I was going to try to be funny with this column and present theme song alternatives for the 2008-2009 Blue Devils that weren't Jennifer Hudson's "I Am Changing" from the Academy Award winning "Dreamgirls."
In case you missed it, that was the song Coach K announced as the anthem for last season's team, which, ultimately, might explain a bit about how things went down at the end of last year.
(Check out these lyrics: "Look at me, Look at me/I am changing/Trying every way I can/I am changing/I'll be better than I am." How anyone could've believed that a red-blooded 20-year-old male athlete would get amped up in the locker room to that power ballad is beyond me.)
The biggest problem with writing that column, though, is that I'm not that funny. So not only would I fail to make you laugh, I would have given you 800 words of nothing.
Ergo, I'm going to nominate "Detroit Thang" by Kid Rock in honor of this year's Final Four. And at the suggestion of my 17-year-old brother, who is much cooler than me-I demand that you YouTube it to appreciate its appropriateness (minus the profanity, of course, because Duke is classier than that) and move on with my thoughts for the season.
Let's start with the good news: Duke actually can make the Final Four this year.
Now, for the bad news: It will be hard.
Here's my list of four things that need to happen for Duke to make its first Final Four since 2004.
- Gerald Henderson has to be an NBA lottery pick by year's end.
This sounds terrible to say, but the best thing to happen to Duke would be if Henderson leaves for the big leagues at season's end because it means he will have developed into a stud and have showcased his talent on a big stage, like say, the Tournament's second weekend (a place only this year's senior class has been). Most championship-caliber teams have that one player who takes them to the next level.
Henderson has to become that guy for the Blue Devils, and I believe he can. Last season, he averaged nearly 13 points and five rebounds per game, up from seven and three, respectively, in his freshman season. If he is a 20-point player by March, the Blue Devils should make it to the Sweet 16, at least.
- The big men have to step up.
I'm talking to you, Kyle Singler, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek, Miles Plumlee and Olek Czyz. Anyone. Seriously. I was in Charlotte for last season's ACC Tournament semifinal loss to Clemson when the Tigers' starting frontcourt combined for 40 points and 16 rebounds while Duke's starting post players were confined to two points and four boards. Of this year's preseason All-American first team, three players are forwards, including North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough. A stronger inside presence-both figuratively and literally, as Singler and Zoubek have put on a combined 35 pounds-is key to advancing in March. It also will be interesting to see who ends up being the odd man out in the frontcourt rotation, as Plumlee has started in Duke's exhibition games and Thomas and Zoubek have seen limited minutes.
- Greg Paulus needs to be healthy.
Some think this doesn't matter because Nolan Smith seems to have earned the starting nod at point guard, but Paulus is a senior and arguably one of the team's best shooters. Whether or not Paulus comes off the bench is beside the point (last season, for example, Jon Scheyer didn't start but was still one of the team's top scorers and third in minutes clocked). The senior can contribute just as much, if not more, than he did last year, when he led Duke in assists and 3-point field goals.
- Amnesia.
Let's face it: after Duke dropped back-to-back games at Wake Forest and Miami last season the team never looked the same. I don't know what happened, but it's as if the Blue Devils didn't think they were a good team anymore because they lost two games. But they were a good team. And good teams lose all the time and still make it to the Final Four. Just remember, thanks to Matt Sylvester and then Sean May, it has been more than 30 years since a team has gone undefeated to win a national championship.
So, friends, download your copies of "Detroit Thang" now, and keep your minds and first weekends in April open.
It's game time.
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