Having four national championships and a pair of Olympic gold medals as head coach of the national program, as well as the number one recruiting class in all of college basketball would be enough for most coaches to hang their hat on. But Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski has more in mind for his summer. Namely—winning the World Cup.
Not the FIFA World Cup that is currently that is currently captivating soccer fans across the globe, but rather the FIBA World Cup that will take place Aug. 30 through Sept. 14 in Spain.
FIBA, or the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, has renamed its international tournament, formerly known as the World Championships, in order to generate more interest. With Krzyzewski's lineup for Team USA often featuring players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, his team will never lack the spectators. But viewership is not what concerns Krzyzewski.
After compiling a 62-1 record in nine years at the helm of the national program, the Chicago native has been paying close attention to two things—history and the FIFA World Cup. Following the immense success of the original Dream Team—on which Krzyzewski was an assistant coach—United States basketball tapered off in the early 2000's. When Krzyzewski was brought on in 2005 to be the next head coach, he remembered the way in which America thought all it had to do was walk on the court to win.
"For a while, we were just better than everybody. Then internationally, they caught up and passed the college guys because they were playing with men," Krzyzewski said. "In ’92, it looked like we had this huge difference but it wasn’t as big.... We had that false sense of security and started getting beat. We can get beat right now, even if we prepare. The Spurs, nine of their 12 guys are international. It’s a different ball game and has been, but I think this NBA championship points it out even more."
But that was not all he had his eye on. With the World Championships and the FIFA World Cup falling on the same summer every four years, Krzyzewski also took note of the American soccer team. Not so much the on-field performance or success, but rather the passion with which it played.
With his team's shot at the World Cup coming up, Krzyzewski's focus on the pitch has intensified during his down time when he isn't texting recruits, running his summer youth camp and planning for the arrival of his four incoming freshmen. And what he has seen during the United States' run has impressed him enough to plan on including it as part of the American basketball team's training camp.
"I’m going to take clips of different things I see with soccer so that when we start our training camp in late July, our players see the emotion, the intensity, the fever pitch that these countries play at and we need to expect that when we play," Krzyzewski said. "That’s something that the U.S. at basketball has to learn. You’re not just playing against that guy you played against in the NBA, he’s playing for his country and you’re playing for yours. That’s a big difference."
Although he is fervent about his team embodying this heightened sense of nationalism and passion, he is not worried about whether or not his squad will get behind him on the matter. The players have more than proven their loyalty. Former Wake Forest and current Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul has told ESPN of his love for Krzyzewski. When CBS Sports' Ken Berger asked James about Krzyzewski's impact on the team, the four-time NBA MVP replied, "What he means to USA Basketball is beyond just what we do on the court. It's what we stand for as Americans."
And Krzyzewski is quick to put the praise back on his team, mentioning Paul, Durant, James and Carmelo Anthony as some of the few who make the coaching environment one of the best he has ever been a part of in his near 40 years of coaching.
"The thing that I’ve been most impressed with USA basketball is that they’ve all been coachable, when most people would think they wouldn’t be," Krzyzewski said. "As a group, and this is a cool thing, every one of the guys who have played for us on these teams, and hopefully the guys this summer when we compete will do the same thing: say, ‘Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it.’ That, to me, is about as [coachable as it gets]. It’s the best."
However, the USA team is not the only squad that has Krzyzewski's attention. Far from it, as he prepares to welcome one of the deepest and most talented recruiting classes of his career into the Duke program. And although his duties with the American squad have previously not cut too much into his responsibilities back in Durham, this year's World Cup will force him to be abroad until September 15, nearly two weeks into the school year.
Two weeks is a long time to be gone, especially during the opening two weeks of school when the freshmen players are attempting to acclimate to their new classes and practice schedules. And not to mention the fact that recruiting for the coming year's class starts Sept. 8. But just as Krzyzewski has faith in his United States players, his staff at Duke leaves him with no worries.
"The only thing that I don’t like about [the World Cup] is that I miss the first two weeks of school. Coach Capel, [who] would normally be with me, he’ll be with me only half the time," Krzyzewski said. "When we go overseas, [he’ll fly back to Durham]. I want him as the associate head coach here. It’s important for us to get off to a good start. The good thing about it is in July, [the incoming freshman will] all be here. We can work them out a little bit, a couple hours a week, and set the foundation already. So me not being here during that time won’t be as bad."
Eventually, although American fans may not want to think about it, Krzyzewski will step down as head coach from the national team. And that day will get here sooner rather than later, with Krzyzewski on record as saying 2016 will be his final year at the helm of the program.
But Krzyzewski's love for the national team is no secret, so when he steps down following the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, the Americans can rest assured that his door will always be open.
"I’ll always be involved with USA basketball, but not coaching," he said. "Even after I stop coaching at Duke, whenever that is, I’ll continue to have a relationship with U.S.A. basketball in some aspects. It’s only been terrific."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.