RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — You love them now, right America?
Mike Krzyzewski and Geno Auriemma may have their haters in college basketball, but this is the Olympics. This is when patriotic pride trumps school spirit, when there is no Tar Heel blue, only red, white and blue.
So all those fans chanting "USA! USA!" should be shouting "Go Coach K!"
"Well, I hope they're saying that. I'm not sure all of them are completely saying that," Krzyzewski said with a laugh. "But I would hope that most people are."
College basketball, built on regional rivalries and March Madness, makes it impossible for anyone to be universally beloved, especially when they've won as much as Krzyzewski has with the Duke men or Auriemma with the Connecticut women.