Did Mike Krzyzewski Create USA Basketball in Duke's Image?

One of the biggest complaints about the announcement of USA Basketball's 12-man roster is the lack of big men. We are sending just one true center (Dwight Howard) along with two true power forwards (Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer).

There are quite a bit of guys that excel at slashing to the basket (Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony) ... who also need the ball in their hands a lot. We also will send a gutty, defensive point guard in Jason Kidd.

Hmmm. This sounds an awful like how Mike Krzyzewski ... coach of Team USA ... constructs his usual team: the Duke Blue Devils.

Anyone who has followed Duke knows that they team has really had issues with depth and talent in the frontcourt in recent years ... while running a bunch of same-sized players on the perimeter. It works alright for a while, but them crumbles as the season wears on.

It could happen in Beijing as the group that Team USA will be in is rather weak, but they will see the big dogs in single-elimination play.




Sure, the talent level on this USA team is unreal and wearing down won't be an issue. The fact that Kobe, LeBron, Melo and Wade on the same team is unfair. Still, we've all come to find out that the most talent doesn't equal gold ... especially when the single elimination portion of the Olympics comes. The rest of the world have out-coached us by playing zones against our weak shooting teams (we bring just one true shooter this time around -- Michael Redd).

Now, that doesn't sound like Duke. The Blue Devils have become a firing squad from the three point line, running a spread offense of high screens and finding open shooters. If the rest of the world plays zone on us again, that may be what the red-white-and-blue do.

Oh, and they've had to use small forwards at the power forward spot. That's why the plan seems to be in Beijing -- using Carmelo Anthony as the big forward. That's great and all, but leaves the United States at a disadvantage there rebounding. Anthony is more likely to hang around the perimeter, leaving Howard, Bosh and Boozer to take care of the boards.

Ask the Devils' Kyle Singler about that.

Of course, it will all come down to Coach K. It seems ... at least in recent years ... that Olympic coaches want to enforce our speed and athleticism down the throats of our opponents. America then looks like an All-Star game where the guards and wings control the ball and the offense and no really intricate set plays are run.

Also, Coach K has never coached in the NBA and since pro basketball players have been able to compete in the Olympics, all we've had is NBA coaches heading up the team. The Olympics seems to be more like the college game (more physical, yet tighter calls, five fouls, more ball movement, less "star" treatment) which should serve Krzyzewski well.

I think Coach K will really excel in this setting ... and with the star power he has on this team (unlike recent teams) he will be willing to make adjustments that should turn an All-Star team into Olympic gold medalists. Sure, Duke has been in some tough times of late, but Krzyzewski has shown an ability to turn his most talented teams into champions.