The Blue Devils received the No. 1 seed in last year’s ACC tournament and again have the inside track to win a second straight banner this season. Just don’t tell that to head coach Joanne P. McCallie.
After Duke reeled off three straight wins to capture a share of the regular season conference title, McCallie has no intention of letting her squad rest on its laurels before its first ACC tournament game Friday at 3 p.m. in Greensboro Coliseum.
“We’re getting healthy, we’re getting stronger, we’re growing as a team,” she said. “At the same time, we’re not the least bit satisfied because we can be a whole lot better in pursuing what we want.”
The Blue Devils (26-3, 12-2 in the ACC) were back on the practice court Monday, less than a day removed from their 66-58 victory over then-No. 13 North Carolina. As the top seed in the tournament, the team receives a first-round bye. Nevertheless, the weekend will be a test of endurance, with a possible three games in three days.
“It definitely is a challenge for mental toughness as far as not having any rest time in between games,” guard Jasmine Thomas said. “Something that the team is definitely focused on is trying to go hard, like us having practice [Monday] instead of being off. I definitely think that we started the postseason mindset with our last three games of the regular season.... Everyone understands what it’s going to take to be successful.”
Every Blue Devil may understand the level of effort required to produce wins in the ACC, but Duke’s five freshmen have never experienced the rigors of the postseason. McCallie said the rookies cannot fully grasp the nature of the tournament until they step onto the floor in Greensboro, but she believes their youthful exuberance will work in Duke’s favor.
Moreover, the freshman class brings an unprecedented level of depth to the squad that no other team in the conference can match. All the freshmen average over 10 minutes of play per game, and the Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC to have every member of the squad average double-digit minutes.
Even though players struggled to carve out their roles earlier in the season, the even distribution of playing time has ultimately helped the team become a more cohesive unit, according to Thomas.
“I’ve seen our assists go up in the last few games, which is really good,” Thomas said. “Our turnovers are still too high, but seeing the assists go up shows that the chemistry is really getting there. That’s something we’ve had trouble with just because we have so many weapons, and everyone is trying to figure out, ‘Where do I fit in?’”
Duke leads the conference in assists with 16.7 per game and also boats the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the ACC. Freshman Chelsea Gray, one of the Blue Devils’ primary facilitators, has brought stability at the point guard position. Gray, however, is still recovering from an ankle injury she suffered against Virginia Tech Feb. 20. McCallie could not say whether she would be back at full strength for Friday’s contest.
“She’s getting back day by day,” the coach said. “She’s a young lady who is learning how to rehab. That’s the key. It’s how much you commit to rehab [that usually determines] how quickly you come back.”
Gray played only five minutes against North Carolina Sunday, forcing Thomas and Shay Selby to carry the load in the backcourt. Fortunately for Duke, its potential opponents in the quarterfinals—either Virginia or Wake Forest—were no match for the Blue Devils during the regular season. Duke knocked off the Cavaliers by 23 points and demolished the Demon Deacons 82-39.
If the Blue Devils win Friday, a more daunting matchup awaits in the semifinals, assuming No. 4 seed Maryland wins its opening-round game. Gray did not play the last time the two teams met in College Park due to illness. In a game McCallie described as “a health debacle,” the Terrapins routed Duke 69-47 Feb. 17, the Blue Devils’ largest loss to Maryland since 1993.
But Duke has not dropped a game since, and if the Blue Devils can regain their health, they may be hitting their stride at the most important time of the season.
“We really want to finish out strong,” Karima Christmas said. “We’ve grown a lot, we’ve learned from our losses and it’s about that time to kick it into another gear.”
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