Duke Seeks Earlier Form, Wojciechowski tells The Fan

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Duke Seeks Earlier Form, Wojciechowski tells The Fan

Duke assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski on November 27, 2007.

Feb 27, 2008

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Stung by two losses, the Duke Blue Devils are still trying to regain the form they showed earlier in the season, according to assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski.

Duke lost at Wake Forest and Miami and then bounced back with a win Saturday over St. John’s. Duke plays Georgia Tech Wednesday night.

“The reality is we’re not that this great, overwhelming team with a ton of talent like we’ve had in the past,” Wojciechowski told 99.9 FM The Fan Wednesday morning.

“That’s not who we are this year. The thing we’ve done for the most part is we’ve played incredibly as a team. The strength of our team has been relying on each other.

“We’ve gotten away from that a little bit. Some of it is a product of the winning and some is the product of season.”

Wojciechowski said the games come up quickly at this point in the season, making it difficult to address issues in practice.

Still, he said, “We’ve tried to go back to those roots in the past week. Our guys understand what we are and what we are trying to do.”

Wojciechowski credited guard DeMarcus Nelson, the team’s only captain, as one reason the team played so unselfishly much of the season.

“DeMarcus Nelson has been a rock for our team,” he said. “He’s had a very good season. His leadership in the locker room, the confidence he gives every guy on the floor, it’s almost like a big brother mentality.

“He’s made the big guys around him better and tougher in tough situations.”

Wojciechowski, known for his defense as a player at Duke, also made some interesting points about playing defense at the college level

“A lot of defense is just a want-to,” he said. “You can talk about technique and different schemes, but when it comes right down to it, you have to have the desire to say, ‘Hey, you’re not going to score on me.’ …

“It’s the mentality behind the techniques.”

Most Recent Comments

Coach K, the fact that you know how to spell Rick Schroders name shows a lot about you. Get a life.
Jermaniac
GOLO member since August 22, 2007
February 28, 2008 8:17 a.m.

Germaniac, I have a life, and an education...

Coach K is GREAT - Check your facts UConn has the most active players in the NBA,UNC and Duke are second.
Tonedout
GOLO member since January 24, 2008
February 28, 2008 7:41 a.m.

Check YOUR facts, I never said we did, I just added Sheldon Williams to the list...

j, they have 13, unc and dook 12

Tonedout-name the UCONN players buddy! I don't think so!

Coach K, the fact that you know how to spell Rick Schroders name shows a lot about you. Get a life.

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