Blue Devils Seek Success in March

Duke's men's basketball program is yet to see any success in the past decade or so. Ten years ago, a national championship. Since then, nothing but an empty trophy case.

We all thought the season (2005-2006) where JJ Redick, Sheldon Williams, and Sean Dockery were all seniors were gonna win it all. Yeah, I thought so too. Since then, rebuilding... Rebuilding for a time to return to NCAA basketball's biggest stage: the Final Four.

Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils so far this season, but he hasn't done it alone. The "X-Factor" (I thought of the old Gatorade bottles) has been Nolan Smith all season long with his ability to take over a game.

Kyle Singler, the junior out of Oregon, has been getting a little warmer in his games as he searches for that perfect recipe that says "6 Wins in March."

A barren case is all that Scheyer and Smith want to see. This is the last year where these players are ever going to play with one another again. Scheyer and Smith will likely go pro, and hopefully become bigger names than JJ Redick (Orlando Magic) and Sheldon Williams (Sacramento Kings).

This season so far hasn't really been a challenge for the Devils. Yeah, they lost to teams like Wisconsin on the road, Georgia Tech on the road, and NC State (also on the road). Their schedule shows Georgetown hosting the #7 Dukies, and Coach K and his crew have prepared for the test.

The Hoyas this season haven't done enough quite yet to receive the regular national attention they got when Roy Hibbert was enrolling. Losing to Old Dominion University at home really hurt their resume while losses at Marquette, Villanova, and Syracuse have hurt.

ESPN's Forde Minutes hurt the attention the Devils get from the public. People are now looking at Kryzyzewski's squad as a "David vs. Goliath" situation. Not prepared for the task at hand. Forde Minutes explained that Singler and Scheyer have played too many minutes so far this season, and that they're just climbing down the ladder.

Not true, though. Although Singler has been playing 36+ minutes per game for the past couple weeks may slow him down come late February on, other players can pick him up. Andre Dawkins, the next JJ Redick, comes off the bench; and Mason Plumlee helps out the post when Brian Zoubek gets into foul trouble.

The Devils are looking for that 'roll,' that mechanism. They're always fighting for the #1 ranking in the country, so what makes the postseason different? The Blue Devils will go far in March, and maybe bring back that golden prize.