11/10/2008 - Michael Tomko, GoDuke.com

DURHAM, N.C. – You can throw all the preseason polls and television analysts’ notes out the window because tonight, when Duke tips off the regular season against Presbyterian, all that will concern players and coaches is the final score.

Taking on Presbyterian in the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches Versus Cancer at 7:00 p.m. inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils will start the long journey to March with national title aspirations on the minds of most teams across the country.

“This is a new team, new guys and we are going into it fresh with a lot of confidence, and I am not taking any scars with me this year,” junior tri-captain Jon Scheyer said.

This year’s team has put the second round loss in the NCAA Tournament to West Virginia behind them and is ready to have another exciting season.

The Blue Devils are coming off a 28-6 season with a 13-3 conference record. Presbyterian ended last season with a 5-25 record in their first year in Division I. The two schools are meeting for the first time as Duke tries to win its 60th consecutive non-conference home game.

Last season Duke averaged 83.2 points per game while allowing 69.4. Presbyterian scored 59.6 points per game last season, allowing 66.2 with opponents shooting just under 50 percent against them.

One of the strengths of this year’s team is experience and depth. Duke is returning 11 letterwinners from a year ago. The Blue Devils feature depth in the backcourt and frontcourt. Gerald Henderson, Nolan Smith and Scheyer give the starting backcourt a blend of experience, shooting and quickness, with Greg Paulus, Elliot Williams, Martynas Pocius and Jordan Davidson supplying defensive prowess and shooting touch off the bench.

The frontcourt features Kyle Singler and Miles Plumlee earning the starting spots with David McClure, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek, Olek Czyz and Steve Johnson bringing hardnosed defense off the bench.

“I think the big difference is last year we questioned ourselves a little bit,” Scheyer said. “We had such an up and down season where we didn’t know how good we could be. Last year I think showed us how really good we could be, and obviously there was a disappointing end to it, but this year we know how good we can be. We have all the pieces. I think that is the big difference between this year and last year.”

Another difference is the fact that head coach Mike Krzyzewski named three captains for the season, selecting Henderson, Paulus and Scheyer as the guys he wants to set an example for the younger teammates during games and at practice.

“I think the veterans, having these guys around and me being one of them, I think it allows us to set an example,” Paulus said. “I think it allows us to build a culture and pass it down a little bit. A couple years ago we didn’t have that senior, and we were still learning who we were, still learning the culture and still developing habits. I think that having older guys to lean on that have had experience is going to be a really good thing for this team.”

“We can all work off each other,” Scheyer said. “Gerald with his talent, he is so athletic. He can do so many things on the court. He is a great guy to look up to for everybody because he is so talented and gifted. He is a competitor and I think for everyone to feed off that is great.”

“Greg obviously being a senior and being a captain before gives him that experience that is so valuable,” Scheyer added. “Myself, I think I am going to use my instincts. These last two years I feel like I have learned a lot. Being able to give that to the younger guys or the team and feed off that I will try to do.”

The additional leadership has already translated in the preseason with the Blue Devils winning both of their exhibition games. The first, a 114-50 win over Virginia Union, with six players scoring in double figures, with Henderson scoring 14, Scheyer 12 and Paulus eight to go along with five assists. As a team the Blue Devils held Virginia Union to 27.3 percent shooting for the game.

In their second exhibition game, Duke found even more success on the defensive side of the ball, forcing 20 turnovers and holding Lenoir-Rhyne to 27.9 percent shooting, 17.6 percent in the second half, in a 95-42 win. Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by Singler’s 22 and Zoubek’s 15 point performances.

“We practice defense before offense,” Williams said. “We are a team that thinks our defense could translate into our offense. We just have really good athletes. Any player can guard any position on the other team. We just play good defense.”

Notes: Prior to Duke tipping at 7:00 p.m., Georgia Southern will take on Houston at 4:00 p.m. in the first matchup in the 2K Sports Classic. The two winning teams will play Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. with the winner of the regional champion advancing to the semifinals in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 20. The championship game of the event is scheduled for the following day. Michigan, Southern Illinois and UCLA are also hosting regional games in the tournament.

Duke is 0-2 in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, losing to Stanford and Connecticut to open the 1999-2000 season.