Tag Archives: Olympics

Coach K On Coaching Differently

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On Wednesday, The Chronicle received its advance copy of “The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team,” Mike Krzyzewski’s forthcoming memoir about coaching Team USA to an Olympic gold medal in Beijing. We’ll have a full review up in a few days, but before then, we’ll try to post a few pertinent excerpts.

This paragraph, from the book’s introduction, seemed particularly appropriate, especially after Krzyzewski shuffled up his starting lineup multiple times this season:

“Many have said that I coached the Olympic team differently than I coach my Duke teams. Of course I did. If I’m doing my job right, I also coach my Duke teams differently each season. Your teambuilding plan must be personalized and specific to your personnel, your competition, your goal, and your leadership style. I can’t just give you a formula. But what I can offer you are my thoughts on how to best utilize your time in bringing a team together. What you have to be willing to do is invest the time in preparation, to figure it out and to personalize it. And that’s what makes it interesting.”

Krzyzewski Thanks Team USA During NBA All-Star Game

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Mike Krzyzewski probably wasn’t in the best mood Sunday after his team’s fourth loss in six games. But the Blue Devils’ 80-74 loss to Boston College had no bearing on a video he recorded to congratulate Team USA on its gold medal in Beijing. The message was aired at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game, when representatives in the Olympics were honored.

“Congratulations, guys, on a mission accomplished, winning the gold medal and receiving your rings today,” Krzyzewski said. “The rings are never-ending. They reprsent our brotherhood that we developed and shared to accomplish our mission. That mission wasn’t just to win the gold medal, but to win the respect of our country and the world. It was an honor, a true honor, to be a part of that team. Thanks, guys.”

(Note: We wrote down the transcript as we were watching, so it might be a bit off. Feel free to correct us in the comments section below.)

My Sportsman of the Year: Becca Ward

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Most Duke sports fans have probably forgotten about Becca Ward by now, if they even knew about her in the fist place. The Olympics ended a full semester ago, a sign congratulating her on her considerable achievements no longer hangs outside of Wilson Gymnasium and the Duke Fencing team has a pretty low profile in Durham anyway.

And that’s a shame, because Becca Ward is better at what she does–fencing in the saber competition–than anyone else on campus is at what they do. She’s better at fencing than professors are at teaching, better at fencing than the Pitchforks are at singing and–dare I say it–better at fencing than Mike Krzyzewsi is at coaching. For that reason, Ward, a freshman, is my nominee for Duke Sportsman of the Year.

Ward arrived on campus in time for orientation week in August, just like every other member of her class. Though she’s from Oregon, Ward had come to Duke via Beijing, which is admittedly not that unusual these days. Her circumstances were a bit unique, though, as Ward has just won two Olympic bronze medals, one in the individual saber competition and the second in the team saber event.

In a memorable interview with NBC anchor Bob Costas the night after the individual competition, Ward, gold medalist Mariel Zagunis and silver medalist Sada Jacobson spoke about how proud they were to lead the United States to a medal sweep. In the interview, Ward mentioned she had to jet off to the States as soon as the team competition came to an end. And yet, the premature end to her 2008 Olympic experience contrasts mightily with her bright future in the sport, both internationally and at Duke.

Ward’s biggest rivals on the international scene, Zagunis and Jacobson, are both four years older than Ward and no longer participate in college athletics (last spring, Zagunis graduated from Notre Dame, Jacobson from Yale). While Ward dropped a tight match to 2004 gold medalist Zagunis in the Beijing semifinals, she recovered to pull out a close third-place contest and earn her own bronze, a level of recognition every other Duke athlete can only dream of. Ward looks set to be the gold-medal favorite for the 2012 London Olympics, and she’s only 18.

Zagunis’ and Jacobson’s departure from the college scene also bodes well for Duke, which will boast the best female saber fencer in the country at every event it enters this year and in the future. The fencing team has competed just once so far this season, the Temple Open Nov. 15-16, and not surprisingly, Ward won her event convincingly. Fencing season begins in earnest in the spring, and by the end of the 2008-2009 academic year, Becca Ward might be a double Olympic medalist and a national champion in her sport, all within 10 months. That resume is almost impossible to top, even for Coach K, and that is why Becca Ward is my choice for Duke Sportsman of the Year.

For more nominations for Sportsman of the Year, follow this link.

Coach K Puts Off Team USA Decision

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NEW YORK — Mike Krzyzewski may reprise his role as Team USA head coach, but he won’t make any sort of decision until after the season, he said Friday after Duke’s win in the 2K Sports Classic.

“It’s too early to make any commitments for players or coaches,” Krzyzewski said. “We’re all in season. That would be a disservice to my own Duke team. I’m open to do anything that will help USA Basketball, that doesn’t mean I’d be the coach again. It’s a big commitment. I love Jerry [Colangelo] and love what they’re doing. It’s just not the time yet. What I’m doing with these kids, that’s my job and after this season is over I would give it whatever consideration after talking with my family. I can’t do that now and give it my full attention. That’s not right.”

Krzyzewski said in August that he anticipated staying on as a consultant to Team USA, but Yahoo! Sports reported Friday that Colangelo planned to offer Krzyzewski the chance to lead his team to another gold medal.

Yahoo!: Olympic Job Is Coach K’s If He Wants It

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Back in August, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said he would likely stay on as a consultant to USA Basketball after he led the Olympic team to a gold medal in Beijing.

According to recent reports, though, Krzyzewski’s involvement with the team could be much more direct. Yahoo! Sport’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that USA Basketball’s Jerry Colangelo plans to offer Krzyzewski the opportunity to reprise his role as head coach in the 2012 London Olympics.

“We’ve yet to talk about how much of a level of interest he has in doing it again, if at all,” Colangelo told Wojnarowski. “We’ve saved that conversation. There’s no need to push that envelope so soon. I wanted him to get back to Duke and get ready for his college year. But I do believe a great deal in continuity.”

Krzyzewski’s role as Team USA head coach was all-consuming, to the point that he said he thought about his second job every day. Although he insists the publicity afforded to him by the Olympic experience will benefit Duke in the long run, the Blue Devils lost on the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and 2008, the two years that his Olympic responsibilities were at their peak.

Krzyzewski brought his associate head coaches, Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins, with him to China, but recruiting didn’t take a significant hit. In fact, after the three returned as the darlings of college basketball, they received commitments from Ryan Kelly, Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton.

We’re sure the issue will come up after tonight’s 2K Sports Classic final, so we’ll let you know when Krzyzewski deflects attention as soon as it happens.

Coach K’s Golden Touch Could Prove Fruitful

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We ran a long story in The Chronicle today about the impact Mike Krzyzewski’s Olympic experience will have on recruiting and, pertinently, has already had on recruiting. Since he returned from Beijing, Coach K has accrued commitments from two Class of 2010 four-stars, Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton, and Class of 2009 five-star Ryan Kelly. Now, Krzyzewski turns his attention to two five-star, elite recruits: 2009′s No. 2 shooting guard, Kenny Boynton, and 2010′s top-ranked small forward, Harrison Barnes.

Dave Telep, scout.com’s national recruiting director, lauded Boynton, saying he could be the final piece of a national championship puzzle for Duke. More than anything, though, we think a potential Boynton commitment could make the Blue Devils’ 2009 class the best in the country. It would feature three five-stars in Kelly, Boynton and Mason Plumlee.

“I believe Kenny Boynton is one of the few guys in this class who you can look at and say, ‘If that guy goes to one of a handful of places, they have a legitimate opportunity to win a national championship,’” Telep said of Boynton, who scheduled his official visit to Duke for the weekend of Nov. 8. “I think he’s that much of a game-changer in terms of how he’s wired, who he is as a player and how he enacts winning.”

Barnes, who is slated to visit campus this weekend, would be another coup for Krzyzewski and his staff. The 6-foot-6, 190-pound small forward would join Hairston, Thornton and Andre Dawkins in the 2010 class—and if Duke could somehow secure top-ranked player and point guard Brandon Knight, too, it would undoubtedly be the best in the country and perhaps the best for Duke in recent memory.

The scary part? Most analysts think the Olympic win will resonate louder in the future rather than the immediate.