Duke Basketball: Coach K Will Ensure Blue Devils Keep Reaching for Greatness

The Duke Blue Devils have not hit their peak yet. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will make sure of this. 

This is a young team that could sleepwalk their way to a nice seed in the tournament. They are No. 5 in the AP poll, and they already have a season-defining win over bitter rival North Carolina.

This would be an easy and natural time for them to rest on their laurels—but don't tell that to Coach K. 

The Gaston Gazette reported that, following Duke's big last-second win, coach K broke out some old film to help get a message across to his team. 

Here is Krzyzewski, as quoted by the Gazette, talking about using his 1991 National Championship team as a teaching point. 

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"'One of the biggest things that's happened in my career was that team not just winning the national championship, but winning the national championship after our fans thought we had already won the national championship by beating Vegas and cutting their streak.

"'I think that's what separates people. Overcoming a big event is huge. It's tough. And in order to be a champion, to be exceptional, you have to go on to the next thing.'"

 

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Coach K has obviously been down this road before. He knows the various trappings the season can hold and how to help his team avoid them. 

He is cutting off the urge to find complacency before it even begins, and his team will be far better off for it.

And he clearly knows how to get his message across. Here is star freshman Austin Rivers from the Gazette:  

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"'Coach K put it on and talked about that's what we need to keep doing. Just keep going forward, man. You can't live in the past. You never can do that. You've got to keep attacking and trying to build off things.'"

 

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This team is going to keep their competitive edge. They will keep striving to improve because Coach K won't allow any other option.