When it comes to legal recruiting advantages in college basketball, every last coach is looking for one, at least according to Kansas' Bill Self.
Self, the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, and Sean Miller, the Arizona Wildcats' coach, spoke to Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg on their ESPNU podcast Wednesday. Self and Miller said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim do not get a huge recruiting advantage for their annual participation in leading the U.S. Men's National Basketball Team.
But so what if they do? Self said any coach looks for ways to expose themselves and their programs to as many prospective student-athletes as possible, within the NCAA rulebook.
"When you recruit against Duke and Coach K, that's hard enough. Throw in USA Basketball and that's a big deal," Self said. "We all look for edges and angles to get as much exposure for our programs as possible."
With Boeheim serving as a Team USA assistant, Krzyzewski continued the Americans' international dominance with a Gold Medal at the FIBA World Cup in Spain, a win that extended a 60+ game international win streak.
Shortly after winning Gold, Adrian Wojnarowski wrote an op-ed for Yahoo Sports claiming Krzyzewski gets an unfair recruiting advantage for coaching Team USA. Kentucky coach John Calipari echoed the argument, but Boeheim rose to Krzyzewski's defense, stating the only advantage Duke has is from their coach's winning ways.
As it turns out, Calipari once coached the Dominican Republic's national basketball team and recruited one of their star youths a time later. Calipari recently backtracked in a statement issued through several tweets.
Jim’s comments were brought to my attention & I called him. We are friends. I have unbelievable respect for him & how he runs his program.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
Any concerns that college coaches have had in the past have always been addressed by USA basketball. — John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
The job that Coach K and Coach Boeheim have done to turn around USA Basketball, to make it what it is today is truly amazing.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
If – and I emphasize if – they gained any advantage, because of that work, I don’t begrudge them in the least. — John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
My time with the DR team showed me how hard & how much time it takes away from your own team & your recruiting to do those things right.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
There’s not a college coach in the country that would say no to Jerry Colangelo if he asked them to coach the national team. — John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
My hope is they would handle it the same way it’s being handled now.
— John Calipari (@UKCoachCalipari) September 18, 2014
The way Self saw it, several coaches who win in the college game get various opportunities. For example, Florida coach Billy Donovan coaches the U.S. U-19 team, which Wojnarowski said Krzyzewski had unfair access to. Miller was also an assistant to Donovan on that team. Self's Kansas team is also set to represent the U.S. in the 2015 World University Games held in South Korea.
"Sometimes if you're not involved in it, you don't see what a commitment it is to be a part of USA basketball," Miller said. "We were in Colorado Springs for 16 days and nights grinding and practicing two hours and sometimes twice a day. The older team is gone for months. If there is an advantage it's in the prestige more than anything else and that's deserved. There should be respect for those who have made a commitment."
