The end of the road for Trajan

There are under 13 minutes left in Duke's Feb. 27 game against North Carolina, and the Blue Devils are clinging to a 46-41 lead. Duke's captain, senior Trajan Langdon, is shooting just 1-of-10 on the night. Duke is badly in need of some points to regain momentum and finish off its rival.

Coming out of a timeout, coach Mike Krzyzewski wastes no time in letting his team know who will be getting the ball. The index and little finger of his right hand shoot into the air. The play is called-a double screen on the baseline. Langdon dances back and forth, trying to shake his man. When he gets a step, he kicks out, receives the pass, turns and launches.

Nothing but net.

Two possessions later, the same two fingers signal the same play. Langdon again grabs the ball, turns and shoots, this time from behind the three-point arc. Another swish. Those points kick-start a 22-6 Duke run that ends with the Blue Devils leading 68-47 and only 5:26 left on the clock.

Another runaway win. Another "W" keyed by Duke's emotional leader.

"Langdon, although he wasn't shooting that well before, he really hit some big buckets," Krzyzewski said. "We told Trajan to keep shooting because, you know, he's our guy."

He's their guy. For the first time in his five-year Duke career, Langdon has become The Guy, both as a player and as the emotional leader of the team. In previous seasons, Langdon was counted on only to score, leaving emotional leadership to Steve Wojciechowski or others. Now, he is the veteran leader that the other players can look to as an example.

"I think I've improved as a leader," Langdon said. "I came into this season, and Coach and I talked before the season and he told me my main importance on this team was to be a leader. Obviously I needed to score and shoot the ball well for us to be successful, but more than that I needed to be able to lead and that's what I needed to focus on every day in practice and every game.

Second at Duke in career three-point percentage, Langdon knows his jump shot was forged from years of work and practice. He speaks of practicing with his father at a young age, of shooting at school during fourth grade, even of times when the harsh Alaskan winter closed the gym and Langdon was forced to shoot in his driveway, mummified in a hat, jacket, boots and gloves.

"I take pride in my ability to shoot the basketball," Langdon said, "and the time that I put in and the work that I put in to be able to shoot the basketball. If I were remembered as one of the best pure shooters in Duke history, that would be a great honor because it's something I've worked on all my life."

The work has paid off. Langdon is third on the team in field-goal percentage, though 63 percent of his shots come from behind the arc. Even when suffering through mini-slumps, Langdon knows his team hasn't lost faith in him. The North Carolina game was a classic example. No matter what Langdon's shooting line is, the Blue Devils knew where to go to get the key buckets.

"I've had some games this year where things haven't been sinking," Langdon said. "For my teammates and coaches to have confidence in me when shots aren't falling means a lot."

Still, Langdon more than anyone else understands that the team's work has yet to really begin. In the four years he has attended the University, the Alaskan native has yet to witness Duke achieve a single ACC championship or Final Four, events which had become customary when he signed on with the Blue Devils in the fall of 1993. At that time, Duke was in the midst of its 7-of-9 Final Fours run, and it appeared to be guaranteed that Langdon's time at Duke would allow him several shots at a national title.

Circumstances, of course, dictated otherwise. Krzyzewski departed the team during Langdon's freshman year to recover from a back injury, and then Langdon himself left, taking a medical redshirt to heal a wounded knee. During the last two seasons, Langdon and the Blue Devils have vastly improved, winning the regular season ACC title each year. But ultimately, the seasons have ended in disappointment, with the team fizzling in postseason play. That has left a void for Langdon that he hopes to fill this year.

"I'm not going to look at myself in terms of what I've accomplished so far," Langdon said. "I'll leave that for other people to do. What I want to do is win an ACC championship, I want to get to the Final Four and have a chance to win a national championship.

"Those are the things I haven't done, and they're the things that I came to Duke to do, and that's what I want to do. Hopefully we'll keep developing as a team, we'll keep our focus and we'll have a chance to do that."

Now, with his collegiate career winding down, Langdon is building quite a legacy to leave behind in Durham. This week he was named to the first team All-ACC for the third time, becoming only the fourth Blue Devil to do so. One of the best shooters ever to wear royal blue, Langdon has been steadily moving up the career scoring list at Duke.

Right now, he stands only 14 points away from passing Jeff Mullins to rank among the top-10 Blue Devil scorers of all time. He has started 119 straight games for Duke and holds the school record for three-pointers made. With five more long-distance bombs, he will have the third-highest three-pointer total in ACC history.

Despite all the statistical accolades, Langdon wants to be remembered for what he brought to the team.

"I would like to be remembered as a team player who gave 100 percent every time he stepped out on the court and wanted to do nothing but win every time," Langdon said. "Someone who tried to lead to the best of his ability, tried to make his teammates better and help his teammates as much as he could and in whatever way possible."