Unfinished Business - Blue Devils' Scheyer will have one more chance to win NCAA crown

Jon Scheyer came to Duke to win championships.

Many of the ones he wanted most, he has won. But he's missing two.

Duke hasn't won an NCAA Tournament regional title in Scheyer's career. And with no Final Four appearance, Scheyer hasn't had a shot at the title that tops his wish list -- the NCAA Tournament championship.

Now a senior, Scheyer is down to his last chance to get what he wants.

"Coming in here I wanted to win more than one national championship," Scheyer said. "I always dreamed about playing in college and winning championships. That's where our goal this year is obviously."

Duke might be able to win that title this season. The Blue Devils have four starters back from a 30-7 team that won the ACC Tournament title and reached the NCAA's East Regional semifinals.

College-basketball analysts are confident that Duke will have one of the nation's strongest teams. Some preseason polls have Duke ranked in the nation's top 10, and Duke and North Carolina were picked as co-favorites to win the ACC's regular season in media voting at Operation Basketball.

Scheyer isn't the only Duke player who wants to finish the season on top.

"I think it starts with the older guys on the team, myself, Lance (Thomas) and Kyle (Singler)," he said. "We have a lot that we want to do this year. We're a really hungry team. It starts with us, and we need to keep that going throughout the whole year."

Scheyer and Nolan Smith return in the backcourt.

Scheyer again will play point guard instead of his normal position of shooting guard. He did that last season, switching positions after Elliot Williams was inserted into the starting backcourt, and the moves sparked the run to the ACC title.

Williams is gone, having transferred to Memphis to be closer to his ill mother. Smith, a junior, will bring the ball up the floor occasionally to ease Scheyer's load. The only question about the guards is depth, with freshman Andre Dawkins the only available recruited replacement.

"I played point on and off for my AAU team when I was in high school," Scheyer said. "I wasn't necessarily the point guard, but I'd bring the ball up a lot in certain situations, so it's something I'm comfortable doing. It's just (different) in terms of playing point the whole time. I've never done that."

The frontcourt is tall and deep. The key player is Singler, a 6-8 junior who was the media's pick as the preseason ACC player of the year.

Singler can help offset the loss of Gerald Henderson, last season's top outside scoring threat who left school a year early to enter the NBA Draft. Henderson and Singler both averaged 16.5 points to lead the team. Singler can consistently hit 3-point shots, but he still seems to tire a little near the end of a season.

Brian Zoubek, a 7-1 center, and Thomas, a 6-8 center and forward, are seniors. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is confident that Thomas can help defend at the shooting-guard position.

Miles Plumlee, a 6-10 sophomore, has added about 20 pounds and now weighs 240. He will be joined by younger brother Mason, also 6-10, and Ryan Kelly, also 6-10 and one of the state's top high-school players last season.

"Miles had a huge offseason," Scheyer said. "He's gained a lot of weight, and he's gotten a lot stronger. I think more than anything, he knows how good he can be now. Last year, when he was a freshman, it was tough sometimes to play. You should see some of the plays he makes in practice, whether it's a block or a shot. He's an explosive guy."

Krzyzewski is confident that this could be his best rebounding team at Duke. He concedes that Duke might not be able to apply its usual smothering pressure because of the height, but Scheyer isn't worried that the sacrifice will be big.

"I think this team can do a little bit of everything," Scheyer said. "Our inside play is something that we really haven't had before. And that's something we need to take advantage of. We need to go inside.

"Not only are we big inside, but we have a big perimeter. So it's something that's really a switch for us in terms of being undersized throughout my whole career."

Krzyzewski has never worried about the drive of his teams. If his players aren't hungry for wins and titles, he'll change that during the season. And he said he understood Scheyer's desire.

Duke has gone eight seasons since its last national championship. Scheyer considers that drought too long.

"The one thing we need to do is really learn how to play together," Scheyer said. "The reason I say that is we don't have a guy necessarily like Gerald who can create all the time.

"But with that being said, I do think this is the best team I've played on because of our size and experience and our young guys, if they keep coming on. I have all the confidence in the world in this team, but we really need to make some steps and master the different way of playing we're going to have to become a national-championship type team."

bcole@wsjournal.com