Krzyzewski begins quest for third straight gold

LAS VEGAS — Mike Krzyzewski thought he was finished with USA Basketball. He said he was done, too.

After helping Team USA win consecutive Olympic gold medals, there appeared little left for him to accomplish. After the team won in London last summer, Krzyzewski prepared to walk away.

It didn't take long for Jerry Colangelo to know that Krzyzewski wasn't as resolute in his stance as he made it seem. Just a couple of weeks after their triumph in London, the two reconvened in Springfield for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. And that's when Colangelo, the managing director for USA Basketball, knew there was still a chance.

"He was having withdrawal already," Colangelo said. "He started talking about the future. No commitments, but it was there."

Ten months after Colangelo first saw that gleam return to Krzyzewski's eye, and two months after the coach made his return official, the two men are back to work at a four-day camp that began Monday.

"Throughout the year I did not think I would be coaching (Team USA)," Krzyzewski told The Associated Press before the camp kicked off. "I just felt that that wasn't going to happen. But then after discussions, not just talking with Jerry, but my staff and my family, to be given that opportunity again, it's something I'm really excited about and feel very honored and privileged to have that opportunity."

When Krzyzewski leads the Americans at the Rio Olympics in 2016, he'll join Henry Iba as the only coaches in U.S. history to coach in three Olympics. Together with Colangelo, Krzyzewski has changed the culture of USA Basketball and restored some sense of pride, professionalism and prestige to a brand that was tarnished after a bronze medal finish in Athens in 2004.

A big sign of the change? The simple fact that they're even holding a camp this week. Because the Americans won gold in London last summer, they do not have to participate in any qualifying tournaments this summer for the 2014 World Cup in Madrid.

Quite literally, there is nothing to play for this summer. And yet this is still the place to be.

"How Coach K does that is he just leads," said Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving, who played for Krzyzewski at Duke and is one of the hopefuls at the camp this week. "Different things to motivate you, to get you going, to always be your best, not only as a player, but as a person. That's what true leaders do."

Twenty-eight of the best young players in the country are here for four days of workouts that essentially mark the kickoff of 2016 preparations. Anthony Davis, who played sparingly last summer, is the only player with Olympic experience. Others like Damian Lillard, Irving, John Wall and Paul George have come to try to make a good impression in hopes of being included on the World Cup team next summer.

No roster decisions will be made this week, and they are still holding out hope that some of the younger players from London — Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, among others — will decide to play in Spain next year. But Krzyzewski will also use the time to get acquainted with new assistants Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams and teach the young players about what is expected of them in this program.

"People want to be with USA Basketball. They should," Krzyzewski said. "But for a while there, they didn't. It enjoys now, primarily because of Jerry's leadership, a really high status, which we need to maintain. You're not just given that status. You have to earn it."