The Gold Standard by Mike Krzyzewski

The Gold Standard by Mike Krzyzewski

The legendary Coach K reveals the unique leadership skills that he used to unify a bunch of highly-egocentric NBA superstars to work together in order to win the Gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic games.



In his previous bestselling books, Coach K has guided readers to success the way he has guided his teams at Duke University with the power of his inspirational words and phenomenal leadership skills. But that was with college kids. Now, Coach K has stepped up to take on an entirely new challenge--by volunteering to coach the US Olympic Basketball team.



Comprised of some of the biggest NBA stars, Coach K had to work with huge egos and personal rivalries in order to create an American team that could win against the best competition in the world and restore Team USA to the gold standard of basketball.



This is more than a celebratory book--it's Coach K's first-hand account of how he dealt with such stars as Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and all the rest to buy into his "total team" play. Half a book on basketball, half a book on management techniques, The Gold Standard captures Coach K's personal style and approach to getting different (and sometimes difficult) people to work hard and succeed in reaching a common goal.



Says Coach K: "In all forms of leadership, whether you are a coach, a CEO, or a parent, there are four words that, when said, can bring out the best in your team, your employees, and your family ... I BELIEVE IN YOU. These four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try."

One of the standout coaches in NCAA basketball history, Mike Krzyzewski has guided the Blue Devils of Duke University to the highest reaches of the basketball world. Head coach at Duke since 1980, Coach K's teams have won four national championships and reached the Final Four eleven times. Playing in the nation's toughest conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), he has produced twelve regular season championships and thirteen ACC tournament championships. He has been named ACC Coach of the Year four times and the National Coach of the Year in five different seasons. With 927 wins (and counting), Coach K is the winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001.

Coach K's players have earned National Player of the Year honors nine times, claimed National Defensive Player of the Year honors nine times, and been named All-American 35 times. Forty of his players have been NBA Draft selections (through 2009 NBA Draft), including 21 first round picks and 15 NBA Lottery picks.

Mike Krzyzewski is also head coach of the United States men's national basketball team whom he led to a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He was an assistant coach on the 1992 Dream Team.

When away from coaching, Krzyzewski enjoys playing tennis and racquetball and watching basketball games, and spending time with his family.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780446544078
ISBN 10	0446544078
Title	The Gold Standard
Author	Mike Krzyzewski
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Little, Brown & Company
Year published	2009-04-06
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.