Assistants give USA edge

SAPPORO, Japan – Every once in a while, Jim Boeheim has the urge to jump off the bench and call a play or lecture the referees.

“I’ve been a head coach for 30 years,” Boeheim said. “I’m used to telling people what to do.”

But that’s not Boeheim’s job with Team USA. As an assistant to coach Mike Krzyzewski, Boeheim’s duty is to provide an experienced set of eyes and ears as the Americans bid for their first world championship since 1994.

The Americans like to boast about the depth of their roster, which includes NBA All-Stars, rookies of the year and an NBA Finals MVP. But they are deepest at whistle and clipboard.

Boeheim, who has spent his entire career with Syracuse, joins Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni and Portland coach Nate McMillan as assistants to Krzyzewski. The three assistants have a total of 1,462 victories – 726 belong to Boeheim – and 48 seasons as head coaches among them.

Boeheim is in the Hall of Fame. D’Antoni was the NBA’s coach of the year in 2004-05. McMillan, then 36, was the NBA’s youngest coach when he was named Seattle’s head coach in 2000.

Boeheim and D’Antoni have extensive international experience. Boeheim has been the head coach or assistant coach on seven U.S. teams, while D’Antoni coached and played in the Italian pro league.

The assistants don’t have specific responsibilities. D’Antoni has taught the Suns’ up-tempo offense. Boeheim has contributed expertise on attacking the zone defense, which is a staple of the international game. McMillan helps out on defense.

“We just try to come up with ideas,” D’Antoni said. “Some work, some don’t. But it’s Coach K’s call.”

Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo said he and Krzyzewski wanted the staff to have a blend of pro, college and international experience.

“The bottom line is that they all brought something to the table,” Colangelo said. “That’s why they’re all here.”

When Colangelo and Krzyzewski began putting together a staff, Colangelo insisted that D’Antoni be part of it. Colangelo owned the Suns when D’Antoni joined the team as an assistant coach in 2002.

Eighteen months later, D’Antoni was promoted to head coach, and within a year he had transformed the Suns from a 50-loss eyesore to one of the NBA’s more entertaining teams.

“I felt that Mike D’Antoni was an absolute natural must because of his international experience,” Colangelo said. “And Boeheim for his knowledge of the zone, offensively and defensively. He was there for a purpose. Nate’s a young, up-and-coming coach, and we’re building a program.”

Late in the first quarter of the U.S. team’s 114-95 victory over Slovenia on Tuesday night, Coach K stepped aside in the huddle and let D’Antoni diagram a play on a greaseboard.

Afterward, a reporter asked D’Antoni to share the wisdom he’d given to the players.

“I was saying, ‘Lunch at Mario’s at 10 o’clock,’ ” D’Antoni said.

Unlike many of the NBA’s walk-it-up offenses, D’Antoni’s attack requires players to fill lanes as they try to beat the defense down the floor. His Phoenix players often refer to the “controlled chaos” of the scheme.

Whatever it is, the approach is working for Team USA. After five games, the Americans have averaged 108.6 points per game, by far the most in the field.

Boeheim had heard the stereotypes about NBA players – that they would be more concerned with personal statistics than practice. Not true, he said.

“They’ve been good teammates,” Boeheim said. “They’ve been unselfish. All the things that people said they couldn’t be, they’ve been.”