Let me describe a team for you.
This team returns its top two scorers from last year-one a sharp shooting senior guard and the other a dominating senior center. The team gets surprising production from an improved senior guard, while trying to work in a talented freshman at its point guard position.
Sounds a lot like Duke, who is 11-0 in the ACC and the second-ranked team in the country. Rather, this team is Wake Forest, the Blue Devils' opponent tonight, who is the conference cellar dweller at 1-9 and may be only the second-best team in its county after Winston-Salem Bible College.
This Demon Deacon team is, perhaps more than any other team in the last few years, a reminder that health, talent and experience do not guarantee success. Sure, Wake Forest may not have the talent pool, expectations or tradition Duke has, but a skilled team led by four seniors that is 13-11 shows that there are simply no givens in college basketball. It also shows how ridiculous the expectations for Duke have become.
Some fans have griped about the fact that Duke has not been able to tear through its opponents of late and fretted over the late-game mistakes the Blue Devils have committed against full-court pressure.
While these are legitimate concerns, let's come back down to Earth. Freshman Greg Paulus is going to make some mistakes against good teams. Even the almighty Bobby Hurley had just one assist and 10 turnovers in his first game against North Carolina as the Blue Devils lost by 19.
Plain and simple: ACC games are going to be close. The good news is that despite a freshman point guard and late-game mistakes, the Blue Devils are 9-1 in games decided by 10 points or fewer. All you have to do is look at the Demon Deacons for what could be-they are 1-8 in such games since their Jan. 8 loss to Duke.
Duke's current success, at a time when many top programs are faltering, highlights the job that head coach Mike Krzyzewski has done this year. While Coach K earned significant praise for his performance last year-and rightfully so-the play of Williams and Redick has overshadowed Krzyzewski's impressive job this season. He has gradually worked in the freshmen and role players so well that his team is hitting its offensive stride as it enters the stretch run.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest's Skip Prosser has failed to adjust his system without star point guard Chris Paul, who left school early for the NBA after last season. The Demon Deacons have kept the attitude that they can outscore opponents-an outlook that has prevented Prosser's teams from achieving postseason success-even though the team has a glaring weakness in its lack of ball handlers. As a result, Wake has the worst turnover margin in the league.
Rumors have grown louder recently that Prosser has already booked plane tickets to Cincinnati for the morning after the NIT's first round. Prosser has certainly coached like he expects to leave after the season, as his senior-laden squad has often looked resolved to its tourney-less fate during a current six-game ACC losing streak.
There certainly are other differences between the first and last place teams in the ACC. Greg Paulus is a natural point guard, while Harvey Hale is not. Justin Gray is a good player, while J.J. Redick is an exceptional one. And DeMarcus Nelson gives Duke a talented, athletic guard off the bench, which Wake lacks.
But the Demon Deacons and their struggles should serve as a reminder to how special this Duke team has been, because regardless of tremendous potential, there are no guarantees.
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