10/13/2008 - Michael Tomko, GoDuke.com

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke men’s basketball team has started preparing for the upcoming season and the sounds of basketball shoes squeaking against the hardwood floors of Coach K Court are reverberating out the doors of Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

“This is a pretty exciting part of the year,” junior Gerald Henderson said. “Our team is slowly forming. We are kind of limited with how much time we can be on the court with each other. It is an exciting time because we know the season is approaching.”

The team will have an abundance of leadership to rely on for the 2008-09 season after head coach Mike Krzyzewski named three players, senior Greg Paulus and juniors Jon Scheyer and Henderson, as captains for the upcoming season.

“I think it happened just like all three of us envisioned it happening,” Henderson said. “I think Greg, along with Jon and myself, are pretty experienced, and know what the coaches want and know what’s best for our team. I think we will do a fine job.”

As a team the Blue Devils averaged 83.2 points per game last season, the most since the 2001-02 season when the Blue Devils averaged 88.9 points per game. The defense was able to hold opponents to 69.4 points per game.

The team is returning 11 letterwinners from a group that earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and went 28-6, including a 13-3 mark in ACC play a year ago.

The Blue Devils feature one of the top returning backcourts in the country in Paulus and Henderson, who both started last season, as well as Scheyer, who was their most productive player coming off the bench.

Paulus should improve on his already impressive stats as he will be in charge of initiating the Duke offense. Last season, Paulus averaged 11.4 points, 3.2 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in his third year as the starting point guard. He earned All-ACC third team honors and also received ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors last season.

Henderson, who became a full-time starter last season, averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He also led the team in blocked shots with 31, accomplishing the feat as a 6’4” guard. The Merion, Pa., native is widely recognized as one of the most athletic players in the country.

Scheyer provided instant offense off the bench last season, improving his shooting percentage (44.4%), three-point shooting percentage (38.8%) and free throw percentage (88.9%). As a sophomore, the 6’5” guard averaged 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while ranking second in the ACC in free throw percentage. Scheyer also had an impressive 2.24:1 assist-to-turnover ratio and finished the year with more steals (46) than turnovers (37).

“Every time we step on the court we think we can win,” Scheyer said. “That is our goal this year.”

Duke will also get plenty of help on the perimeter from sophomore Nolan Smith. The Upper Marlboro, Md., native averaged 5.9 points per game a year ago, including a career-high 21 points at Wake Forest. Smith shot 46.7 percent from the floor as a freshman and showed the ability to be a double-figure scorer and an elite defensive player. Junior Martynas Pocius, who missed all but four games a year ago with a foot injury, and senior Jordan Davidson give the Blue Devils one of the deepest backcourts in the ACC. Both players are strong perimeter shooters with Pocius displaying a knack for scoring and Davidson the ability to run the team from the point guard spot.

Also looking to make an immediate impact and provide additional depth in the backcourt with his slashing and scoring ability will be McDonald’s All-American freshman Elliot Williams, a native of Memphis, Tenn. Williams averaged 24.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while leading St. George’s to a 24-3 record as a senior.

“Elliot is also a heck of a talent,” Henderson said. “Obviously he is athletic but he has a lot of skills. He is a hungry player. I am looking forward to playing with all three of the freshmen and seeing how their careers will turn out here.”

Sophomore Kyle Singler, who was second on the team in scoring last year at 13.3 points per game, returns alongside junior Lance Thomas to help make up the Duke front line. Singler started all 34 games as a freshman, averaging 5.8 rebounds per game and shooting 45.7 percent from the field. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and was also a third team All-ACC selection.

“Even though I am just a sophomore, I feel I am older and I feel I have been around the block,” Singler said. “In that regards, I feel that I can shed some light on the younger guys and help them out. Having that little bit of experience I feel more prepared and I just know what to expect.”

Thomas averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field a year ago. The Scotch Plains, N.J., native is a scrappy competitor that does a lot of the dirty work for the Blue Devils. He is an active defensive player willing to take a charge and a solid screen and roll player on offense.

Duke has returning depth in the post in a big way with 7’1” Brian Zoubek. After an injury plagued season a year ago, the junior center is healthy and ready to go in 2008-09. Zoubek averaged 3.8 points and 3.4 rebounds last season, including an 11-point, 13-rebound effort against St. John’s . Fifth-year senior David McClure gives the coaching staff another experienced option in the post. The Ridgefield, Conn., native has played in 88 career games with 18 starts. His athleticism allows him to be a threat as a slasher and rebounder on offense as well as a defender on the perimeter or in the post.

Sophomore Steve Johnson is also back on the interior after redshirting last season. Johnson is an outstanding athlete and a valuable practice player for the Blue Devils. He has steadily developed in his first two years in the program and could challenge for minutes in 2008-09.

Freshman Miles Plumlee, a 6’10”, 230-pound forward, adds size and athleticism to the frontcourt of the Blue Devils, giving them a young big man that can play above the rim. Plumlee, a Warsaw, Ind. native, averaged 15.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while leading the Christ School [N.C.] to a 34-2 record and the 2008 NCISAA state championship.

“Miles brings something that we don’t have,” Henderson said. “He is a big guy that can play over the rim. His athleticism and his length allow him to block shots, rebound over the top of the rim and dunk it. Really nobody else on our team can do that consistently.”

The third freshman is Olek Czyz, a 6’7”, 240-pound forward from Reno High School in Reno, Nev. He was named first team all-state as a senior after averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game and leading Reno to a 26-6 record in 2008. Czyz can score in a variety of ways around the hoop and is one of the most explosive leapers on the team.

“Czyz is a very talented big man,” Singler said. “He is very athletic too. He can rebound the ball. He is definitely going to give us someone that can kind of pound inside and help us in the paint.”

With a wealth of returning letterwinners and the influx of three talented freshmen the Blue Devils are focused on winning championships in 2008-09. The team will have its first opportunity for a championship in the first month of the season as one of 16 teams in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer field. The Blue Devils will need to top Presbyterian in the season opener and the winner of the Georgia Southern-Houston game in order to advance on to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York. National power UCLA along with Michigan, Southern Illinois and Massachusetts are among the other top teams in the 2K Sports Classic field.

Duke will also play a stretch of challenging non-conference games, including a road tilt against Purdue in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Blue Devils will also face Xavier in a neutral site event and welcome Davidson and Georgetown to Cameron Indoor Stadium before entering the heart of the ACC schedule.

In addition to its non-conference schedule, Duke will face another rigorous ACC slate in 2008-09. The Blue Devils will play home-and-home series with Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest this season. Duke also will host Miami and Virginia, while making road trips to Boston College and Georgia Tech. Duke’s second chance to claim a championship will be March 12-15 at the ACC Tournament at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. The Blue Devils won the ACC Championship in 2001, the last time it was played at the Georgia Dome.

Duke will be looking to earn an NCAA Tournament bid for the 14th straight year and the 25th time under Coach K in 2008-09. Krzyzewski holds the NCAA record with 69 NCAA Tournament wins and will be searching for more as the Blue Devils look to advance past the first weekend of tournament play for the first time in three years. Duke’s last three-year stretch without a Sweet 16 appearance was from 1995-97.

“Hopefully we can kind of break up the season and not get tired,” said Singler. “We want to stay fresh and finish each of those thirds of a season strong.”

Krzyzewski already has one championship run under his belt this year. This past summer, Krzyzewski guided the USA squad to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Team USA reclaimed Olympic gold with a 118-107 victory over Spain in the championship game, while also changing a negative perception of basketball in the United States along the way. Team USA averaged 106 points per game and posted an average margin of victory of 27.9 points per game.

“It has been tagged as the most selfish basketball nation on Earth, but the U.S. showed teamwork and intensity normally not seen at any place other than, say, Duke University,” said Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke during Team USA’s gold medal run in 2008.

Don’t be surprised if the Olympic experience of coaching the likes of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade has given Krzyzewski a few new tricks up his sleeve to try with his team.

“He has learned a lot,” Singler said. “I am sure he is going to show us more as the season goes on. You definitely learn a lot from being around talented guys and people that know the game. It is definitely going to help us out a lot.”

Krzyzewski will have his first extended opportunity to get his hands on the Duke team when practice opens on Oct. 17. The Blue Devils will jump right into exhibition play with the annual Blue-White Scrimmage the following day and will also play exhibition contests against Virginia Union (Oct. 25) and Lenoir-Rhyne (Nov. 5) before the season gets under way.