Duke's Recruiting

[DSouthr]

I get what Dean meant back then...it wasn't a sexy gig and it took time away from the program that you were running and it was with college kids.....i think today's olympic team and experience is completely different than back then.....the primary focus of this new approach was consistency in all aspects...the coach, assistants....the core pool of talent with the select team players vying for spots when available.....so should the entire coach and coaching staff change every time for fiba and olympics.....other countries national teams dont do that.....this new appraoch revitalized usa basketball.....and i bet for however long Pop coaches everything will be consistent as with K.....when he steps aside then another new regime..........i just dont think it was colagelos plan to have k for 1 olympics, it was to get it to where it is now......mission accomplished

I had to shower in Pine Sol to get the dukie off me, whew I feel clean again! LOL

Boogie, while I can not blame K for taking the advantage of being the team USA coach, I do STRONGLY disagree that it was K that saved our Olympic basketball narrative I see so many so wanting to spout. It was those NBA players that bonded together embarrassed that the country that produces the best basketball players on the planet were not wining Olympic gold. Those best players on the planet, led by the current best player on the planet were the reason Team USA re-established itself.

Matter of fact, I watched every game I could from this past (Olympics and that team to me struggled against teams they should not have. Even not having our very best we should not have played a close game but they played what, 3 very close games? Where was that magical coaching then, then when Lebron, A Davis, and Curry elected to sit this one out? I watched a bunch of really bad quick LONG jump shots when team USA dominated any time the ball went inside. I watched a ton of one on one, did not see much team ball which is an indication of coaching. Granted, Team USA did not play all that long together but those players all play with an against each other, it i snot as if they do not know each others games or how to play the game they have become millionaires by playing. Pretty much the coaching I watched in this last (Olympics from our team USA was roll the ball out and go play one on one and someone let us know when it is time to go back to the yacht and party...

ALL K did and had to do was stay out of the way and that is pretty much all he did, excuse me for not buying in to this amazing coaching narrative.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

What the heck you want duke boy!

convo dsouth...c'mon...you know i like differing opinions or thoughts

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

never said amazing coaching....but the leadership and consistency had guys buy in to devoting their time to the experience....and the world has gained some ground....and i agree K didnt save it, i believe the approach and the structure and the plan...vegas, select team...consistent coach and coaching staff changed things......and yeah a few too many close games, that probably goes to show our today's players lack of killer instincts or not enough role players mixed in...maybe.....now some good adjustments were made in regards the lineup adjustments and switching cousins and jordan...and yes an advantage was gained from the limelight and publicity.....my only take is debating why it wasn't a OAD pass the baton along to someone else, as that wasn't the intent in resurrecting usa basketball imo....guys probably wouoldnt hav bought in????

 

[gary-7]

I get what Dean meant back then...it wasn't a sexy gig and it took time away from the program that you were running and it was with college kids.....i think today's olympic team and experience is completely different than back then.....the primary focus of this new approach was consistency in all aspects...the coach, assistants....the core pool of talent with the select team players vying for spots when available.....so should the entire coach and coaching staff change every time for fiba and olympics.....other countries national teams dont do that.....this new appraoch revitalized usa basketball.....and i bet for however long Pop coaches everything will be consistent as with K.....when he steps aside then another new regime..........i just dont think it was colagelos plan to have k for 1 olympics, it was to get it to where it is now......mission accomplished

Weak. Pop coaching is NOTHING like the advantage a college coach gets. And for the record, Dean specifically cited the unfair advantage as a reason college coaches shouldn't get more than one stint.
Let's get this straight once and for all.:
One Olympic sport is not as important as the integrity of college basketball in general, and they'll do just fine without him. There is NO valid argument justifying K's position. None. And trying to rationalize it just makes you look silly.

 

[DSouthr]

What the heck you want duke boy!

That was aimed at topps by the way!

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

^so their is no validity to one of the best coaches period being hired on to help rejuvenate the usa basketball program.....i am not saying any advantage was not gained, but you said no valid argument to justify his position (which is opinion) and there are......what was deans citing, just curious,.....as the players he had were already collegians and already pledged to a school and coach....the only advantage i'd see from that setup initially was said coaches players getting spots over more deserved players....and if its an advantage in coaching why even the opportunity to get one stint...it wouldnt seem much of an advantage if you didnt do well or got a long with the players and etc......k has done his job, worked out great...and usa basketball is something that the nba guys really buy into now....and Iba coached 3 stints as well

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

That was aimed at topps by the way!

 

[tw3301]

Weak. Pop coaching is NOTHING like the advantage a college coach gets. And for the record, Dean specifically cited the unfair advantage as a reason college coaches shouldn't get more than one stint.

Just curious did Dean Smith say that when he was coaching the college kids or when professionals were allowed to play? I've been googling, trying to find the quote but no luck yet, saw it referenced in a blog though.

 

[DSouthr]

Just curious did Dean Smith say that when he was coaching the college kids or when professionals were allowed to play? I've been googling, trying to find the quote but no luck yet, saw it referenced in a blog though.

College kids

 

[Archer2]

hahahah...i highly doubt capel is doing anything "wrong"...dook as too much at stake

I won't tell the LOM that you mentioned the word "stake", he wouldn't like it.

 

[TRU CANE]

This is big boy athletics. It's a business. No need to pretend otherwise. K and Roy are paid MILLIONS to win basketball games and enhance the BRAND of the school/program. That's the job and K has been one of the best at it. You can't say anything about Dean and I will never say anything bad about Dean, not here (that goes without saying) but not ANYWHERE. With that said I'm happy K operates the way he does. I'm glad he's not Dean not aspires to be like him. Win games, enhance the brand, recruit character kids to the best of your ability and graduate those that chose to stay and hopefully those that leave come back to finish at some point. Do it all within the rules.

 

[Archer2]

With that said I'm happy K operates the way he does. I'm glad he's not Dean not aspires to be like him.

Sort of says it all right there, doesn't it?

 

[gary-7]

..and Iba coached 3 stints as well

That was a disaster, and he was retired by the last one (as well he should have been).
Him getting multiple gigs was rightly criticized at the time for a variety of reasons.

 

[gary-7]

Sort of says it all right there, doesn't it?

It does indeed... and speaks to most of what is wrong with modern college basketball.

 

[gary-7]

recruit character kids to the best of your ability and graduate those that chose to stay and hopefully those that leave come back to finish at some point. Do it all within the rules.

Duck. Lightning bolts and stuff.

 

[GoDukeDevils]

Just curious did Dean Smith say that when he was coaching the college kids or when professionals were allowed to play? I've been googling, trying to find the quote but no luck yet, saw it referenced in a blog though.

You wont find it anywhere. It's a message board narrative that started on internet boards when K re-upped for a 2nd stint as USA coach. Nobody has ever produced actual quotes from a book, an article, etc. from Dean Smith ever saying this, or even saying "coaching USA should be passed around."

Sure, I'll get blasted for this but nobody blasting me will produce anything credible showing Dean Smith actually said this.

 

[topps coach]

Was not too long ago that that THR was claiming that K being the National coach was great because it did not allow to concentrate on his main job at Duke.My how the narrative has changed

 

[Sk1310]

^so their is no validity to one of the best coaches period being hired on to help rejuvenate the usa basketball program.....i am not saying any advantage was not gained, but you said no valid argument to justify his position (which is opinion) and there are......what was deans citing, just curious,.....as the players he had were already collegians and already pledged to a school and coach....the only advantage i'd see from that setup initially was said coaches players getting spots over more deserved players....and if its an advantage in coaching why even the opportunity to get one stint...it wouldnt seem much of an advantage if you didnt do well or got a long with the players and etc......k has done his job, worked out great...and usa basketball is something that the nba guys really buy into now....and Iba coached 3 stints as well

Rejuvenate? Oh give me a break. They wont 3 consecutive golds before their bronze in 2004, only due to all the stars not playing. K gets credit for Kobe, Lebron, Wade deciding to play in 2008? Maybe they felt embarrassed and said, hey lets get this gold back. Nah, lets give all the credit to K though. Like USA wouldn't have won a gold in 2008 if they hired Pop. I am sure the stars would have played for him. Why did K need 3 Olympic terms for USA basketball? The ship was righted after 2008....

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Rejuvenate? Oh give me a break. They wont 3 consecutive golds before their bronze in 2004, only due to all the stars not playing. K gets credit for Kobe, Lebron, Wade deciding to play in 2008? Maybe they felt embarrassed and said, hey lets get this gold back. Nah, lets give all the credit to K though. Like USA wouldn't have won a gold in 2008 if they hired Pop. I am sure the stars would have played for him. Why did K need 3 Olympic terms for USA basketball? The ship was righted after 2008....

i didnt say K did it all, but Colangelo and K changed the culture of guys wanting to play and buy in........again some of yall keep saying why 3 stints...CONSISTENCY....are the other national teams constantly changing the staffs for every olympics or every fiba tournament.....what will be telling is whether the big guns continue to come back or will the team be more of the select team guys.....and yes pop with the same teams would have had success as well....but you dont know whether the buy in would have been the same or will be the same....guess we will see what the next fiba and olympic teams look like

 

[DSouthr]

Was not too long ago that that THR was claiming that K being the National coach was great because it did not allow to concentrate on his main job at Duke.My how the narrative has changed

When was that, have a link? LOL

Ya know Ken, things change over time, as new information is gathered new decisions are made. When the one & done came in to being, most fans, I think it would be fair to say near 100% felt it was a great thing for the college game. Now today you would be hard pressed to find many that still feel that way, even many fans of programs that get a lot of one & doners don't prefer it.

You and I have talked about this that countless times and we agree that kids should have a pathway to the NBA at any time if they want it and the NBA is willing to draft them. So even you a dukie does not like the one & done program. I was slower to this mindset than you were but now, at least on that we agree (damn, gonna have to shower again ;-). Point being mindsets change with more information, K being able to exploit his position as Team USA coach and gain top shelf talents because of it is information that is now seen and no mater what folks may have said prior, this new evidence drives a new opinion. And YOU know that Ken!

 

[DSouthr]

i didnt say K did it all, but Colangelo and K changed the culture of guys wanting to play and buy in........again some of yall keep saying why 3 stints...CONSISTENCY....are the other national teams constantly changing the staffs for every olympics or every fiba tournament.....what will be telling is whether the big guns continue to come back or will the team be more of the select team guys.....and yes pop with the same teams would have had success as well....but you dont know whether the buy in would have been the same or will be the same....guess we will see what the next fiba and olympic teams look like

You lost me in the first sentence boogie because I do not credit K or Colangelo for changing the culture of guys wanting to play for team USA. I credit the players and especially Lebron for changing that tenor for being embarrassed that the USA produces the best players on the planet and those best players on the planet were not proving to the world how great USA produced players are by not playing in the Olympics.

In doing so those players made playing in the Olympic program some what back in style thou we didn't bring the best we had to Rio. Where was the magic of K when guys like Lebron and Curry were saying thanks but no thanks? Where was the magic of K when Team USA was nail biter games vs teams they should have dominated?

 

[Archer2]

You wont find it anywhere. It's a message board narrative that started on internet boards when K re-upped for a 2nd stint as USA coach. Nobody has ever produced actual quotes from a book, an article, etc. from Dean Smith ever saying this, or even saying "coaching USA should be passed around."

Sure, I'll get blasted for this but nobody blasting me will produce anything credible showing Dean Smith actually said this.

Perhaps you should read this article and think about when it was actually difficult to win the Gold, when we didn't have the Dream Team representing the USA. A time when college kids were going up against grown men! Dean's team's accomplishment dwarfs any Olympic victory the LOM has been a part of. It was common knowledge at the time that Dean was asked to coach the team in the next Olympics. He declined. You can draw you own conclusions from that.

It really chaps your dookie butts that we ride the LOM for milking every scrap of advantage from his stranglehold on the USA team's coaching position. At least Boogie doesn't deny that it's a huge advantage and is honest enough to say he's glad the LOM is doing it. The rest of you are just hypocrites of the first order. And dook fans were the ones complaining the most about the Olympic gig hurting the LOM's dook teams.

http://www.tarheelblog.com/2012/7/1/3129302/and-then-there-was-the-time-dean-smith-won-a-gold-medal

 

[Steat]

The best NBA player Duke has ever had is Kyrie Irving and he only played about 10 games at Duke. Thus, I have petitioned the NCAA discard the Duke games and show him jumping directly from high school to the NBA. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[dadika13]

 

[Archer2]

The best NBA player Duke has ever had is Kyrie Irving and he only played about 10 games at Duke. Thus, I have petitioned the NCAA discard the Duke games and show him jumping directly from high school to the NBA. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Just another example of how great the LOM is at developing talent. Just look how he developed Corey Maggette, Luol Deng, Kyrie Irving, Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker, and Brandon Ingram.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

You lost me in the first sentence boogie because I do not credit K or Colangelo for changing the culture of guys wanting to play for team USA. I credit the players and especially Lebron for changing that tenor for being embarrassed that the USA produces the best players on the planet and those best players on the planet were not proving to the world how great USA produced players are by not playing in the Olympics.

In doing so those players made playing in the Olympic program some what back in style thou we didn't bring the best we had to Rio. Where was the magic of K when guys like Lebron and Curry were saying thanks but no thanks? Where was the magic of K when Team USA was nail biter games vs teams they should have dominated?

yeah.....and why do you have to shower after agreeing...agreeing is okay...lol...........yes some guys had some fire of course, but the whole process changed..vegas...select team...time investment and etc....lebron is understandable, dude has logged in some serious time as of late.....curry to back to back long seasons and he is a family man and his ankles...maybe zika lol.............the same could be said how KD said calling K and telling him he wasnt going to do the last fiba championships was one of the hardest things he has ever done.........its basketball dsouth, it always blowouts and guys have defensive lapses and off nights.....and sometimes the other team is hitting everything, that happens.......one of his best adjustments was switching cousins and jordan...putting jordan with the less defensive starting unit and putting cousins on the more defensive second unit.......my personal opinion is the team should have a few less stars and a few more role/specialty guys

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Just another example of how great the LOM is at developing talent. Just look how he developed Corey Maggette, Luol Deng, Kyrie Irving, Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker, and Brandon Ingram.

i think grant hill gets that distinction

 

[GoDukeDevils]

Perhaps you should read this article and think about when it was actually difficult to win the Gold, when we didn't have the Dream Team representing the USA. A time when college kids were going up against grown men! Dean's team's accomplishment dwarfs any Olympic victory the LOM has been a part of. It was common knowledge at the time that Dean was asked to coach the team in the next Olympics. He declined. You can draw you own conclusions from that.

It really chaps your dookie butts that we ride the LOM for milking every scrap of advantage from his stranglehold on the USA team's coaching position. At least Boogie doesn't deny that it's a huge advantage and is honest enough to say he's glad the LOM is doing it. The rest of you are just hypocrites of the first order. And dook fans were the ones complaining the most about the Olympic gig hurting the LOM's dook teams.

http://www.tarheelblog.com/2012/7/1/3129302/and-then-there-was-the-time-dean-smith-won-a-gold-medal

It doesn't chap me at all. I love that K was the 3x Olympic Coach and I love every bit of advantage it produced and will continue to produce. What I find silly is that message boards were rejoicing when K became head coach because it would take away from his time with the team and recruiting. Then when recruiting spiked, the narrative changed to "Dean said this was an honor to be passed around coaches" and then when recruiting hit a really high level, the narrative changed to Dean being so noble as to say "This is an unfair recruiting advantage so i need to step down."

Dean won the gold and that was an incredible accomplishment but Dean did not say either of those two things. To say it was "widely known at the time" he stepped aside for those reasons just proves my point.

 

[dadika13]

It doesn't chap me at all. I love that K was the 3x Olympic Coach and I love every bit of advantage it produced and will continue to produce. What I find silly is that message boards were rejoicing when K became head coach because it would take away from his time with the team and recruiting. Then when recruiting spiked, the narrative changed to "Dean said this was an honor to be passed around coaches" and then when recruiting hit a really high level, the narrative changed to Dean being so noble as to say "This is an unfair recruiting advantage so i need to step down."

Dean won the gold and that was an incredible accomplishment but Dean did not say either of those two things. To say it was "widely known at the time" he stepped aside for those reasons just proves my point.

Poking jabs at Dean Smith on a UNC board is a great way to get people to actually respect what you write.

Bye bye now.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Perhaps you should read this article and think about when it was actually difficult to win the Gold, when we didn't have the Dream Team representing the USA. A time when college kids were going up against grown men! Dean's team's accomplishment dwarfs any Olympic victory the LOM has been a part of. It was common knowledge at the time that Dean was asked to coach the team in the next Olympics. He declined. You can draw you own conclusions from that.

It really chaps your dookie butts that we ride the LOM for milking every scrap of advantage from his stranglehold on the USA team's coaching position. At least Boogie doesn't deny that it's a huge advantage and is honest enough to say he's glad the LOM is doing it. The rest of you are just hypocrites of the first order. And dook fans were the ones complaining the most about the Olympic gig hurting the LOM's dook teams.

http://www.tarheelblog.com/2012/7/1/3129302/and-then-there-was-the-time-dean-smith-won-a-gold-medal

well, thank you kindly, but I didn't say HUGE...yes the success and the admiration of the pro guys trickle down to the kids....but I am going to always say, K recruited top talent b4 the olympic job...top talent now leans more towards OAD and he has embraced it along with quality 3-4 year guys in the mix as well..........he declined, could it be that he felt it took too much time and time away from UNC basketball......we live in a day and age of technology, twitter, instagram, texting and such that keeping in contact and recruiting back then was more difficult....today its a lot easier and can be done from literally anywhere....and yes the olympics with college kids playing national teams was indeed more difficult than today

 

[DSouthr]

i think grant hill gets that distinction

Actually, and ya gonna make me have to shower yet again, but I think Laetner would be considered the best college player K has had.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

You wont find it anywhere. It's a message board narrative that started on internet boards when K re-upped for a 2nd stint as USA coach. Nobody has ever produced actual quotes from a book, an article, etc. from Dean Smith ever saying this, or even saying "coaching USA should be passed around."

Sure, I'll get blasted for this but nobody blasting me will produce anything credible showing Dean Smith actually said this.

WRONG!!

It was out there LONG before K coached team USA the 1st time.

Wish you dukies wouldn't come here acting like such experts!

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

Actually, and ya gonna make me have to shower yet again, but I think Laetner would be considered the best college player K has had.

i agree.....but i think the reference was about nba player....grant was the man before the injuries

 

[dadika13]

i agree.....but i think the reference was about nba player....grant was the man before the injuries

Pure talent....Grant Hill is among the best that ever lived. Shame injuries ruined it.

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

I won't tell the LOM that you mentioned the word "stake", he wouldn't like it.

eternal...lol

 

[TRU CANE]

http://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...-k-brought-pride-being-american-back-team-usa

University of Texas alumnus Durant and former Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins got quite a chuckle at practice earlier this week when asked to share what they thought of Krzyzewski when they were still in college.

"I hate to say it [as a Kentucky guy]," Cousins offered, "but I really have enjoyed playin' for K."

Said Durant: "We were taught not to like Duke. I grew up in Maryland, so they used to always play each other, so we hated Duke. And I didn't think that was my style of play, just from hearing from everybody [what Krzyzewski] was like.

"But once I got to play [for] him, I was like, 'Wow, I should have looked at Duke a little bit more than I did.' ... He literally told me one time, I think it was 2010 [at the Worlds in Turkey], he was like, 'Don't pass the ball.' And I was like, 'All right, cool, that's the way I want to play.'"

"He wants you to go out and be who you are," Durant concluded.

Said Irving in a recent SportsCenter sit-down with ESPN's Hannah Storm: "What makes Coach K one of the best ever at what he does, not only as a coach but as a person, he just respects your individuality. He allows you to create what you want to create in a space that is the best fit not only for yourself but for the team."

"He's more of like a father-figure-slash-mentor than he's a coach," Durant said. "On top of being a coach, when you have that combination, that makes for just an incredible leader."

Reached this week by ESPN.com, freshly retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was eager to revisit the history Krzyzewski shuns, harking back to the Redeem Team in 2008 in Beijing that -- with Kobe making his national-team debut -- brought the bronze-ing to a halt.

"Coach K brought the pride of being an American back to the team," Bryant told me.

"He brought in army vets and generals to speak with us and share their stories. He helped us see that we, as athletes, are an inspiration to the men and women that protect the freedoms we enjoy. That is the biggest impact.

"The gold medal now meant so much more. When we won [in Beijing], I envisioned our troops abroad celebrating. I did it for them. That's the perspective Coach K brought. He made it not about us but about the U.S."

 

[BOOGIEMAN1914]

http://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...-k-brought-pride-being-american-back-team-usa

University of Texas alumnus Durant and former Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins got quite a chuckle at practice earlier this week when asked to share what they thought of Krzyzewski when they were still in college.

"I hate to say it [as a Kentucky guy]," Cousins offered, "but I really have enjoyed playin' for K."

Said Durant: "We were taught not to like Duke. I grew up in Maryland, so they used to always play each other, so we hated Duke. And I didn't think that was my style of play, just from hearing from everybody [what Krzyzewski] was like.

"But once I got to play [for] him, I was like, 'Wow, I should have looked at Duke a little bit more than I did.' ... He literally told me one time, I think it was 2010 [at the Worlds in Turkey], he was like, 'Don't pass the ball.' And I was like, 'All right, cool, that's the way I want to play.'"

"He wants you to go out and be who you are," Durant concluded.

Said Irving in a recent SportsCenter sit-down with ESPN's Hannah Storm: "What makes Coach K one of the best ever at what he does, not only as a coach but as a person, he just respects your individuality. He allows you to create what you want to create in a space that is the best fit not only for yourself but for the team."

"He's more of like a father-figure-slash-mentor than he's a coach," Durant said. "On top of being a coach, when you have that combination, that makes for just an incredible leader."

Reached this week by ESPN.com, freshly retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was eager to revisit the history Krzyzewski shuns, harking back to the Redeem Team in 2008 in Beijing that -- with Kobe making his national-team debut -- brought the bronze-ing to a halt.

"Coach K brought the pride of being an American back to the team," Bryant told me.

"He brought in army vets and generals to speak with us and share their stories. He helped us see that we, as athletes, are an inspiration to the men and women that protect the freedoms we enjoy. That is the biggest impact.

"The gold medal now meant so much more. When we won [in Beijing], I envisioned our troops abroad celebrating. I did it for them. That's the perspective Coach K brought. He made it not about us but about the U.S."

OH NO, how dare he

 

[Sk1310]

http://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...-k-brought-pride-being-american-back-team-usa

University of Texas alumnus Durant and former Kentucky star DeMarcus Cousins got quite a chuckle at practice earlier this week when asked to share what they thought of Krzyzewski when they were still in college.

"I hate to say it [as a Kentucky guy]," Cousins offered, "but I really have enjoyed playin' for K."

Said Durant: "We were taught not to like Duke. I grew up in Maryland, so they used to always play each other, so we hated Duke. And I didn't think that was my style of play, just from hearing from everybody [what Krzyzewski] was like.

"But once I got to play [for] him, I was like, 'Wow, I should have looked at Duke a little bit more than I did.' ... He literally told me one time, I think it was 2010 [at the Worlds in Turkey], he was like, 'Don't pass the ball.' And I was like, 'All right, cool, that's the way I want to play.'"

"He wants you to go out and be who you are," Durant concluded.

Said Irving in a recent SportsCenter sit-down with ESPN's Hannah Storm: "What makes Coach K one of the best ever at what he does, not only as a coach but as a person, he just respects your individuality. He allows you to create what you want to create in a space that is the best fit not only for yourself but for the team."

"He's more of like a father-figure-slash-mentor than he's a coach," Durant said. "On top of being a coach, when you have that combination, that makes for just an incredible leader."

Reached this week by ESPN.com, freshly retired Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was eager to revisit the history Krzyzewski shuns, harking back to the Redeem Team in 2008 in Beijing that -- with Kobe making his national-team debut -- brought the bronze-ing to a halt.

"Coach K brought the pride of being an American back to the team," Bryant told me.

"He brought in army vets and generals to speak with us and share their stories. He helped us see that we, as athletes, are an inspiration to the men and women that protect the freedoms we enjoy. That is the biggest impact.

"The gold medal now meant so much more. When we won [in Beijing], I envisioned our troops abroad celebrating. I did it for them. That's the perspective Coach K brought. He made it not about us but about the U.S."

So your telling me K just hands the ball over to the best players in the world and says "go play". Wow, dude is smart.

 

[DSouthr]

So your telling me K just hands the ball over to the best players in the world and says "go play". Wow, dude is smart.

Yeah, that is pretty much what those players were saying, don't worry about passing the ball, just go take it one on one and out talent the other guy, no need for me to have you run actually structured sets & stuff, you guys don't need a coach, so I am gonna lead ya from way over there and if you guys need me I will be over there looking like I am pissed at something and ready to cuss out a ref. By the way, anyone know any spanish cuss words, I don't think they speak polish? LOL

 

[Sk1310]

Yeah, that is pretty much what those players were saying, don't worry about passing the ball, just go take it one on one and out talent the other guy, no need for me to have you run actually structured sets & stuff, you guys don't need a coach, so I am gonna lead ya from way over there and if you guys need me I will be over there looking like I am pissed at something and ready to cuss out a ref. By the way, anyone know any spanish cuss words, I don't think they speak polish? LOL

Lol. Exactly