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l Duke NCAA Championship Special Edition l

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

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Weekly

Duke Basketball ‘Welcome Back’ Program Set

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke Department of Athletics

will host a ‘Welcome Back’ event for the Blue Devil men’s basketball team on Tuesday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The event, which is open to the public with free admission, is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. with doors to Cameron Indoor Stadium opening at 12 noon. Fans driving to campus are encouraged to park in the

Bryan Center Parking Deck. Handicap parking will be lo- cated on the North Concourse of Wallace Wade Stadium, accessible from Whitford Drive. Duke Stores will have merchandise stands open in the

Hall of Honor located just off the concourse level of Cam- eron Indoor Stadium. In addition, the Duke Team Store located in Card Gym will be open.

By Michael Tomko

INDIANAPOLIS - Cheers of ‘thank you seniors’ rained down from the Cameron Crazies,

who made the 600 mile trip to Indianapolis, as the Blue Devils stood on the podium to accept their National Championship trophy. For the seniors, the road, which ended in Indianapolis, did so with a NCAA Championship

trophy. “It means a lot to us [the seniors], especially I don’t think any of us could have predicted the

four years we had here,” Jon Scheyer, who led the seniors with 15 points, said. “To finish it like this means a lot, especially going through it with these guys every day.” Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas came through with clutch shots, crucial re-

bounds and championship winning defensive plays with the game in the balance as Duke cap- tured its fourth National Title Monday night over the Butler Bulldogs 61-59. For the seniors, the feeling is indescribable. “To seal the deal at the end, I’m really lost for words on it,” Thomas said. The senior class has improved each year at Duke, letting the tutelage of Mike Krzyzewski

sink in year after year while improving their NCAA Tournament resume with each trip to the big dance. “It means the world to us, especially our senior

class,” Thomas said. “To come in and get knocked out of this tournament in our first game, and to have to, you know, live with that for the rest of our lives, you know, for the extra years after our freshman, sophomore, and junior year, just not getting as much success as we want, to leave champions, have our last game, leaving a na- tional championship. It’s tough to put words to.” It was a defensive slugfest from the beginning at Lucas Oil Stadium, with neither team willing to give ground or allow

the other team to open up a large lead. It was like a heavyweight prized fight with each team absorbing the blows and responding with their own counter punches, neither wanting to fall. So, while the lead changed 15 times and the score was tied seven, it was Duke’s seniors, who have experienced ev- erything a college basketball player could in their four years at Duke, that helped to will the Blue Devils in the end with crucial stops and rebounds. Tonight’s hero in the waning seconds was Zoubek. “I thought Zoubs on his out of bounds defense, then he adjusts, altered the shot, then got the rebound, was so fitting

for Zoubek, for Brian to do that, because he really elevated our team over these last six weeks, seven weeks, to where we would have a chance to play and win a national championship,” Krzyzewski said. With 13.7 seconds left, and the Blue Devils leading 60-59, Butler’s Gordon Hayward drove right on Kyle Singler. Zoubek rotated over to help defend forcing Hayward to attempt an off-balance fade-away jump shot from the baseline that clanged off the rim. The seven-foot senior plucked the ball from the air for his game-high tenth rebound. He was fouled intentionally

Video Highlights l Page 2 Game Notes l Page 3 Championship Game Photo Gallery l Page 4

l NCAA Championship Issue

Duke Captures Fourth NCAA Title with Win Over Butler Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4
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