Jerry Colangelo is managing director of the USA’s men’s basketball team, but at age 76, he won’t be holding that position for too much longer. Colangelo has a replacement in mind: Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. From Andy Katz of ESPN:
Jerry Colangelo wants Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to succeed him as the managing director of the United States men’s basketball national team after the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Colangelo said on ESPN Radio’s Capital Games podcast Tuesday, in an interview that will air in its entirety next week, that his plan is for Krzyzewski to work with him in the next four years after Coach K steps down as the USA’s head coach following this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
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“I want Coach K’s role after 2016 to be alongside me and get as much experience as he possibly can,” Colangelo said. “The real question mark is, how many more years will be coaching at Duke? I don’t think he would be able to handle or be eligible to serve in my capacity in USA Basketball if he’s still coaching.
“We’ll see what happens in these next four years. But if it were left to me, he would replace me at the appropriate time — sometime after 2020.”
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San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was selected to succeed Krzyzewski as Olympic coach for the 2020 games, starting with coaching the U.S. in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
“Pop said to me, ‘I’ll do it under one condition, that you’re there. I don’t want to do it if you’re not going to be there.’ I committed to him to stay in my role through 2020, but that’s it for me,” said Colangelo, 76, who took over in 2005.
Krzyzewski is a great coach, but at age 69, he probably won’t be coaching that much longer than Colangelo or Popovich. His tenure would be a fairly short one.
