Mike Krzyzewski should be reveling in another Team USA triumph as he prepares for a new season at Duke, but instead the Blue Devils coach finds himself defending the integrity of his position with USA Basketball.
Earlier this week, Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski published a column that seemed to take exception with Coach K's Team USA advantage.
"As much as ever, USA Basketball has been co-opted into a Krzyzewski leverage play for the Duke Blue Devils," Wojnarowski wrote, explaining how the under-19 U.S. team Krzyzewski visited in 2013 included top recruits Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, both of whom are now Blue Devils.
"Without the access of USA Basketball, there's a strong belief within the basketball community that Krzyzewski would've never landed Jabari Parker," Wojnarowski wrote, adding "As long as Krzyzewski needs recruits at Duke, he needs USA Basketball."
On Wednesday, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who worked on Krzyzewski's Team USA staff at this summer's FIBA World Cup, explained that Kentucky coach John Calipari has complained about their access to high school players in the national team's program (read the original story below).
On Thursday, Krzyzewski responded, calling the claims that coaching the national team gives him a recruiting advantage "utterly ridiculous," and clarifying that he's only spoken to the under-19 team twice in his entire tenure as USA coach, via ESPN.
Florida coach Billy Donovan coaches the under-19 team. "No one is saying about (Donovan) that he has an advantage and he's with those kids for three-and-a-half weeks each summer," Krzyzewski said, via ESPN.
Krzyzewski added that winning, which he's done numerous times now at the collegiate and international level, is what gives coaches an advantage. "But it's advantage through accomplishment," he said.
"What am I supposed to do? Lose?" he asked.
Finally, Krzyzewski took exception to the insinuation that a photographed moment he shared with Paul George in the hospital following the star's horrific injury - which went viral - was orchestrated rather than authentic.
"To say I orchestrated that is really wrong, and if you want to think that, then you are a bad person. That was done secretly. For someone to put it out that way, you're really reaching."
