WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

Duke excited but not satisfied with Sweet 16

By Jake Lloyd

Mar 23, 2009

DURHAM, N.C. — When considering the fact that Duke has now reached the Sweet 16 10 of the past 12 years, it seems like the accomplishment might not be the biggest deal to Mike Krzyzewski and his players.

But that statistic overlooks the fact that the Blue Devils (30-6) haven’t been there since 2006, which was before the team’s core — Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler — arrived on campus.

To them, it’s a novel experience — and one they’re not taking for granted. Singler said Monday that he’s still running on the adrenaline of the past couple weeks as he prepares for second-seeded Duke’s East Region semifinal against third-seeded Villanova (28-7) Thursday night.

“It’s very special, I’m very excited,” he said. “My family’s excited, fans are definitely excited. It’s just an exciting time for Duke just because we haven’t been there for a while.

“So it’s a good accomplishment, but we can’t stay satisfied with just getting to the Sweet 16. It’s kind of a benchmark that we got to, but now we just have to stay hungry like we have throughout these last couple weeks and keep on playing good basketball.”

Krzyzewski believes that too much attention has focused on what his program hasn’t accomplished the past two seasons — which included first- and second-round exits in the NCAA Tournament — as opposed to what it’s done in other seasons.

“For this group, especially our junior class, they haven’t done that (reach the Sweet 16) yet and so people throw up to them what they have not done,” Krzyzewski said. “They don’t throw up to them that our program has been to 10 of the last 12 Sweet 16s.”

He referenced a Rick Reilly column in ESPN the Magazine in which the famous columnist defined “flopping” as “what Duke does in the first round of the NCAAs,” Krzyzewski said.

“That means 10 of the last 12 years we’re not flopping,” he added. “Somebody else was flopping. So that’s the world these kids live in.”

After second-seeded Duke’s 74-69 win over Texas Saturday, Scheyer said that Krzyzewski has placed an emphasis all season on not letting the past couple seasons affect these Blue Devils.

“Coach has been doing a really good job of making sure we don’t feel that extra pressure, that we’re just playing for this year,” Scheyer said. “If he hadn’t been so persistent in telling us that, I think that maybe could have come up in our minds and who knows.

“But coach has been really positive, been really good with us, where that really hasn’t been an issue.”

Instead, the Devils have been able to focus on turning around a season that seemed destined for another disappointing finish in mid-February after they lost their fourth game out of six at Boston College.

Duke’s core trio said that hope was never lost, but there was still a little doubt at that point.

“Our season could have gone a lot of different ways,” Henderson said. “It wasn’t even sure at that time that we would make the tournament, nothing was guaranteed. We could have gone backwards from there.

“We just weren’t going to let that happen. Me, Jon, Kyle being our leaders, we kind of took it on our shoulders to not let that happen and for us to try to maximize what we have as a team.”

Duke has won 10 of 11 games since then by mixing and matching. The big change was putting freshman Elliot Williams in the starting lineup and moving Scheyer to point guard.

But nothing about the rotation has been set outside of the playing time of Henderson, Scheyer and Singler. Other players have seen their minutes on the court fluctuate and they’ve made different contributions from game to game.

And even in mid-March, the Devils believe they’re still evolving.

“It’s a little bit like a pro team,” Krzyzewski said. “In the Eastern Conference, this one guy might not play against Philadelphia but against Boston you have to have him, that kind of thing.

“I told my team at the start of the year they would all be evolving and I was going to coach them a little bit differently.”

Center Brian Zoubek, 7-foot-1 and 280 pounds, exemplifies Krzyzewki’s philosophy. In Duke’s first-round win over Binghamton, a small and quick team, he didn’t play until the final minutes when the outcome was decided.

Against Texas and 6-foot-10, 298-pound center Dexter Pittman, however, Zoubek was an important part of the rotation. He played 13 minutes, and had four rebounds to go with a block and a steal.

Most importantly, Zoubek was one of three bench players who filled in at the end of Duke’s nail-biting win over Texas when starters Singler and Lance Thomas fouled out.

That experience has the players believing in what each other can do, regardless of how roles fluctuate from game to game.

“That gives us confidence, that should definitely give them confidence as well,” Henderson said of the bench’s contributions. “Being in a pressure situation like that and Elliot making some really good plays … and ‘Zoubs’ being just a presence in there and Dave (McClure) making that (tip rebound to Henderson) play at the foul line.

“That should give them all confidence, should give them confidence that we have confidence in them in those situations.”

As Duke prepares for the Wildcats, the players aren’t thinking about the past or what’s expected of them. They’re simply focused on keeping a season going that at times appeared headed in the wrong direction.

Their Hall of Fame coach — three national titles and 10 Final Fours to his name — is enjoying it just as much, if not more.

“I’ve been a part of a bunch of championships, ACC (titles), Final Fours, national championships,” Krzyzewski said Saturday. “But to do it with this group feels great.

“I mean, I’m so happy. I am really happy. I can’t tell you how happy I am. And I’m happy because I’m sharing it with these guys.”