The last nine days must have felt like a vacation to Chris Carrawell.
First the Blue Devils had a bye in the ACC schedule and went a week between games. Then a record snowstorm kept its players out of the classroom and off the court.
"It was good to get my legs back," Carrawell said. "When they canceled class and practice on Tuesday, I was loving it."
And when Duke returned to the court Saturday, it quickly blew away Clemson, allowing the senior to play only 31 minutes.
Then again, many players consider 31 minutes an eternity. No Blue Devil averaged more than that per game last year. This year, Duke relies heavily on its top six players, with Carrawell leading the way at 35.3 minutes a contest.
But 35 minutes sounding good compared to the 45 the forward logged two weeks ago in an overtime game against N.C. State.
"I was really tired, man," Carrawell said after playing another 34 minutes in Duke's next contest versus Wake Forest. "N.C. State took its toll."
And that's the worry for the third-ranked Blue Devils. For now, everything seems to be going right, but will fatigue catch up with them? Will games like the N.C. State marathon start to take their toll on the team's win-loss record?
Duke's top six players are all playing at least 21.8 minutes per game, with no one else averaging double digits. Shane Battier and Jason Williams join Carrawell in playing more than 32 minutes. The last Duke team with that many players seeing that much time was the injury-ridden 1995-96 squad, which lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
It's nothing like the last two seasons, when Mike Krzyzewski seemed to have more McDonald's All-Americans than spots in the rotation. A year ago, nine players averaged more than 12 minutes. In 1997-98, 10 players saw at least that much, with no one playing over 29 minutes.
"The mindset is definitely different from the last couple of years," Battier said, "when we had so many guys and you'd get more than a short period of time on the bench."
Of course, the Blue Devils of the past two seasons had more than their share of blowouts, which inflated subs' minutes. In competitive games, Krzyzewski generally stuck with a seven-man rotation. But not since the Grant Hill-led 1993-94 team has Duke leaned so much on its top half dozen players.
The largest burden has fallen on Carrawell. But that hasn't come as a shock to him-after the Blue Devils lost five regulars from last year's team, the forward knew he had to be prepared for rarely leaving the floor.
"I'm in the best shape of my life," Carrawell said. "I wanted the opportunity to play and I can't worry about fatigue.
"[During the offseason] there was more pressure on me-more responsibility-coming back. I knew I had to take the approach over the summer that every workout was rigorous-running, shooting around, lifting weights, everything. I definitely did more knowing I could be playing 40 minutes."
The senior, who averaged 22.8 minutes his first three years, said he's learned to pace himself.
"I have to slow down sometimes and not rush things," he said. "I see things more-I let the game come to me. I have the opportunity to play 40 minutes, and it's a long game."
But it's not always easy for Carrawell to slow down, considering he's leading the team in scoring and rebounding and often guards opponents' top scorers.
Even though Krzyzewski would like more depth, he's hampered by the fact that, after Dunleavy, the top three subs are centers. With Carlos Boozer emerging as a force in the paint, Krzyzewski isn't sure he wants to put two big men on the court at the same time.
"Right now for us it's tough. We haven't played two big guys," Krzyzewski said. "To just say, 'Go'-what do you do? Do you keep Dunleavy on the bench? Do you not play Chris Carrawell?"
While it's been a while since the Blue Devils used a six-man rotation, the setup might look familiar to ACC fans. Two years ago, North Carolina relied heavily on its top six players and didn't fare too badly. Although fatigue might have caused the Tar Heels to blow a 17-point lead at Duke, UNC still won the ACC tournament and reached the Final Four.
Like the 1997-98 Tar Heels, this season's Blue Devils have plenty of talent and versatility among their half-dozen regulars. All six average more than 10 points and four rebounds and can play at least two positions, which gives Krzyzewski a lot of flexibility in putting lineups on the floor.
"That's been the strength of our team," he said, "the versatility and the matchups we can create by subbing just one guy."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.