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Duke's Coach K to get Olympic hoops assignment By Greg Boeck, USA TODAY
In the wake of back-to-back international failures, USA Basketball will turn to Duke's Mike Krzyzewski to coach its 2006 world championship and 2008 Olympic teams, according to two people with knowledge of the selection.
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</TD><TD class=sidebar vAlign=top width=75>Mike Krzyzewski had Duke on his mind during a 2004 NCAA Tournament game. In 2006, he'll coach Team USA on the international stage.</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left>By Chuck Burton, AP</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>He will be the first college coach to head a U.S. world championship or Olympic team since NBA players joined the Olympic movement in 1992.
The announcement will be made at the end of the month. Jerry Colangelo, managing director of USA Basketball's senior men's program, headed the selection committee but had no comment Tuesday.
Colangelo, CEO of the Phoenix Suns, was named managing director in April and promised a new direction for an NBA-roster team that finished sixth in the world championships, held in Indianapolis in 2002, and third in the 2004 Athens Olympics after a number of star players begged out of playing.
Those teams were the first not to win gold medals in world championship or Olympic competition since play was opened to professionals.
Krzyzewski, 58, an assistant to former Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly in 1992, has said it would be an honor to coach the Olympic team if he was asked. Krzyzewski turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.
In April, Colangelo said he wanted to turn around a USA Basketball program that once dominated international play and promised to "turn the clock back" in the selection of players and coaches.
Krzyzewski will coach a team of NBA players possibly mixed with college talent ? players Colangelo has said he expects to make a commitment to the world championships in Japan and Olympics in Beijing.
In the wake of back-to-back international failures, USA Basketball will turn to Duke's Mike Krzyzewski to coach its 2006 world championship and 2008 Olympic teams, according to two people with knowledge of the selection.
<TABLE class=sidebar cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=4>
</TD></TR><TR><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD><TD class=sidebar vAlign=top width=75>Mike Krzyzewski had Duke on his mind during a 2004 NCAA Tournament game. In 2006, he'll coach Team USA on the international stage.</TD><TD rowSpan=2>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom align=left>By Chuck Burton, AP</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>He will be the first college coach to head a U.S. world championship or Olympic team since NBA players joined the Olympic movement in 1992.The announcement will be made at the end of the month. Jerry Colangelo, managing director of USA Basketball's senior men's program, headed the selection committee but had no comment Tuesday.
Colangelo, CEO of the Phoenix Suns, was named managing director in April and promised a new direction for an NBA-roster team that finished sixth in the world championships, held in Indianapolis in 2002, and third in the 2004 Athens Olympics after a number of star players begged out of playing.
Those teams were the first not to win gold medals in world championship or Olympic competition since play was opened to professionals.
Krzyzewski, 58, an assistant to former Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly in 1992, has said it would be an honor to coach the Olympic team if he was asked. Krzyzewski turned down an offer to coach the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.
In April, Colangelo said he wanted to turn around a USA Basketball program that once dominated international play and promised to "turn the clock back" in the selection of players and coaches.
Krzyzewski will coach a team of NBA players possibly mixed with college talent ? players Colangelo has said he expects to make a commitment to the world championships in Japan and Olympics in Beijing.