CHARLOTTE - There is a reason why people use the metaphor of a long journey to describe an athletic team's season. Perhaps the 1996-1997 version of the men's basketball team illustrated this analogy as well as any team can.
When the basketball season began in late October, a multitude of questions swarmed around this year's Duke Blue Devils: Who would play point guard? What would Duke do with all of its depth? And most importantly, what style of play would the Blue Devils employ?
Over six months, Duke answered these questions. Junior point guard Steve Wojciechowski surpassed everyone's expectations except maybe his own by solidifying himself, not only as the floor general of the Blue Devils, but as one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's better guards when he earned second-team all conference honors. As for the team's depth, in the beginning of the season, head coach Mike Krzyzewski shuffled players in and out of games more often than a blackjack dealer gives you your cards and then takes your money.
Concerning the question of style, Duke spent much of the year discovering itself. In the first half of the season, the Blue Devils looked to their big men to bear the brunt of carrying the team. But as the season wore on, the team began to mold its own character and realize its strengths and weaknesses. Instead of worrying about matching up with other teams, the Duke coaching staff simply concentrated on the guys in royal blue and white and an occasional black uniform while focusing less on their opposition.
On Feb. 5, Krzyzewski made a decision that would permanently alter the course of the season. He started a small lineup that featured 6-foot-6 freshman Chris Carrawell at center. Even though the movement to playing smaller players started with the 80-73 victory over North Carolina exactly a week before, the Blue Devils would not turn back after their shocking upset of then-No. 2 Wake Forest 73-68 on the Demon Deacons' home court.
The lineup allowed Duke to highlight its greatest strength-outside shooting. One can argue that the guard-laden Blue Devils can shoot from the perimeter better than any team in the country. After the victory against Wake Forest, Duke reeled off four straight victories which catapulted them into position to eventually capture the regular season ACC crown.
This run featured an aggressive defense that used quicker players to apply pressure on the ball. The defense then created offense and open looks on the other end of the floor. On Feb. 18, sophomore guard Trajan Langdon ignited the Clemson Tigers with a career-high of 34 points. But during this run, it was the play of senior Jeff Capel that really launched the Blue Devils. Capel, who struggled with his shot in the first half of the season even to the point of being booed in Cameron Indoor Stadium, started draining from the outside with a 15.5 point scoring average since the last Wake Forest game. Furthermore, Capel, the only Duke player with significant Final Four experience, transformed into a leader for this young Blue Devil squad.
"Jeff has been unbelievable and a great person to look up to for the last couple of weeks," Langdon said. "Everyone felt for him at the beginning of the year. Anyone who can come back from something like that when everyone in the nation knows he was struggling. And to come back the way he did and finish up strong is a great inspiration."
Losses at UCLA, North Carolina and a first round defeat at the hands of N.C. State in the ACC Tournament eventually slowed down the Duke train. Even during the Blue Devils' hot streak, Krzyzewski repeatedly referred to his team as "a good team that aspires to do great things." In order to achieve this greatness, Duke had to rely on emotion, especially on the defensive end, to spark victories. And at times, the Blue Devils lacked this required intensity.
In the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Providence, Duke came out ready to play. Six minutes into the game, Langdon, Wojciechowski and freshman Mike Chappell all collapsed down on Providence's Austin Croshere, taking a charge which gave the Friar senior his second foul. A minute later, Ricky Price stole the ball at half court. Price, with no Friar obstructing his path to the basket, performed a layup. The junior known for his spectacular dunks did not attempt a 360-degree slam or some other spectacular dunk. In the second half, Wojciechowski helped down low again and picked up another charge against Croshere.
There were no tricks, no gimmicks, no black uniforms, no last second alterations to the lineup. Duke went out playing with emotion and intensity and using the same strategy that earned it a No. 2 seed for the tournament.
"We're 24-9 and regular season champs by being who we are," Krzyzewski said. "Whenever you don't do anything, it is always something that you don't have or didn't do. No, I never thought [of going big]. If that is the reason we lost, then it's my fault and I will take responsibility for the loss. I will take responsibility for the loss even if that is not the reason."
In the tournament, Duke did what it does best, what it spent six months discovering-it shot jump shots. The Blue Devils played their own game and played as well as they could on that day. And Duke lost. Yes, there may have been foul trouble, there might have been missed opportunities, but when one examines the game, the Providence Friars simply defeated the higher-seeded Blue Devils. Ranging from picking up garbage points to making one extra pass to finding a better shot, Derrick Brown and his cohorts simply did whatever it took to get the job done.
As a strong contingent of Friar faithful rained down the "Overrated" chant upon the Blue Devils in the game's waning moments, perhaps the chant should be changed to "Underrated" and redirected to the Providence players.
"When you are on a long journey, sometimes you can't get some elements back," Krzyzewski said. "If you run a marathon, that 14 or 15 mile mark may be the best you ever run.... I really believed that we reclaimed that special something that we had just about all year until right at the end.
"Providence was the better team today. If we are going to lose, I want to lose when someone beats us and they did that today."
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