Duke: The Restructured ACC’s Early Favorites

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The ACC has always been home to premier basketball with established teams like Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, and Miami, but now with the legacy growing, Duke is still on top. Not even the arrivals of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame to the ACC could stop Mike Krzyzewski’s squad from returning to the top of college basketball, as they are listed as number one in the preseason ACC power rankings.

Since the Big East has deteriorated almost overnight, the ACC is arguably the toughest conference in the country, but nonetheless Duke remains the early favorites.

Part of the reason for Duke’s early edge on their conference mates is the enrollment of standout yet underrated freshman Jabari Parker. A product of Simeon Career Academy, the home of Derrick Rose, Parker is ESPN’s second ranked recruit and small forward for 2013 behind hyped Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins.

At 6’9’’, Parker still has exceptional athleticism to complement his size advantage over other small forwards. In addition to his physical outlook, Parker already has one of college basketball’s highest basketball IQs which will develop even more after playing in Durham for Coach K. To get an idea of how good Parker is, he was the only freshman to ever play varsity at Simeon, Rose included.

Krzyzewski will also surround Parker with the nation’s seventh best recruiting class, which includes two other ESPN top 100 recruits, shooting guard Matt Jones and small forward Semi Ojeleye from Kansas’s Ottawa High School. Out of Desoto High School in Texas, Jones, a McDonald’s All-American is listed as 2013’s sixth best shooting guard. Ojeleye is ranked as the tenth best small forward.

With additions, come subtractions.

The biggest losses for Duke this season will be the graduation of their two leading scorers from last season, Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry. Plumlee, Duke’s most efficient shooter, and Curry, the younger brother of Warriors point guard Steph Curry, combined to score over 44% of the Blue Devils’ points last season.

Despite losing the biggest components to their Elite 8 appearance, Duke will be returning key players from last season who should have matured to the level of full time Blue Devil caliber players like upperclassmen guards Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton and sophomores Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon.

Cook led the team in steals with 51 while averaging almost twelve points per game. Jefferson and Thornton both averaged around four points per game and will look to become regulars in Krzyzewski’s lineup this season. After a breakout freshman season where he saw action in all 36 games and averaged over twelve points, Sulaimon will become a dual threat with Parker in Duke’s offense this season.

Another addition for Duke will be the activation of guard Rodney Hood. Hood was ineligible from playing last season after transferring from Mississippi State. While in high school, Hood was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, twice.

Beyond the returning players from Duke’s Elite 8 loss to Louisville, the highlight of the Blue Devils this season will be the freshman, Parker. Due to Krzyzewski’s balanced and distributed philosophy, Parker will not have the college stats Andrew Wiggins will accumulate at Lawrence almost as a one man team. However on the court, Parker’s athleticism and raw instincts will be hard to ignore.

Heading into the season, Duke is not armed with too many players proven at the collegiate level as superstars. Duke does however have players with potential playing for one of the greatest coaches of all time in any sport. Just like the New England Patriots can never be counted out for the NFL Playoffs with Bill Belichick coaching, no matter how slim the odds are, Duke can never be doubted for March with Krzyzewski on the sidelines.

Could Stevens Have Become the Next Coach K?

The basketball world has had 36 hours now to digest the surprise of former Butler Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens becoming the Boston Celtics head coach, and I am left still in shock and disappointment for his departure. I am not only surprised, but have also began pondering what could have been in Indianapolis.

Could Stevens have become the next Coach K?

Brad Stevens had one of the best starts to a coaching career, going 166-49 through his first six seasons at Butler and as a head coach for a .772 winning percentage.  Stevens went to four NCAA Tournaments, two Final Fours, and two national championships but without a title.

Through his first six seasons at Duke, Coach K had a 122-68 record with a .642 winning percentage. Krzyzewski had three tournament appearances, one NIT, and went to one Final Four and title game in 1986 where his 37-3 team was the runner-up to Louisville. Unlike Stevens, Coach K had prior coaching experience for two seasons at his alma mater, Army.

Through his career, Coach K has 29 NCAA Tournaments, eleven Final Fours, and four national championships, including a 62-59 rout of Stevens’ Cinderella story Bulldogs in 2010. Coach K has a career record of 884-238 and winning percentage of .788.

Duke and Butler both had made seven tournament appearances each before Krzyzewski and Stevens took over as head coach. Coach K and Stevens also started as a coach with their teams returning from a Tournament appearance.

Stevens ultimately turned around his entire program, making Butler a legitimate threat in March. Krzyzewski made a good team great, as the Blue Devils had been to four Final Fours and two National Championships prior to his arrival.

Aside from the their statistical comparison, Krzyzewski and Stevens have similar coaching styles. Unlike the coaches using as much energy as the players from jumping up and down in their designated coaching boxes, arguing calls with refs, and yelling at players, Coach K and Stevens are calm on the sidelines. Both coaches believe in the John Wooden philosophy coaching is done in practice, and in the game it is up to the players.

Speaking of John Wooden, he is one of the few coaches who has been able to match Stevens’ early career success. Ironically, Wooden has the same record and winning percentage through his first six seasons at UCLA of 166-49 and .772 as Stevens.

Like Stevens, Wooden did not win a championship early on. Wooden only made two NCAA Tournament appearances in his first six seasons with a 0-4 record.

By the end of his career, Wooden had an .804 winning percentage with ten national championships.

With Stevens becoming an NBA coach, it makes me wonder, what could have happened at Butler. Stevens had a record better than Krzyzewski and a better tournament history than the immortal Wooden through their first six seasons.

Whether it was their similar coaching philosophies as a “good” coach or his early success, I always envisioned Stevens to stay at Butler forever and lead them to multiple national championships and am left wondering, “Could Stevens have become the next or better than Coach K? Could Stevens have passed John Wooden?”

Of course, Stevens could join other great coaches who went between college and the NBA like Rick Pitino of Louisville and Kentucky’s John Calipari. However, Stevens does not have Pitino’s in game intensity and rage, nor will he never be the villain of college basketball like Calipari.

The Legacy Takes a Break

Today will be the last win of Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry's careers at Duke. At 12:15, the 2 seeded Blue Devils will tip off with 15 seeded Albany in Philadelphia. Despite last year's bracket busting first round loss to Lehigh, I will give Duke the benefit of the doubt, for today at least. However, Coach K's team will not go past the Round of 32. With either Creighton or Cincinnati, Cincy in my bracket, as their next opponent, I cannot see Duke beating either team, mostly because of their pyrite season.

This season, Duke has failed to get it done numerous times, uncharacteristic to the product longtime coach, Mike Krzyzewski, has put on the court for what seems like forever. Dating back to last year's preliminary round loss, Duke has struggled on big stages. Losing to intrastate rival, NC State, to end their run for a perfect season, a blowout loss against Miami just eleven days later, and an almost upset versus a weak Boston College team in a game that should have ended in the first half, Duke's magic is gone. Not to mention two losses to Maryland, including losing 83-74 in the ACC championship game last weekend.

It is not clear to me what exactly happened to the Cameron Crazies, they are still a great team, aside from its rich past, they were able to beat Louisville and Ohio State, while sweeping UNC in their season series, and splitting with Miami, NC State, and Maryland. The Blue Devils are just too inconsistent. Day to day, I am not sure what we will see from them. Duke has the talent to win it all, but this year, the boot just does not fit and I do not think they will make it. This uncertainty about what will be showcased each game will prevent Coach K from cutting the net, like he has grown so accustomed to, almost as an annual tradition for him.

Not even Dickie V could convince me to change my mind on the Devils, even though I myself am a Dukie. Vitale's confusing rants did not do much to sway my opinion, except for the fact that with Ryan Kelly in the lineup, Duke has gone 18-1, but in March that one loss is enough to be eliminated.