CHARLOTTE - Finally, when the Christian Laettners and Grant Hills return to Durham next fall for pickup ball, they won't be able to ask the current Blue Devils why they don't have any banners.
Elton Brand and Will Avery made sure of it. Duke will always be commemorated now as both ACC tournament champions, and in all likelihood, the No. 1 team in the country at the end of the pre-NCAA season.
While Corey Maggette stepped up in Trajan Langdon's absence Saturday against N.C. State, two familiar sources did the damage against North Carolina.
Avery and Brand's stats certainly tell most of the story, but more importantly than just the numbers, the sophomore pair stepped up whenever UNC made a run. Without a prolific-shooting backcourt teammate beside him, Avery left the outside shooting to himself. Other times he fed the post, and only two times in 11 attempts did Brand not convert.
"Every time that [UNC] came back, we responded, especially [Brand and Avery]," Mike Krzyzewski said. "Will and Elton were just a step above everyone else today. Certainly it was one of Will's best games. There was a lot on the line and he was out there without his backcourt mate."
Duke opened the game and made it look like the championship would go much like most of the Blue Devils' 18 other conference games. An early 12-2 run lifted Duke ahead 25-12.
Then the Tar Heels awoke, and a 11-1 burst had their deficit cut to three, 28-25, and the pressure back in Duke's court. The light blue side of the Charlotte Coliseum arose, and UNC held an explosive Duke team without a basket for three minutes.
How did the Blue Devils respond?
Brand, who spent much of the afternoon pounding away within five feet of the basket, calmly stepped out and hit two mid-range jumpers from the left baseline over seven-footer Brendan Haywood. Both were 15-footers. Both hardly glanced the rim on their way down. From there, scored four more as Duke burst ahead 46-31.
"I just wanted the ball when they started to get their run," Brand said. "I really just wanted to come in there and finish. I was definitely calling for it [after UNC's first run]."
And on UNC's second run, Avery answered the bell. After the Tar Heels, much to their credit, scored 14 straight points trimming Duke's 24-point second-half lead down to 10 with 10:28 left, Avery fed Brand on the Blue Devils' next possession for what ended up a foul and two free throws. Then Avery himself scored seven of Duke's next 11 points, including a driving layup around Haywood after North Carolina had cut the Blue Devils' lead to single digits.
Without his backcourt mate in both weekend games, Avery didn't miss a beat. Against N.C. State, most of his points came on penetrations. Yesterday, he was devastating from well beyond the three-point arc.
"He's a good shooter," Ed Cota admitted after the game. "They've got so many weapons on their team that you can't just concentrate on him. He got a lot of open shots off of offensive rebounds, and he knocked them down."
And while Cota inexplicably went on to say he doesn't expect Duke to make the Final Four ("I feel there are a lot of teams that can beat them," he told Inside Carolina. "I just don't think it's going to happen."), Avery was asked repeatedly if not being named to the conference's regular-season first team was any incentive this weekend.
Avery denied it, though he admitted his performance was satisfying "all things considered."
"We all know that Will's one of the best point guards, not just in the conference, but the nation," Shane Battier said. "We always give Will a little heck before the game, telling him 'Cota's better.' He takes it a little personally."
Avery certainly took it personally yesterday and clearly outplayed Cota for the second weekend in a row.
As for the team, this weekend's experience wasn't just significant because Duke won in its first tourney title in seven years, and did so without Trajan Langdon. But cutting down nets and holding a trophy on a platform also reminded the Blue Devils just what can happen if they play hard for six more games.
"It gave us a good taste," Nate James said. "We know it's not over; we want a national championship. It's good for the team to get this win, and now we want to keep winning."
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