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Sources say Louisville coach Rick Pitino has also expressed strong interest in the position, but the general expectation in USAB circles is that Krzyzewski will be succeeded by an NBA coach. Current Team USA assistants Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan, meanwhile, are regarded as long-shot contenders in part because both are out of work at present, meaning it would likely be too much to ask either of them -- when they do inevitably resurface in the NBA in the near future -- to take on the national team in addition to the rigors of a new pro job. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Doc Rivers, Mike D'Antoni, Gregg Popovich, USA Basketball, Nate McMillan, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics, Rick Pitino 

Some of Team USA's prominent players nonetheless plan to try to convince Krzyzewski to keep going, at least through the 2014 World Cup in Basketball in Spain, since pretty much all of them hold the 65-year-old in such high regard. One of those stalwarts, Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, told ESPN.com: "I'm sure we can get him to come back." ESPN.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

Vowing to leave the U.S. bench after these Olympics, no matter what happens in Sunday's finale, Krzyzewski was only half-kidding when he said, "It's a great job if we win this whole thing." ESPN.com

Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

In his less fatalistic moments, Coach K has mostly loved these past seven years, not only for the major successes -- gold in Beijing in 2008 followed by success at the 2010 worlds in Turkey and that gaudy overall record of 61-1 -- but also because they've allowed him to satiate any yearnings he's had to coach in the NBA. He doesn't need to entertain that thought ever again, or play what-if games in his head after leaving his Duke empire, because he already knows what it's like to coach the most talented players in the world and take them places they haven't been. ESPN.com

Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

USAB officials, however, aren't nearly that optimistic. Colangelo has said repeatedly this week that he'll make one more run at it, after giving Krzyzewski some time to decompress when this is all over, but sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich have indeed already moved to the top of the list to take over in 2013 for Krzyzewski, who is expected to remain with the program as a top aide to Colangelo if he can't be convinced to extend his coaching tenure. ESPN.com

Boston Celtics, San Antonio Spurs, Doc Rivers, Coaching, Gregg Popovich, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Sources say that Louisville coach Rick Pitino has also expressed strong interest in the position, but the general expectation in USAB circles is that Krzyzewski will be succeeded by an NBA coach. Current Team USA assistants Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan, meanwhile, are regarded as long-shot contenders in part because both are out of work at present, meaning that it would likely be too much to ask either of them -- when they do inevitably resurface in the NBA in the near future -- to take on the national team in addition to the rigors of a new pro job. ESPN.com

Coaching, Mike D'Antoni, USA Basketball, Nate McMillan, Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino 

Mike Krzyzewski's last game as U.S. coach will be for an Olympic gold medal. As the American men's team prepared to play Spain for the Olympic title, Krzyzewski told The Associated Press that the game will be his final one as national coach, a position he has held for seven years. Krzyzewski had left open the possibility of staying with the team beyond the London Games, but before practice on Saturday said these will be his last Olympics. ABC News

Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Marc Stein: USAB pessimistic about Coach K staying on w/Team USA. But Durant tells ESPN players will lobby, too: "I'm sure we can get him to come back" Twitter

Coaching, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski 

Colangelo is still a long way from picking the next head coach. He insisted he isn’t “locked in” to continuing with a college guy over an NBA guy, even though things have gone so well under Krzyzewski. If he does go college, Izzo would have to be on the very, very short list. If Colangelo opts to go with a pro candidate such as Doc Rivers, Izzo still would be a strong candidate to be an assistant. Lansing State Journal

Boston Celtics, Doc Rivers, Tom Izzo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

Bruce Arthur: Coach K just called Pau Gasol one of the five best players in the world. Then he said he gets drunk as a skunk every night. I'm not kidding. Twitter

Pau Gasol, USA Basketball, Spain, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

In the U.S. press conference a TV reporter from America asked given this team of superstars: “How much coaching is really involved?” You could tell Coach K was irritated a little by the question, but he defused it with humor. “None,” he said. “You got it. Absolutely none. I’m out every night with my family, drunk as a skunk. Wait until you see me tonight. I’ll get in at 6 a.m., and you all are invited to come out with me. We just roll out the damn ball and that’s it. You got it. I don’t know how you figured that out.” Charlotte Observer

USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

Most of the room laughed. Then, five minutes later, a foreign reporter started a question to Kevin Durant like this: “Kevin, Coach K says he has been going out drinking a lot. What have you….” Krzyzewski interrupted him then, telling the reporter he had been joking. “Oh, sorry,” the reporter said. “I didn’t catch the irony.” Charlotte Observer

Kevin Durant, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

Another issue facing USA Basketball is the identity of its next coach, with 65-year-old Mike Krzyzewski expected to step down after the current Olympics. Overseeing that choice will be Jerry Colangelo, who has restored the men's program of USA Basketball to dominance since he became managing director in 2005. Colangelo, 72, said he intends to preside through the next Olympics. "I want one more run,'' Colangelo told SI.com. Asked if that meant he would continue to represent USA Basketball for another four years, Colangelo said, "Yes, I think so.'' SI.com

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski 

Mike Krzyzewski, on LeBron James' triple-double, "LeBron was magnificent tonight but he has been magnificent the whole time. He is so unselfish. His rebounding and passing tonight were incredible and he is all about winning and he is the best basketball player right now and he showed that tonight." Sulia

LeBron James, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

KC Johnson: Durant on facing Argentina in semis: "It’s going to be a chippy game. We’re a physical team as well." #London2012 Twitter

Kevin Durant, USA Basketball, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics 

Carmelo Anthony, who’s 6-8, rose for a long jumper, and 5-10 Argentine point guard Facundo Campazzo hit him in the groin. Melo mellowed out on the floor in agony. That’s cheap. That’s cheesy. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Anthony’s drop to the hardwood as if poleaxed, ‘‘He wasn’t celebrating the shot.’’ It was an angry moment in a hard-fought game, and the ensuing scrum put even more fever into the Americans’ goal of winning every game in London by as much as possible. ‘‘It was wrong,’’ Kobe Bryant (11 points in 21 minutes) said angrily of the jab. ‘‘We told him, ‘You don’t do that.’ ’’ Chicago Sun-Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Mike Krzyzewski, Argentina, Olympics, Facundo Campazzo 

It would also be a rematch of the matchup between the United States and Russia in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey, a game whose buildup was made spicier when Blatt and U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski had dueling press conference exchanges. Blatt had said then that, after watching a documentary on the controversial game, he'd come to believe that the Soviets had won the game fairly. NBA.com

Coaching, Russia, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics, David Blatt 

Told of Blatt's comments, Krzyzewski first said that Blatt had that viewpoint because Blatt was Russian (he isn't), and then said that the '72 game would always be a negative memory for Americans and "somewhat of a positive for those who believe in fairy tales." NBA.com

Coaching, Russia, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics, David Blatt 

"I've known him for many, many years," Blatt said. "He coached against my Princeton team at the Aloha Classic in Hawaii in 1980. He was a rookie coach for Army, and I was playing for Princeton. I've known this guy forever. It cleared up as soon as it was over. A lot of it was grandstanding between the two of us -- moreso on his part. I was coming from a place where my message, I had hoped, was that the world changes and we view history a little bit differently when you have perspective. And Coach K jumped on it as a motivating factor for his team. OK. He was doing what he had to do for his unit. But no, we haven't had any problem. Hell, I talked to him this summer about players ... we're fine." NBA.com

Coaching, Russia, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics, David Blatt 

Every member of the U.S. team is part of the Nike family, except for Kevin Love, who has a deal with Chinese shoe company 361 Degrees, but still wears Nikes on the court. Nike also sponsors the overall team, as well as its coach Mike Kryzewski. The earnings of Team USA are split almost evenly between salary and endorsements, thanks to the large sponsorship portfolios of James, Bryant and Kevin Durant. Forbes.com

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, USA Basketball, Kevin Love, Team USA, Mike Krzyzewski, Olympics