Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski loves the luxury of coaching NBA stars as he guides the U.S. men's team to the Beijing Olympics.

If he were the kind of guy who dwelled on things, he might also be cringing at how many of those players didn't end up under his care as Duke recruits.

When USA guard Kobe Bryant was taking pop princess Brandy to the prom, the rules allowed the future Los Angeles Lakers star to go straight to the NBA in 1996.

Duke's recruiting philosophy -- leave them alone -- reflected that. Then the rules changed, forcing high school players to spend a year in college, and Duke's rules changed, too.

Though Krzyzewski includes former Duke stars Grant Hill and Jason Williams in the same talent category as U.S. team members Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, he said there was a time Duke avoided guys with the NBA in their eyes.

"Because they didn't want to go to college," he said. "Now that pool has to be recruited. But you still have to be careful to recruit the right ones."

Bryant never visited Duke before being taken with the 13th overall pick in 1996, though he was recruited by other college coaches. USA point guard Jason Kidd had some interest in Duke but never really acted on it.

Duke never recruited LeBron James or Howard, who were chosen first in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Krzyzewski saw Howard play once.

"I thought, 'That ain't happening. I better go back home and play with my grandkids because any trip back to Atlanta is going to be a waste of time,'" he said.

Now that elite players must go to college for a year, or sit out and miss the exposure, Duke recruits those players. Krzyzewski tells them before they arrive that the NBA will be there when they're ready but, while they're at Duke, they must be students.

Pro basketball

Ivory Latta scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half to help the host Atlanta Dream (1-17) end the longest losing skid to start a WNBA season with a 91-84 win against the Chicago Sky (5-11).

• Tammy Sutton-Brown and Katie Douglas each had 18 points to lead the host Indianapolis Fever (9-8) to an 81-74 win against the Connecticut Sun (13-6).

Football

Mark Grieb threw for 283 yards and seven touchdowns, and the defending Arena Football League champion San Jose SaberCats advanced to the conference final with a wild 64-51 victory against the visiting Colorado Crush. ... Matt D'Orazio threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Larry Brackins on the final play of the game to give the host Philadelphia Soul a 49-48 victory against the New York Dragons

• Former San Diego Chargers safety Terrence Kiel was killed after he was thrown from a Chevy sedan he was driving late Friday. He was 27.

College football

Louisville wide receiver Trent Guy, 20, was shot in the back early yesterday outside a garage near a downtown nightclub. The school said it expects him to fully recover. Guy, a junior, was taken to University Hospital, where he was in stable condition after surgery.

Soccer

Carli Lloyd scored on a deflected shot in the 39th minute to give the United States a 1-0 victory against Sweden in a women's Olympic tune-up in Skelleftea, Sweden. The victory was the United States' 20th in a row this year.

• A goal by Jean Robens Jerome and a successful penalty kick by Justin Evans gave the Pittsburgh Riverhounds a 2-0 win against the Western Mass Pioneers (5-7-4) in the USL Second Division. It was the first win of the season for the Riverhounds (1-8-4).

Wild Things

The visiting Florence Freedom (22-22) rallied twice to edge Washington, 6-4, in Frontier League baseball action. Brad Arnett hit a two-run homer for the Wild Things (22-21).

Boxing

Felix Sturm (30-2-1, 13 KOs) jabbed his way to a lopsided decision against American Randy Griffin (24-2-3) and earned a fourth successful defense of his WBA middleweight title in Halle, Germany.