The last time Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie spoke to a bevy of local reporters, she was behind a dais in the bowels of the Ford Center in Oklahoma City March 30, where Duke had just unceremoniously bowed out of the NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M didn't need a 3-pointer at the buzzer and didn't escape with two missed free throws with 0.1 seconds left, the ways the Blue Devils' season had ended in the previous two years.
The 77-63 Aggie win was a thorough dismantling. Duke trailed by double digits in the last 10 minutes of its season-another year had passed, and Duke still hadn't brought home its first national championship.
The difference in mood between the last press conference in Oklahoma City and this year's first press conference in Cameron Indoor Stadium Oct. 31 was striking.
One was sullen, the other hopeful. One was melancholic, the other lighthearted.
Still, the second-year head coach and her team couldn't escape the lingering presence of last year's season, when the Blue Devils limped to a 25-10 record.
There is a reason McCallie used the phrases "night and day," "no comparison," and "enormous difference" in one two-minute span.
Seven months had passed between the media sessions, and even that wasn't long enough to escape the hounding questions that McCallie faced at the beginning of the press conference.
McCallie and Duke can only do that in the next six months.
Because if the No. 8 Blue Devils want people to truly forget about last season, they must erase it from fans' memories this year.
"I am very proud of what our team did last year under the circumstances and having to deal with change," McCallie said. "With that said, there are many things we want to do better."
And chief among those changes must be revitalizing an anemic offense, which plagued Duke against elite opponents last season. When North Carolina-which, it must be mentioned, routed Duke three times-ran, Duke couldn't keep up.
A favorite myth of many coaches it that defense wins championships. In the ACC, that's nonsense. Offense does.
That is, if the Blue Devils are able to regain their place atop the ACC standings-where they finished in 2007, with an unblemished mark, to boot-they'll have to do it by outscoring North Carolina and Maryland, by pounding them in the paint and lighting it up from behind the arc, by running with them and slowing it down when necessary.
It's an encouraging, if not surprising, sign that McCallie said Duke's offense was ahead of its defense. That sentiment last year would have been impossible. This year, it's vital.
"We've come a long way with our half-court offense," McCallie said. "It's much improved, and it's got a long way to go. But it's not bad."
It's no secret that Duke's offense has to be better than "not bad" for it to compete with the teams on its schedule. Tennessee is better than "not bad." So is Stanford. So are North Carolina and Maryland.
Then again, Duke's probably better than "not bad," too, and it could be "pretty good" if its two best players end their careers on high notes.
In order for Duke to exorcise any demons, seniors Chante Black and Abby Waner need to be All-ACC selections by the end of the season.
Black needs to be a bully in the paint and not only post gaudy numbers, but also draw double teams so Carrem Gay, Joy Cheek and Krystal Thomas can combine for 20 points and 15 rebounds per game, too.
It's certainly no secret that Waner's shooting touch drives this team. After all, with the graduation of Wanisha Smith, Waner is the team's only guard who is a legitimate 3-point threat. She acquired the reputation of a sharpshooter in her first two campaigns, and then went dull last season, visibly frustrated with too many long balls rimming in and out. Waner's 3-point threat opens up the paint for Black and Gay and is the easiest way for Duke to consistently swing momentum.
After all, the worst part about stamping Duke on a basketball program is the expectations associated with such a name.
Fans don't easily forget down seasons.
Unless, of course, they are quickly erased by runs to the Final Four.
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