Duke looking to regain focus on defense
Mike Krzyzewski says communication is the lifeblood of a good defense, and looks to revitalize that with his team on Friday.
Duke’s defensive struggles in March have been the topic of conversation.
For much of the season, the Blue Devils showed signs of being a really good defensive team. In fact, it was one of the catalysts for Duke’s success at times.
Then came the month of March, where the Blue Devils looked to be an entirely different defensive squad than they had presented earlier in the season. It played a pivotal role in Duke’s losses to North Carolina and Virginia Tech. It also contributed to struggles against Syracuse and Miami.
Without a doubt, it’s been a problem.
“Since we clinched the regular season against Pitt and played those three road games in six days, we kind of stepped back a little bit and we haven’t played well since — just in spurts,” Mike Krzyzewski said. “Also during that period we weren’t able to practice at the level (accustomed to). And with a young team you get back to old habits real quick.”
Those hold habits center on communication, or rather the lack there of.
This issue became evident in the loss to North Carolina, when the Blue Devils failed to react to the Tar Heels’ ball screens, particularly in the second half. UNC torched the nets in response, thanks to consistent open looks.
Consistent communication was nonexistent and the Blue Devils paid for it.
Surprisingly, the issue was still prevalent throughout the ACC Tournament. Now, after the opportunity to return to the practice floor since their loss in the title game, the coaches and players are feeling better about where things stand.
“This week was more of affirming our good habits and guys have worked hard,” Krzyzewski said. “They’ve been really good this week. And today - we actually use the 40 minutes as our workout. We had our scouting report this morning. Nolan did that and then we went to Furman and did our walk-through. Then we’ll try to have 40 minutes of good energy to try and get accustomed to the court.”
Junior Wendell Moore Jr. also commented on the week.
“This week for us was a great week of practice. It’s been a huge week, mainly focusing on the defensive end. So getting more pressure on the ball, forcing a lot of live ball turnovers just so we can get into our offense a little easier.”
So, better focus on the defensive end. Re-affirming good habits.
Translation — talk better.
Paolo Banchero has struggled as much as anyone on defense over the last few games. He has certainly not back away from that fact.
For him, he believes playing good defense takes a certain mindset — one this team hasn’t displayed in quite a while.
“I really just think, really overall it’s a mindset for us that we had early in the year,” Banchero said. “Really having something to prove. And then just overall our communication hasn’t been as good as it was early in the year. That was just a big thing in practice that we’re stressing during the week — everybody’s got to be talking. Everybody’s got to be loud. Commanding each other. Holding each other accountable.
“I feel like we got away from that later in the year, and it showed just on the defensive end with our defensive intensity. We watched a lot of film. We know what we did wrong and we’re not looking to make those mistakes anymore.”
What does all that mean for Duke, though?
According to Krzyzewski, he believes his team was not mentally fresh. They were mentally and emotionally tired as the season came to a close. And instead of outwardly handling it, communication didn’t exist to the level it needed to be.
The Blue Devils now have had the chance to hit the reset button. They’re fresh. The energy is good.
Now, Krzyzewski says it needs to translate to the court on Friday and beyond if they advance.
“If there were ten steps to get back to defense, communication would be the first five because it’s the lifeblood,” Krzyzewski said. “No matter how hard you play individually, it’s five playing as one. Communication is the lifeblood of a good defensive team. It also produces an element of trust on the court.
“If I’m guarding the ball and I never hear anybody say, ‘you’re okay, you’re okay. You’re good, you’re good,’ then I might have a tendency to turn or not put as much pressure. If I hear that voice it reassures me, and I can take a step forward instead of maybe taking a step back. If you can do that throughout a team then all the sudden your team is taking steps forward. It is the single biggest thing, besides effort and attitude. So, communication, effort, attitude — throw them in and if you’ve got them you’ve got a chance.”