WASHINGTON, D.C. — These sorts of locker rooms at all times really feel the identical.
Quiet. Empty. Managers silently shuffling by, wheeling baggage of soiled laundry. Gamers zipping their hoodies all the way in which up, headphones on. Heads bowed, everybody in a rush to flee this place — this sense — as rapidly as humanly doable.
Which is strictly what Duke did Thursday. Nicely: the fleeing half, at the very least. The Blue Devils misplaced 74-69 to NC State of their solely ACC match sport — this system’s first ACC quarterfinal loss since 2016 — and have been gone from Capital One Area not even 4 hours after tipoff.
However this sense?
If solely Duke may go away it behind in D.C. as simply because it did empty water bottles.
As a result of the factor is, Duke didn’t simply lose a basketball sport on Thursday. It no-showed … once more. It acquired out-toughed … once more. “They simply out-competed us, actually,” stated sophomore ahead Mark Mitchell. “I can’t put a finger on it.”
Jon Scheyer’s crew, lower than every week after shedding at dwelling on Senior Night time to its most-hated rival — which additionally, not for nothing, price Duke a share of the ACC regular-season title — missed 9 of its first 10 pictures. After trailing by three at halftime, it returned out of the locker room … and allowed NC State, enjoying its third sport in as many days, to rattle off a 6-0 run to start out the second half. Scheyer didn’t even let three minutes elapse earlier than known as timeout, clearly sad along with his crew’s effort.
“Look, I can undergo the small print of the sport. I believe for us, although, it’s in regards to the aggressive hearth it is advisable to have within the postseason,” Scheyer stated. “We didn’t have that collectively general.”
How is that doable?
How, this late within the season — with 4 returning starters again, all of whom solely returned for an additional postseason attempt — is that also a problem?
How, after Duke acquired punked within the second spherical by Tennessee in final season’s NCAA Event, is easy want-to a recurring downside?
“Simply talking again to Tennessee final 12 months, they wished it greater than us,” sophomore ahead Kyle Filipowski stated within the locker room, unprompted. “We are able to’t expect to win. We are able to’t be entitled … We’ve acquired to need it greater than the opposite crew, as a result of if not? Then it’s going to be the identical state of affairs because the second spherical final 12 months. As tonight.”
It’s a troubling pattern, one bigger than Xs and Os or taking pictures percentages. “All our losses have a standard theme,” Mitchell stated. “I don’t know if it’s simply the Carolina sport. You return to Arizona, you’ll be able to go to Arkansas, you’ll be able to go to Pitt at dwelling. Identical story.” Regardless of how nicely Duke defends a ball display screen, regardless of if Filipowski goes off for 28 factors like he did on Thursday, that could be a deadly flaw.
It’s a roster building problem, actually. After Dereck Vigorous II, final season’s beginning heart, left to develop into a lottery decide by the Dallas Mavericks, Duke flirted with a number of alternative massive males within the switch portal final summer time — however in the end opted to not signal one. As an alternative, Scheyer has principally performed the 7-foot Filipowski at heart, alongside a smaller three-guard lineup. The outcomes have been combined. Some dizzying five-out offense, sure, but in addition lackluster rim safety. It’s no coincidence that Duke is 0-5 this season when permitting 80 or extra factors.
That’s a manageable problem by comparability, although. One Scheyer, along with his basketball acumen, can moderately attempt to game-plan round.
However while you’re nonetheless teaching need, two weeks into this month?
You’ve acquired larger issues.
A lot larger issues.
Freshman Jared McCain was requested how a crew modifications its mentality this late within the season, now 32 video games deep:
“I believe simply humility. Like, simply having the ability to convey your ego down,” he stated. “Take what we’re getting taught — what we’re getting yelled at perhaps for — and really embrace it, and use it for our motivation for these subsequent video games. Our subsequent sport might be our final, so we have now to play like our season’s on the road. As a result of it’s.”
A follow-up, then: Over the past week or so, getting into its most important stretch of the season, has Duke had the suitable humility?
“I imply, for the previous week, most likely not,” McCain stated. “Many of the season we’ve had it, particularly as a result of we have now a lot expertise on this crew. It’s virtually exhausting to eradicate egos as a result of we’re actually good. Everyone’s actually good on this crew. However for this previous week — particularly from the Carolina (loss) to this sport — we weren’t in a position to translate what we realized to this sport. So the humility wasn’t there this sport.”
Added Mitchell, from two lockers down: “I believe that’s undoubtedly just a little true. I don’t suppose any of us are egocentric guys or suppose we’re too good for something, however I believe at instances it’s human nature. We try this. We take issues with no consideration, and I believe it exhibits up in sure moments, at sure instances. And all we will do is replicate on that and get it out of our system for subsequent week.”
Scheyer likes to speak typically — to his gamers, to reporters — about controlling what you’ll be able to management. The work somebody places into their leap shot, for example. A participant’s willingness to dive on a free ball.
“I don’t really feel we dealt with what we may management tonight. Little doubt in my thoughts,” Scheyer stated. “If we would like that feeling every week from now the place you lose, otherwise you exit the match, the place you didn’t management what you can management, that might be an actual disgrace.”
A few of the downside, clearly, lies with the gamers. He can’t management their vitality, or how exhausting they battle via screens, or how prepared they’re to throw elbows for a contested rebound.
However a few of the duty, too, has to lie with Scheyer. The 36-year-old has made a concerted effort since succeeding Mike Krzyzewski — the winningest coach in males’s faculty hoops historical past, who nonetheless maintains an workplace on the ground about Scheyer’s — to point out that he’s his personal man. An unflinching competitor — and one, as he’s displayed via two seasons, who’s prepared to experiment stylistically greater than his predecessor.
However — after all there’s a however — the time actually appears to have come for Scheyer to lean into one explicit Krzyzewski-ism: bringing the hammer down. Krzyzewski’s grandson, Michael Savarino, advised reporters earlier than Krzyzewski’s final season that he realized each curse phrase he knew from his grandpa. Krzyzewski was — is — identified for his fiery flare-ups, for his dramatic responses to lackluster effort. Scroll via previous episodes of J.J. Redick’s podcast, and there are ample examples. Kicking gamers out of their dwelling locker room. Not permitting them to put on Duke attire. Making them run, and run, and run. The checklist goes on.
This isn’t to counsel that Scheyer want copy any of these particularly. However with this group, which clearly hasn’t grasped the lose-and-go-home mentality it’s about to face within the NCAA Event?
Yeah. It’s most likely previous time to get powerful.
Loads of groups have misplaced of their convention tournaments and gone on to win the nationwide title. Heck, Connecticut did final 12 months.
However nobody was questioning UConn’s mentality on the eve of March Insanity.
And now, days earlier than Choice Sunday, that’s a professional concern for Duke. Possibly it has been all alongside.
“It will be an actual downside for those who didn’t consider within the crew. I believe it begins there,” Scheyer stated. “Do you consider within the group you’ve got? Do you consider within the crew? And the reply is emphatically, 100% sure.”
We’re about to learn the way well-placed that perception is.
(Picture of Kyle Filipowski and Ryan Younger: Geoff Burke / USA Immediately)