OT: Pop to become Olympic coach

[JCSunsfan]

http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...-Become-Head-Coach-Of-USA-After-2016-Olympics

Brilliant idea. The coach is more about attracting players than actually coaching players. I am sure alot of NBA players wonder what it would be like to play for Pop.

 

[Mainstreet]

There is some very interesting background information leading up to Gregg Popovich becoming Team USA's coach. Adrian Wojnarowski wrote an interesting article today for Yahoo Sports covering cover some friction between Gregg Popovich and Jerry Colangelo leading up to this announcement. Here are a couple of quotes from the article.

In an interview with me in 2005, Colangelo said, Popovich "had a bad taste in his mouth regarding his most recent experiences with USA Basketball, some bitterness, and that came out in my conversation with him. He seemed burned out by it. … He just wasn't as enthusiastic as Mike."

Those comments to Yahoo Sports – along with other public statements – moved Popovich to write a letter to Colangelo that was carbon copied to several top officials in the league office, league sources told Yahoo Sports. In the letter, Popovich essentially told Colangelo: Don't you dare suggest that I had anything but a deep desire to be the USA's national coach. Mostly, Pop told him: Just stop talking about me.

So, yes, Jerry Colangelo had to hire an NBA coach, and there could be no one else but the man he'll sit down with at a 4 p.m. ET news conference at 1 Spurs Lane today. Together, Colangelo and Popovich will declare a most improbable of partnerships. "Hell froze over," one longtime friend of Popovich said on Friday, and maybe most of all, the right man gets the right job for every right reason.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/how-gr...purs-legend-the-team-usa-coach-191052125.html

 

[Ronin]

I’m sad to see Coach Krzyzewski tenure end, but team USA won’t miss a beat with Popovich at the helm.

 

[sunsfan88]

Easy decision but I remember reading earlier in the summer how this could be a conflict with many incoming FA superstars playing for Team USA and how Pop may have an unfair advantage now in terms of recruiting them to San Antonio...

 

[Russ Smith]

I’m sad to see Coach Krzyzewski tenure end, but team USA won’t miss a beat with Popovich at the helm.

Wojnaroski is the only guy who's really called out Coach K on it to an extent. I admit he did a good job, the team won, they rebuilt the allure of playing for the team etc. But essentially Coach K used it as a platform to promote Duke basketball and it worked, he and calipari at Kentucky are now dominating recruiting.

Kentucky has it's own advantages, at Duke the advantage is kids are in the USA Basketball system and they figured out fairly young that there is a distinct advantage to being a Duke recruit. If they are interested and you're not, you don't get national team invites, or if you do, you don't make the team.

The other criticism for me is USA basketball sold out to Nike, every coach at every level is a Nike backed coach. So the same kids being steered towards Duke are also being steered towards Nike schools.

Hiring an NBA coach will solve at least some of the issues but if you read the article Wojnaroski makes it clear that coach K held out long enough to have the contract stipulate he still gets unfettered access to the national team and the process. that is he is the only college coach in the country who's allowed to just show up at USA basketball team practice etc and interact with kids who in many cases are being recruited by Duke. It's a HUGE advantage and that's why he's recruited so well since he got that job.

I'm sure Pop will do a good job and then pass the torch on, I hope they keep it in the NBA's hands the situation that Coach K has right now is just silly.

I'm still amazed he didn't get dinged by the NCAA when he called Josh Smith from china during an NCAA dead period, when he'd already used all his allotted calls to Smith. Josh told the media because he was so impressed the national team coach called him from China, had no idea it was a violation. Coach K said he got confused by the time periods, nothing happened and Duke dropped Josh smith cold turkey(wound up at UCLA and then Georgetown).

 

[Phrazbit]

I can't stand Duke but they were not exactly hurting at recruiting before he took over at Team USA. I don't feel like he got some big boost.

 

[Russ Smith]

I can't stand Duke but they were not exactly hurting at recruiting before he took over at Team USA. I don't feel like he got some big boost.

It's impossible to pin down but from 98-05 before he took the jobs he had 3 top 10 classes. From 06 to to 14 he had 8 top 10 classes and 15 and 16 will make that 10.

Now I say impossible because they also stopped the we don't take one and dones mantra and now take them regularly. Part of the reason for the more top 10 classes is Duke is losing guys to the NBA earlier so they're bringing in larger classes.

 

[Phrazbit]

It's impossible to pin down but from 98-05 before he took the jobs he had 3 top 10 classes. From 06 to to 14 he had 8 top 10 classes and 15 and 16 will make that 10.

Now I say impossible because they also stopped the we don't take one and dones mantra and now take them regularly. Part of the reason for the more top 10 classes is Duke is losing guys to the NBA earlier so they're bringing in larger classes.

Yes, I think it has far more to do with Duke no longer having guys stay 3-4 years, like that stacked 2001 team than Coach K getting some huge boost from coaching team USA. Coach K also changed his stance on one and done players in recent years, he used to be unwilling to recruit those kids and obviously those are the guys rated highest in their class.