Duke Blue Devils Lacked Leadership Needed to Advance in NCAA Tournament

Mike Krzyzewski is considered not only one of the greatest basketball coaches in the history of the game but also as one of the best leaders. He’s even written five books about how to build and lead a team.

His 2011-2012 Duke basketball team, however, was lacking of anyone that shared that characteristic and that ultimately was the team’s downfall as they lost to No. 15-seeded Lehigh and failed to advance in the NCAA tournament.

There are a number of pure basketball reasons why the team struggled this season—poor free throw shooting, reliance on three-point shots and bad defense—but not one players stepped up to be the man, to be courageous and clutch during crunch time, to inspire his teammates and to push the rest of the team to give maximum effort.

In most cases, leadership is developed throughout the years and displayed by the upperclassmen. Throughout Coach K’s tenure at Duke he’s had the luxury of most of his players staying all four years of their eligibility rather than go to the NBA.

Prior to this season, Duke had advanced past the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in all but one of the past 15 seasons (2006-2007). Looking back at that roster, which was a 22-win team by the way, there was only one senior and one junior. Six of the 14 players on the roster were freshmen.

There was a considerable lack of experience on the team and it ended its season losing its final four games (its second four-game losing streak of the season).

It’s similar to how this year’s team lost three of its final four games.

In 2011-12, there was a bit more experience, but there was only one senior, Miles Plumlee. On most night’s he was the team’s most intense player, but he was featured as a substitute more times than not and did not get the rest of his teammates to match his effort.

Think of some of the best Duke teams of the decade and you will remember them having some fantastic college seniors: Shane Battier, Chris Duhon, J.J. Redick, Sheldon Williams, Jon Scheyer, Greg Paulus, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. This type of talented leader was absent from the team this year.

There also was the lack of a true point guard. Gone were Jay Williams, Duhon, Scheyer, Paulus, Smith and Kyrie Irving. The team relied on Seth Curry and Austin Rivers to run the offense, but neither was up to task.

Curry is a shooter. Handling the ball is not one of his strengths. He spent his playing-time off the ball last year but was shifted to the point position before the season started.

“It's different. I'm used to just worrying about myself,” he told CBS Sports at the beginning of the season. “Now I've got to get everyone involved in the offense. I can't just worry about myself.

Most point guards are judged by their assist-to-turnover ratio. Curry’s was not good: he averaged one turnover for every 1.2 assists he dished out. He was unable to control the tempo of the game and couldn’t hold onto the ball during big moments.

Rivers didn’t fare much better.

The freshman showed some fearlessness and stepped up to the occasion here and there, most notably in the first match-up against North Carolina when he hit a buzzer-beating, game-winning three pointer. He was a bit overconfident though and that affected his play.

Rivers handled the ball a lot but his biggest failure was in getting his teammates involved. More times than not, when Rivers got the ball at the top of the key he either held the ball and threw up an ill-advised jumper or put his head down and drove down the lane. He was the team’s leading scorer but he made the offense stagnant and predictable.

He also averaged more turnovers (2.3) than assists (2.1).

It seemed as if on some nights, this Duke team was waiting for the great players in the past to come into the game and take over. Aside from Rivers in the first UNC game, no one stepped up to hit big shots. It seemed like the team was just unsure about itself.

With one more season maybe Curry gets a better handle on the position. And if Rivers comes back for another season maybe his confidence is harnessed and the extra experience makes him a better team player. But this season neither stepped up as a point guard or a leader.

The talent on the team needs to improve, as does the effort put forth by every player. A team lacking leadership and heart is always susceptible to an upset from a team with nothing to lose.

That’s what happened when Duke went up against Lehigh.

Not all hope is lost however. Three freshman on that ’06-’07 team were Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas.

All three played pivotal roles and were leaders three seasons later on the 2009-2010 NCAA championship team.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Chuck Burton

NCAA Championship: Brian Zoubek was Duke's Most Important Player

AP Photo/Amy Sancetta

The Duke Blue Devils have a ton of talented players. In the championship game victory over Butler the “big three”—Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith—combined to score 47 of the team’s 61 points.

No individual was more important in Duke’s run to the title game than center Brian Zoubek.

Looking back on the past three years, he was also the least likely candidate to be the missing piece that would push a talented Duke squad over the top.

In his first three years with Duke Zoubek’s struggles were obvious.

The seven-foot-one-inch, 260 pound center was a big presence in the paint that could alter shots, yet he was more of a liability on the floor.

He seemed to always be stumbling over his own feet, he couldn’t hold onto the basketball, and instead of going strong to the hoop he always looked uncomfortable with the ball, opting to pass back outside.

He had trouble getting up-and-down the court, made even worse by multiple surgeries to fix a broken foot. Because of his awkwardness and size, he would continually get into foul trouble as well.

It seemed more trouble to put him on the floor than he was worth.

Zoubek stuck it out though, and it paid off.

Duke has been in desperate need for a strong inside presence since Sheldon Williams graduated in 2006. Since Williams left, the Blue Devils have been severely lacking in rebounding, interior defense, and toughness. So just because of his sheer size Zoubek would always remain a thought, even if it was a thought buried deep in the back of Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s head.

The lack of an inside game could very well explain Duke’s lack of success in the NCAA Tournament recently.

The last time the Blue Devils won the championship was in 2001. Since then, the school had been a number one seed four times but failed to reach the championship game. Zoubek’s class have seen the team get bounced in the first round, second round, and Sweet 16—certainly not up to the standards and expectations set at Duke.

The team has lived and died by the three-pointer. It would seem that in the biggest games more times than not they died by it. There was never any post presence that would corral in those misses or provide a solid steady presence on offense when the team needed to stop shooting.

Quietly Zoubek increased his minutes played per game, points per game average, rebounds per game average, blocked shots per game average, and his turnovers per game went down. They were never by large increments, but just enough for people to not give up hope on the big man, even if productivity seemed light years away at times.

This season, his final collegiate year, Zoubek came in healthy and in shape.

He set career highs in games played, minutes played per game, points per game, and assist per game. He grabbed an astonishing four more rebounds per game and shot a career-high 63.5% from the field.

Even more important is that he did the most of his damage down the stretch.

From the start of the season, November 13, through February 10—a stretch of24 games—Zoubek had played twenty minutes or more only three times. However he was given the opportunity to start against Maryland in the team’s next game and he seized the moment, scoring a season-high 16 points and grabbing a season-high 17 rebounds in a 77-56 Duke victory, and has started every game since.

Since that game, Zoubek has averaged 6.6 points (more than two points higher than his career average of 4.1) and 10.1 rebounds per game (just under six more boards than his 4.3 career average). He grabbed double-digits in rebounds nine games out of 16 and recorded three double-doubles.

As the season went on, Zoubek gained more and more confidence. The Blue Devils also became a tougher team because of their new-found post presence.

While Singler, Scheyer, and Smith carried the brunt of the scoring load, Zoubek did all the dirty work; grabbing rebounds, setting screens to open up the shooters, altering and blocking shots on defense, and trapping the ball as well.

Without his increased production, without Zoubek stepping up to the challenge, Duke does not make it to the championship game.

Despite being in foul trouble for the majority of the game, they also wouldn’t have won it without him.

Six of Zoubek’s 10 rebounds in the title game were offensive, giving Duke second chances for points when their shooters failed to connect.

On Butler’s last offensive possession Zoubek covered the inbounder, and did a good job sliding out and getting in Gordon Hayword’s face as he attempting a runner, altering the shot just enough so that it went long and hit the back part of the rim.

Zoubek then grabbed the rebound and didn’t lose the ball, sending him to the free throw line, where he would sink the first shot calmly (he missed the second intentionally to force Butler to make a long-last ditch heave rather than allow for them to send in a long inbounds pass, creating an easier shot).

It was a long journey for Zoubek, but in his senior season he finally produced at the level he knew he was capable of playing at.

He also gave the University the strong, tough post presence it needed.

When they stood on the podium after the game, Zoubek held onto the trophy like he was never going to let it slip away from his grasp, just like he improved his ability to hold onto the basketball.

Parting shots from Detroit

AP Photo/ Amy Sancetta

Ford Field hasn’t seen that much excitement in quite some time. The home of the putrid Detroit Lions hosted the NCAA Final Four, and although the title game wasn’t very close, there was still something to smile about at the end of the day, unlike when people leave Lions games.

Detroit hasn’t had much to smile about lately. On the playing field, the Lions couldn’t win a game, the Tigers were being picked as a possible World Series contender but wound up not even contending for a playoff spot, and the Pistons have fallen from grace and are no longer the team that went to six straight Eastern Conference finals (I would also be frowning if this was my team's logo at one point, when they were known as the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons). Off the field, and more importantly, the city has been hit hard by the economic recession because of its strong ties to the automobile industry. So not only did the Final Four brighten up the city, but there was hope provided by home-state Michigan State University beating defending champion Kansas and number one overall seed Louisville to reach the Final Four. They continued their magical run by beating the University of Connecticut and moving onto the championship game. While they could not bring home the championship, they gave the city something to root for, something to feel good about, in a time where good things have been hard to come by.

The team that was cutting down the nets Monday night was the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Tar Heels. The Tar Heels were definitely the most talented team in the tournament. More important than talent, they were the hungriest team. They were the ACC regular season champions, but not everyone was on their bandwagon coming into the tournament. They had some bad losses on their resume; losing to Boston College after they had just lost to Harvard as well as losing to Florida State in the semi-finals of the ACC tournament. But that just goes to show you that one game, win or lose, does not make or break an entire season.

You see, UNC was embarrassed by Kansas in the Final Four in 2008. That left juniors Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green—who came to the team the year after they beat Illinois—and star sophomores Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington without a championship. So instead of bolting to the NBA, they all came back for another season at Chapel Hill, determined to finish as champions. And that is exactly what they did. They dominated the field, winning each game by double digits.

However, UNC could be in a state of transition now. Hansbrough and Green will graduate, as will guard Bobby Frasor, who filled in for Lawson while he was injured during the ACC tourney. Marcus Ginyard was also a senior this year, but because he missed all but three games with a broken foot, he will petition the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. Now that they have won the championship and the great senior leadership they had will be leaving, we will probably see juniors Lawson and Ellington leave early. There is also the possibility that junior forward Deon Thompson and freshman forward Ed Davis—a 6’10” big man—will also test their draft stock.

While there is the possibility that everyone who is eligible to will come back, it’s more realistic that Lawson and Ellington will leave on top. With the potential for eight players leaving, the Tar Heels could be in trouble. It wouldn’t be impossible to win—’08 champs Kansas lost their starting five to the NBA and still managed to make it to the Sweet 16 in ’09—however, it will be extremely difficult for such a young team to compete against more experienced squads, especially in the tough ACC. Head coach Roy Williams (who was a part of this hilarious commercial that aired during the tournament) will restock the team with talented recruits and will make sure they are ready to compete with the best in the nation, but expect some growing pains. A second issue to consider is how hungry will the player’s be to repeat? The team’s drive this season pushed them into the Final Four. If Lawson and Ellington return, it would be to become the first back-to-back champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007, and expect them to keep the Tar Heels intensity high. If a number of players leave, however, will the younger guys be ready to take over at the same level as their former teammates?

All those questions will be answered in time. For now, the Tar Heels will enjoy their latest championship. And everybody else will put the bulls-eye on their backs as they look forward to the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis.

And Detroit will hope the Red Wings at least stay on top in the NHL to keep their high from the ’09 Final Four.

Highlights of the 2009 Division I men's basketball championship game between UNC and MSU.

Oh, how Sweet it is

We’ve reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. The Eastern region consists of all chalk—the top seeds: top seeded Pittsburgh, second seeded Duke, third seeded Villanova, and fourth seeded Xavier. The teams are set to face off Thursday night in Boston; Pittsburgh against Xavier and Duke against Villanova, with the winners squaring off against each other. The teams held open practices at TD Banknorth Garden Wednesday afternoon, each for 50 minutes with 10 minutes in-between. I was able to catch Pittsburgh and Duke prepare for their next round matchups.



Pittsburgh had a light practice, mainly a shootaround. The bigs worked on posting up and then popping out. DeJuan Blair, a candidate for the Naismith Player of the Year award, used this drill to work on his range, popping out and nailing quite a few 3-pointers. Don’t expect to see him shoot from that far out in the game against Xavier though; in his two years at Pitt he has never attempted a 3-point shot in a game. Blair also took it to the rim frequently during drills and free shooting. He is a powerful player and every time he slammed it home, he tried to take the backboard down with him, like Shaquille O’Neal in his heyday.

The Panthers worked on free-throws, and during shooting, an impromptu jumping contest broke out, where redshirt sophomore Gilbert Brown and senior Sam Young impressed with their leaping abilities, wowing the crowd by continually reaching higher than the box on the glass. Young even almost hit his head on the rim.



Every player on Pittsburgh then took one half court shot, in case they ever needed a desperation heave in the tournament. Senior guard Levance Fields was the last player to shoot and the only one to make one. The Panthers ended their light workout five minutes early.





Duke took advantage of Pitt’s early exit and took to the court 10 minutes early. It was clear from the beginning that Duke meant business. Their practice jerseys were tucked in, and, unlike Pittsburgh, began the practice with a few end-line to end-line jogs, stretching, and even jumping rope. Surprisingly, Duke held a legitimate practice. I’ve never been to a Blue Devil practice before, but I can imagine this was a relatively close representation. Rather than just a shootaround, they actually went through different shooting and shuffling drills. Everything the Duke players did, they seemed to do with a great sense of urgency. It was all business—that is until they went to layup lines and junior Gerald Henderson and freshman Elliot Williams started having their own dunk contest, Henderson leading the way with a 360 and a windmill.



The team then went into 5 v. 5 full court drills, utilizing the shot clock. Another difference between Duke’s and Pittsburgh’s practice was the defensive chatter. The Panthers’ practice was relatively quiet, but the Duke players talked and yelled out defensive calls, even during the shuffling drills.

Then they split into bigs and guards and wings, but it was still a workout. The assistant working with the post players had a pad that he would actually hit the players with, to mimic the force from an opposing player. They actually took a water break, another difference between the two practices, and finished with a shootaround.

The two practices were vastly different, but they both did some unique things that I liked. Practicing the half court shots was a good idea by the Pitt coaches. You never know when you’re going to find yourself in that kind of predicament in the tournament, and it can’t hurt to work on it, especially at practice the day before your biggest game of the season to date. For Duke, I liked the intensity and urgency they brought. Most teams go through a light workout in these kinds of practices, but for Duke, they treated it as if it were business as usual. The practice wasn’t necessarily taxing, but they worked hard and showed why they are not only one of the elite programs in the ACC, but all of college basketball as well.

Both teams will be ready to go tomorrow night. Anticipate some good basketball from all teams, Xavier and Villanova included. It will be a dogfight to see which of the four earns the right to take a trip to Detroit and a chance at the national championship.