Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 1, 1994 TAG: 9406010090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
No thanks, said the Duke basketball coach. He'll take his fame and fortune right where he is, a smaller city where college basketball's pulse is always racing even if the pace of life isn't.
``I'm very comfortable and happy at this level. That doesn't mean one level was lower or higher,'' Krzyzewski said at a one-hour news conference Tuesday.
``Some coaches at the high school level could be happier and more satisfied than me in coaching. I don't look at them like they're down,'' he said.
Krzyzewski has had exposure to the NBA. In the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, he was an assistant coach on the Dream Team that won the gold medal, working with Chuck Daly and Lenny Wilkens.
``I have a lot of respect for the talent level, the coaching level and how they handle everything in the NBA,'' he said. ``I love the NBA. I should say, `I love this game.'''
Not enough to leave Durham, however.
``I love this game, too. I love the game of basketball, and it can be played at a high level everywhere.''
In his 14-year career in Durham, Krzyzewski has led Duke from the doldrums back to prominence. He coached the team to successive national championships in 1991 and 1992 and got them to the 1994 championship game against Arkansas.
``It wasn't looking so much at professional as it was just looking at everything,'' said Krzyzewski. ``This isn't like I've gone on the mountaintop and drank herbal tea. I wasn't in a career crisis. I don't know what the hell that is. All I know is I've got a great job. This twitch is not something that has come because of being nervous about anything.''
Portland and Miami had been high on the list of prospects for Krzyzewski. The Trail Blazers recently fired coach Rick Adelman, but the Heat still hasn't made a decision on the fate of Kevin Loughery. There also were openings with the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. In 1990, he gave some thought to leaving Duke for the Boston Celtics, but rejected that idea as well.
``There never was a specific job offer,'' Krzyzewski said. "I talked to a lot of NBA people, and not all of it was about me.
"I didn't know where I was going. The thing was not choosing an NBA team. It was really deciding this is what I want to do,'' he said. ``I'm very happy about it.''
The team Krzyzewski returns will have senior center Cherokee Parks and a lot of youth. They'll all come to that first practice feeling relieved.
``The last thing we wanted to do was go through a coaching change,'' said Parks, who will be Krzyzewski's captain on the 1994-95 team. ``I think all of us on the team felt pretty confident the whole time that he would stay.''
by CNB