzewski's stature trumps any skepticism pro players might have about a college coach. "We all expect great things...
...former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo (the man who hired Krzyzewski) the entire process of picking the U.S. team has been revamped. In the '90s, USA Basketball, the sport's governing body, would cobble together a group of big-name NBA standouts, give them a few days to practice and expect gold at the Worlds and Olympics. Other national teams, whose players often compete together from the time they try on their first size 2s, are now so good that they can't expect to win with such slipshod organization. This time USA Basketball has asked a pool...
...When you watched the [soccer] World Cup for these countries, there is an outpouring of emotion," says Krzyzewski. "Win or lose, we want an outpouring of emotion." Forget about the dancing in the streets, Coach K, we're not that demonstrative a people. We expect to win gold in basketball, our game. Krzyzewski doesn't have to start a celebration. He just needs to bring the hardware back home...
...before helping repair Duke's prestige, he'll have to restore America's sporting pride. The first step is a gold in Japan. To that end, Krzyzewski plans to shuffle different starting lineups during the World Championship, a bit of a risk, since pros tend to want to know their roles. "You can't allow anybody to lose his ego," he says. "That would be us beating us." The world keeps getting stronger; defending Olympic gold medalist Argentina, starring Manu Ginobili of the Spurs, is back, and France, with the Spurs' Tony Parker and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns...