USA Basketball names Coach K's assistants

The United States National Team will rely on a coaching staff comprised of a mix of college and NBA coaches to try to recapture the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, the Phoenix Suns' Mike D'Antoni and the Portland Trail Blazers' Nate McMillan-all head coaches of their respective teams-will serve as Mike Krzyzewski's assistants, USA Basketball's managing director Jerry Colangelo announced Monday.

"Our goal was to assemble a first rate coaching staff with Mike Krzyzewski in the leadership role and a talented group of respected and successful coaches assisting him," Colangelo said. "I'm very excited about this coaching staff."

Assigned the task of trying to return the United States' basketball program to its prior glory, Colangelo and Krzyzewski have pledged to assemble a squad that will correct the problems that plagued Team USA at the Athens Olympics in 2004.

"This staff encompasses all the areas that need to be addressed," Krzyzewski said. "We have NBA experience. We have international experience. We have the backgrounds to teach different styles of basketball, including zone offense and defense. We also have coaches of different ages, which should give us the ability to teach and communicate well with a team of the best players in our country."

Boeheim, who along with Krzyzewski give the staff two Hall of Famers, is in his 30th year at the helm of Syracuse. He won his first NCAA Championship in 2003 and his teams have become known for their stifling 2-3 zone.

In his first full season as coach of the Suns last year, D'Antoni led Phoenix to a 62-20 record and was named the NBA's Coach of the Year.

McMillan, one of the NBA's youngest coaches, is in his first year in Portland, after spending the previous five seasons as the head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics.