— Mike Krzyzewski knows Duke will look different on the court this season than during last season’s National Championship run. Now in his 41st year as a head coach, Krzyzewski says he enjoys doing a playbook redesign, so to speak, to fit his squad each season.

Furthermore, Krzyzewski believes it keeps his teams fresh -- count it as an advantage against opponents.

The obstacle for the Blue Devils heading into this season is the fact that seven, albeit highly touted, freshmen join this team facing a “basketball maturity,” learning curve.

To catch up, most of Duke’s roster has to learn principles during the preseason that are typically learned from playing experience beyond a high school level.

“The freshman (last year) – particularly (Tyus Jones), (Jahlil Okafor) and Justice (Winslow) — were ahead in the maturity of the game because of having been on at least two USA teams,” Krzyzewski said. “They matured more in the game because they got to know when they weren’t the star, they didn’t start, they weren’t the leading scorer. They are things that you’d never learn in high school because they were always the best player.

“(This year’s freshmen) have some experience in that but they’re a little bit younger in that regard,” Krzyzewski added. “It’s not a knock on them, it’s just that that was a plus that we had (last year).”

Indeed, the seven-man class includes three McDonald’s All-Americans in Brandon Ingram, Chase Jeter and Luke Kennard, as well as Antonio Vrankovic, who was a nominee for the game, and Derryck Thornton – who did not qualify for the game as he reclassified, announcing in May he’d enroll a year early, joining the incoming class of 2015.

But the sexiness that comes with a trio of McDonalds All-Americans is secondary to the group’s need to gain that understanding that every player on the roster is used to being the star. For the Blue Devils, every player simply can’t be.

“You have to be secure about who you are,” Krzyzewski said. “These guys are, but not to that level. So there’ll be a bit more of a learning curve in that regard with this group.”



Take it from us

Duke’s veterans – the few, the proud – know both the benefits and the difficulties of overcoming that curve.

“Amile (Jefferson) did start then didn’t start; Matt (Jones) was probably the second most consistent, and Marshall (Plumlee) was playing behind who we still consider the best player in the country last year,” Krzyzewski said, explaining the level of understanding of selflessness his captains have.

Grayson Allen, the lone returning freshman from last year, who played off the bench and provided a crucial spark for the Blue Devils in the postseason, cited his own rookie year as a teaching point for this year’s youngins.

“I can use my whole experience my freshman year as a perfect example,” Allen said. “Just because you’re coming off the bench doesn’t mean you need to change the way you play. For these guys, coming off the bench just means everyone else on the court is tired and you’re fresh, so take advantage of that. You’re not coming in as a bench player or to replace someone in the game, you don’t have to play like the guy you replaced. You’re meant to be you and play like the player Coach K recruited you to be at Duke.”

A fifth-year senior captain, Plumlee is the team’s oldest player at 23. He believes the teammates Coach K picks are prone to understanding the benefits of checking selfishness at the door and self-evaluating the benefits that come from putting team before self. But he also knows the learning is something that takes time.

“I think it’s coming bit by bit, but. It’s a process,” Plumlee said. “It’s taken me years to come to terms with what my role needs to be and what kind of player I need to be for Duke. As long as we can come together and take steps forward and no steps back, I think we can be great.”

Jefferson and Jones, the team’s other two captains, both agree that the freshman are guys who, “get it,” but know that there’s still work to be done.

#NoDaysOff #NoPlaysOff

Maybe it’s a testament to what’s left to be learned, or a nod to the intangible nature of the quality Krzyzewski saw in last year’s rookies that he doesn’t see in this year’s, or a reflection of how much these seven stars are taking on at once, but the freshmen made no mention of selflessness in their first lists of what they’ve learned so far at Duke.

“I learned everything I needed to so far,” Justin Robinson said. “Over the summer, the (veterans) taught us basically how to play Duke basketball -- the mindset we needed to have, just how to play for coach really.

“You just need to be able to bring your best every day. You need to learn that you have to be so competitive that you want to win every day and every drill and (understand) the expectations of greatness,” he added. “Those things you really need to bring to the table.”

The “every day, every drill,” sentiment is echoed by Thorton – who will work to be one of many token freshman point guards who earns the right to run a Duke team.

“Being able to compete on every play is extremely important here,” Thornton said. “In high school, I’m going on being the best player on the team or just where ever I played. You could kind of take a play off and here you have to compete every play.”

The biggest adjustment for Ingram, the No. 1 ranked small forward in his class?

“The pace of college basketball -- just adjusting, playing every single possession,” he said. “It’s kind of different because you’re expected to do more.”

While the freshman are still adjusting to the relentless nature of the college game, the coach insists his newcomers must learn that the best way to make it is to continually understand they can’t do it alone.

“Not that they haven’t done this,” Krzyzewski said. “But we tell them, ‘Get beyond you. Don’t think about where you’re at, think about where we’re at.’ In other words, throw yourself into the plural not the singular.”