28thJul
Coach K Welcomes USA Basketball Future Stars
Posted by DBradley under Red, White, & Duke Blue
The eyes of 20 of the NBA’s brightest stars were focused on Coach K last week in Las Vegas as he welcomed the group to the USA Basketball Mini Camp and the opportunity to wear the USA jersey. During the meeting, the players were shown video of the 2008 Olympic team’s run and Coach K talked about what the USA staff is looking for as it evaluates for the 2010 World Championship Team.
“The fact that all these guys are here, shows that guys are anxious to play for their country,” said Coach K. “We need to keep developing the program where we give them opportunities, and we build on that feeling.”
Given that many of the 2008 Olympians will return in 2010, USA players are competing for only a few open spots for next summer. “Whatever it takes, like I’m trying to get a job,” said OJ Mayo. “Dive on the floor, wipe the sweat up, whatever I have to do to be a part of Team USA, I’m definitely open. It’s a great opportunity to play for USA and have USA across your chest. Hopefully we can motivate kids to keep the tradition up.”
The USA Basketball National Team brain trust has worked hard to build a family atmosphere that extends across the whole program. Even if a player doesn’t make a particular team, he is the USA pipeline building equity in USA Basketball and building relationships with future teammates and coaches.
“When we figure out who we will eventually have we will have now gotten to know them, not just as pro players but as U.S. players and you get to meet them, you have relationships,” said Coach K. “To start relationships with these guys, whether they play in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 in Chicago, it’s a good thing.”
Chris Duhon’s annual hoops camp is in town this week at the Emily K Center in Durham, and serving as a camp coach is Chris’ former Duke teammate Sean Dockery. Sean, a 2006 Duke grad, is also playing tonight on Team Duhon at the local NC Pro-Am. Former Duke teammates hanging out may not be a big story — obviously it happens frequently and the Duke family stays in touch — but you have to jump at any reason to show these shots again…
Strength and conditioning coach Will Stephens, entering his 12th year at Duke, plays a critical role in the development of our players while running the show in one of basketball’s finest weight rooms. After a voluntary summer workout with a few of the guys yesterday, Coach Will fielded questions about workout keys, lifting in the summer vs. the winter, The Beast, and more…
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How was the workout today?
The guys did a good job, they worked hard. Guys were able to break some barriers they have been working on and get a little stronger.
Tell us a little bit about your approach in the summer versus the winter and basketball season?
In the summer, we do a little bit more, the workouts are a little bit longer, a little more involved, so we are able to do a little bit more volume training. In season, it is a little bit different because we don’t have as much time. Workouts are a little shorter because the guys are doing a lot of basketball training at that time. During the summer, we are concentrating on weight training and the guys are playing a lot of pickup games and things like that.
How has our new weight room helped you prepare the guys?
Well, the weight room is a lot larger than the one we had, we have a lot more equipment. We are able to do a lot more different types of training. Having a lot more equipment, the guys are able to do more. In the old smaller weight room, we didn’t have as much equipment so we weren’t able to train as long or as hard. Now we have so much stuff in here, we can get a lot more work done and our kids have benefited from that so far. We’ve been in here for a year and a half now, and our guys are really starting to see some good results from their work here in this weight room.
Who is the strongest Duke player you have worked with?
Well, there have been a few so I hate to name a certain player or players by name. Nate James was a really strong player when he was here, Shelden Williams was another guy with a lot of strength. Those two in particular come to mind. There have been a lot of guys that have been really strong basketball players. Nate was here when I first started working with the team and Shelden was just a beast in the weight room.
What do you like best about working with our guys?
We have really good kids here, great people, and they work hard. They come in, whether we are lifting weights, doing conditioning or agility workouts, or I am watching them play basketball, they compete hard and take pride in working hard. That is a staple of our program.
Do you have a favorite exercise in the weight room?
Well, today we were working on upper body. I try to work in everything, I don’t have a particular exercise I like over others. We are just trying to build our whole body, getting stronger everywhere. That is what we focus on.
What type of mindset do our players need to maximize their time in the weight room?
As far as your mentality, you have to have a lot of confidence in the weight room. I think in the weight room, you do develop the confidence you need to play the sport you are playing. I think a lot of it starts in the weight room, based on how you are able to attack the weights, come in with a positive attitude, not be intimidated by what you are doing, and just bring a lot of intensity and confidence in with you. Over time, you are able to develop that strength that you need and eventually take that out on the court. So, I think the weight room is a big part of obviously what we do here in basketball but in any sport that you play.
I was walking by earlier and heard you blaring heavy metal with some intense power lifters going hard on the TV. What type of atmosphere are you trying to create with that?
Yeah, I try to create a good atmosphere. I am kind of old fashioned so heavy metal music to me is just music that gets you hyped up and gets you in that mindset of just wanting to go out and tear up something, be aggressive. I am trying to help get the guys in that crazy mindset to come in here and work hard. I am not a big heavy metal fan but it grows on you after you listen to it for a while.
After workouts during the season, I’ve heard some of our guys talk about “The Beast.” What or who is The Beast?
The Beast is that little voice that is in your head when you are getting ready to do something hard telling you that you can’t do it. I just gave it a name. It is an imaginary figure that I named and reference when the guys are working in here. I will say the beast is talking to you, telling you can’t lift a certain amount, you can’t finish a run, little things like that to motivate them to work even harder.
When you see a guy really knock out the beast, how happy does that make you?
It is all about our guys overcoming something they haven’t done before. A personal best — whether it is in the weight room, whether they were able to run, do one of our conditioning workouts and make times they haven’t made — makes you happy as a coach because the kid is growing as an athlete.
So would you say The Beast was defeated today?
I think we got The Beast down, knocked him back down in the basement a little bit. I think he took some good shots and we’ve got another group coming in so hopefully we can get a few more shots in and get him down on the ground again and get him to tap out for us.
USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo officially announced on Tuesday that Coach K and the entire 2006-08 USA coaching staff will continue to lead the National Team from 2009-2012. The 2010 World Championships in Turkey and the 2012 Olympics in London will highlight the second term for the group.
“Mike and the staff did an incredible job and he is more than entitled to have another run at it,” said Colangelo. “I’ve said it over and over, he was the right guy at the right time and that is still true.”
Coach K noted at the official press conference that he is excited about the chance to continue what was built over the first term. “The gold medal you can put away,” said Coach K. “You don’t put away your relationship with your country, and you don’t put away your relationship with the world. Those are ongoing and will never stop.”
By winning the gold, earning the world’s respect, and coming together as a family, Coach K and Colangelo both stated that the National Team set a great precedent for all USA Basketball teams. “Everybody is in this together,” said Coach K. “There isn’t a top and a bottom. Every team is important… The gold medal and respect are the goals for any USA Basketball competition.”
The worldwide exposure and success of the 2008 Olympic champs has created a buzz about USA Basketball, and the goal is to make the USA jersey the most fashionable in this country at all levels while having an even greater impact at the grassroots level. Colangelo suggested that it was no coincidence that the USA U19 team, the U16 team, and the World University Games team combined for a 20-1 record this summer and two gold medals. Continuity and success at “the varsity level” of USA Basketball, as Coach K termed it, will continue to be important as the National Team looks to do an even better job this time around having four years of experience in the books.
“We’ve all taken ownership, we’ve loved being together and most of all, we’ve loved representing our country,” said Coach K. “What a great statement for continuity that our coaching staff will remain in place until 2012.”
With the USA Basketball program placing a big emphasis on continuity going forward, the National Team will likely look to keep much of its roster intact for the 2010 World Championships. Fortunately, it sounds like the 2008 Olympic team members are excited about the future of USA Basketball.
“This is the best possible news for USA Basketball,” said Utah Jazz star Williams. “Coach K is king.”
Other reactions about Coach K’s return from 2008 Olympians courtesy USABasketball.com…
“Coach K has made such a big impact on my life and the 2008 Olympics was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had. I’m happy to see him and the assistant coaches come back to coach the USA National Team.” Carmelo Anthony
“The right staff is being put in place to help the USA National team defend its gold medal. It was a great experience and an honor to have played for them.” Chris Bosh
“Coach K, and the assistant coaches were a perfect fit for the USA Senior National Team in 2006-2008 and I’m confident they’ll again be a great fit for 2010-2012. We worked together for three summers and we all developed a great respect and chemistry that was very important in the successes we achieved.” LeBron James
“I am very excited for the future of USA Basketball after hearing the great news that Coach K and his staff will be back. They provided an excellent atmosphere for the players to thrive, and win, under. Their combined basketball knowledge are second to none and they have a great way of communicating and motivating players. The future is very bright for USA Basketball.” Jason Kidd
“I am excited about Coach K returning as the coach. We had great chemistry as a unit and worked well with the entire coaching staff. I am looking forward to having another great experience with everyone.” Chris Paul
I think it’s great that Coach K and the entire coaching staff have decided to return and help the USA win another Olympic gold medal. I had a wonderful experience playing for Coach K and his staff. Winning the gold medal in China last summer was one of the highlights of my career. I believe his return will make many players want to join the Senior National Team and represent our country.” Dwyane Wade
