By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAYEven with Nate McMillan, far left, and Mike D'Antoni, next to him, fired from their NBA head coaching jobs last week, they still will be assistants for Team USA at the Summer Games in London.
By Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAYEven with Nate McMillan, far left, and Mike D'Antoni, next to him, fired from their NBA head coaching jobs last week, they still will be assistants for Team USA at the Summer Games in London.
"Ultimately, as the guy who makes the final decision, I'm telling you, no, it will not have any bearing whatsoever. None," Colangelo told USA TODAY.D'Antoni and the Knicks mutually agreed to part ways Wednesday after the team's six-game losing streak and growing concern from D'Antoni about Anthony's role in the pick-and-roll offense.Anthony, who played on Team USA's 2008 gold-medal Olympic team in China, is one of 20 finalists to make this year's 12-man Olympic roster.D'Antoni and Nate McMillan, fired Thursday as Portland Trail Blazers head coach, will remain Team USA assistants. They also were assistants in 2008 for Team USA — and Duke — coach Mike Krzyzewski."Nothing changes for my people, because they all have equity in our program," Colangelo said. "And I told them, in particular, Mike (D'Antoni) and Nate, that they're a part of our staff as far as I'm concerned — and ultimately, that's what matters."Krzyzewski capped a rough week for USA Basketball coaches when his second-seeded Blue Devils lost to 15th-seeded Lehigh on Friday in the NCAA tournament."It was a tough week for our staff, pretty simply put. That's life in big-time college sports and pro basketball. You just have to roll with that," Colangelo said.He has talked to all three coaches."You have to sit back and lick you wounds a little bit, reflect a little bit and create a little bit of space, because we have plenty of time," Colangelo said. "I told each of them we'll talk in a couple of weeks when things settle down a little bit."One way or another, Krzyzewski's season was going to end by April 2, the date of the national championship game. D'Antoni and McMillan had planned to coach until at least the end of the NBA's on regular season, if not into the playoffs.The London Olympics are July 27-Aug. 12, and Team USA is favored to win its second gold medal in a row.This premature end to each coach's season gives Krzyzewski, D'Antoni and McMillan a head start on Olympic preparations.After Colangelo gives D'Antoni and McMillan time and space, "One of the things they're going to be asked to do is monitor as closely as they can our players who are still actively playing right now" in the NBA."We'll have conversations about what we see and what we know. … We have to monitor all these things," Colangelo said. "We will watch closely the injury circumstances because that will play a factor, too, unfortunately. They're going to be more tuned in to what's happening because they're going to have time on their hands."Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, another Team USA assistant, is still active in the NCAA tournament, with his No. 1-seeded Orange playing fourth-seeded Wisconsin on Thursday in a Sweet 16 game.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.Louis Vuitton Handbags
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