Duke Coach Mike Krzyewski has apparently experienced a change of heart and now plans to return as coach of Team USA for the 2016 Olympics, according to Sports Illustrated. A formal announcement is expected to be made over the next 48 hours.
Krzyzewski, who led Team USA to gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics, had insisted for months that he would not be returning before surprisingly changing course in an SI interview late last week.
Krzyzewski, 66, has a 62-1 record with USA Basketball. His return means he will also be on the USA sidelines for the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo never gave up in trying to lure Krzyzewski back into the fold, immediately reaching out to him again as soon as Duke’s season ended last year.
After USA Basketball's disappointing and dysfunctional bronze-medal performance in the 2004 Olympics, Krzyzewski took over and has been nearly perfect ever since. He and Colangelo have team to build a system that focusses on convincing the best young talent in the country to via for spots on the national team.
The humbling defeats showed the Americans that they could no longer just show up and beat the best teams in the world, so Krzyzewski and Colangelo transformed USA Basketball from a series of random cameos for some top stars into a well-organized, competitive system.
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