Duke to have a different look this season
Posted October 21, 2009 8:06 p.m. EDT
Updated October 26, 2009 4:54 p.m. EDT
It's impossible not to detect the annoyance in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's voice whenever someone compares the postseason record of his recent teams — i.e., no Final Fours since 2004 — to his NCAA championship teams of the past.
"I like to coach every team fresh," Krzyzewski said Sunday at the ACC's Operation Basketball, "but every team I coach, because I've been around so long, is not reported fresh."
Hard as it may be to believe, he went on to say he doesn't lose sleep wondering where Christian Laettner has gone. Nor does he wake up crying Bobby Hurley's name.
"One of the things that happens in the NCAA Tournament or the ACC Tournament is that, if you win those things, some player did something really good. We've gone to 10 Final Fours, and we would have gone to eight if [Christian] Laettner doesn't hit two shots. Maybe if Laettner doesn't hit those shots, last year looks better.
"I do think that this year's team, if we stay healthy, those three perimeter guys [Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler] have a chance to make more of those plays that win games than we've had recently."
Entering his 30th season in Durham, Krzyzewski is too busy coaching his current players to get the ball inside and engineering what could prove to be a significant change in his team's style of play.
The latest version of the Blue Devils will play differently, he made clear Sunday. They'll be less likely to "extend" and trap on defense, and they will focus offensively on screening better and getting the ball inside the paint to their big men.
Duke is expected to start 6-foot-2-inch Smith, 6-5 Scheyer, 6-8 Singler and 6-10 brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee.
"The very first thing is, we've been known over the years as more of a break-you-down-off-the-dribble team, and we're going to break you down [more] with the screen," Krzyzewski. "The ball will react to the people who are open instead of the ball helping to get people open. ... The other thing we need to have is a vision of how we pass the ball, not just east and west but north and south.
"We need to pass the ball inside."
Krzyzewski refers to the Plumlees — Miles a sophomore and Mason a freshman and 2009 McDonald's All-American — and their Warsaw, Ind., roots as a "gift from the Polish basketball gods."
"We could be a really good rebounding team and an outstanding fast-breaking team, which some people wouldn't think with the players we have," he said.
Coming off a 30-7 record and an NCAA Sweet 16 blowout loss to Villanova, the Blue Devils begin this season with Scheyer and Smith as their only guards with serious playing experience. Duke will depend on Scheyer to lead the team on the floor and take a lion's share of the ball-handling responsibility — something Coach K acknowledged probably should have happened sooner than the final 12 games of last season.
Krzyzewski expects freshman Andre Dawkins, who enrolled a year earlier than expected, to contribute primarily as a perimeter scoring threat off the bench.
Duke also hopes to create more mismatches inside and out for Singler by moving him to small forward and having him play more on the perimeter.
"If he left after his junior or senior year, Kyle would be a starter in the NBA," Krzyzewski said. "He's in exquisite shape. He's prepared his body to be a perimeter player, to be a guy who faces the basket now. I think he can be a guy who puts up a lot of points."
Any changes in Duke's style reflect changes in personnel. Duke no longer has the luxury of going to Gerald Henderson to create shots in the clutch. Henderson, who left Durham early to turn pro, was drafted 12th overall by Charlotte.
Guard Elliot Williams, who made an increasing impact as a freshman over the course of last season, transferred to Memphis.
Also gone is point guard Greg Paulus, who is now playing football for Syracuse.
But Krzyzewski said he's not worried about his depth at guard, providing his backcourt players remain healthy.
Getting bigger also means changes on defense. But Krzyzewski would go only so far in discussing the Blue Devils' intention of getting away from their trapping, man-to-man approach to defense.
"When I say 'zone,' I mean you'll be able to see more zone in our [man-to-man] principles than you have in recent years."
Williams' departure isn't "as important on this year's team," Krzyzewski said, "because pressuring the ball is not the start of our defense."
Instead of relying on Henderson to create good shots at the end of games, the Blue Devils will turn to Singler, Scheyer and Smith.
"I do think those three guys on the perimeter have more of a chance to make the plays that win in those situations than we've had for a few years," Krzyzewski said.
Most of all, Krzyzewski relishes working with a "fresh" team and leaves no doubt that, at age 62, he himself is as fresh as he has ever been, not in spite of, but largely because of, his Team USA coaching duties.
He has no timetable for retirement, he said Sunday.
"I really can coach for a while. I really love what I do. I think I'm in great health right now and have been, especially for the past year, and I believe my work with the national team has helped immensely to become a better coach, to get a chance to learn more."
Duke basketball flashcard
Coach: Mike Krzyzewski - 30th year with Duke (760-215 record at Duke, 833-274 overall)
Record last year: 30-7 overall (11-5 in the ACC) - Duke lost to Villanova, 77-54, in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
Key Losses: G Gerald Henderson, G Eliott Williams, G Greg Paulus, F David McClure
Best Recruit: Ryan Kelly - 12th best player in the nation according to Scout.com
Mark Thomas' take: Year in, year out, the best defense in the ACC is played by Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils. He convinces his kids that they will never lose the “effort battle” on the court. Even with his recruiting over the past four to five years being questioned, the Blue Devils are still competing for the ACC Championship every year. This year’s team could have been considered the best in the ACC had Gerald Henderson decided to stay. Kyle Singler will be the ACC Player of the Year and expect Mason Plumlee to be in contention for ACC Freshman of the Year. And, just for the record, this will be center Brian Zoubeck’s final year to be irrelevant. Prediction: 28 wins, 12-4 ACC
Projected Starters (Stats from 2008-2009 season:
| Name | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Miles Plumlee | 6.9 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | .474 | .545 | .000 |
| Mason Plumlee | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Jon Scheyer | 32.8 | 14.9 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 0.2 | .397 | .836 | .385 |
| Kyle Singler | 32.2 | 16.5 | 7.7 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .441 | .713 | .383 |
| Nolan Smith | 21.6 | 8.4 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | .426 | .849 | .346 |
Key Reserves (Stats from 2008-2009 season):
| Name | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | FG% | FT% | 3P% |
| Andre Dawkins | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Lance Thomas | 18.6 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | .626 | .553 | .000 |
| Brian Zoubek | 11.9 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | .575 | .828 | .000 |
Schedule (All times EST):
| Date | Opponent | Location | Time | TV |
| October 24 | Pfeiffer | Cameron Indoor Stadium | TBA | |
| November 3 | Findlay | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | |
| November 13 | UNC-Greensboro | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | FSS |
| November 16 | Coastal Carolina - Preseason NIT | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | ESPNU |
| November 17 | Charlotte/Elon - Preseason NIT | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 6pm | ESPN |
| November 21 | Radford | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 2pm | |
| November 25 | Preseason NIT Semifinals | New York, NY | 7/9pm | ESPN2 |
| November 27 | Preseason NIT Championship Game | New York, NY | 5pm | ESPN |
| December 2 | at Wisconsin - ACC/Big Ten Challenge | Madison, WI | 915pm | ESPN |
| December 5 | St. John's | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 330pm | ESPN2 |
| December 15 | Gardner-Webb | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | ESPN2 |
| December 19 | Gonzaga | New York, NY | 4pm | CBS |
| December 29 | Long Beach State | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | FSS |
| December 31 | UPenn | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 6pm | ESPN2 |
| January 3 | Clemson | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 745pm | FSN |
| January 6 | Iowa State | Chicago, IL | 10pm | ESPN2 |
| January 9 | at Georgia Tech | Atlanta, GA | 2pm | ESPN |
| January 13 | Boston College | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | ESPN |
| January 17 | Wake Forest | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 8pm | FSN |
| January 20 | at N.C. State | Raleigh | 9pm | Raycom |
| January 23 | at Clemson | Clemson, S.C. | 9pm | ESPN |
| January 27 | Florida State | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 9pm | ESPN |
| January 30 | at Georgetown | Washington, D.C. | 1pm | CBS |
| February 4 | Georgia Tech | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | ESPN2 |
| February 6 | at Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | 2pm | ESPN |
| February 10 | at North Carolina | Chapel Hill | 9pm | Raycom/ESPN |
| February 13 | Maryland | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 1pm | CBS |
| February 17 | at Miami | Coral Gables, FL | 7pm | ESPN |
| February 21 | Virginia Tech | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 745pm | FSN |
| February 25 | Tulsa | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 7pm | ESPN2 |
| February 28 | at Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | 745pm | FSN |
| March 3 | at Maryland | College Park, MD | 9pm | ESPN |
| March 6 | North Carolina | Cameron Indoor Stadium | 9pm | ESPN |
| March 11-14 | ACC Tournament | Greensboro |
