Mike Krzyzewski Opens New Day in US Basketball

Legendary NCAA College Basketball head coach, Mike Krzyzewski of Duke University, opened a new day in U.S. Basketball.

When Mike Krzyzewski walked onto the Cox Pavilion floor in Las Vegas to greet his new team, it might be one small step for him but it's one giant leap for U.S. basketball.

''I've gotten chills the last four or five days just thinking about being with the team,'' Krzyzewski said at the opening of training camp for the USA Basketball national team. ''I'm amazingly excited. You feel like everyone knows how special it is to be in this position.''

USA Basketball tore up its playbook and turned to a college coach after an NBA basketball coach led U.S. teams in every major international competition since the 1992 Olympics.

Slapped into reality by a sixth-place finish in the 2002 World Championships, followed by a third-place finish at the 2004 Olympics, USA Basketball selected Duke's Krzyzewski to lead the quest to regain international dominance. He has 24 of the best basketball players at his disposal, each making a three-year commitment to win an Olympic gold medal.

Although winning the Olympic gold medal is the ultimate goal, the upcoming 2006 FIBA World Championships are much more than just a tune-up. There are only two byes into the Olympics. One goes to the host team, that means China for the 2008 Beijing Games, and the other to the reigning world champion.

If the USA loses in Japan, it must qualify next summer in Venezuela in the Tournament of the Americas.

Since NBA players began competing in the World Championships and Olympics, an All-Star team has been picked without regard to almost anything else. Players were not asked to try out, simply handed spots on the team.

Those days are over. The 24 players on the national team roster, from which 12 will be chosen for the teams that compete in the World Championships and the Olympics, are a varied collection of young and old stars and role players.

Can Mike Krzyzewski lead the United States to a 2006 FIBA World Championship? Bodog has the odds on some participating countries and their odds to win it all in this latest international basketball tournament.

Odds to win 2006 FIBA World Championship

USA1/3

Lithuania 7/1

Italy 35/1

France 15/1