Team on the Rise Again

Mike Krzyzewski wants to make a change at Duke, for his team and for himself.

He's convinced that early defeats in the past two NCAA Tournament are an indication that something is slightly out of sync, most likely the expectations for his teams because of the program's past success.

Now that he has recognized the problem, he hopes to take corrective measures.

"People have some bad things happen to them in their lives," Krzyzewski said. "We should be able to handle success. We should be able to sustain success better than I think I've been able to teach it, especially last season to our guys, so it doesn't become a burden if we're fortunate enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

"I don't want that to become an opponent, just the people you're playing against. It had somewhat of an effect on our team last year."

Duke should win again this season. It was a solid No. 2 choice in the ACC's preseason media poll and is in the top 10 in the national polls. Another NCAA Tournament berth appears likely.

Duke has an experienced, talented lineup, but has to deal with some problems before the start of ACC play. A few problems might linger all season, but none appear serious enough to derail the push for 20 wins.

Four starters return to form the core of Krzyzewski's 29th Duke team. Guards Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson are among the best in the ACC at their positions. Kyle Singler, a sophomore forward, is one of the ACC's top young players, and Jon Scheyer is one of the two best sixth men.

Paulus provides a strong starting point. He has led the team in assists for three seasons and has become a deadly 3-point shooter. He also gives the team much of its energy.

Paulus will be passing to a healthy Henderson this season. Henderson injured his right hand Feb. 6 in a win at North Carolina and played hurt for the rest of the season. He needed surgery after the season to repair a torn ligament in the top of the hand.

After the injury, Henderson had discomfort for the rest of the season but said he adjusted to keep shooting. He wore a soft cast for about a month after the surgery and said he needed 3½ months of recovery before he could play effectively again.

When practice started last month, Henderson said he was still recovering but that he expects to play at full speed.

"I don't have the full motion back," he said. "It's something that I have to get warmed up before every practice. I guess now I'll have to get it warmed up before every game and stretch it. When I get it going, it's perfect."

Sophomore Nolan Smith and freshman Elliot Williams will fortify the backcourt, and both are capable of starting. Smith was developing into a highly effective all-around player by the end of last season.

If Duke has a shortcoming, it's inside play. The Blue Devils struggled with rebounding last season, and had just three more rebounds than opponents for the entire season. Part of the problem was that 7-1 Brian Zoubek missed nine games in the middle of the season with a fractured left foot.

Zoubek is ready to go this season. Lance Thomas plays hard inside but is only 6-8. Miles Plumlee, a 6-10 freshman, is more of a wing player and might not offer much help inside.

Scheyer said he believes that this Duke team could be the best he has played on.

"We're really hungry," Scheyer said. "Obviously you're judged on what you do in March a lot of the time, and last year we didn't do anything in March.

"We know we're not missing any pieces this year. We have a great team. We look around the locker room, and we have a lot of talent. For us, it's about playing together. We know we have a lot of work to do, but we're really hungry to get started."

Krzyzewski returned to Duke in September after coaching the U.S. national team to the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. He took time off and said he was rested, energized and ready to get started by the time practice opened in mid-October.

"You have a new group every year," Krzyzewski said. "I need to be who I was no matter if other people are counting number of victories, counting number of NCAA titles, counting how many times we did go to the Sweet 16 and it wasn't that big (a deal), and we didn't and now it is big.

"Don't go along with that. Just play. Just do it. That's what I'm going to do. And I hope that the message gets across to my team. We're playing for right now. And we're going to try to be as good as we can possibly be. And we're going to fight like crazy."