LONDON – In a news conference before the final, some goofball journalist asked U.S. men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski if it was necessary to do any actual coaching with his team.
“None, none,” Krzyzewski said. “Absolutely none. I’m out every night with my family, drunk as a skunk. Wait until you see me tonight. I’ll get in at six. You’re all invited to come out with me.”
The reporter pressed for details.
“I was joking,” Krzyzewski said.
Well, you can excuse “Coach K” if he was tempted to toss back a few cold ones after Sunday’s game. For the second straight Olympics, Spain put him through an emotional wringer. The talented Spaniards made tough shots. They played exquisite fundamental basketball. They briefly led in the second half, and they were in the game until the final minute.
But in the end, the Americans had too much talent. When the game was there for the taking, with Spain refusing to go away, the U.S. had all-stars at every spot on the floor, ready to save the day. In a game that was as entertaining as the final in Beijing, the U.S. held off Spain, 107-100, to win a second straight gold.
Actually, it was hard to assign a position to the Americans when Krzyzewski went with his small lineup in the fourth quarter. Who cares about labels? Put Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James on the floor and you can call them anything you like. They’re winners.
Durant scored 30, half of them on three-pointers. It’s almost criminal to have him on the same team as James, Bryant and Chris Paul. James and Bryant, meanwhile, made big shot after big shot when Spain got too close, same as in China.
More than half the Americans’ shots were three-pointers. Why not, when you’re making 41 percent? Oh, James and Durant did their share of driving and dunking. But they did not have the roster for a conventional post offense. They had a collection of quick, mid-sized players who moved the ball so well there was always someone open for the three ball.
Krzyzewski has always suited his coaching to fit the talent at hand. At times, it has gotten him in trouble at Duke, where there have been years when he went without a reliable big man and relied too much on the quickness and finesse of smaller players and on the three-point shot.
He had only one center, Tyson Chandler. But Coach K had an extraordinarily talented squad of versatile mid-sized players and point guards. One of the toughest things in sports is coaching great talent, finding a way to merge the egos and abilities of athletes who are all accustomed to being the star.
“We have offensive firepower,” Krzyzewski said. “We have an unconventional team. We’ve had to develop a style of play that suits those guys. The good thing about these guys is that when they see that one guy has got it, they go to him.”
The Americans had a single, troubling flaw: a lack of post defense, aside from Chandler. When Chandler sat, they had the likes of Carmelo Anthony in the unfamiliar role of post defender. Spain, which had the towering Gasol brothers, Pau and Marc, posed the biggest challenge of any team in the tournament.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the U.S. unable to shake the Spaniards, Krzyzewski didn’t have a true center or power forward on the floor. James, Durant and Bryant were out there with Anthony and the point guard Paul. So Spain had a big edge underneath. Coach K wanted to go with his best guys. Let Spain match up with them.
It worked, too. Durant hit a three-pointer. James scored on a great feed from Bryant to make it 85-82. Then Paul hit a three-pointer and a driving layup to put them up six. Spain got within four, but no closer. When Paul hit another layup with the shot clock expiring to make it 104-93, Krzyzewski leaped in the air in front of the USA bench and pumped his fists in the air.
In all the years I’ve watched Krzyzewski coach, going back to the Christian Laettner teams, I’d never seen him that animated. It was like all the pressure was seeping out of him.
“I was just really, really happy,” Krzyzewski said. “I mean, this was a great game. We were so emotionally into the game. At that point, I knew unless I messed up that we had it. I just kind of instinctively reacted that way. I’m a happy guy, happy and proud.”
The comparisons with the 1992 team can be put to rest. This Olympic team was too thin in the post to beat the original Dream Team over a long series. On the other hand, the ’92 team had no opponent nearly as dangerous as the last two Spain teams – or the Argentina team that won gold in Athens. It’s enough to know that this USA team was the best of its time. They have now won 25 straight games in international play, including 15 in the Olympics.
“It’s crazy to think winning a gold medal can be bittersweet,” said Paul, who has been on the national team since ’06. “But it is. It’s sweet to have a gold medal around your neck, but it’s tough because you don’t get many of these opportunities. I hate that in a couple of months, these guys are going to be my enemies. I hate that this is our last game playing together.”
Krzyzewski will go back to coaching Duke. He is 65 now, and he says he’s through coaching the U.S. men’s team. The team’s return to dominance coincided with the decision by Jerry Colangelo, director of USA Basketball, to make him the head coach in 2005.
Krzyzewski worried about doing it. His family wondered if it would tarnish the legacy he’d built at Duke if he lost. But Krzyzewski, who played at West Point under Bobby Knight, is a patriotic soul who couldn’t turn his back on a chance to coach for his country.
Rather than damage his legacy, coaching the national team embellished it. Krzyzewski proved that a coach who makes his living coaching 18- to 22-year-olds could succeed with millionaires. He got them to play together, to forge a bond. He has won four NCAA titles at Duke. Add two Olympic championships and a world title, and you can make the argument that he is the best basketball coach of all time.
After the final buzzer, Krzyzewski embraced James and shared a personal moment with the NBA’s reigning MVP. James has also redefined himself in the last two Olympics, showing that he is a true team player, happiest when he is deferring to others.
“I’ve been with LeBron since 2006,” Coach K said. “I’ve seen him grow immensely – not because of us. He’s the best player, and he’s the best leader, and he’s as smart as anybody playing the game right now. We developed a pretty close bond, because I rely on him to be that for me. And he has been.”
Krzyzewski takes no credit for James’ development. But it can’t be a coincidence that he has evolved into a champion while leading the Olympic team. They elevated each other and the national program. Oh, there’s real coaching involved, all right. Ask the poor guy who tries to replace Krzyzewski.

email: jsullivan@buffnews.com