Focus on America

Coach Krzyzewski discusses the upcoming Beijing Games

With the 2008 Summer Olympics just weeks away, Mike Krzyzewski, coach of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team, is looking forward to leading his team in its quest for a gold medal and more in Beijing.

“To me, the Olympics are about unity -- unity from diverse backgrounds,” Krzyzewski said.  “It’s an opportunity to compete against the rest of the world in the spirit of … friendship.”

Krzyzewski (pronounced Sha-shef-skee) fielded questions about the team’s chances in Beijing and his thoughts about the Olympic Games in a State Department Ask America webchat June 27.  Krzyzewski, a Chicago native, has more than three decades of experience coaching basketball in the United States.  A 12-time winner of the National Coach of the Year title for his accomplishments as the head coach at Duke University, Krzyzewski has led the USA senior national team, which feeds into the Olympic program, since 2005. 

According to Krzyzewski, the road to a gold medal won’t be easy for the United States.  International competition at the games will be fierce, as many other countries’ rosters include high-profile National Basketball Association (NBA) players.  “There are going to be some great teams,” he said.  “The competition will be difficult.”

Potential challenges facing the Olympic head coach will be finding a way to use the individual talents of his superstar-filled roster, and molding the players’ unique personalities into a cohesive and capable team.  “This team has to develop its own identity,” he said.  “Hopefully it will be an identity of excellence on and off the court in representing our country.”

Krzyzewski added, “We have outstanding players on our team and each player offers some special talents.  We know that through the Olympics we’ll need to count on every one of our players to contribute to the team’s success.”

There is one new development in the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball program that will aid Krzyzewski in his quest to build a unified team.  After the 2004 games, the U.S. revamped its approach to selecting players for its Olympic team.  The 12-man roster for the Beijing Olympic Games was chosen from a group of 33 NBA players who have competed together as the USA senior national team since 2006. 

“We have some good continuity going into this,” Krzyzewski said.  “I know every one of [the players] and have a good relationship with each one, which is something that we haven’t had in the past.”

Despite working extensively with the players and getting to know them over time, choosing the 12-man roster was challenging for Krzyzewski.  “We used the team’s training and competitions over the past summers and also considered the last three NBA seasons when we evaluated the players,” he said.  “Ultimately what we tried to do is pick the best team, not the best players by their individual skills.”

Now that the roster is official, the team will begin its preparations for Beijing.  Krzyzewski held a mini-camp for the team at the end of June, and players will report to Las Vegas for a week of training in late July.  To wrap up the team’s North America rehearsals, the Americans will play an exhibition game against the Canadian national team.  Then, in China, the squad will participate in the USA Basketball International Challenge, playing two games in Macao and two more in Shanghai before arriving in Beijing on August 6. (See “Roster for U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team Announced.”)

Looking toward Beijing, Krzyzewski is confident in his team’s ability to be competitive on the Olympic stage.  “We now have players who are committed to the program,” he said.  “They know their teammates better, and they have a much more thorough understanding of international basketball and their opponents.”