Contrary to the prevailing sentiment among Duke fans, players and head basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, Bobby Hurley was not sent down from heaven. The 6-0 point guard, currently of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, was from New Jersey.
As Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils begin the 1993-1994 season, the media and the fans are being reminded of the fact that Hurley and his four-year tenure are now part of Duke lore. In the past, Krzyzewski has been careful to talk about his current players only. But after Wednesday night's 78-63 win over The Citadel, he brought up the subject of Hurley's departure.
"Look, I'm not using Hurley as an excuse," Krzyzewski said. "I used Hurley to win 30 games a year. Things change and we change along. But things don't change like that. You run a system for four years predicated on one guy making a lot of decisions and now all of the sudden you have different lineups. It's not going to come overnight and we knew that coming in."
With the Blue Devils ranked in the nation's top 10, it is hard to imagine 1993-94 as a "rebuilding year." Yet, that's the kind of rhetoric that is being aired.
"One thing about college basketball is that players leave and players come in," senior co-captain Grant Hill said Wednesday night. "It's just a matter of finding the right personalities and blending them together. It's not there yet, and we have to get on the ball and get it there."
Hill's comments contain more internal logic than he probably knows. Duke's problems against The Citadel were "on the ball." This team needs a point guard. For all of Krzyzewski's talk about the best way to support Hill, he may be hitching his wagon to a falling star.
Hill said before the season that this is his senior year and that he is ready to prove his greatness on the court. But if no one gets him the ball in scoring position or if he fails to get in position, he will not be able to reach his personal goal.
Belief in his players has been the hallmark of Krzyzewski's 13-year career as Duke's head man. But, as far as his success is concerned, he must believe in one thing before all others -- his system.
That's right. It is time for Krzyzewski to place himself on the current Mt. Rushmore of college coaches, alongside contemporaries Dean Smith of North Carolina, Bob Knight of Indiana, and, arguably, John Thompson of Georgetown. What do all of these men have in common, besides national championship banners? Each has figured out what he understands to be the best approach to the game.
Krzyzewski might allow his players more freedom in his system than Smith or Knight do in theirs, but he still has basic tenets that he knows work for him and his squad.
Throughout his career, Krzyzewski has been successful for three reasons -- tenacious man-to-man defense, a commitment to the point guard position and a trust in his younger players to learn from their mistakes.
Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils are undefeated in 1993-94. Smith, Knight, and Thompson are not. But unless something drastic happens, Duke could face its first defeat either this Saturday against Xavier in Cameron Indoor Stadium or next Saturday against fifth-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Duke's current concerns are going to turn into future woes if two things do not happen. Hill must assert himself every moment that he is the floor, and Krzyzewski must take a chance on an unproven player at the point.
"Kenny [Blakeney] has been handling [the point guard] position," assistant coach Pete Gaudet said before Thursday's practice. "Our ball handlers are responsible for getting the ball into the right hands of our shooters to take advantage of the ball movement."
In 29 minutes Wednesday night, Blakeney had zero assists and two turnovers. More important, he refused to attack The Citadel's defense.
If Blakeney attempts one shot like he did against The Citadel, then there are two things he is not doing. He is not penetrating and he is not pulling up for a jumpshot. When freshman forward Greg Newton leads the team in assists -- with three -- one other thing becomes abundantly clear. The point guard is not making scoring plays. The Blue Devils are not going to score. The Blue Devils are not going to win.
Under Krzyzewski, winning has been the standard. The 1993-1994 Blue Devils have enough talent to win. But no matter how well veterans Hill, Antonio Lang, and Cherokee Parks play, this year Duke will have to combine experience and youth.
On Nov. 26, 1983, a freshman point guard named Tommy Amaker made his first collegiate start in Cameron against Vanderbilt. Amaker scored Duke's last four points, including two clutch free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the 78-74 victory.
On Nov. 29, 1989, a freshman point guard named Bobby Hurley made his first collegiate start in Cameron against Harvard. The future All-American had four points, two assists and one turnover in 18 minutes of play.
On Dec. 1, 1993, a freshman named Jeff Capel came off the bench and had two assists and two turnovers. He also threw the only great pass of the first half, a no-look to Chris Collins. He has the skills and the poise to play in Krzyzewski's system.
It is time for Krzyzewski to remember that before 1989 he was not teaching Hurley's system. Even if it is only for this season, Capel looks like Duke's best option at the point.
In 1992 and 1993 Hurley was making many of his own decisions in the offense. But in 1989, he was learning Krzyzewski's system, not his own. Hurley is in California. Krzyzewski and Capel are in Cameron.
Gene Gorman is a Trinity senior and an assistant sports editor of The Chronicle. He will be a December graduate of the University andDjust maybeDcould get paid to write stuff like this one day.
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