San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will take over for Duke mainstay Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach of Team USA Basketball after the Olympics in Rio. Currently Popovich, among the most successful coach in hoops history, works with the USA Select team, created as a farm program for the Team USA team that ultimately competes in the Olympics. (The system has worked: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson have all played with the Select team.)
[Never Misspell Duke Coach K’s Name Again]
The announcement that Popovich would take over Krzyzewski’s role was made last October. In an excellent article by Steve Achburner about Popovich’s long-held desire to contribute to Team USA, Popovich — who graduated from the Air Force Academy — explains what’s special about the job, and why it’s important:
“Being a former military guy, if you can represent your country in any way, that’s always pretty important. This is one of the best ways to show that. Our country is a little bit divided in various ways, as we all know. And this is a shining example of teamwork and togetherness and people all focused on one goal. And playing together and just being empathetic for each other, understanding each other, loving each other.”
