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Courtesy: Associated Press
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CHARLOTTE -- Duke will not be returning from the 55th annual ACC Tournament empty handed.
The Blue Devils might have fallen short of the title, losing 78-74 to Clemson Saturday in the semifinals. But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski argued that his team made significant progress in the Queen City this weekend.
"I like where we’re at," Coach K told the media. "I think we’re in a better place than we were when he got in here."
His view was shared by team captain DeMarcus Nelson.
"No one wants to lose," the senior guard said. "We prepared hard for the tournament and put our hearts and souls into every game. The initial feeling of defeat is hard to taker, [but] I think our team is very confident now."
Duke beat Georgia Tech, 82-70, in Friday night’s quarterfinals -- stopping a red-hot team that had won four of five previous games. The Devils followed that with the loss to a Clemson team that has won four of five and was coming off the most lopsided ACC Tournament victory in school history.
"There are games you lose and games the other guy wins," Krzyzewski said. "This was a physical, well-officiated and was well-fought game by both teams. They made a few more plays than us and they hit their free throws. When they hit their free throws, they are as good as anybody.
"We played winning basketball."
The Duke team remained in Charlotte Saturday night and returned to Durham early Sunday to await the NCAA selection show at 6:30 p.m. The Blue Devils -- 27-5 and No. 4 in the RPI (before the Clemson loss) -- will almost certainly be a No. 2 NCAA seed. But Krzyzewski is still anxious to find out who his team will play and when.
He is hoping to get sent to a site that plays on Friday and Sunday, but if Duke is assigned to play on Thursday, his team will be ready. He was especially pleased by the play of his reserves, who combined to score 34 points against the Tigers.
"I thought my bench was real responsible for us playing well today and yesterday," he said. "As we go into the NCAA Tournament, I think we have a much deeper and more confident team than we did when we started out the week."
Obviously, much of Coach K’s bench strength came from sixth-man Jon Scheyer, who was Duke’s leading scorer in the tournament. But he also got significant contributions from freshman Nolan Smith, who scored seven points in 19 minutes against Clemson, and from junior defensive ace David McClure, who provided a solid 27 minutes in the two games. But the biggest revelation was Duke’s biggest player. Brian Zoubek, the 7-1 sophomore, continued his late-season surge. He turned in one of the strongest performances in the season in the loss to the Tigers -- eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
"Brian, he’s had a great week -- he’s coming on," Krzyzewski said. "He gave us 20 good minutes today. That’s what I mean -- we just got better."
Of course, there are some concerns heading into NCAA play. One is the extended shooting slump of freshman forward Kyle Singler. The ACC rookie of the week hit just 18-of-55 shots (just over 33 percent) in his final four regular season games, including 5-of-25 3-pointers (20.0 percent). He continued to struggle in Charlotte, although he played a pivotal role in Duke’s hard-fought victory over Georgia Tech. But he missed eight of nine shots against Clemson, including all five 3-pointers.
"I think Kyle looks tired," Krzyzewski said. "He’s had a lot of pressure -- physical and otherwise -- put on him to play at a high level. We need to get him refreshed. His two games here were a gallant effort, but you could tell he doesn’t have his legs and he wasn’t fresh. That’s where at the end of the game, a couple of shots he had were short. Actually, it reminds me of a little bit of ‘86, when we lost to Louisville in the last few minutes of the game -- we had good shots and everything hit the front of the rim."
Singler, who averaged over 14 points and six rebounds for the season, while hitting over 45 percent from the field and almost 35 percent from the 3-point line, will be a vital player for the Blue Devils heading into NCAA play. Is it possible to refresh the young star in the five or six games he has before his next game?
"What is he -- 19 or 20 years old [actually, he turns 20 in May]?" Krzyzewski asked. "We just have to be careful, We find out tomorrow where we’re going and when we’re playing, Then we’ll try to figure out the week so we can pace our team a little bit."
Krzyzewski will also be waiting to get a medical report on Gerald Henderson’s injured wrist. The sophomore swing man, who had adjusted well to the injury he suffered in the North Carolina win in early February, appeared to aggravate the injury late in the Clemson loss. He sat out the game’s final four minutes.
"He’s getting x-rayed," Krzyzewski said after the game. "He was blocking out and the wrist got extended. It hurt him. It scared him even more. My initial feeling is that he’ll be okay after a couple of days of rest and therapy."
And Duke, even coming off a loss in the ACC semifinals, will -- in Krzyzewski’s mind -- be in good shape after a little rest and therapy.
"The NCAA Tournament rejuvenates everybody," Coach K said. "I love my team. I like where we’re at."
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell did not know what it meant when a reporter asked him about 1962.
"1962 -- what is that?" Purnell responded.
The reporter explained that 1962 was the last time Clemson reached the ACC Tournament finals. In fact, it’s the ONLY time in 54 previous ACC seasons that the Tigers have reached the finals.
"I didn’t know that," Purnell said. "I knew it was a long time ago and I knew we’ve only been in it once and we’ve never won it. I don’t spend a lot of time with streaks. It’s this year’s team and our program’s only been alive for five years, so I think those things are too heavy and insignificant."
Maybe so, but Clemson will have a chance to make history Sunday when the Tigers take on top-seeded North Carolina in the 2008 ACC Tournament title game. Purnell’s team earned their chance with a dramatic victory over Duke -- a team none the current Clemson players or coaches had ever beaten.
"We beat a great team that never quits," Purnell said. "They made great play after great play -- and we answered that."
Clemson prevailed thanks to some uncharacteristically good free throw shooting -- especially from Purnell’s trio of seniors -- James Mays, Cliff Hammonds and Sam Perry. Mays, a 57.6 percent free throw shooter, hit 6-of-6 in the second half. Perry, a 68.1 percent free throw shooter who air-balled his first attempt of the game, hit 4-of-6 attempts in the second half. Hammonds, a 45.9 percent free throw shooter, stepped to the line with 43 seconds left and Clemson up three and knocked down both ends of a one-and-one.
For the game, Clemson, the ACC’s worst free throw shooting team, hit 15-of-22 free throws against Duke, including 13-of-17 in the second half.
"We’ve been talking all year about how free throws are going to be big," Hammonds said. "We wanted to step to the line with confidence and step to the line like we’re going knock them down each and every time. That’s the way I went to the line."
Win or lose Sunday, Clemson will be making its first NCAA appearance since 1998. This season is the culmination of a long, difficult rebuilding effort under Purnell.
"For the three seniors, we’ve had so many ups and downs," Mays said. "To get a win like this, we really deserved it."
NOTES -- Duke loss was the Blue Devils’ first ACC Tournament loss in regulation since the 1998 ACC title game. Duke lost to Maryland in overtime in the 2004 finals and to N.C. State in overtime in the 2007 first round. ... The Blue Devils have reached the Final Four once after losing in the ACC semifinals -- in 1990. Every other Duke Final Four appearance has coincided with an appearance in the ACC title game. ... The day after the SEC Tournament was interrupted when a tornado hit the Georgia Dome, the ACC Tournament was briefly delayed when the roof of Bobcats Arena began to leak. The water fell just off the edge of the court and play continued with a pile of towels in place.
