BLUE DEVIL TOUGHNESS
“Our friendship all year has helped us. Guys are close, we have a tight bond. We’ve won a lot of close games because we trust each other and have toughness. We care about each other. There isn’t one guy on this team that doesn’t have everybody else’s back. That goes a long way and we have fun together. A day doesn’t go by where we don’t have jokes and get after each other. We just have close friendships.”
KYLE SINGLER
JAY BILAS INTERVIEW ARTICLE:
team until the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Once they got to the Final Four, I felt that Duke was the best team left and it really changed the dynamic. Now all of a sudden Duke was the team expected to win and that can be a difficult burden to carry. Duke was prepared and that starts with Coach K. I think
DEFENSE AND BOARD *Fitting end *Defensive stats *”Airport test” *Togetherness *Length *Talk *Pride *Got to do it to win
“Our guys inside, they just go after the ball with two hands. They’ve been doing that all year. They didn’t change their game plan for this game. They attacked the ball and they got us so many second shots. They just make big plays like that all the time.”
NOLAN SMITH, after Duke’s Elite Eight win over Baylor in Houston
Coach K has always been really honest with his teams, his players and with himself. When I was playing and when I was on the staff there, some of the toughest times were after wins when Coach K felt like the team wasn’t playing well, or playing its best or was exhibiting the characteris- tics that if continued were going to be a reason for losing in a one-and-out situation. His ability to identify problems before they become losses has always been a real strength. In addition to that, the players, based upon how they’ve been taught there, have a great ability to process that. It’s not easy to be able to be told tough things even when you’re winning and to be able to be self-critical and to self-evaluate throughout the course of the season and realize, “Hey, even though we’re winning doesn’t mean that we’re still at our very best all the time.” That takes a level of toughness, of mental toughness. To be self-critical, to say tough things to one another, and to be able to process that the right way -- you don’t see that all the time. Duke did a really good job this year continuing to evaluate and improve, especially when they were winning, and were never satisfied with where they were. When most teams were falling and break- ing down, they were getting better and getting stronger. That’s a real sign that they were mentally and physically tough. People think toughness is physical and physical is part of it, but I think it’s more mental than anything. Some players may be born tough, but I think toughness is a skill that can be developed and improved through coaching and experi- ence. Going through what Duke’s seniors went through together -- some of the losses they suffered, some of the tough times, some of the difficult practices, some of the dif-
152 DUKE 2010
BE ALERT Show STRENGTH IN BODY LANGUAGE GO TO THE GLASS
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