SEASON IN REVIEW

By John Roth

Mike Krzyzewski paused just inside the locker room door to absorb the scene unfolding before him, his Blue Devils a boisterous bundle of elation, excitement, emotion. Quinn Cook, their de facto elder statesman, wedged his way into the middle of the black-and-blue, sweat-drenched uniforms and raised his voice to be heard above the celebration.

"Duke is never the underdog," he barked as his teammates clustered even tighter around him. "Hey, look, look — family on three. One, two, three — FAMILY."

Krzyzewski soaked in this unifying moment, the beaming smile of a proud parent enveloping his countenance. The Hall of Fame eyes that had witnessed almost a thousand college basketball victories and countless locker room huddles gleamed with the euphoria of both triumph and togetherness — and what they might portend for the journey ahead. It was a face nobody saw, but a face that visually articulated the thought Krzyzewski would verbally express months later about that night: "We knew getting on the bus to go to the plane that this could be a real special group."

No one would have been shocked if Duke had fallen to Wisconsin on that bone-chilling December night in Madison. The Badgers were an established veteran team, ranked No. 2 in the country and coming off a Final Four season. They featured a dynamic 7-footer in Frank Kaminsky, who would become the consensus national player of the year, and they were hosting the Blue Devils in their rambunctious Kohl Center, where their winning percentage stood on par with Duke's at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke was also highly ranked at No. 4 in the polls, obviously talented but considerably less experienced. Krzyzewski was starting three freshmen who were playing in their first true road contest, and his returnees were coming off a season in which they'd fallen to Mercer in their NCAA Tournament opener.

These newly incarnated Blue Devils had already defeated Michigan State in Indianapolis and had won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn, but this was the showcase game of the annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge and a major early barometer for two heavyweights with April aspirations. When Kaminsky drew first blood by quickly burying a pair of three-pointers, the favored home team had made a strong opening statement.

But it was Duke's response that provided an early indication of what might lie ahead. At the first media timeout, barely five minutes after tipoff, Krzyzewski made a significant adjustment to the defensive game plan. The Blue Devils had intended to double-team the post, but after Kaminsky got away from them a couple times early, Coach K bagged that idea and instructed his team to switch on all screens while applying as much ball pressure as possible. Consequently, Kaminsky didn't score for the next 13 minutes, and Duke grabbed the halftime lead, even though its star post man Jahlil Okafor was sidelined with foul trouble.

The Blue Devils continued to play solid defense after intermission, shot a remarkable 71 percent from the floor and turned freshman playmaker Tyus Jones loose on an assortment of high ball screens to secure a noteworthy, confidence-building 10-point victory in hostile territory.

In and of itself, the key defensive adjustment wasn't all that extraordinary; teams frequently tweak their strategy in response to opposing tactics, personnel and the flow of play. But in this case, it served to christen what would become the trademark quality of Krzyzewski's 35th Duke edition — its adaptability. Modification became routine, and change was not only accepted but embraced by an eager, open-minded roster.

"It took a great deal of focus," freshman Justise Winslow said a few weeks after the 35-win campaign had culminated with a second victory over Wisconsin for the NCAA championship. "We were constantly changing the game plan. In some games we got down and Coach would put something in, want us to do something, and we immediately adapted to it. This team had a great sense of focus throughout the whole season, but especially in tight games when we were down and needed a quick change, or a quick change in the defense to get something done. Our ability to do that really paid off and got us some big-time wins."

Duke's adaptability was most evident on the defensive end of the court, where for three previous decades under Krzyzewski the Blue Devils seemingly owned the copyright on pressure man-to-man. The 2014-15 squad likewise enjoyed sound early-season results utilizing this program staple, its depth and athleticism particularly effective in the full court. But when the team hit a lull in the desultory weeks following the Wisconsin trip, with the collusion of exams and holidays and the start of ACC competition knocking Duke from the ranks of the unbeaten, something needed to change.

Meeting well into the wee hours of the morning following a stunning home loss to Miami — Duke's second straight defeat, and first in three years at Cameron — Krzyzewski and his coaching staff of former Blue Devil captains discussed implementing a zone defense. Nothing could have been further from the realm of possibility than Duke going zone, but by the time the Blue Devils hit the floor four days later at sixth-ranked Louisville, anathema had been assimilated and the 2-3 zone endorsed as an agent of change for perhaps the most important victory of the regular season. The Blue Devils came together to keep the Cardinals' guards out of the paint at a crossroads moment with the direction of the season hanging in the balance.

"We tried to do things constantly that made them talk more so they would get outside themselves," associate head coach Jeff Capel explained. "One of the big reasons for going zone was, (A) our defense at that time wasn't very good and, (B) one of the reasons it wasn't good was guys were worried about individually getting beat. What the zone did was it forced us to talk. It was something we really hadn't done, we hadn't practiced that much, so guys understood we needed each other. We found something there.

"And...