US basketball coach Krzyzewski planning Rio swansong

United States basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said Monday he plans to step down after next year's Rio Olympics.

Krzyzewski, currently the head coach at Duke University, coached the US to back-to-back gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics but told ESPN he wanted to quit after Rio.

"It is. It definitely is," Krzyzewski said when asked if this would be his final spell with USA Basketball.

"I think it's time to move ahead. During the next season there will be a number of decisions made about the future of USA Basketball with Rio (the roster) and coaching."

Krzyzewski said he anticipated his successor would be decided before next year's Olympics.

"There has to be a succession... a planned succession with really good people so we can keep the continuity of the program going," he said.

Krzyzewski, who has a 75-1 record since he was hired by USA Basketball's Jerry Colangelo in 2005, said he hoped to bow out with another gold.

"Hopefully we can finish things up well with Rio and I would move onto something else with USA Basketball," Krzyzewski said.

"But I think we're ready as an organization to do that, and I'm excited about the future because (of) what we've done over the last 10 years."

Source: AFP