By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

DURHAM -- If the American Basketball Association and its trademark red, white and blue basketballs had survived beyond the bicentennial, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski just might have been an ABA coach.

Krzyzewski's passion for basketball may be matched only by his passionate patriotism, a trait on full display when Krzyzew-ski spoke to the Durham Sports Club for the first time in about five years Wednesday at Croasdaile Country Club.

The lunchtime gathering of 150-plus people began with former North Carolina four-sport star Albert Long calling Krzyzewski "a great coach but also a great American" during the invocation, then it continued with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Krzyzewski then addressed the crowd and answered questions for nearly an hour, sharing anecdotes featuring America, the military or both when talking about his Duke team and his U.S. Olympic team.

Wednesday's gathering came about three months after Krzyzewski announced that he will coach Team USA -- which he led to the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics -- in the 2012 Olympics, and about a month after he was inducted into the Army Sports Hall of Fame.

"If I didn't go to West Point," Krzyzewski said, "none of the stuff that has happened for me would have ever happened."

Krzyzewski reminisced about numerous team-building moments leading up to Team USA's triumph in Beijing in the summer of 2008.

He said that the first people he had address the team when he took over in 2005 included Col. Bob Brown -- who played for Krzyzewski at Army -- and three wounded warriors who were among 5,000 under Brown's command in Iraq. One of the wounded was Capt. Scott Smiley, who was blinded by a suicide bomber in 2005 but graduated from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 2007 and now teaches leadership at West Point.

"The unbelievable thing about all three of these guys is they all wanted to serve again," Krzyzewski said. "They all wanted to go back to Iraq. They weren't bitter; it was selfless service.

"I didn't really know my guys yet at that time, but I looked around the room and about three-quarters of them were crying. I said to myself, 'We're going to be really good. These guys have something in their hearts.' "

Krzyzewski recalled that when Kobe Bryant got fitted for his Team USA uniform, he broke down and cried at first sight.

"I get chills right now thinking about that," he said.

And Krzyzewski remembered when Bryant and the rest of the team wore those uniforms as they posed for pictures in front of the Statue of Liberty shortly before heading to Beijing.

"While we were doing it, Carmelo Anthony just said, 'Damn, Coach, this is big,' " Krzyzewski said. "Sometimes when you're doing things, you can talk about things and they see things, but it's important to feel things."

When Krzyzewski talked about his Duke team, the schedule for Wednesday sounded like the 1980s U.S. Army ad that proclaimed: "We do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day."

The Blue Devils held their first scrimmage with ACC referees on hand Wednesday, and those in attendance included 50-plus people who donated $1,250 to Duke Children's Hospital for a day with Duke basketball, as well as about 50 troops from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base who recently returned from tours of duty overseas.

"We don't publicize all those things, but there's always a lot going on," Krzyzewski said. "Today's a busy day but a good day."

There's more. The fifth season of his weekly show, "Basketball and Beyond with Coach K," debuted on Sirius XM Radio on Wednesday, just as the annual Fuqua/Coach K Conference on Leadership wrapped up.

Still, Krzyzewski assured those in attendance Wednesday that he always has Duke's best interest in mind.

"Those of you who are Duke fans and you think it takes away from what I do, please don't think that. That could not be further from the truth," he said in reference to his USA Basketball commitment. "Doing this has made me a better coach. I've learned more, and my staff has learned more. And come on, you wouldn't do it?

"It's easy to balance everything because we're so immersed in basketball anyway. It just makes you better."

NOTES -- Duke fans should find out today if Kyrie Irving, the No. 2 point guard in the class of 2010 according to recruiting analyst Dave Telep of Scout.com, will commit to the Blue Devils as has been rumored. Irving, via his Twitter page, denied reports Wednesday that he already had committed to Duke and said he'd pick among the Blue Devils, Kentucky and Texas A M today on ESPNU. ... Duke will hold its second open preseason practice Friday at 1:30 p.m. Doors open at 1 p.m. ... The Devils will play their first exhibition Saturday at 6:30 p.m. against Pfeiffer. Tickets still remain for that game as well as the Nov. 3 exhibition against Findlay at the Duke Ticket Office inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, at www.goduke.com/tickets or by calling 681-2583 or 877-375-3853.