People will always question his coaching decisions, but the run Duke and Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski has been on in international basketball the past six years couldn't have been much better.
The four-time collegiate national champion led Team USA to gold Sunday at the FIBA World Cup in Spain, adding to the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold medals and 2010 FIBA World Championship gold medal he already captured during the pristine stretch that has reassured the rest of the world of the United States' supremacy in international basketball.
No country had ever won four major international basketball competitions in a row before.
Team USA crushed Serbia 129-92 in the gold medal game Sunday after trouncing Lithuania 96-68 in the semifinals.
Spain was expected to be the United States' primary competition for the gold, but was knocked out by France in the quarterfinals after falling 65-52.
The Americans dominated each of their nine games and won by an average of 33.0 points per contest.
There were many highlights for Team USA during the event, but the most involving Krzyzewski came after his team beat Lithuania in the semifinals.
During the game, in the second quarter, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins got into a physical exchange with Raptors and Lithuania center Jonas Valanciunas following a made free throw.
Tempers continued to flare throughout the game despite the lopsided score, and after the game, there was some pushing and shoving from players on both sides until Krzyzewski got involved, separating his players from Lithuania's and diffusing the conflict.
In his press conference, Krzyzewski apparently said that he didn't think Lithuania's players would hit an old man.
But the eventful postgame occurrences did not stop there, as later in his press conference Krzyzewski had a unique exchange with a foreign reporter, who eventually gave the decorated coach a bottle of wine as a gift and nice gesture.
Before the game, Krzyzewski also made the classy move of embracing former player Martynas Pocius, who was a reserve for the Blue Devils from 2005-2009 and now plays professionally in Turkey and for Lithuania's national team.
Krzyzewski wasn't the only one with highlights from the Lithuania game, though, as Cavaliers and former Duke point guard Kyrie Irving put on a show, finishing with 18 points, four assists and two steals.
Irving's performance was highlighted by an alley-oop to Anthony Davis and a nasty behind-the-back crossover.
Irving peaked at the end of the tournament, pouring in 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting—including 4-of-4 from 3-point range—and an assist in the first half alone of the gold medal game.
He stayed hot from downtown and finished the game with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting, six 3-pointers made without a miss, four assists and a block. His hot shooting had former Blue Devil associate head coach and current Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski and several other viewers marveling at the display.
Irving's strong finish to the tournament earned him the MVP Award as he led the team in minutes, averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game and will now return to the Cavaliers and new superstar teammates Kevin Love and LeBron James.
Irving was also named the NBA All-Star Game MVP earlier this year.
Nets center Mason Plumlee did not see much action throughout the event due to the strong play of Davis, Cousins and Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, but nonetheless saw action in all nine games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest in limited action.
The unique opportunity to be a part of the team after just his rookie year is one that should not be overlooked for the 7-foot center as he returns to Brooklyn, where he will likely take on a bigger role in the upcoming season.
Despite playing without many of the NBA's top players this summer, Krzyzewski, Irving, Plumlee and the rest of Team USA had no problem bringing home the gold.
We'll see what happens in two years when the team is expected to add the top stars that chose not to compete this year.
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