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"Are you on top of the [Carrier] Dome?" Coach K asked the Syracuse coach.

"No," Boeheim replied.

"Well, don't jump," Krzyzewski told Boeheim, his assistant on the USA Basketball team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Well, I just tried to play man-to-man defense tonight and I should know better," Boeheim replied.

Last Friday, Syracuse went back to its vaunted 2-3 zone to dismantle defending NCAA champion North Carolina, 87-71, in the finals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden.

After that game, Coach K again called Boeheim, who was in a much better mood.

"He was pretty happy," Krzyzewski said.

A week later, Coach K brings his No. 9 Blue Devils into the Garden for the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.

No. 12 UConn will face LSU in the first semifinal Wednesday night, and No. 9 Duke takes on Arizona State in the nightcap (7 & 9:30 p.m., ESPN2). The winners will square off Friday in the title game (5 p.m., ESPN).

"It's exciting," Duke senior point guard Jon Scheyer said. "Any time we can go to New York, it's a big-time atmosphere. We're on a great stage and obviously we want to win the whole thing."

Considering that a Big East team pounded an ACC team last week in the Coaches vs. Cancer final, is Coach K looking ahead for a measure of revenge should the Devils face the Huskies for the championship?

"I never look ahead, whether it's with my Duke team [or] the National team," Coach K said. "You look ahead and all of a sudden you're going to be watching the championship game, not playing in it."

COACH K HOPES LEBRON, WADE DECIDE EARLY
Coach K doesn't really care where LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh end up next summer, but he hopes they figure it out quickly.

James, Wade and Bosh all played for Coach K on Team USA when it won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

That trio will also lead the free-agent parade beginning July 1, 2010.

Krzyzewksi hopes James, Wade and Bosh sign their free-agent deals well in advance of the FIBA World Championship in Turkey Aug. 28-Sept. 12.

"Hopefully, whatever they have to take care of will be done before the World Championships," Krzyzewski said.

Numerous teams, including the Knicks, have worked to get under the salary cap to make a run at one or more of these elite free agents.

Coach K signed on in July to coach another Olympic cycle from 2010-12. He was assisted last time around by current Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, Portland coach Nate McMillan and Boeheim.

Coach K said Team USA would be back in the Big Apple next summer for camp.

"We'll have a mini-camp in late July and actually be up here in New York on Aug. 10 to have a mini-camp," he said. "We're going to try and play France here in the Garden [Aug. 14] before going over [to Turkey]."

CALHOUN SAYS WALKER WON'T LEAVE EARLY
UConn coach Jim Calhoun says he doesn't think sophomore point guard Kemba Walker will leave early for the NBA.

"No, I don't think it's going to happen. I personally don't think he's in that position quite yet," Calhoun said.

Asked if he'd had that conversation with Walker, Calhoun said, "Yes, yes. Right now the only thing he's trying to do is get better."

Calhoun will lose two seniors to the pros next season in forward Stanley Robinson, a likely first-round pick, and guard Jerome Dyson.

The 6-foot-1, 172-pound Walker out of Manhattan Rice High School is averaging 14.7 points and 3.3 assists on the young season. Speculation has him considering a potential leap to the NBA after this season, but Calhoun doesn't think it will happen.

"I think when you have a 7-3 guy [Hasheem Thabeet] or you have a Ray Allen, who in his sophomore year gets 36 in a Final 8, you're talking differently," he said.

Still, Calhoun believes Walker will play in the league one day.

"Conversely, he eventually is going to be able to be a one-man fast-break for a lot of pro teams," Calhoun said. "He can really defend. He's a terrific athletic who can rebound so there's no reason to believe that he won't eventually make money playing this game."