For the 2008 summer Olympic Games, China embraced Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach of Team U.S.A. men’s basketball. The anthem of those games was “Beijing Huanying Ni,” or in English, “Beijing Welcomes You.”
This August, China is prepared to welcome Krzyzewski not only as an ambassador of the United States, but also as a representative of Duke and its basketball program. The Blue Devils will travel to play basketball games in three Chinese cities before heading to Dubai on Aug. 26.
Although the basketball team has travelled abroad in the past—most recently to London in 2002—this trip has broader implications. Whereas the venture to London was purely centered around playing basketball and training before the season, this one is also motivated by Duke’s drive to promote its brand.
“[The trips] are going to be much different,” said associate head coach Chris Collins, who was with the team on the previous excursion. “It was very condensed and it was all basketball.... We didn’t really have a chance to do much outside of play.”
The 2011 journey to China was first proposed “about a year-and-a-half ago” according to Blair Sheppard, Dean of the Fuqua School of Business, who along with Vice Provost for Global Strategy Greg Jones, developed the idea to go to China. Still, even though many of the parties involved—including Krzyzewski and Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White—believed the trip to be a good idea in 2009, it was far from a reality.
A major hurdle was Krzyzewski’s commitment to the U.S.A. men’s basketball program. In order for the coach to be free this summer, the United States had to win gold at the 2010 World Championships. The qualification last summer means that Team U.S.A. already has a bid to the 2012 Olympic Games.
“When we were in Istanbul and won the World Championships, I can remember being in the postgame reception area and telling Coach, ‘I guess I’ll be calling Blair and Greg when we get back,’” Senior Associate Director of Athletics Mike Cragg said.
This was just one among many obstacles that had to be bypassed, including receiving permission from the NCAA. Once those were pushed out of the way, however, the focus shifted more to the implications of the trip instead of the logistics.
One of the main reasons for the excursion is to promote Duke’s campus in Kunshan, China, which is scheduled to open in 2012. The team is scheduled to play its first game in Kunshan on Aug. 17.
“What’s really wonderful about this event is that it’s a great thing for the team—it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students,” Sheppard said. “But it’s also a phenomenal opportunity to kind of announce Duke.... If you have an academic or corporate conference, you’re not going to get the 380 million basketball loving people in China.”
In a further contrast to the London trip, the team will not be spending its entire time playing games. Players will also have the cultural opportunities to visit attractions and run clinics for local basketball players.
Part of the program’s comfort with this stems from Krzyzewski’s international basketball success, largely coming from winning the gold at the Olympics in Beijing.
“Coach K is a known name there. That was quite clear in my meeting with the Chinese Basketball Association,” Cragg said.
Beyond Kunshan, Shanghai and Beijing, the team is visiting Dubai in its final leg of the trip. Sheppard noted that a main reason for going to Dubai is one of pure convenience: There is a sentiment that the team may as well make the most out of being in the region.
But in the end, Dubai was chosen because it was the most exciting option for the team.
“Fuqua has people on the ground and runs programs in China, India, [United Arab Emirates], Russia and Europe,” Sheppard said. “The question really became what would be the place that would be the best experience for the team.”
Ultimately, all parties involved agree that the trip is a multi-faceted promotion of the Blue Devil brand. The planners tout that it is not only an exciting trip for the players—something that could tempt potential basketball recruits in the future—but a factor that should raise awareness about Duke’s commitment to cultural expansion and international name recognition.
They hope when all is said and done, the trip promotes Duke’s well-roundedness on and off the court.
“By increasing our awareness and the interest [in] Duke as a kind of a place where cool nerds go rather than uncool nerds go,” Sheppard said, “the consequence is that we’ll get more of the best.”
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