Duke is ready to step into the top spot
Jan 25, 2009
Is Duke the best basketball team in the country? Well, when the new polls come out on Monday, there's no question that's where the Blue Devils will be – No. 1, ready or not. At 18-1, Duke has definitely stepped up its game.
Saturday's home win over Maryland was pretty much expected, but the 85-44 humiliation of the Terps wasn't. Maryland coach Gary Williams has seen it all, but he had never seen a Maryland team of his beaten this badly. Williams could rant and rave and sweat all he wanted, but there was nothing he could do. By the time it was over, the beleaguered coach looked like he had come up on the short end against Freddy Kruger himself. It was as thorough a whipping as a team could receive.
What Duke is doing is playing with a high level of energy and focus, and they dare other teams to match it. The Blue Devils are wreaking havoc with their defense, making every possession as difficult as possible for their opponents, wearing them down bit by bit. And so far, that’s working. It's like they're telling their opponents, “We're gonna come after you. See what you can do about it.”
"What makes them good is their intensity," says Maryland's Grevis Vasquez, who certainly knows first-hand. "If you don't play as hard as they do, you're not going to win games in here. You've got to play hard. If you don't, you going to lose by 40."
Even as impressive as the Maryland win was, though, I still don't know if Duke is the best team in the country right now. I mean, it’s still January. Actually, I expect they may well go to Wake Forest on Wednesday and lose.
The Devils are a good team, but one that can struggle offensively when the 3's don't fall. It's a team that sometimes becomes way too perimeter-oriented. They rebound better than their reputation, but the inside can still cause them problems, which can be trouble when the shots don't fall. And of course, life on the road is tougher.
But while Duke may have some off nights on the offensive end, nothing makes Mike Krzyzewski snarl more than an off night on the defensive end. He won't stand for it. It's defense and tenaciousness that has Duke ready to step into the nation’s top spot for the first time since the 2006 season. And in late January of 2009, the Blue Devils know this.
"I know how good this team can be when we're playing together and playing defense like we did the entire game," said the very much improving Gerald Henderson after the dismantling of Maryland. "We can be pretty spectacular and explosive. I feel we should play like that all the time."
So Duke is ready to be No. 1. That, of course, really doesn't matter in January. And Mike Krzyzewski knows this. But Coach K, who earlier this month chastised the local media for what he felt was overlooking his team’s accomplishments, will certainly not downplay the elevation to No. 1.
"It will be a big deal for our guys, and it's a big deal for us because it means we're really playing well," says the veteran coach. “It's an honor, and it says your playing well.”
But he added that the only thing you get from being No. 1 this early in the season is a big, bold headline with the next loss. Previous No. 1 Wake Forest knows that story all too well.
And the Deacons wait in Winston-Salem for the Blue Devils on Wednesday. Wake didn't have anywhere near the intensity they needed in their home loss to Virginia Tech. I expect that won't be the case Wednesday. Wake will have the crowd, and Duke will bring out the same ferociousness in the Deacons that Carolina did.
And Wake better have that, because you can be almost sure that No. 1 Duke will.
