Lance Thomas' Injury Will Lead to a Brighter March For Duke

The scene was March of 2001.  The Duke Blue Devils suffered a rare loss that season to a very hungry Maryland team.  During that game starting frontcourt player and future NBA starter Carlos Boozer suffered what appeared to be a devastating injury.

Boozer fractured the third metatarsel in his right foot.  It was not what the Blue Devils nation wanted to hear as they heading to NC and geared up for the ACC Tourney, games that Carlos would for sure miss.

This 2001 squad was one of the top teams that Coach K has ever assembled.  Many feel it could be the best.

When Carlos Boozer went down two things happened.  People started to doubt this powerhouse, and Coach K went to work.

K then changed up his line up and went small.  He often used Chris Duhon and Jason Williams together in the back court to combine defensive pressure and offensive firepower.

That loss to Maryland would be Duke's last of the season.  They won Duke 3rd title in less than ten years and put the Devils franchise on the College Basketball Mount Rushmore forever to come.

To compare this years Duke team to that one would be more than a farce, it would be a straight up lie and pretty much crazy talk.

This year's team isn't as strong as that one, not even close.  However, they suddenly have something eerily similar to that 2001 team.

The Lance Thomas injury opens up the court for someone that could be one of the most important pieces of this team come tourney time.

Mason Plumlee may not be John Wall.  He may not be THAT important to this team, but he could be one of the final pieces to making this Duke squad a very very good one.

Mason is a 6-10 freshman that is starting to get more and more playing time, and really starting to get better at the right time of the season.

The injury to Thomas means that Coach K will have to swap around his lineup a bit and Mason will more than likely be the benefactor of more PT.

Supplament his good play with a few weeks of on the job training with a returning senior is a very good combination!

An injury is never a good thing, however if you have a great coach, solid team, and an amazing fan base you can go far with the tools at hand.

That is exactly what Duke will do, while the injury to Thomas could be seen as a real blow (even if it is only for a few games), this team will be just fine, and come March time frame this team will be one that no one wants to play.