The biggest question mark surrounding the Blue Devils at the start of the season was their lack of depth. And during the winter break the problem worsened when Shavlik Randolph was forced to the bench with mononucleosis and his backup, Reggie Love, broke a bone in his right foot in the first half of the Clemson game.
The loss of the two forwards has forced other players into more significant roles, but it has not changed Duke"s attitude.
'We have some injuries, but come on, we"re playing basketball,' head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. 'If we make excuses because of injuries, we"re complete idiots, as far as what"s going on around us. Hey, this is the hand we got, so let"s play it.'
Fortunately for the Blue Devils, Randolph resumed practicing Sunday, with limited contact. Krzyzewski said he expected Randolph to return to action when the team travels to Florida next week. Love had surgery Jan. 4 and will be out another five to six weeks.
Junior Lee Melchionni earned the first start in his college career against Princeton and has turned in two solid performances since. He scored six points versus the Tigers and added nine more against Temple, including two key threes in a critical run that put the Blue Devils ahead by 10 midway through the second half.
'I"ve had a more prominent role since Reggie and Shav got hurt and just try to come in and do what I can to help the team win,' Melchionni said. 'With each game I feel more comfortable. I"m not trying to play outside myself or anything like that, just stay within myself and help the team win.'
Freshman DeMarcus Nelson"s role has also been altered significantly, as he has had to use his strong frame to help guard other team"s bigger players. Nelson, who has steadily seen his minutes increase, believes his quickness creates matchup problems for opposing teams.
'Having this responsibility on my shoulders is something I"ve always looked forward to, something I"ve always had playing basketball,' Nelson said. 'It"s something I"m used to, something I like, and I"m going to take this as a challenge to get better personally and to make sure that collectively as a group we continue to get better and win ballgames.'
Because of the injuries, Duke"s guards are being counted on to contribute in different ways as teams have been able to focus on containing Shelden Williams.
'We"re not that big. Our perimeter has to rebound,' Krzyzewski said. 'We got 15 rebounds from the starting perimeter against Temple. Shelden"s played great, some of his scoring suffers because you can concentrate on him more, but he"s played great, and I"m proud of him.'
Williams, who is averaging a double-double for the season, has stayed out of foul trouble, which has been essential because the Blue Devils do not have another true big man in their rotation. None of the teams that Duke has played without Randolph and Love has had an incredibly talented big man that have tested Duke"s deficiency.
As long as the Blue Devils continue winning, however, the players" absence may actually benefit Duke later in the season because the reserves are getting valuable experience.
'That"s how you get better and if guys come back, you"ll be even better,' Krzyzewski said.
'You don"t become a winning team by rationalizing and making excuses. You become a winner by defeating rationalization and having no excuses. That"s the way we"re going to run our program.'
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.