CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — While doing their best to block outside noise from breaking their focus, Duke’s players know the significance of this basketball season.
For the first time since the 1979-80 campaign, Mike Krzyzewski is not coaching the Blue Devils.
Delivering the way they have in Jon Scheyer’s first season as their coach, then, carries a little more meaning.
Saturday night’s 62-57 win over North Carolina adds another accomplishment to the 35-year-old Scheyer’s initial season as a head coach. Coupled with Duke’s 63-57 win over the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium one month earlier, Scheyer delivered a regular-season rivalry sweep.
“It’s awesome,” Duke freshman Kyle Filipowski said. “It’s his first year just like it is for some of us. We know it’s just as special for him as it is for us. We just want to have his back because we see him fighting every day for us.”
It’s been a fight for Scheyer to get Duke (23-8, 14-6 ACC) into this position, thanks to injuries and a too-often subpar offense.
The Blue Devils lost ACC road games to N.C. State and Miami by 24 and 22 points, respectively. They fell from the national rankings in January and haven’t returned. A top-four finish in the ACC wasn’t assured until Duke beat UNC on Saturday night.
Yet here the Blue Devils are, riding a six-game winning streak with nine wins in their past 11 games and looking like a tough-minded team no one wants to run into in the ACC or NCAA tournaments.
Forging his own path into the rivalry
Scheyer, in his own way — and not using the same methods Krzyzewski did during his Hall-of-Fame career — pushed and prodded the team to this point.
If he’d had a rough first season — and in January that looked possible — questions surrounding his selection as Krzyzewski’s successor would have been loud. The players are smart enough to know that. So they made sure that didn’t happen.
“I came to Duke to help Scheyer,” Duke freshman guard Tyrese Proctor said. “I really want Scheyer to succeed as a coach and I love him. I think he’s done a great job with us sticking together. It’s a huge win for him. He obviously went home last year with the Final Four team. We kept that in the back of our minds and just wanted to get them back.”
Yes, Scheyer entered his first season as head coach with Duke coming off a Final Four berth. But Krzyzewski’s final season was sullied by losses to the rival Tar Heels both in his final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and in the national semifinals at New Orleans.
Those results gave UNC massive bragging rights that some trumpeted as ending the rivalry.
Scheyer helped the Blue Devils immediately strike back with Saturday night’s win pushing UNC (19-12), the preseason No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 Poll, closer to missing this year’s NCAA tournament altogether.
In his postgame media session Saturday night at the Smith Center, Scheyer wouldn’t take the bait offered to him about getting revenge or possibly burying UNC’s postseason hopes.
“I appreciate the rivalry and what they stand for and the success that they’ve had,” Scheyer said. “I’ve lived it. I’ve played against them and coached against them. I’m just proud of our guys for coming through in this big moment.”
Opportunity for more in March
Yes, it was a big moment, especially considering UNC had four starters who helped beat Duke twice last season still in its starting lineup when the Blue Devils beat them twice.
Last season was filled with big moments, as Krzyzewski’s successful 42-year run as Duke’s coach came to an end. This season is about Duke’s transition away from Krzyzewski, with a guy who played for Krzyzewski, and was an assistant under Krzyzewski, taking over.
Duke junior guard Jeremy Roach played in both of those losses to UNC last season and did the same in this season’s sweep. Scheyer may not be Krzyzewski, but Roach said he’s forged a toughness in his group through his competitiveness and support.
“It’s big time,” Roach said. “His first year in this rivalry. He’s done a great job all year just keeping us together, having that confidence, always having a strong faith. Just coming out with these two wins in this rivalry is huge. It’s huge.”
Now Scheyer and the Blue Devils move on to how this season will really be defined. The postseason tournaments, first the ACC tournament in Greensboro and then the NCAA tournament, offer opportunities for long-lasting memories.
Krzyzewski elevated Duke to consistent national prominence by collecting banners. Now it’s Scheyer’s turn.
The sweep of UNC is an important step, but it also signals Scheyer has the Blue Devils capable of accomplishing more.
