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Duke Confident Despite Recent Losses
By Jake Lloyd Mar 18, 2008
As No. 9 Duke prepares for the NCAA Tournament, it is in somewhat of a similar position to where it was a year ago.
The 2006-07 Devils were coming off three consecutive losses as they prepared for a Thursday night matchup with Virginia Commonwealth.
These Devils have lost two of their last three as they get ready to play No. 15 seed Belmont (25-8) in the first round of the West Regional at 7:10 p.m. in Washington, D.C. Thursday night.
That is the lone similarity, however, between the two Duke teams.
While last year's squad, which finished 22-11, was worn down both physically and emotionally, this year's Devils feel they're peaking at the right time — despite the losses.
"I think we're more confident now than we have been all year," senior captain DeMarcus Nelson said. "I think everyone is in a great spot."
Duke (27-5) lost in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to Clemson Saturday, but the loss did nothing to dampen the Devils' spirits. They realized afterward that they hadn't lost the game — Clemson had won it.
"Moving forward, I think we're a deeper team and a better team than we have been all year," Jon Scheyer said after the 78-74 loss. "We're really close to being the team that we think we (can be).
"We've played three really good teams in the last seven or eight days, and for us to move forward, we need to play with a lot of confidence, because we're a really good team. And despite the fact that we lost today, we can take a lot from this, because we were a possession or two away, a couple plays away from being in the championship."
The Devils who were on last year's team have not forgotten how their season ended. Just like against Clemson, they were a play away, a defensive stop away from defeating No. 11 seed VCU and advancing to the second round.
But Eric Maynor hit a jumper with 1.8 seconds left and Greg Paulus' half-court heave missed the mark, giving VCU a 79-77 victory and Duke a first-round loss for the first time since 1996.
One of the things that coach Mike Krzyzewski said he took from the game into his offseason meetings with the players was attention to detail. He stressed that one play — a turnover, a rebound or a dumb foul — can change the outcome of a game. And game situations have been a big focus all season.
"It's been important for us to either, when we have a lead, to take care of the ball, let our offense help our defense out to get stops when we need to," Paulus said. "And there were a few times last year when we had a double-digit lead or eight- or nine-point lead going into the (last) few minutes of the game and we didn't close the deal.
"So one of the things we wanted to do was to do a better job finishing, whether that's finishing plays, whether that's a rebound, a steal, a layup, knocking down free throws, we've tried to do a better job of closing a game out."
Nelson said there's been a greater emphasis in practice on rehearsing several late-game scenarios.
"Coach would always have us simulate game situations in practice," Nelson said. "We've done that a lot this year, a lot this past week, where you just get used to being put in those situations.
"You know, 78-78 tie game, a minute left, how do you close out a game? You're down four, 45 seconds left, how do you come back and win? What do you do?
"And I think that's been very key for our success this year. We've closed out some pretty big games this year."
Even in the loss to Clemson, the Devils did all the right things in the final minute; the ball just didn't bounce their way. They executed a perfect inbounds play to free Paulus for a 3-pointer that cut the Tigers' lead to 71-69. They fouled Cliff Hammonds, a sub-50 percent free-throw shooter — but he made both. And then they got Kyle Singler a wide-open 3-pointer, but he missed it.
After the game, Krzyzewski had no complaints about how his team played, and despite losing two out of the last three, he likes where the Devils are.
"I thought it was really a great week for us," Krzyzewski said of losses to North Carolina and Clemson sandwiched around a tough win over Georgia Tech. "And I'm really excited about where we're at and I think we have a better chance of being good right now than we did 10 days ago."
Krzyzewski specifically said the week of practice leading up to the ACC Tournament was a huge success for his team. Duke was on spring break, so he pushed the Devils really hard — getting in a lot of work so that practices this week can be much lighter.
Duke went through a non-contact practice Monday and will have one more practice Tuesday before heading to Washington D.C. Tuesday night. And unlike a year ago, the Devils are fresh and excited about the possibilities in front of them.
"Completely different," Brian Zoubek said of this season versus last year. "Not only physically in terms of our bodies feeling like we can keep up and that we're energized and enthusiastic, but mentally it's just huge.
"The difference between this year and last year in terms of where we are emotionally and mentally is vast. I think for every one of us, we're excited and enthusiastic about going into this tournament where last year we might have been a little just exhausted."
Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Most Recent Comments
PAY ATTENTION, coachkisgreat! You reposted my quote and somehow still missed the fact that I said (and I quote myself), "my boys never had any to begin with." Get your head out of your you know what and wake the heck up. Jeez!
Wulfpac4 eva
GOLO member since July 27, 2007
March 19, 2008 9:36 a.m.
My apologies I now see you did say that.
How'd the pack do in the NIT last night, I did see that Herb and the boys won?
Oh wait...
let's let pup-pack take this question since he likes to stereotype people...
"Go back to New Jersey."
Just wondering why people say this, to me, it makes no sense.
"Go back to New Jersey."
hahahahaha so i see you're one of those people that like to stereotype others. good one...i've been in the south my whole life buddy so try again.
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