You may not have watched the game, but you've probably seen the photograph: Mike Krzyzewski flanked by Deron Williams and Jason Kidd, sporting a dozen gold medals-proof that a game played in the middle of the night really happened, that a supposedly undersized squad could run up a perfect record in Beijing, that a collection of NBA stars could come together as a true team.
And that the Blue Devils' coach of 29 years was responsible for it all.
As Larry Brown and the 2004 team proved in Athens, superstars alone do not guarantee a gold medal against the best international competition. They have to be the right players in the right system, and they have to buy into their roles on a new team.
Some questioned whether Krzyzewski, a lifelong college coach, was the right choice for USA Basketball's reconstruction. Could he handle the egos of 12 NBA players? Would the best professionals listen to someone who has never coached an NBA game? But he turned out to be the perfect man for the job, getting his team to do all the things it failed to do in Athens: dive for loose balls, play defense, even things as simple as knowing the rules of international play. And, as that now-famous photo shows, his players recognized it.
Only time will tell how much the image of NBA stars' gold medals hanging around Krzyzewski's neck will impact Duke's recruiting. Krzyzewski has said that the Blue Devils would have obtained commitments from incoming freshmen like five-star recruit Ryan Kelly regardless of the results in Beijing, but the Redeem Team's success could certainly help down the road.
In the meantime, Krzyzewski's Olympic experience is paying immediate dividends for the Blue Devils. He has implemented a Phoenix Suns (circa 2004-2007)-style offense, a deeper rotation and even some of Jim Boeheim's vaunted 2-3 zone.
But until those changes result in an NCAA Tournament run that lasts past the first weekend, Krzyzewski's candidacy for Duke Sportsman of the Year rests primarily on his performance in Beijing and the positive publicity he created for Duke by winning gold. That alone should be enough for him to take the honor.
The Redeem Team rolled through Beijing so convincingly--save for that 118-107 gold medal win over Spain, which was dubbed by many, including Krzyzewski, as one of the greatest international games ever--that followers were left wondering whether it was better than the Dream Team. And while the 1992 squad was better in every major statistical category, the fact that the 2008 version sparked that debate is a testament to what Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo did to revitalize a program that had begun to lag far behind its international peers. Colangelo and Krzyzewski's decision to mandate a three-year commitment from their players was revolutionary and, as it turned out, necessary. The team won bronze in the 2006 World Championship, but had improved enough two summers later to capture gold for the first time since 2000.
"They're taking us to some uncharted territory, quite honestly, with the approach that we've done with the team," Stanford head coach and Team USA director of player personnel Johnny Dawkins told me in June. "Everyone has really bought into that high, high level, and I think it's been very successful."
And that was two months before Krzyzewski completed Team USA's redemption Aug. 24. There can be no doubt now that the new strategy worked. So for returning USA Basketball to where it belongs by taking it where it had never gone before, Mike Krzyzewski is my nominee for Duke Sportsman of the Year.
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