Coach K spurns Laker offer

READER POLL
	Did he make the right choice? Did coach Mike Krzyzewski do the right thing by rejecting the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers to stay with Duke University?

By Aaron Beard
Associated Press

"The decision has always been to stay at Duke," Mike Krzyzewski, left, said at a news conference with Duke president Richard Brodhead. Associated Press

He has become synonymous with his school — a bond that not even the glitz of Hollywood and the NBA's showcase franchise could break.

"Duke has always taken up my whole heart," Krzyzewski said yesterday after turning down an offer to become the Los Angeles Lakers' head coach.

"Your heart has to be in whatever you lead," said Krzyzewski, who has won three national titles at Duke. "It became apparent that this decision was somewhat easier to make because you have to follow your heart and lead with it."

Krzyzewski said the timing of the Lakers' offer and the team's prominence made their offer tempting. But he never got to the point of being ready to leave.

"The decision has always been to stay at Duke. It would have to be something changing (that)," he said at a news conference on campus.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak first made his interest in hiring Krzyzewski clear during conversations the two had around the time of the NBA draft, Krzyzewski said. Kupchak met with Krzyzewski in North Carolina and offered him the job Thursday.

Even Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who was recruited by Krzyzewski while in high school, reportedly tried to persuade "Coach K" to take the job.

"We're disappointed because we would have liked to have brought coach Krzyzewski to Los Angeles," Kupchak said yesterday. "We thought he would have been a wonderful coach."

Krzyzewski listened to what the Lakers had to offer, reportedly a five-year deal worth $40 million, before deciding Sunday he wouldn't take it.

The announcement was welcome news for Duke fans, players and administrators, who had waited anxiously for a decision. When the coach said he waited until yesterday morning to call new university president Richard Brodhead because he didn't know Brodhead's sleeping patterns, Brodhead was quick to joke, "They'll be better now."

Still, Krzyzewski, who has had several flirtations with the NBA and came close to leaving to coach the Boston Celtics in 1990, declined to rule out the possibility of ever coaching in the pros.

"I don't want to say never, but I also don't want to lead anyone on. ... I want to coach for a long time," he said.

Kupchak said he believed the Lakers' chance of getting Krzyzewski was remote even after the parties met.

"We knew what we were up against, but if you don't ask, you don't know," Kupchak said.

The Lakers have been searching for a new coach since June 18, when they announced Phil Jackson wouldn't return next season. That was three days after they lost to the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.

Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich had been considered a front-runner to succeed Jackson with the Lakers. He has met with team owner Jerry Buss and Kupchak.

Former Lakers coach Pat Riley, an executive with the Miami Heat, also met with Buss and Kupchak, but issued a statement saying he wasn't a candidate. Others mentioned have been Kurt Rambis and Jim Cleamons, members of Jackson's staff.

The 57-year-old Krzyzewski has a 621-181 record at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to championships in 1991, 1992 and 2001.