NBA stars also thrive under Coach K
 |
| Unlike Larry Brown in '04, Mike Krzyzewski earned the respect and admiration of Team USA's players. (Dusan Vranic / Associated Press) |
Minutes after the medal ceremony, the players put all 12 of their medals around the neck of Coach K, and then managing director Jerry Colangelo to further emphasize the impact they had in putting this extraordinary team together.
Call it redemption, validation, whatever you like, but regaining the gold medal after an eight-year absence was more than just about basketball. Not only was this group unified on the court, extracting the selfishness that permeated the bronze-medal performance four years ago, but they spread their wings around the rest of the U.S. Olympic team, fans and virtually everyone with whom they came into contact. It was an absolute testimony to the leadership and maturity of Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and everyone else involved.
And while there is some truth to the notion that the job didn't require as much coaching from Krzyzewski as simply staying out of their way, he did a masterful job and validated himself as a Hall of Fame coach on two levels — eminently capable of managing NBA players with the same effectiveness as he's displayed with teenagers and 20-somethings at Duke.
But we learned in 2004 that being a Hall of Fame coach isn't a guarantee of success in the Olympics. Larry Brown's personality and pettiness were a horrible match for a talented team that struggled to get a bronze medal. Just as much as Colangelo's mandate for a three-year commitment enjoined the players, the choice of Krzyzewski was the right balance of discipline and elasticity in coaching. Whereas Brown is buried in his belief of "the right way," Krzyzewski showed it was about focus, respect and flexibility that allowed everyone to be comfortable as a team instead of one-upmanship.
Krzyzewski's direction of the team epitomized the vast difference between handling players "the right way" and "my way."
In many ways it was fitting that it was Bryant's four-point play down the stretch that broke open a tight game with Spain in the final. He had often talked about how he would have gone to Duke and played for Krzyzewski had he decided to attend college rather than go straight from high school to the NBA. And when coach Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal left Bryant's Lakers after the disaster of the 2004 NBA Finals, it was Krzyzewski that Bryant lobbied for as the successor coach.
But to Krzyzewski's credit, he bowed but never broke his commitment to college athletics and Duke in particular. Granted, there is no more secure job in sports than to be an iconic college coach in basketball or football. The money, fame and power are tantamount to the CEO of a major corporation and Krzyzewski, 61, has attained all of that and more during his 28 years and three NCAA championships at Duke, in addition to his 803 wins at Duke and Army combined.
The Lakers aren't the only team that has tempted him over the years. There were the Trail Blazers, the Celtics and his hometown Chicago Bulls, plus untold more. A graduate of West Point where he played for loutish Bob Knight, he assisted Knight for a year at Indiana and then became head coach at Army for five before taking over Duke in 1980.
As is the case with any great coach, there is the control factor and egocentricity in Krzyzewski that has made him both beloved and resented depending on which side of the fence you stand. Nonetheless, K's brilliance has emanated not only in his ability to distance himself from Knight's boorish behavior but retain a delicate respect for him as a man who so obviously helped jump-start his adulthood and professional life.
Krzyzewski had the opportunity to be an assistant to coach Chuck Daly in 1992 as the Dream Team roared through Barcelona for a gold medal as the first Team USA with NBA players. He was even allowed to bring his own Blue Devil Christian Laettner along as a tribute to college players who had always represented the United States to that point.
That was Krzyzewski's first lesson in coaching NBA stars. He obviously learned by studying the contrast of Daly (who never called a timeout) and Brown (who never released the drawstrings) and found his own balance.
Nonetheless, his resolve was written on his face in every setting for the three years leading up to the gold medal. There was an unmitigated focus that appeared different than the zillions of times we have seen him during his 10 Final Fours at Duke, and perhaps played a role in the relative slide at Duke the past two seasons. This was different. This reminded everybody that his basketball career as a player and coach at Army meant as much to him patriotically as it did athletically.
And that's what brought out the best of Coach K in the 2008 Olympics. He did it for his love of basketball, his desire to prove he could successfully coach NBA players and he did it out of respect for his country.
That's why Bryant had to get him wet. That first step back down to earth is a big one.
advertisement
