A little more than 30 seconds into Duke's 82-64 romp over then-No. 7 Xavier Dec. 20, Brian Zoubek got the ball in the post and made an aggressive move to the basket, prompting a familiar sound when he shot the ball: a whistle.
Duke fans groaned, waiting for the referee to roll his arms for a travel or sternly point the other way to indicate an offensive foul. But as the ball rolled down the cylinder, something unusual happened: Zoubek was the beneficiary of the call.
Blocking foul. And one.
Duke fans yelled with shock and excitement as the 7-foot-1 center howled in celebration. Zoubek converted the free throw for a 3-0 lead and the rout was on.
The No. 2 Blue Devils (13-1, 1-0 in the ACC) will continue to look for that type of dominant performance from the center when they travel to take on Florida State (13-2, 0-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"[The post presence] wasn't as strong last year-we obviously didn't hit the post as much as we do this year," forward Gerald Henderson said after Duke's 69-44 win over Virginia Tech Sunday, when Zoubek scored six points in 15 minutes. "We feel like that's a strength of our team now, and we're definitely going in there now."
Zoubek is at the center of Duke's frontcourt emergence. Usually the Cameron Crazies are just hoping Zoubek can log more minutes than fouls or more rebounds than turnovers whenever he gets on the court. So to see him make all four of his field goal attempts, block four shots and commit only two turnovers in 18 minutes of play against Xavier, a top-10 team, was a promising sign.
But at the moment, that's all it is-promising. Promise is nice in December when teams are still figuring themselves out, let alone their opponents. In March, it needs to turn into performance.
That's not to say the Blue Devils need to-or will-pull a roundabout and slow their game down significantly. If anything, Zoubek needs to establish himself within those boundaries, working for putbacks and getting out on fast breaks.
"The guys on the team did a great job recognizing [the size advantage inside]," Zoubek said after a 15-point, 10-rebound night against Loyola Dec. 31. "They were able to get me the ball, and I was able to not only score but guys were able to play off of me. I think we ran the offense through that and it helped open everything up.... Then they would double down and open everything up for the rest of the team. It was important for us to funnel a lot of the stuff through the post.
"Being more aggressive-I think that's going to be more important come ACC [play], so this was a great game for me going into the ACC season."
The simple reality of Duke's long-range strategy is that some days, the shots won't fall. Maybe the legs are tired, the perimeter defense is too stiff or it's just not Duke's day from beyond the arc.
On one of those days, Duke's loss to Michigan Dec. 6, Zoubek didn't play poorly. He made 4-of-6 field goals and didn't commit a single turnover, but he also only played 14 minutes. It's hard for a big man to establish himself when he doesn't even log a full half's worth of playing time.
The course of Duke's recent NCAA Tournament history has also exposed the need for a solid big man. The previous two years, the Blue Devils' post presences were converted forwards in Josh McRoberts and Kyle Singler. The results? A 79-77 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round two years ago and a 73-67 physical beatdown at the hands of West Virginia last year.
It seems crucial, then, that Zoubek develops into a consistent performer who can give extended minutes of mistake-free basketball.
Previous champions have always had two essential elements to their success: a point guard who can efficiently run his team and take over when necessary and a consistent, if not overwhelming, post presence.
Nolan Smith and Greg Paulus can shoulder the burden of the first prerequisite.
How well Zoubek can handle the second key could determine whether the promise of his Xavier showing will turn into continued prosperity in ACC-and possibly NCAA-play.
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