Duke men looking stronger after adversity
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Adversity has become a bit of the norm for Duke this season. Jon Scheyer has no complaints about that now.
In fact, the Duke coach and former standout player is more appreciative than ever now that his Blue Devils team is ready to enter postseason play riding a six-game winning streak, capped by a 62-57 victory against North Carolina in the Smith Center on March 4.
“We’ve played some really good teams and I’m proud of what we’ve done,” the first-year coach said. “Our defense has been top 10 in the country in February. We’ve been as consistent as anybody down the stretch. We’ve been through this enough, or at least I have being on staff here, where no matter how you end (up), postseason is different. We need to get refreshed. This was a physical game. Now we need to refocus understanding postseason is a different animal.”
Duke’s struggles on the road
Duke’s escape of North Carolina included another element of adversity that has plagued the Blue Devils (23-8, 14-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) for much of the season: playing on the road.
Entering the rivalry game, Duke was just 3-6 in games on the road this season.
“That’s been a big thing the whole season is staying together,” said Duke guard Jeremy Roach, who finished with 10 points. “When teams are good, they’re going to make runs. Us staying together, us staying the course is going to be a big thing for us going into March and going into the tournament.”
Staring at a potential road loss in an environment filled with rowdy Tar Heel fans hoping for North Carolina to recapture last season’s magic, the Blue Devils found a way in the face of adversity.
“With everyone knowing their roles, knowing what they need to do when they step on the floor, take care of business that way,” said Duke freshman forward Kyle Filipowski, who provided a teamhigh 22 points and 13 rebounds.
“I don’t think, just with everything we’ve done, we would’ve been able to do that a couple months ago. We’ve come a long way for sure. It’s been a hell of a ride, no doubt.”
Adversity has strengthened team
“When teams are good, they’re going to make runs. Us staying together, us staying the course is going to be a big thing for us going into March and going into the tournament.”
The ability to battle through adversity and come out of the other side better for it has become a theme of this Blue Devils team, Scheyer said.
“Do you wish some of the things that happened earlier in the year, could we have gotten there a little bit sooner? Maybe,” Scheyer said. “If we didn’t go through some of those things, I don’t know if we’re as tough as we are now.
“We want to have the togetherness that we do now. I remember going through every year at Duke as a player. … It makes you tougher. It makes you want it more. I think that’s what it’s done for this group.”
Adversity struck early for the Blue Devils inside the Smith Center when star freshman forward Dereck Lively picked up his fourth foul less than 3 minutes into the second half. That’s when Scheyer elected to trust Lively not to pick up his fifth and final foul.
“My coaches, they trust me. They’re going to trust me to make the right decisions,” Lively said. “They’re going to trust me to make the right plays. If I mess up, they still trust me to get the next play
Jeremy Roach Duke guard
and make sure I get it back. That’s what they did. Put me in the game with four fouls and they knew I was going to make the right decision and that’s what I did.”
Lively would go on to make some critical defensive plays and while he only finished with two points, his alley-oop dunk off a feed from Tyrese Proctor sparked a 15-8 Duke run to close the game and quieted a thunderous North Carolina crowd as the Blue Devils once again showed no panic.
“I feel like we’ve all bought in. We bought in and put in the work. We just all bought into playing together,” Lively said. “Being able to trust the next teammate has your back just like you have theirs.
“I feel like we’ve really bought into that and that’s why we’ve got this far.”