Boeheim, Thibodeau join Team USA coaching staff
Jim Boeheim, Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams were added to the USA men's national team coaching staff Monday.
Boeheim was considered an option to replace head coach Mike Krzyzewski before USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo announced Krzyzewski would return as coach of the team for 2013-2016 quadrennium.
"To work with Jim Boeheim again, who's as close of a friend as you can have in this profession and also one of the brilliant coaches in the history of our game, to have him right along side me is fantastic. We've done that for the last seven years, we're going to do it for four more," Krzyzewski said.
"To have Tom Thibodeau join us, I think his reputation speaks for itself. He was a great assistant who has become an outstanding pro coach, and nobody wants to play the Bulls. The toughness that they show, their togetherness, their competitiveness, and the preparation that is there, that is shown by he and his staff. I think he is one of the best defensive coaches, his defensive game plans are incredible, and so I'm really looking forward to working with him."
Krzyzewski is 62-1 since being named Team USA coach in 2006, including two Olympic gold medal victories. Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan, a former NBA player with experience as a head coach and assistant in the NBA, were Krzyzewski's top assistants in London for the 2012 Games.
"I think we have assembled another outstanding coaching staff, one that I believe will continue to lead our program to success on the court as well as off," Colangelo said in a news release. "Coach Boeheim is a Hall of Fame coach who knows the international game as well as anyone and has been an invaluable part of the national team program since its inception in 2006. Coaches Thibodeau and Williams are outstanding additions to our staff, and both of them have already made their mark in the league."
Team USA begins minicamp in Las Vegas on July 22, concluding with an intrasquad scrimmage open to the public at Thomas & Mack Center July 25. The full Team USA roster is expected to be announced by June 22.
