It is not that the 2021 Duke Blue Devils were to suddenly take shape in the 1991 Blue Devils. It is that the 2021 Blue Devils were starting to look like themselves – with scouts and analysts suggesting what they would do, with their coaches imagining what their fans were expecting.
It’s over now, the brutal end to the Blue Devils season since the previous one. Maybe it is worse. Last year’s team had a 25-6 record at the end of the regular season and a legitimate shot at doing Duke-type things in March, but when the global epidemic was declared, the NCAA tournament was canceled a day later . So nobody enjoyed March Madness. The Devils also received the small consolation of starring in the rebellion of the classic 1992 Elite Eight matchup with the Kentucky Wildcats.
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This time, 68 teams will play in the NCAAAS. As Wednesday passed into Thursday, Duke was still unlikely to be one of them. But there was a chance. And then a positive COVID-19 test evolved from someone in the team’s closest circle – called “Tier 1” in the Coronavirus Protocol parlance – and the Blue Devils had to withdraw from the ACC tournament.
There was some March sadness in the college basketball season that was so deeply affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. It is odd that Duke would end its season without losing for the sixth time, but brought all five other NCAA championships and that would stop a program at 24 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
The Duke was unlikely to see anyone departing the season in this way. According to athletic director Kevin White, the Blue Devils made it through the entire season without a single positive test between their players and coaches.
“We’re disappointed we can’t put a fight together as a group after two excellent days in Greensboro,” coach Mike Krazyvski said in a statement from the university. “This season was a challenge for every team across the country, and, as we have seen time and again, this global epidemic is very cruel and is not over yet. Of all the security measures that we have implemented, none of them are immune to this terrible virus. “
After completing the regular season with an 11–11 record, the Devils had played exceptionally well in the first two days of the tournament, although only four days earlier they had been non-competitive in the matchup with their fiery rival North Carolina.
He was expected to defeat Boston College, but ejected the Eagles from the jump and converted 15-of-32 from 3-point range. Louisville fielded Duke in the regular season, but the Devils owned the game, with 7-footer Mark Williams turning in a dominant, 23-point, 19-rebound performance. With quarterfinal rival Florida State two defeats in their last three matches, the continued advancement for the Devils did not look so spectacular. And the longer he survived, the more realistic his NCAA tournament chances became.
“While our season was different from any other I can remember, I loved the 2020-21 Duke basketball team and was honored to be their coach,” Krejiewski said. “We have not asked more than any team in our history, and they deserve a lot of credit for handling everything like the outstanding young men they are. I feel deeply for our players, who have done a great job throughout the season to take care of each other and the team. “
Duke’s misunderstanding through the winter of 2020-21 was widely touted as a general failure of the “one-and-done” model. Although both the Blue Devils (2015) and Kentucky (2012) have won NCAA championships by hiring elite, five-star talent and included those numbered youngsters in important teams, this approach is widely opposed because it is non-existent. -Traditional and unavailable for most programs.
This is a mustard, of course. In the first 10 years of recruiting such players under John Calipari, Kentucky reached the Elite Eight and Four Final Force seven times. Duke made his first move in one-and-directing that 2014–15 season, and in addition the championship reached that two and the Elite Eight using that approach in its first five seasons.
This season showed that the one-and-concept requires two things: the real one — and the possibilities, which neither Duke nor Kentucky were able to attract this year, and at least some of the time. Through the summer, precision and pre. – Schedule to put such a young roster into a functional team.
Players in Duke’s Freshman category are rated as 13 (forward Jaylen Johnson), 23 (point guard Jeremy Roach), 26 (shooting guard DJ Steward), 26 (Williams) and 42 (power forward Jemaine Breakfield). This is a very clear promise, but none of those players are the same as Jabby Parker to Jason Tatum.
And at least part of their struggle resulted from an epidemic-disrupted training program, the elimination of exhibition games that often help teams and players adjust to game conditions, pre-conference schedules and then shorten that brief time .
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Duke played only one mid-major rival before facing Michigan State in the Champions Classic, which became a defeat at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. There was another mid-major opponent before the ACC / Big Ten Challenge game against Illinois, which turned into a second home loss. And then three tuneup-type games were postponed or canceled due to issues with the availability of the opponent, before Krejiewski decided that his team needed a Christmas break more than that matches. One of which needs to be rescheduled.
Every moment progress (consecutive wins against NCAA tournament contenders Georgia Tech and Clemson) launched a substantial decline (a road loss to ACC rival Miami to low-tier ACC rival Miami, which opened a three-game losing streak).
Johnson did not leave the program for long, a move that caused much controversy over how to do his tasks properly, and it appears that the Devils are less likely to expect a change. He won his next three games, two against quality opponents, but there was no continuity of success with or without Johnson.
So it would probably have suffered defeat after successive wins in the first two rounds of the ACC tournament, one last time, the Devils would be sealed as an NIT team. Maybe “maybe” is replaced by “maybe”.
It is March, however, and the Duke is the Duke, and anything can happen. Except now nothing can do it.
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