The Way of K

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Besides working to repair Duke's prestige, he'll continue trying to restore America's sporting pride. The first step would be a gold in Japan. To that end, Krzyzewski plans to shuffle different starting lineups during the World Championship, a bit of a risk since pros tend to want to know their roles. And the competition is getting stronger--defending Olympic gold medalist Argentina, starring Manu Ginobili of the Spurs, is back, and France has the Spurs' Tony Parker and Boris Diaw of the Phoenix Suns.

"When you watched the World Cup for these countries, there was an outpouring of emotion," says Krzyzewski. "Win or lose, we want an outpouring of emotion." Coach K's players appear to have bought in, but if he wants tears of joy from American sports fans, he'll need to bring back what moves them most: hardware.