Hello Duke fans! I hope all is well. It is so good to be back in Durham and able to spend time with my family and our players. The Olympic experience was amazing and provided a lifetime of memories for the Duke staff. I am so happy for the Olympic team members, staff, and USA Basketball. Each person involved made a huge commitment from day one and to have that commitment rewarded with a Gold Medal is so gratifying. The players set an amazing example of how the game should be played as well as representing themselves and their country in a first-class manner. It was a thrill for me to see it all up close. I will always look back at that experience with great fondness and appreciation. I also thought you might enjoy some of the photos my wife Lindsay and I took, which you can view by clicking HERE.
Our Duke players were so supportive and hard-working in our absence. Our entire Duke staff who stayed in the States did such a great job of being there for them while we were away. It was so good to see them again and have a chance to share the experience with them. We have met numerous times since we have been back and we are all excited to begin our own journey. We have a terrific group of guys and they are ready and willing to put the time and effort in to become the best we can become. As a staff, we are anxious to get to work and begin the process of developing into a championship-caliber team.
Classes have started here and the guys have begun individual workouts. They are also playing pickup games and working on their strength and conditioning. We are able to coach them during some of the individual work and then they are on their own for the pickup.
Hopefully, we can show the commitment, pride, and togetherness that the Olympic team showed this summer. We will be hard at work trying to make it happen!!
Lastly, thanks to all of the fans who attended our football team’s victory against James Madison. Coach K, Coach Collins, Kevin Cullen and I appreciated all of the cheers and support at halftime. It was an exciting atmosphere in Wallace Wade for the game and I would encourage all Duke fans to attend on Saturday night so we can do it again! It will be a great time.
My best to you and your families… GO DUKE!
Sincerely,
Coach Wojo
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USA Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University’s Coach K) to write about World-Class Team Building and the Olympic Gold Medal Quest
New York, NY — Wednesday, August 27, 2008 — Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group), has announced it will publish a new book by Duke University basketball coaching legend and U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K). Tentatively slated for publication in Spring 2009 and co-written with his daughter, Jamie K. Spatola, Krzyzewski will reveal the unique leadership skills that he used to unify a diverse group of NBA superstars and win the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. In his previous bestselling books including “Leading with the Heart” and “Beyond Basketball,” Krzyzewski guided readers to success the way he has guided his teams at Duke—with his inspirational words and phenomenal leadership skills. Now, after stepping up to take on an entirely new challenge by volunteering to coach the U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball team, Coach K has achieved another great accomplishment—leading the team in Beijing to a gold medal. Krzyzewski will reveal how he took some of the biggest NBA stars and molded an American team that won against the best competition in the world and restored Team USA to the gold standard of basketball.
More than a celebratory book, it will be Krzyzewski’s first-hand account of how he worked with such stars as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony to buy into his “total team” play. A book on basketball and on management techniques, it will feature Krzyzewski’s personal style and approach to getting people to work together and succeed in reaching a common goal.
“There are so many amazing stories from this recent Olympic experience and to share them in a book project will be fantastic,” said Krzyzewski. “I’m looking forward to collaborating with Jamie and working with all of the great people at Grand Central Publishing again. The U.S. Olympic gold medal team has served as a perfect example of what successful team building is all about.”
In making the announcement, Rick Wolff, Vice President, Executive Editor, Grand Central Publishing and Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Business Plus said, “We absolutely cherish our long-term publishing relationship with one of America’s truly legendary coaches, and we’re thrilled to be able to work with Mike and Jamie on this project. All basketball fans know that America still has the highest total of top stars, but it took the coaching magic of Coach K to find the right players, get them to work as a team, and to bring home the gold. We anticipate this work to be a meaningful case study in fundamental management techniques, and as with his previous books, transcend the world of sports.”
Mike Krzyzewski has been the head basketball coach of the Duke Blue Devils for 28 years, winning 730 games and three NCAA championships at the school, while also earning National Coach of the Year awards twelve times. Coach K was inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and is the sixth winningest NCAA Division I coach with 803 total wins, including five seasons as the head coach at West Point, his alma mater.
About Business Plus/Hachette Book Group Business Plus, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing and Hachette Book Group, publishes books in areas such as personal finance, marketing, management, economic trends, careers, and leadership. At the forefront of publishing new and provocative titles, Business Plus books address issues facing today’s global business community. Bestselling Business Plus authors include Robert Kiyosaki, Jack Welch, Michael Abrashoff, Robert I. Sutton, and Stephen Leeb.
Hachette Book Group is a leading trade publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the second largest publisher in the world. Hachette Book Group’s product lines include adult, illustrated, religious, children’s and audio books under the Little, Brown and Company, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Grand Central Publishing, FaithWords, Center Street, Orbit, Yen Press and Hachette Book Group Digital Media imprints.
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During his four years in the NBA, Luol Deng has played an integral role in the success of a young Chicago Bulls basketball team. In his young career, Deng has averaged an impressive 15.6 points per game with 6.4 rebounds per game. Equally as impressive are Deng’s contributions off the court. In only four years as a professional, the 2006-2007 NBA Sportsmanship Award winner has worked tirelessly to give back to others. His current mission to serve as the centerpiece in building Great Britain’s national basketball program is just one more example in a long list of inspiring contributions to others.
The Bulls recently recognized the 6-foot-9 forward’s impact on and off the court in dramatic fashion, signing him to a six-year extension worth $71 million plus additional bonuses. The lucrative deal was struck just two days before Deng’s negotiating deadline, at which time he would depart for his native Great Britain and focus only on his goal of raising Britain’s national basketball program to prominence.
The upstanding character of the 23-year-old is the product of an arduous journey to adulthood filled with many challenges and triumphs. At the young age of four, Luol, his parents, three brothers and five sisters were forced to flee civil war in Sudan (where his father held a position in the Sudanese parliament). The Deng family spent the next four years in Egypt where Deng learned the game of basketball from fellow Dinka tribe member Manute Bol. The Deng family was granted political asylum in England after spending four years in Egypt. They made a home in South Norwood where Luol’s parents still reside.
In England, Luol developed the basketball skills that afforded him the opportunity to journey to the United States at age 14, where he attended Blair Academy. Although an ocean away from his family, Deng excelled and was ranked the second best player in the country his senior year (behind LeBron James). The highly touted prospect landed at Duke, where he donned No. 2 jersey with pride and helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four in 2004.
These childhood and adolescent experiences instilled in Deng the passion to use his gifts to improve the lives of others. “I feel that I am not just an athlete,” Deng says. “Because of my position, because of what I have been through, because of what I have seen, because of what my country has been through, I feel that I have a responsibility to do something more than perform on the court. I t just does not make sense to keep all my gifts to myself. I feel that everything I earn is for me to share with everyone.”
Deng’s lofty rhetoric is empowered by his commitment to acting on what he believes. He does not see his new $71 million contract as merely an increased pressure to perform on the court. He says of the contract, “This brings a lot of responsibilities. Those are responsibilities I’m looking forward to, on and off the court.” He already bores many responsibilities off the court, such as serving as spokesperson for the World Food Programme and for the Nothing But Nets initiative, a grassroots effort to prevent malaria by delivering long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to those in need. The large contract will also help contribute to Deng’s pledge to donate $50 per basket he makes to the Nothing But Nets initiative and to the ninemillion.org campaign to raise funds for refugee children to get an education.
Deng has always showed concern for those in his native Africa and homeland of Great Britain. He hosts annual “Hope for Sudan” and celebration for the “Lost Boys of Sudan” in order to increase awareness and support for his countrymen. Additionally, after every NBA season Deng has organized a summer basketball camp sponsored by Nike in London, England for British NBA hopefuls to gain exposure.
In the same spirit of his summer basketball camps, Deng now continues to give back to Great Britain, where his family was provided a safe home just 15 years ago. Like his college coach with USA Basketball, Deng wants to raise the level of his national basketball program to compete with the world’s best. In doing so, he hopes to provide Great Britain with a renewed sense of patriotism and pride as London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In the same spirit of his summer basketball camps, Deng now continues to give back to Great Britain, where his family was provided a safe home just 15 years ago. Like his college coach with USA Basketball, Deng wants to raise the level of his national basketball program to compete with the world’s best. In doing so, he hopes to provide Great Britain with a renewed sense of patriotism and pride as London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Deng’s presence on the national team has had an immediate impact. Last summer Deng played six games for the British squad and served as a vital member in helping them gain promotion to Division A of the European Championship, a first for Great Britain. Going into September’s qualifiers, the Great Britain team has already seen the impact of Deng. Teammate Pops Mensa-Bonsu said of Deng, “His talent alone just raises the level of play of others around him. At practice today, some of the things he was able to do showed what a difference he can make.”
Similarly, Great Britain coach Chris Finch spoke very highly of the former Duke playmaker. ”It’s great having Deng,” he says. ”We have to harness his enthusiasm and energy. Just having him here automatically increases expectations of a respectable performance in the London Olympics, but first we have to qualify for the European championship.” As he has been in the lives of so many that he has touched, Deng will be the difference maker in Great Britain hope’s of qualifying for the EuroBasket Championships next year.
In a country so heavily dominated by soccer, Deng’s performance is looked to be the impetus for the growth and notoriety of the game of basketball in Great Britain. “Playing for Great Britain is very important to me,” Deng says. “I just want more than anything kids here and all over Europe to play basketball.” Luol has literally become the poster child of Britain’s new campaign for the 2012 Olympics. Nike recently released a print ad of Deng with a basketball in hand. It reads, “Luol shoots a thousand hoops a day. Now he’s counting down until he comes home to compete in four years’ time. I’ll be ready.”
Whether Deng will succeed in raising the standard and significance of the game of basketball in Great Britain remains to be seen. Given his achievements in all of his other campaigns to help improve the standards of others, it is likely that his quest will be triumphant.
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The awkward 12-hour time zone difference between Durham and Beijing did not stop the Duke team back home from sharing in the epic Gold Medal Game live. The players and staff arrived at Scharf Hall (adjacent to Cameron) prior to the 2:30 AM EST opening tip and enjoyed a team meal as well (breakfast food such as pancakes and french toast).
Shortly after halftime, Gerald surprised Jon with a birthday cake and later declared that Spain’s center Marc Gasol was the “Spanish Brian Zoubek”. G hoped Gasol and Zoubs could meet 1-on-1 at some point for a very intense matchup.
After watching their coach win the Gold, the guys headed to bed around 5 AM excited for the return of the Duke staff. Things will get back to normal on Monday as classes resume and the staff arrives shortly at 5 PM.
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A message from the Iron Dukes… Please note that all fans are encouraged to attend, not just Iron Dukes members…
Join us as we welcome back Duke University and U.S.A Olympic Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his family, plus Olympic and Duke assistant coaches Steve Wojciechowski and Chris Collins at the RDU Airport on Monday, August 25. Be there to congratulate Coach K on his Olympic accomplishments. The flight is scheduled to arrive at 5:12 pm, and the welcome back event will take place at the Southwest Baggage Claim in Terminal A. Visitors should park in the Terminal A hourly parking garage and follow signs to Southwest Baggage Claim/Baggage Claim Area 4 & 5. We hope to see you there!
Go Duke!
The Iron Dukes
