When the Blue Devils kick off the 2011-12 basketball season in a week at Countdown to Craziness, they will no doubt still remember the embarrassing defeat that sent them spiraling out of the 2011 NCAA tournament.
As former Arizona star Derrick Williams soared through the lane for an emphatic tomahawk dunk in the second half of Duke’s Sweet Sixteen game last March, he ended any chance of consecutive national championships for the Blue Devils.
The highlight-reel play not only put the game out of reach, but it also revealed two weaknesses in Duke’s squad: the team’s lack of a traditional big man and its porous defense in the paint. The most notable aspect of Williams' drive-and-dunk sequence other than the slam was the absence of any Blue Devil in the key until it was far too late. Williams blew by Miles Plumlee at the top of the arc and was already in flight by the time Kyle Singler arrived to help.
Duke fans may wish to write off the 93-77 loss to the Wildcats as one bad night in an otherwise stellar season. Yet, the lack of an inside presence frequently plagued the Blue Devils last year—in both their victories and their losses.
Before jumping to conclusions about how this deficiency will affect the team’s title prospects this coming season, we should consider whether elite basketball programs such as Duke even need a dominant big man in order to win championships.
The 2005-06 season marked the last time the Blue Devils possessed an elite post player with a back-to-the-basket skill set. Shelden Williams led the ACC in rebounds and blocks that season, pouring in 18.8 points per game as well. But Duke ultimately fell to LSU in the Sweet Sixteen, despite a game-high 23 points and 13 boards from Williams.
Before Williams ever stepped onto the hardwood at Cameron Indoor, Carlos Boozer patrolled the paint for the Blue Devils and helped them capture the national title in 2001. Although the menacing forward played an integral role on that squad—averaging 13.3 ppg on 60-percent shooting, Shane Battier, Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy oozed with talent as well. Thus, it’s difficult to claim that the Blue Devils absolutely needed Boozer in order to hoist the national championship trophy.
Yet, Duke’s triumph in 2010 shows how important a traditional big man can be during a championship run. Then-senior Brian Zoubek not only sported intimidating facial hair, but he also displayed a knack for crashing the offensive glass. The 7-foot-1 center led the nation in offensive rebounding percentage and posted double-digit boards in four of the team’s six 2010 NCAA Tournament games.
Zoubek wasn’t a dominant post player with an offensive skill set like Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, for instance, but he created valuable second-chance shots for his teammates and made opposing players think twice about coming into the lane. Miles and Mason Plumlee, on the other hand, were repeatedly pushed around in the trenches last year.
Miami’s Reggie Johnson made a mockery of Duke’s interior defense on more than one occasion. The 6-foot-10 center shot a combined 16-for-19 from the field in two meetings with the Blue Devils. N.C. State’s Richard Howell scored a career-high 18 points on 9-for-11 shooting when the Wolfpack met the Blue Devils in February. Jordan Williams of Maryland found similar success: 14-for-24 from the field and 43 total points in two regular season matchups.
Granted, Duke won all of these games by comfortable margins. But no basketball coach—let alone Mike Krzyzewski—would happily concede that level of inside production, even in a victory. And the Blue Devils paid the price for shoddy interior defense in blowout losses to St. John’s and North Carolina. The Red Storm and Tar Heels outscored Duke by 24 and 20 points in the paint, respectively.
The Plumlees shouldn’t bear all of the blame for these disparities. When mobile big men draw the brothers out to the perimeter, the rest of the Blue Devils must play solid help defense to protect the paint. Nevertheless, the brothers struggle to perform consistently at both ends of the floor.
Their offensive inconsistency may stem in part from the Blue Devils’ style of play and their corps of excellent outside shooters. Regardless, Duke can’t afford to live and die by the 3-point shot. If both Plumlees can improve their post-up game, easy baskets and open looks on the perimeter will follow. On defense, the brothers need to become more physical and eliminate mental mistakes.
So can the 2011-12 Blue Devils win a title without a dominant post player? Possibly. Can they win it all if they allow opponents to penetrate the lane at will? Doubtful. The Plumlees don’t need to play like All-Americans, but unless they improve their toughness down low and inspire their teammates to do the same, Duke won’t be lifting a national championship trophy in the spring.
Jeff Scholl is a Duke senior and former managing editor of The Chronicle’s sports section. His column runs on a bi-weekly basis.
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