The king has returned and panic in the streets of Krzyzewskiville has subsided. Will Mike Krzyzewski being back from back surgery be enough to salvage a once-promising season for Duke? These Blue Devils (18-5, 6-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) need all hands on deck posthaste. A home game against league-leading North Carolina (21-4, 9-2) is up next on Thursday.
In a basketball season where little has gone as planned, Duke is now at full strength. Krzyzewski on is the sidelines again. Amile Jefferson’s foot is healthier. Grayson Allen has (mostly) steered clear of another major controversy. The preseason favorite to win the national championship needs to make its run now if it wants to position itself for a high NCAA Tournament seed.
How much of an impact can Krzyzewski make?
BREAKING: Live look at Coach K entering Cameron Indoor Stadium pic.twitter.com/wH8QMlhqSD
— Chris – Duke Report (@DukeOfHoops) February 4, 2017
You can learn a lot about a team when the coach isn’t there. What we learned is that Duke went 4-3 without Coach K, who missed the entire month of January. Bear in mind, however, two of those defeats were road games against quality opponents: at Louisville and at Florida State. And they were played without Jefferson.
Don’t blame assistant coach Jeff Capel. But there is a difference when the substitute teacher is in charge.
ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Dana O’Neil reported that in absentia, Krzyzewski was so fed up that that he temporarily kicked out the players out of the locker room and told them they couldn’t wear Duke apparel. Last weekend’s home game against Pitt marked the return of Krzyzewski, who basically confirmed the story.
Talking to reporters, the coach described it as a team building exercise.
“Before they ever went to Wake, they were back in the locker room, they had their uniforms, but no one wants to say anything and I’m not going to tell you the story of it. It’s beautiful because it’s team building. That’s what we do.”
That might seem gimmicky, but Krzyzewski has five national championships and is college basketball’s all-time leader in victories.
“He’s the best in the game for a reason,” a former major conference coach told The Comeback. “The little things guys maybe did 90 percent for coach Capel – with (Krzyzewski) back, they’ll do it 100 percent of the time. That can make the difference in a one- or two-possession game.
“It’s not so much from Xs and Os but from a confidence standpoint, a discipline standpoint and knowing that they’re going to be held accountable. Those things add up to definitely making a difference.”
Krzyzewski is the modern-day John Wooden, but he’s not a wizard. He can’t magically fix everything. Duke still lacks a true point guard, its defense is suspect and Allen is another tripping incident away from getting a technical, getting kicked out of a game, or worse.
Against Pittsburgh (12-11, 1-9), Duke allowed the Panthers to shoot 51 percent. The Blue Devils led only 63-59 late before pulling away thanks to Allen, who scored seven points in the final minute.
This was not exactly a confidence-inspiring victory heading into an important ACC showdown with North Carolina.
These two stats are INSANE #Duke #NorthCarolina #TobaccoRoad pic.twitter.com/mY3IKrTFJg
— Chris Law (@ChrisLaw) February 8, 2017
Duke is two games behind North Carolina in the ACC loss column. The good news for Krzyzewski is that the Blue Devils remain in the hunt with two games left against North Carolina, a trip to Virginia and a rematch at home versus Florida State. Winning the ACC and a good run in the conference tournament might be enough to get them at least a No.2 seed.
For Duke to be the team everyone expected, it must overcome its shortcomings. One of the big issues is at point guard, since the Blue Devils don’t have one in the traditional sense. They don’t have someone who can create and break people down off the dribble. Allen and Frank Jackson are filling the role, but neither is particularly proficient at it. They’re more scorers than playmakers.
Duke is hurt by lack of point guard. Forget Grayson Allen's tripping, his playing out of position at PG is of bigger concern for Duke.
— jordan cornette (@jordancornette) January 14, 2017
In the ACC, Duke is fourth-worst in assists (14.8) and fifth from last in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.2). That’s a problem against better teams. At Louisville, it had eight assists to 18 turnovers with six coming from Allen.
“You don’t have a natural point guard but they have multiple ball-handlers,” the former coach said. “They have guys who are smart enough and tough enough to survive it. It starts at the defensive end. If they become better defensively, that’s going to allow them play in transition where a point guard isn’t quite as important.”
The Blue Devils are No. 31 in defensive efficiency ratings. While that’s not terrible (UCLA is No. 117), it’s not great for a Top 25 team. Of course, part of that can be attributed to Jefferson’s absence. The 6-foot-9 forward is Duke’s most versatile defender.
You could also attribute some of Duke’s woes to its much-heralded freshmen being hurt early and not living up to the hype so far. Forward Jayson Tatum is second on the team in scoring (16.1 ppg) and rebounding (6.9) but is shooting only 43.9 percent. Harry Giles, the top overall player in the freshman class, has played just 11 games due to injury and is still working his way back into form.
Krzyzewski has to hope those freshmen grow up fast. But Job No. 1 for the coach is finding a way to fix Allen.
Considering what has gone wrong with Duke, it’s strange how the season has unfolded. Sophomore guard Luke Kennard has shockingly become their best player. Right now, he’s an All-American and a player of the year candidate. Allen was supposed to be that guy, but is shooting a career-worst 39.6 percent and has made more news off the court than on.
If Kennard is Duke’s best player and not Allen, that might not be good enough.
“He’s a focal point of everyone’s game plan,” the former coach said of Allen. “Teams are going to switch on to him. They’re going to use multiple defenders. They’re going to run him off the 3-point line. They’re going to try and wear him down. And when you couple that with the tripping incidents, that takes a toll on you.”
Duke has its deficiencies but with Krzyzewski back, the Blue Devils might have their best basketball ahead.
“It’s make-or-break time,” the former coach said. “This team is going to get better and have more of a sense of urgency. If they don’t, there are going to be some disappointed Duke fans.”
