Americans back atop the world with credit to Coach ‘K’ and Durant

ISTANBUL – Mike Krzyzewski wore the gold medal that he first chased two decades earlier in the world championship.

Jerry Colangelo’s accessory wasn’t as flashy, but certainly as meaningful: Part of the net his players had cut down at the Sinan Erdem Dome was hung around his neck.

And sometime while the men most responsible for U.S. basketball’s renaissance celebrated, they shared a moment of relief.

“One of the first things Coach ‘K’ said to me was, ‘We don’t have to do anything next summer,’ ” Colangelo said, laughing like a man who believed he was getting away with something. “I’m with him on that.”

The Americans became the first team qualified for the 2012 Olympics with their 81-64 victory over Turkey on Sunday, winning their first world championship in 16 years.

To show how far U.S. basketball had fallen, next year will be the first time since 1995 that the United States won’t have to play in the summer preceding the Olympics. The U.S. had an automatic berth in the Atlanta Games as the host country, but then had to advance through regional qualifying in 1999, 2003 and ’07 after failing to secure the spot that goes to the world champion.

But in just five years since Colangelo took over USA Basketball and hired Krzyzewski as the national team coach, the Americans have reclaimed their place in the world.

First came the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, followed by gold here with an entirely new cast of players. The U.S. has also regained the No. 1 spot in FIBA’s world rankings, ahead of Argentina.

The world championship was a triumph for the U.S. program. The Americans were able to survive the absences of all the Olympic gold medalists by simply picking from a pool of players selected earlier in the year.

Colangelo credited “the structure of USA Basketball, that we could turn over so many players as we have, over 30 since ’06, the last world championships, and be as successful as we’ve been.”

“It’s a tribute to the players, the quality of players we’ve had,” he added. “Mike Krzyzewski deserves tremendous, tremendous praise for the job he’s done.”

Krzyzewski had fallen short in his first two attempts, third-place finishes in 1990 and 2006.

It’s largely due to Kevin Durant, who won MVP honors after the greatest tournament ever by an American player. He shattered U.S. records for points in a game and a tournament.

Durant will be going to London in two years if he chooses.

The question Colangelo and Krzyzewski will ponder is who will go with him?