WINSTON-SALEM -- Heart --yes it is in your chest, but more importantly it is represented in your demeanor. Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils may have lost two straight conference games, but they displayed more passion for the game Wednesday night than they have all season.
Playing in a hostile environment, which featured Wake Forest students displaying classless signs including those touting "God Hates Duke" and "No Means No," Duke persevered through countless situations that would have baffled them in Sunday's loss to N.C. State.
"I thought we played winning basketball tonight," Krzyzewski said. "Our kids played their butts off."
Coach K's previous statement summarizes the attitude his squad exhibited after the exhausting 90-84 loss, a sentiment that was certainly not to be found Sunday evening. In response to why the Blue Devils lost again, critics will justly point to Duke's defensive deficiencies, but credit needs to be given to Chris Paul, who took the rest of the Demon Deacons on a voyage to the promised land with 23 dazzling points. In the opening seven minutes of the game, the yellow and gold squad utilized physical play to send two messages loud and clear--Duke was not coming into Winston-Salem to push Wake Forest around, and J.J. Redick was certainly not going to be the Blue Devil that beat the Demon Deacons.
Krzyzewski responded to this adversity with a bold move. When he stared down the bench at the 16:09 mark, he called on regular reserve Shavlik Randolph as well as seldom-used senior Nick Horvath. Though his season statistics do not draw a second glance, Horvath entered the game with fire in his eyes and matched Wake Forest's intensity immediately. This sort of fervor was exactly what was missing in the loss to the Wolfpack. "We had a better effort than we had against State so we can take that as a positive," guard Daniel Ewing said. "Even though we lost we had a better effort on both ends of the court. We had a winning effort tonight." With Redick glued to the bench with three fouls in the first half, the Demon Deacons, who trailed until the eight minute-mark in the second half, inched to within two. When the Wake Forest faithful were about to blow the roof off Joel Coliseum with seconds left in the first half, Ewing calmly squared his feet and stuck a three-point dagger in their hearts for a 44-39 lead at the half. These heroics were commonplace on both sides of the court Wednesday night but were sorely lacking from the Blue Devils in their loss to the Wolfpack. After a disappointing loss such as Sunday's, the general consensus from the public states that Duke will bounce back and win--because it is supposed to. Since this common sentiment is cemented into the minds of many fans, they may overlook the Blue Devils' extraordinary effort just because they lost Wednesday's brilliant matchup. "The energy we brought today was great," senior Chris Duhon said. "Against most teams we probably would have won." Wednesday's loss should not question the heart of Coach K's squad, but rather reaffirm the fact that the Blue Devils have more passion and love for the game than ever.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.