USA Basketball has turned over control of the senior national team to San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich after Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced his impending retirement from those duties this week. Coach K and his staff, which includes Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, will coach through the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro before stepping down.
Coach K made his future intentions clear, but it looks like Boeheim will only be attempting one more trip with the senior team as well, as a report from Chris Carlson of Syracuse.com states that Boeheim will also step away after 2016.Boeheim, through administrative assistant Kelly Seubert, said he would “probably not” continue coaching the national team after the switch.
Boeheim served as an assistant at the request of Krzyzewski, and the two have become close friends through the process. Popovich will likely bring in a staff of his own.
A member of Coach K’s staff with USA Basketball since 2006, it is unclear whether Boeheim will continue his other responsibilities with USA Basketball, which includes being chairman of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee since 2005.
As Carlson’s story notes, Popovich will likely bring in his own staff and Boeheim is also entering the final years of his Hall of Fame coaching career, so stepping aside from these responsibilities makes sense. During his time with the USA Basketball, Boeheim won gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.