By STEVE WISEMAN
swiseman@heraldsun.com; 919-419-6671
DURHAM — This past season’s ending, a maddening March rather than March Madness, represented a rarity for Duke basketball.
A loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh at the Greensboro Coliseum marked the first time since 2007 that the Blue Devils had failed to win at least one NCAA Tournament game. It was just the fourth time in 28 NCAA Tournament appearances under Coach Mike Krzyzewski that Duke went out without a win.
The loss led Krzyzewski and his staff to ask some tough questions about the program.
“Sometimes if you leave a tournament earlier, you are more truthful with yourself, not just about that game but about everything,” Krzyzewski said Wednesday. “If you would have won, say, two games and lost in the Sweet 16. Well, we won 30, so it must not be that bad.
“I’m not going to go through everything I looked at because that’s private. But we need to be tougher with what we’re doing, how we’re practicing, how we bond. I take a look at all those things. I think you look at them closer, whomever you get beat by. When you leave a tournament that early, that’s not what you want to do.”
Duke finished 27-7, and its early NCAA Tournament exit spawned a busy spring of roster movement.
In addition to senior forward Miles Plumlee’s career ending, freshman guard Austin Rivers, the team’s leading scorer, entered the NBA draft early. Another freshman, reserve forward Michael Gbinije, transferred to Syracuse.
Guard Andre Dawkins, coming off a disappointing junior season, is planning to redshirt this season.
Duke added incoming freshmen Rasheed Sulaimon, a 6-3 shooting guard, and Amile Jefferson, a 6-7 forward — both McDonald’s All-Americans.
“We’ve had a chance to look at everything, make the appropriate adjustments,” Krzyzewski said during a news conference at the start of the K Academy Fantasy Camp. “It’s been very busy. I’m really pleased with where we are at right now.”
Looking to the coming season, Duke will have three experienced senior starters to build around. Ryan Kelly, a 6-10 forward, has fully recovered from the broken foot he suffered before the ACC Tournament in March. Shooting guard Seth Curry will provide scoring punch, and 6-11 center Mason Plumlee will anchor the middle after strongly considering entering the NBA draft.
“I think our team will go the way of our seniors,” Krzyzewski said. “There’s no question about it. The fact that you have seniors who have had really good experiences their first three years should mean that you have a chance to be mature and good.”
Kelly, also on hand at the fantasy camp along with several teammates and former Duke stars, said he’s 100 percent healthy and ready for a strong senior year.
“We have an opportunity in that we won’t be picked as high this year,” Kelly said. “People have everything to say bad about us. That’s something we have to take to heart. We’re going to be real talented. We’re going to have a little bit of a chip on our shoulders.”
Krzyzewski said the plan is to have Dawkins redshirt but that the final decision wouldn’t come until the fall. At the same time, he said he’s counting on three seniors to lead this team.
“Those three kids are all good players,” Krzyzewski said. “Mason, Ryan and Seth are all very good. They want to be leaders. They want us to be very good, so that’s exciting for our younger guys to be with them.”
swiseman@heraldsun.com; 919-419-6671
DURHAM — This past season’s ending, a maddening March rather than March Madness, represented a rarity for Duke basketball.
A loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh at the Greensboro Coliseum marked the first time since 2007 that the Blue Devils had failed to win at least one NCAA Tournament game. It was just the fourth time in 28 NCAA Tournament appearances under Coach Mike Krzyzewski that Duke went out without a win.
The loss led Krzyzewski and his staff to ask some tough questions about the program.
“Sometimes if you leave a tournament earlier, you are more truthful with yourself, not just about that game but about everything,” Krzyzewski said Wednesday. “If you would have won, say, two games and lost in the Sweet 16. Well, we won 30, so it must not be that bad.
“I’m not going to go through everything I looked at because that’s private. But we need to be tougher with what we’re doing, how we’re practicing, how we bond. I take a look at all those things. I think you look at them closer, whomever you get beat by. When you leave a tournament that early, that’s not what you want to do.”
Duke finished 27-7, and its early NCAA Tournament exit spawned a busy spring of roster movement.
In addition to senior forward Miles Plumlee’s career ending, freshman guard Austin Rivers, the team’s leading scorer, entered the NBA draft early. Another freshman, reserve forward Michael Gbinije, transferred to Syracuse.
Guard Andre Dawkins, coming off a disappointing junior season, is planning to redshirt this season.
Duke added incoming freshmen Rasheed Sulaimon, a 6-3 shooting guard, and Amile Jefferson, a 6-7 forward — both McDonald’s All-Americans.
“We’ve had a chance to look at everything, make the appropriate adjustments,” Krzyzewski said during a news conference at the start of the K Academy Fantasy Camp. “It’s been very busy. I’m really pleased with where we are at right now.”
Looking to the coming season, Duke will have three experienced senior starters to build around. Ryan Kelly, a 6-10 forward, has fully recovered from the broken foot he suffered before the ACC Tournament in March. Shooting guard Seth Curry will provide scoring punch, and 6-11 center Mason Plumlee will anchor the middle after strongly considering entering the NBA draft.
“I think our team will go the way of our seniors,” Krzyzewski said. “There’s no question about it. The fact that you have seniors who have had really good experiences their first three years should mean that you have a chance to be mature and good.”
Kelly, also on hand at the fantasy camp along with several teammates and former Duke stars, said he’s 100 percent healthy and ready for a strong senior year.
“We have an opportunity in that we won’t be picked as high this year,” Kelly said. “People have everything to say bad about us. That’s something we have to take to heart. We’re going to be real talented. We’re going to have a little bit of a chip on our shoulders.”
Krzyzewski said the plan is to have Dawkins redshirt but that the final decision wouldn’t come until the fall. At the same time, he said he’s counting on three seniors to lead this team.
“Those three kids are all good players,” Krzyzewski said. “Mason, Ryan and Seth are all very good. They want to be leaders. They want us to be very good, so that’s exciting for our younger guys to be with them.”
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