Duke found some heart, but will it be enough against Carolina?
Feb 8, 2009
"We had no heart tonight. I can't believe I'm saying that about a Duke team." So said Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski after his team’s humiliating loss at Clemson last Wednesday.
Well, he could have said that same thing at halftime on Saturday as Duke, with its heads down, headed to the locker room down 13 to Miami. I'm fairly certain he had some words to say about heart, but not many of them heart-felt.
But whatever was said back under the stands worked as Duke suddenly found some energy, emotion and, yes, heart in roaring back to beat Miami 78-75.
"Some amazing things this afternoon for the making of a team happened for our kids,” said Coach K. "They were real men."
But will they be men enough to step up Wednesday night when bitter arch-rival Carolina comes to Cameron Indoor Stadium?
The Blue Devils are good when they scratch and claw defensively and play with energy, as they did in the second half against Miami. And they have to play that way. Despite the lofty 20-3 mark, this is a team that is vulnerable, especially when they don't shoot well – and lately they haven't been shooting well. They have almost no inside presence, and when the perimeter game fails, which has happened lately, points are hard to come by.
And what's with Kyle Singler? He hit some big shots of late, but five of 23 from the floor is miserable. Is he already tiring, as he did a season ago?
Much has been made lately of Carolina's lack of depth. Well, Duke doesn't exactly have John Havlicek coming off the bench either. And against Miami, they went small in the second half. It worked because senior David McClure was everywhere. Duke won't get much offense from him, but he will play defense and he will hit the boards. He had 13 against the Canes, and his determination was impressive.
"I'm trying to play every play, every possession, every game like it's my last," says McClure. "Hopefully that can rub off on the rest of the team."
It did on Saturday and, to Duke's credit, they turned it around. Say what you want about Greg Paulus. His lack of quickness is a liability – has been ever since he's been there, but he is a player with heart. When Duke was in deep trouble Saturday, it needed someone to be a catalyst, someone who wasn't afraid, and Paulus did what seniors are supposed to do. He led the way. And Coach K knows he needs Paulus in the line-up despite his physical limitations. Nolan Smith is quicker, defends better, but he doesn't run the team better.
Now, Carolina at 21-2 has won seven straight and is coming off the ho-hum win over a terrible Virginia team. The Tar Heels started the league at 0-2, but have roared back. They have the best starting five in the ACC, with double-figure scorers at every position. They may not yet be the team that most thought they would be before the season. But of all the teams in the ACC, I think they have the best shot to make things happen in March.
The thing is, Roy Williams wants to play fast, and nobody gets up the court faster than Ty Lawson. But with Williams’ shortened bench do to injuries, can they play as fast as he wants and then defend like he wants? Is there enough gas in the tank for 40 minutes of helter-skelter against good teams? Carolina can play defense, but not consistent defense – and it drives Williams crazy. It's their Achilles’ heel against a good team.
Senior Bobby Frasor is finally getting his chance to play some minutes after two injury-plagued seasons. But it looks like he has lost all confidence in his shot. Williams lauds his defense, but he's got to make some shots coming off the bench. He missed some wide-open ones against Virginia.
Carolina has an inside-outside combination that is hard to stop. That's what makes them so tough. Wayne Ellington and Danny Green can fill it from outside. Ty Lawson is distributing and not turning it over, and then there's the reigning national player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough, who's still a one-man demolition derby inside. He loves it when the outside shots fall.
"Wayne, obviously, he's making shots, Danny Green's making shots. ... We've talked about it a lot. When they make shots, it's hard to put a lot of guys inside and it makes the defense spread out and guard everybody," Hansbrough says.
And that makes it much easier on the big guy who will soon become the ACC's all-time leading scorer. Coach K said it last year when asked whether he thought an injured Ty Lawson would play against them. He said they would prepare as if he would, but that he also knew whether Lawson played or not, Superman wore number 50. Hansbrough makes it tough on everybody. Duke doesn't have the size and muscle to play with him.
So UNC comes to Duke on Wednesday. The ACC lead is at stake. Just the way it ought to be.
The atmosphere at Cameron Indoor Stadium scares a lot of teams, but certainly not Hansbrough and company, who have never lost there. Hansbrough has said there is nothing like going into the Devil's Den and winning. And he's shut up the Cameron Crazies for three straight years.
I believe this is a circle-the-wagons game for Duke. The Blue Devils have the tougher schedule down the stretch. Five of their final eight games are on the road. If they are to have a chance to win the regular season, they have to win Wednesday night at home against their arch-rival. Duke must protect its home court. They will have the emotion of the raucous home crowd. They will be ready, you can be sure.
Like the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz, Duke found its heart on Saturday.
But will heart and emotion be enough on Wednesday against a veteran Carolina team that knows it can win at Duke? I don’t think so. Duke’s good, but Carolina’s better. But in this storied series, sometimes the best team doesn’t win – it’s the hungriest. We’ll see Wednesday who wants it more.
