Duke Blue Devils basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski reiterated the fact that he won’t be back to coach Team USA this summer while speaking with ESPN Radio’s Mike and Mike Tuesday, and said the team is likely to hire his successor soon so the team can prepare for the 2014 World Championships in Madrid.
“I’ve loved, loved, loved, and it’s been an honor being with the USA Basketball team,” Krzyzewski said. “And to coach the team and work with [USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo] for seven years has been marvelous. And we’re in a good spot. We need to keep building.”
Coach K, as he’s affectionately known by those who can’t spell his name, was hired after the team finished an abysmal sixth at the 2002 Worlds and earned bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He coached the team to golds in Beijing and London, and led them to a World Championship in 2010.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Celtics coach Doc Rivers are the favorites to take over the team, but we still think they should stick with a college coach, and should hire Kansas’s Bill Self for the gig.