Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 1, 1994 TAG: 9404010101
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Yes, Duke was ranked No. 1 for one week during the regular season, but compared to Coach K's 1991 and '92 NCAA championship teams and even some of the Durham university's earlier Final Foursomes, these Blue Devils Krzyzewski are more blue-collar than blue-blood.
Yes, Duke has another first-team All-American in Grant Hill. Yes, the Devils won the regular-season title in the ACC, one of the nation's two deepest basketball leagues. Yes, they were ranked No. 4 in the preseason, two spots higher than in the poll entering the 64-team field.
However, the 27-5 club that's favored by 6 1/2 points over Florida (29-7) in Saturday's Final Four nightcap at the Charlotte Coliseum has been remarkable in its consistency.
Duke isn't a great team. It is a very good one, and in this season, that's enough. After a second-round loss to Cal in last year's NCAA Tournament, there were questions about a team that began the season with no point guard and has survived despite little depth.
Not only has this been perhaps the most enjoyable team of Krzyzewski's 14 at Duke, it also may be the one he has done the best job coaching. Offensively, the Devils have Hill and hope. Defensively, they play differently than in the past.
"One reason I think this is one of our best defensive teams is we've had to adjust to a new way of playing defense," Krzyzewski said. "In the past we've been able to go out and press people. Now, we're doing just the opposite.
"The fact that we've been able to adapt is what pleases me. Defensively, we've depended a lot on one another. We've given a lot of help. The only time we didn't do that was in Charlotte [during the ACC tournament]. There, we were just each playing our man. We can't afford to do that."
It wouldn't be accurate to say that Coach K is surprised his club has returned to the arena where the Devils were upset by Virginia in an ACC semifinal. It also wouldn't be accurate to say he expected to coach in his seventh Final Four in nine years.
"When we won at Michigan and at Iowa [within 12 December days], we felt we could be a really good team," he said. "It's not that we were devoid of talent. I knew we had a chance at the Final Four."
After the Southeast Regional championship victory Saturday over Purdue, Coach K said he was "excited immensely to be going to Charlotte." Most coaches with his success in late April would be blase about another Final Four.
However, after last year's stumble in a bid for a third consecutive NCAA title, this team not only had redemption on its mind, it had Krzyzewski's emotion about his work.
"I'm extremely proud of this team," he said during the Southeast Regional. "It's been an unbelieveably good group to coach. This team has made me feel even better about coaching than I thought I ever might feel again."
Krzyzewski, 47, has a very complementary, if not deep, team. The Blue Devils have taken on the personality of senior leaders Hill and Tony Lang. Duke doesn't bully anyone, but it is a tough team.
The Devils admit the ACC tournament loss to UVa may have been the best thing that happened to them. They aren't alone. Each of the Final Four teams lost its last game before the NCAA field was announced.
What has enthused Krzyzewski as much as anything is the continuing development of center Cherokee Parks and the tournament-tough maturation of freshman guard Jeff Capel. If Duke is to take home an NCAA trophy on the bus Tuesday, it will need more from guard Chris Collins than the chest-bumping and high-fiving he gave teammates in the regional last weekend.
"We're definitely not as talented as those two [championship] teams," Krzyzewski said. "The '92 team was the best. This one reminds me a little of our '91 team, but we're not as deep.
"It's been tougher in some respects, but easier in others. It's different. There hasn't been the constant attention. We're the 16th team, the eighth team. We're the other game."
Duke has changed styles but stayed successful. Next to the 10 NCAA titles and 12 Final Fours in 14 years by UCLA (1962-75) and coach John Wooden, Krzyzewski's 7-for-9 in a different era has some asking whether a dynasty is a dinosaur.
"We knew we'd have to change our style after four years with Bobby Hurley," Coach K said. "We didn't know what would happen. Winning the ACC regular season was unbelievable.
"This team has answered so many questions. We don't think we're better than what we are, but we know we're good. We have a chance to win and lose every game. At Duke, it hasn't always been that way."
For Krzyzewski, that has been very refreshing.
by CNB