Jim Boeheim, Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Thibodeau

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim disagrees with a recent Yahoo! article that claimed the primary purpose of USA Basketball is its use as a recruiting tool for Duke.

(Associated Press)

Syracuse, N.Y. — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim returned from his trip to Spain with USA Basketball and refuted a Yahoo article that portrayed the program as a propaganda piece for Duke basketball.

Boeheim, sitting behind his desk at the Melo Center on Wednesday with a lunch of Pepsi and popcorn, took aim at many of the opinions stated by writer Adrian Wojnarowski, including one that head coach Mike Krzyzewski turned a visit with injured NBA star Paul George into a public relations opportunity.

Boeheim said a photo that went viral, and was used as an example of Krzyzewski's compassion, was taken by George's parents. Wojnarowski insinuated in his article that it was taken by a USA Basketball official and used to promote the Duke coach's character.

This picture of Coach K and Paul George is touching pic.twitter.com/8MxBhro3f2 — Duke in the NBA | Tre Jones stan (@DukeNBA) August 3, 2014

"The thing that Wojnarowski wrote was completely off-base," Boeheim said. "The thing I hate about writers is they want to state their case and they use false information. He put in that Mike went to the hospital for publicity. Paul George's parents took the picture. They put it out there. We had no cameraman. It was his parents. That was unbelievably low."

Boeheim agreed that participating in USA Basketball could provide a small advantage to the Duke and Syracuse coaching staffs but said the edges are minimal, they are not the primary purpose and weren't the goal when he and Krzyzewski began participating in the program eight years ago.

Boeheim said he hasn't landed any of the top players that have been involved in the program and even had to cut current Syracuse commit Malachi Richardson from the United States under-18 team earlier this summer.

Wojnarowski included a moment when Krzyzewski flew to Colorado Springs to address the U.S. Under-19 team, a group that included prospects Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow, two top prospects who will play for the Blue Devils next year.

"You think that's why they went to Duke?" Boeheim said. "Because Mike talked to them for five minutes? That's a joke. Duke got better classes before he was a national coach than he is now. This last class is good. Before he started he had several top classes. Duke has been getting top players a long time. That can be proven."

He said that Florida coach Billy Donovan, Virginia Commonwealth coach Shaka Smart and Virginia coach Tony Bennett haven't gotten any discernible recruiting advantage from coaching the high school players involved in the national program.

"It doesn't hurt," Boeheim said. "I think it's a slight help. It might help Duke a little. I'm on the committee. I've talked with 25 top players. We haven't gotten one of the top players. I've talked with them for six years. Billy Donovan won two goal medals. He coached high school kids. He didn't get any of those kids. It could happen. You could get in there. But that's not the reason kids are going to come to your school. I don't think there's a kid here who would say, 'I'm here because he's an assistant OIympic coach. They might say,'I'm here because has won 900 games at Syracuse' or 'they've been to the Final Four' or 'we've had four point guards drafted in the first round.' "

Boeheim said he knows of only one college basketball coach who has publicly stated that he has an issue with the current USA Basketball set-up and he has received no indication that the NBA will mandate the use of younger players in the Olympics.

Boeheim said Kentucky coach John Calipari has complained to both him and USA Basketball about the extra access.

Boeheim noted that Calipari coached the Dominican team and happened to land Karl Towns, a top 2015 prospect who played on that team. Boeheim said Calipari has agreed to coach the United States Pan-American team next year.

"It's a concern he has raised before," Boeheim said. "That particular case he has mentioned. He's said he thinks its an advantage. He got the No. 1 recruit in the country. It's a little bit disingenuous of him. I like John. We get along fine. He feels Mike is getting an advantage. You could make that argument. But Duke isn't getting any better players than they ever have."

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