duncan228
07-22-2008, 10:59 AM
http://www.ocregister.com/sports/krzyzewski-melding-us-2101021-stars-into
Krzyzewski melding U.S. stars into team
Lakers' Bryant and other NBA stars are willing to shut up and listen to Olympic team coach.
By Janis Carr
LAS VEGAS – He is an outsider in their world. He's not really cool or hip. He doesn't wear the latest fashion, hang out in the trendiest clubs or own a stable of the finest automobiles.
Yet for three years, Mike Krzyzewski has moved effortlessly from his world on the college level to the NBA universe as the coach of the U.S. national basketball team. The longtime Duke coach is attempting to turn 12 of the best basketball players in the NBA into the best team in the world for the upcoming Olympic Games.
With 20 days until their first game against China in the Beijing Games, the Americans began their preparations with the first of four practices Monday at West Valley High.
The players have bought into Krzyzewski's philosophy and are optimistic about bringing the gold medal back to U.S. soil.
“He's a great communicator, he's very detail-oriented,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. “He maps things out, thinks things through. He's a great strategist and he knows how to communicate that strategy very well.”
Bryant, who will be playing in his first Olympics, said the players' job is simple.
“What we do is keep our ears open, keep our mouths shut, listen to what he has to say and then he's very open to our feedback,” he said. “So it's a running conversation, a fluid dialogue in practice.”
Forward Carlos Boozer, who played for Krzyzewski at Duke, called the coach a “winner” and that any time you play another winner “the respect is given before he even comes into the gym.”
Not even the most arrogant NBA player can argue with Krzyzewski's credentials. He has won 803 games and been voted collegiate coach of the year 12 times.
Krzyzewski was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and last year guided the USA team to the gold medal and an Olympic qualifying berth with a 10-0 record at the FIBA Americas Championship.
It's enough to give anyone a swelled head. Yet Krzyzewski is nonchalant about his ability to mold a roomful of oversized egos into players more concerned with teamwork than shoe deals.
“I knew a lot of them before,” he said. “I had been coaching a long time and they respect what I did at my level. The other thing is, I'm not the Knick coach, I'm not the Laker coach. So I can be their coach.
“If I'm coaching Portland or whatever, I could never be their coach completely. So it's a big advantage (to be a college coach). I have great relationships with these guys.
“Again, it doesn't interfere with my Duke team and it doesn't interfere with their pro team.
“This is us right now. I'm their coach, they are my players.”
BRYANT PLAYING IN PAIN
Bryant said he doesn't know the extent of his finger injury, whether he has a torn ligament, and he won't until the Olympics are finished. He said Monday that recovery time following surgery would take about three weeks.
Krzyzewski melding U.S. stars into team
Lakers' Bryant and other NBA stars are willing to shut up and listen to Olympic team coach.
By Janis Carr
LAS VEGAS – He is an outsider in their world. He's not really cool or hip. He doesn't wear the latest fashion, hang out in the trendiest clubs or own a stable of the finest automobiles.
Yet for three years, Mike Krzyzewski has moved effortlessly from his world on the college level to the NBA universe as the coach of the U.S. national basketball team. The longtime Duke coach is attempting to turn 12 of the best basketball players in the NBA into the best team in the world for the upcoming Olympic Games.
With 20 days until their first game against China in the Beijing Games, the Americans began their preparations with the first of four practices Monday at West Valley High.
The players have bought into Krzyzewski's philosophy and are optimistic about bringing the gold medal back to U.S. soil.
“He's a great communicator, he's very detail-oriented,” Lakers guard Kobe Bryant said. “He maps things out, thinks things through. He's a great strategist and he knows how to communicate that strategy very well.”
Bryant, who will be playing in his first Olympics, said the players' job is simple.
“What we do is keep our ears open, keep our mouths shut, listen to what he has to say and then he's very open to our feedback,” he said. “So it's a running conversation, a fluid dialogue in practice.”
Forward Carlos Boozer, who played for Krzyzewski at Duke, called the coach a “winner” and that any time you play another winner “the respect is given before he even comes into the gym.”
Not even the most arrogant NBA player can argue with Krzyzewski's credentials. He has won 803 games and been voted collegiate coach of the year 12 times.
Krzyzewski was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and last year guided the USA team to the gold medal and an Olympic qualifying berth with a 10-0 record at the FIBA Americas Championship.
It's enough to give anyone a swelled head. Yet Krzyzewski is nonchalant about his ability to mold a roomful of oversized egos into players more concerned with teamwork than shoe deals.
“I knew a lot of them before,” he said. “I had been coaching a long time and they respect what I did at my level. The other thing is, I'm not the Knick coach, I'm not the Laker coach. So I can be their coach.
“If I'm coaching Portland or whatever, I could never be their coach completely. So it's a big advantage (to be a college coach). I have great relationships with these guys.
“Again, it doesn't interfere with my Duke team and it doesn't interfere with their pro team.
“This is us right now. I'm their coach, they are my players.”
BRYANT PLAYING IN PAIN
Bryant said he doesn't know the extent of his finger injury, whether he has a torn ligament, and he won't until the Olympics are finished. He said Monday that recovery time following surgery would take about three weeks.