Duke 2008: It's Not All About the Three-Point Shot or Lack of an Inside Game

If you listened to media opinions like Steve Lavin or any of the college basketball analysts on ESPN, you would assume that Duke is reliant on the three-point shot and that they aren't good enough without an inside game.

Well, Duke is 20-1 and has beaten the likes of Clemson, Miami and North Carolina who all have a size advantage underneath.

How is this possible?—Duke outworks its opponents and creates mismatches.

One telling sign is that Tyler Hansbrough looked exhausted after the game last night, while the Duke players looked as if they could go another 40 minutes.

Pat Summitt famously stated that she will win "Because my team with outwork yours."  Norman Dale in the movie "Hoosiers" told his team at the first practice, "You will be in the best physical condition of your lives."

Duke seems to have taken these items to heart—they want it more than the opposition and refuse to get tired.

As for the pundits who say that the Blue Devils rely on the three-point shot, they don't rely on it, they're just really good at it.

Duke is an excellent shooting team. They create mismatches because they routinely have four or even five people on the floor who can shoot the trey.

They also have two men who are extremely hard to guard man-to-man in Gerald Henderson and DeMarcus Nelson. 

This begs the question: What defense does the opposition play to stop them?

Go ahead and try to guard Duke with man.  They will spread the floor and beat you off the dribble, with even Scheyer and Paulus showing signs last night of being able to get to the rim.

Play any zone and your daring Duke to shoot three-pointers.  They will excel in this situation, and are not going to stop shooting good threes simply to appease the notion that they are relying on the three-pointer.

Duke has weaknesses, however.  They are going to get out-rebounded by many teams.  In ACC play, their opponents are averaging 36.8 rebounds per game while Duke is averaging 35.5. 

However, the 2001 team was out-rebounded in many games too and they turned out well.The key to Blue Devils' basketball in 2008 is creating mismatches on the offensive end.

When Jerry Tarkanian, then-coach of undefeated UNLV, was asked in 1991 how Duke could stop Augmon and Ackles, Tarkanian replied "who do we have to guard Laettner?"

The rest is history.

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