Jim Boeheim, left, and Mike Krzyzewski have two more years coaching Team USA. (USATSI)

Mike Krzyzewski has seldom had to defend winning the way he did Thursday morning.

That's because this scud missile of a piece, written by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday night, has created interesting collateral damage and a lot of discussion over Coach K's role as Team USA guru. 

The column linked above is primarily a takedown of the current arrangement for USA Basketball with a few poison-tipped barbs aimed at the Hall-of-Fame Duke coach. How much does USA Basketball really benefit from having a bunch of NBA All-Stars cruising to victory in the World Cup of Basketball? Is Krzyzewski really the only party involved reaping tangible rewards?

That's what has been posited.

Krzyzewski argued that Duke basketball hasn't been getting recruits at any higher rate than it was before he began coaching the U.S. National Team. If anything, he's sacrificed cherished recruiting time for the sake of USA Basketball while expanding his role in the game beyond his Duke duties.

"We recruited a lot of really good guys before I coached the United States team," said Krzyzewski, referencing Grant Hill, Tommy Amaker, Johnny Dawkins and others from Duke's past. "In fact, a lot of them have their jerseys retired. A lot of them have been national players of the year. I don't think anybody I've recruited since I've been the head coach of USA has been national player of the year."

And there's also the fact that, while Krzyzewski is the biggest name attached to USA Basketball, college coaches like Jim Boeheim, Billy Donovan, Tony Bennett and Shaka Smart have recently been involved at varying levels. Krzyzewski made note of how his peers are not made an example of in a negative way.

Krzyzewski was also called out in the Yahoo column as essentially posing with Paul George, post-surgery, after the Pacers star suffered a horrific ankle injury last month that will sideline him for the entire 2014-15 season. To that, Coach K said:

With September being essentially the quietest basketball month on the calendar, the past few days have created a lot of dialogue involving a lot of high-profile college basketball coaches, thanks to USA's gold medal-winning performance over Serbia.

Upon returning from Spain, Boeheim -- the Team USA assistant/Syracuse coach/fellow Hall-of-Famer -- defended his friend and his experience with Team USA. Boeheim essentially said there's "a little" advantage in coaching a bunch of NBA stars but nothing significant enough to warrant Wojnarowski's takedown.

He added some facts to support the claims: namely how few elite players he and others who've been with Team USA have landed in recent years. Plus, ya know, Krzyzewski won three national titles and birthed a bevy of pros well before he ever got the gig. He's sort of earned the opportunity.

Krzyzewski essentially echoed this on Thursday morning.

Then Boeheim added something interesting: he made clear how Kentucky coach John Calipari has been the one consistent dissenter of Krzyzewski's involvement with Team USA. Ironic, given Calipari is no-doubt-about-it the most successful recruiter in the game (and it's no secret he'd one day love to sit in Coach K's chair, coaching the Olympic team).

From the Post-Standard:

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."

All correct points by Boeheim. And it's odd Calipari would seemingly bemoan this, given how he essentially has the pick of the loot for five-star players every year.

"It doesn't hurt," Boeheim also told the Post-Standard of Syracuse. "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 Olympic 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.'"

That's a level-headed assertion.

By the way, here's the tally between Cal and Coach K since the former got to Lexington:

2014: Duke No. 1, Kentucky No. 2
2013: Kentucky No. 1, Duke No. 3
2012: Kentucky No. 2, Duke No. 22
2011: Kentucky No. 1, Duke No. 2
2010: Kentucky No. 1, Duke No. 8
2009: Kentucky No. 2, Duke No. 19

This is also rich considering Calipari's recent (brilliant) idea to hold an NBA scouting combine all for himself and his players. Like that's not an advantage? Of course it is, and one that he's earned, just like Coach K earned the Team USA venture. Amazing how often this can happen.

A big story involving college hoops can turn and, somehow, Calipari's name gets involved. We'll have to wait and see when he responds to Boeheim's quote, because we know he will.

UPDATE: And he has! Via Twitter on Thursday afternoon. Here's what Calipari had to say on the matter.

If anything, this has opened up needed discourse on USA Basketball, and has also shined light on how college basketball has clearly benefitted from the arrangement. The NBA and college hoops should be bedfellows. Few things can offer up as much of a marriage between the two like Team USA. There are inherit benefits to the setup, but they're bigger than any one coach or program.