In a hard fought gold medal game against Spain (one of the only events NBC actually aired live), the USA men’s basketball team came out victorious, 107-100.

Not known for showing emotion, Coach K jumped triumphantly off the ground in the closing seconds when Chris Paul made a layup that finally put the US ahead by a wide enough margin.

When the horn finally sounded, Lebron James grabbed a few water bottles and doused Coach K from behind. The two embraced for a long time.

In a rematch of the 2008 gold medal game, Spain had fought back in the third quarter and cut the deficit to one point with ten minutes to go, as Pau Gasol scored 15 of his 24 points in that quarter. In the fourth quarter, Spain had a chance to cut the deficit to four or even two points, but Gasol missed two easy jumpers. Then James hit some big shots, a dunk and a three-pointer.

So Coach K will return to Duke by helping the USA win another gold medal by helping a group of highly-paid basketball players realize that it’s all about the front of the jersey, not the back.

Duke diver Nick McCrory finished 9th in Saturday’s men’s 10 meter platform final in a tough field that rebounded from a lackluster prelim.

He finished with a total score of 505.40. With his opening dive, he recorded three 9s on an inward 3 ½ somersault in the tuck position (86.40 points). That score started him out in sixth place.

His best dive of the night came last (but a little too late). He scored 97.20 points (his highest of the Olympics) on a back 2 ½ somersault with 2 ½ twists.

McCrory will be returning to classes at Duke this fall with a medal though, the bronze he and David Boudia won in the 10M synchronized event.

Speaking of Boudia, he won the gold medal in the 10M platform final with an almost flawless final run of six dives. That came off a horrendous showing in the preliminaries on Friday where he just squeaked in in the 18th and last spot. In an interview after the prelims with McCrory, he said he couldn’t go anywhere but up.

And up he did. He became the first American to win gold in the men’s 10M platform event since Greg Louganis in 1988 (Louganis was in attendance). He finished with a score of 568.65, just 1.80 points ahead of China’s Qui Bo (the closest final since 1988).

Boudia had to dive immediately following hometown darling Tom Daley, who led throughout the finals (Daley finished with the bronze). Boudia admitted he had no idea where he was at in the standings and was glad he didn’t (he would have been nervous).

It came down to the final dive, with Boudia and Bo completing the same tougher dive than Daley (a back 2.5 somersault with 2.5 twists). Boudia scored a 102.60, while Bo scored 100.80.

For more on Boudia’s story of being scared of heights, click HERE.

*With so many of the Olympic athletes showing extreme disappointment in not finishing first (ie the women gymnasts and track and field athletes), Daley was thrilled to pick up a bronze. He, his teammates, and coaches all jumped into the pool following the finals. Check out his Twitter timeline.

Duke sophomore lacrosse players Kyle Keenan and Kyle Turri won gold medals as members of the US U19 men’s lacrosse team. The US has won every U19 world title since the tournament began back in 1988.

The US team avenged an earlier loss to Canada in the gold medal game with a 10-8 victory in the 2012 Federation of International Lacrosse U-19 World Championship.

Keenan scored a goal and dished out an assist in the gold medal game. Turri, a goalie, had four saves in the second half.

The US dominated Canada on faceoffs, winning 17 of 22. The US led 6-2 at the half, led by a 4-0 second quarter run by the US. Canada came back with three quick goals to start the third quarter, but the US came right back to score three of the next four goals to take a 9-6 lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.

MVP Matt Kavanagh scored two goals in the gold medal game and had two assists. He was also named the tournament’s top attackman.

The USA men’s basketball team is looking for back-to-back Olympic gold medals later this summer in the 2012 London Olympics. Coach K has led the transformation of the team of the past of me first superstars to players committed to the country’s name on the front.

On Saturday, the 12 members of the Olympic team were named. They are a young, athletic bunch, with just one pure center (Tyson Chandler). Their average age is around 26 years old.

There are two newbies to the international competition: James Harden and Blake Griffin. Five members return from the 2008 gold medal winning team from the Beijing Olympics: Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, and Deron Williams. The other five were a part of the gold medal winning World Championship team of 2010: Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, and Chandler.

Here is what Coach K said about the selection of his team:

“We have benefited so much from having a pool of outstanding players who are committed, and as a result the selection is difficult. But it’s the best challenge that you could have because everyone has been so committed,” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “The guys who were not selected are in our pool, and if someone did get hurt, they are already part of our team and could be seamlessly woven in at a later date. We really appreciate the commitment of all of these guys.”

The US National Team continues their training in Las Vegas until July 12th, when they will play an exhibition game against the Dominian Republic at UNLV. They then move to Washington DC from July 13-15 and play Brazil in an exhibition game on July 16th (with the women’s team playing prior).

Next, it’s off to Manchester, England from July 17-19. On the 19th, the men will face Great Britain (the women’s team faces Great Britain on the 18th). The men then move to Barcelona, Spain to face the second and third ranked teams. They will face Argentina (number 3) on July 22nd and then Spain (number 2) on July 24th to conclude their exhibition tour.

» Continue reading “Coach K Geared Up for London Olympics”

Rasheed Sulaimon via the McDonald's Corporation

Duke incoming freshman Rasheed Sulaimon helped the USA U18 Men’s basketball team win a gold medal at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. He scored eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, as the US beat Brazil, 81-56.

Every game for the US was a blowout, as they won every game by no less than 19 points. Sulaimon averaged ten points over five games (an average of twenty minutes). He also shot 54.1% from the field in the tournament.

This year’s gold medal is the US’s sixth in eight championships (43-2). Winning the gold means they qualified for the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship.

Here is what Sulaimon had to say following the victory:

“Oh man, I’m speechless right now,” Sulaimon said after the victory. “We worked so hard for this, since June 5, and to have all these guys come together, find chemistry and really play for our country and for all our hard work to pay off and get a gold medal it’s great. Like I said, I’m lost for words; I’m blessed; I’m honored; I’m proud to be an American; I’m everything – it’s just a great feeling.”