Coach K to Coach USA Basketball through 2012

It was announced yesterday that Mike Krzyzewski, head coach at Duke, has decided to stay on with Team USA and USA basketball through the 2012 Olympics in London. This is great news for the national team as it means great cohesion throughout this stretch as the U.S. continues to try and re-assert its world dominance in basketball. The question is, is this a good thing for Duke basketball?

Anyone can notice that Duke, currently, is not the program that they were ten years ago. Duke has not been to a final four since 2004. They have not been past the sweet sixteen since that time either. They have won three ACC championships but really have not done anything on the national scene (2005 and 2006 were good years that saw Duke ranked in the top 2 and often number one at many times). The real "decline" has been the past three years, coincidentally (or not) with Coach K's first commitment to USA basketball. In 2007, Duke had its worst season since the mid 1990's, going 22-11 and losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament to VCU. In 2008, Duke had a better year, gaining a number 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but lost in the second round to West Virginia after beating Belmont by one point on a last second lay-up by Gerald Henderson (now a Charlotte Bobcat). Duke improved again in 2009, winning the ACC tournament and getting another #2 seed in the NCAA tourney. However, Duke still was not the Duke of old. They got beat by 100 at Clemson earlier in the year and lost to Villanova in the sweet 16 by 23.

Did Coach K's commitment to USA basketball hurt the Duke basketball program? By simply looking at the numbers it would be hard to argue anything other than it obviously did. Duke, from 1986 to 2004, could guarantee every recruit that came to Duke they would probably get to go to a final four during their four years at Duke, and most likely multiple final fours. Not anymore. They have won just won ACC tournament the last three years (which is definitely not bad) but not near the pace they were on before K's commitment to team USA.

Taking numbers as the only basis for comparison would not be doing the situation justice. What Krzyzewski says himself has to count for something. He has sworn since day one that this has not hurt Duke in any way but rather it has helped Duke because it has made him a much better coach. He states he has learned a great deal from the assistant coaches he has been working with, the elite players he had the opportunity to coach, and the international game. He also has sworn it has not hurt Duke's recruiting.

I agree with him on all points minus one. I believe it has hurt Duke's recruiting. There is a reason Duke's program is not currently an ELITE national program. They don't have the players they used to have. Coach K is a hall of famer and has done some incredible coaching jobs during his great career at Duke, but he can only do so much when the players on the other team are that much better than his. Just go back and watch the Villanova game. Duke was severely out classed at every position minus two (Henderson and Singler). Duke simply does not currently have elite level talent. When Duke would usually be out heavily recruiting during the summer, except for the dead periods, they are not. K took his whole staff with him on the team USA ride. They learned a great deal as coaches, but could not form the relationships with high school juniors and seniors that were necessary to get the elite level high school talent to sign.

If you look at Duke's recruiting in 2010, they look to be loading up again. They already have commitments from three players, two of which are considered immediate impact guys in Andre Dawkins and Josh Hairston. Most feel they are in good spots with Harrison Barnes (the #1 player in 2010), Kyrie Irving (5 * PG), and Ray McCallum (5 * PG). They also have offered Roscoe Smith (4 * SF) who appears to now be very interested. K has stated that 2010 needs to be a monster class and it is shaping up to be one. Duke, if this class pans out, will be back in the final four before you know it.

Will this new commitment hurt Duke's recruiting in 2011 and 2012? Most feel that Duke has made great strides with guys in 2011 they are targeting. These also will probably be smaller classes if the 2010 class is what they are hoping. Many think Coach K will now also have a much better idea of his schedule. Will it hurt Duke's recruiting in the next few years? I don't know. If Coach K thinks it won't then you have to think he knows something. Either way it is great news for USA basketball and in the long run I think at least decent news for Duke basketball.