Monday night was not really about Duke versus Elon. It was not about the established No. 1 team in the country taking on a scrappy program on the rise. It was not about the Blue Devils proving they could handle themselves when their star senior guard is relegated to the bench with four fouls.
No, Monday’s contest was about a legendary coach from eight miles down the road, and an historic mark that seems poised to fall in just eight days. With head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 879th win, an 98-72 defeat of the Phoenix, the coach ties Dean Smith as the second-winningest coach in college basketball history.
While the minds of most were on the historic significance of the win, Krzyzewski said he was more focused Monday on Duke’s performance.
“I know it’s like a milestone, but I’m more interested in how we become a better team this year,” Krzyzewski said. “[The record] is not a big thing right now. A bigger thing is how we’re developing our team, and that’s the way it’s always been.”
The coach did allow himself a few moments of reflection on how he came from being the new guy in the ACC coaching fraternity to being on the cusp of Smith’s mark. He also pointed out similarities between Duke and North Carolina’s programs over the past few decades.
“[Smith] built one hell of a program at a great school by recruiting unbelievably good kids, developing great relationships with them and then they played a brand of basketball where they showed up every night,” Krzyzewski said. “And we’ve, I think, done a lot like that in our own way. And that’s produced some unbelievably good basketball.”
Krzyzewski’s 879th came relatively easily, even with Nolan Smith spending many of the game’s crucial moments in foul trouble and on the bench.
Smith scored 11 in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting, leading the Blue Devils to a 49-31 halftime lead that would have been longer if not for a last second leaning 3-pointer from Chris Long.
Smith picked up three fouls in the process of leading Duke to that lead, though, and his fourth would come just two minutes into the second period. He didn’t see the court again until around the 9-minute mark.
The offense stagnated while Smith sat on the bench waiting, but his fresh legs did wonders when he returned. The senior hit two straight layups to help curb Elon’s momentum, then, two minutes later, found Andre Dawkins on the wing for a four-point play. The game’s outcome was never again in doubt after Dawkins swished his free throw, and Smith would finish the contest with one of his most efficient performances ever in a Duke uniform—22 points in only 21 minutes.
“I knew when I got back in the game, I’d have to produce somehow whether it’d be scoring or passing the ball,” Smith said. “So the coaches were staying keep your head in the game [while on the bench] and come out and stay aggressive.”
The Blue Devils’ other captain, Kyle Singler, also turned in one of his better games this season, scoring 24 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the floor.
His 24 points were only part of the story, however. The senior also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists (all in the first half) and played lockdown defense on noticeably mismatched Phoenix opponents.
“Kyle defended well. He went to the four and our defense just picked up dramatically,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s like a traffic cop up there talking. He’s a beautiful player, but defensively, when he’s doing that, he’s a tremendous basketball player on the defensive end of the court.”
Singler’s five assists were a part of a larger trend emerging on this Kyrie Irving-less team. Before the injury, Duke’s assists came mainly from Irving and Smith. Now, everyone is a distributor—big man Ryan Kelly, who entered the game with only 21 career assists, led the Blue Devils with six Monday night.
When looking back at this game, though, few will remember Kelly’s six assists. Krzyzewski tying a legend will take up those memories.
And while 879 represented Smith’s last ever win, the Blue Devils feel Krzyzewski will have many more to come.
“Coach looks like he’s just starting,” Nolan Smith said. “He’s fresh, he’s eager for more wins, he’s in his prime. He has many more years to go, and he loves winning. When you love winning as much as Coach K does, you’re never going to quit.”
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