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4
The passing of Duke’s great statesman When Tom Butters was named the director of athletics at Duke in 1977, the football team had not been bowling in 16 seasons and the basketball team had not been to the NCAA Tournament in over a decade. Duke’s non-revenue “Olympic” sports teams had won a total of only 14 conference championships in 24 years as an ACC member and women’s sports weren’t yet sanctioned by the NCAA. For the most part, campus athletics facilities were crumbling, untouched since their construction in the 1920s and 30s. When Butters retired after 20 years of guiding the Blue Devils’ department of athletics, the Duke sports world had completely changed. Basketball was recognized in the small circle of the nation’s most elite programs, many of Duke’s other teams were annual contenders for conference and national honors, women’s sports had blossomed into full-fledged prominence and several facility upgrades had taken place or were on the drawing board — all evidence of the transformational leadership Butters brought to the university. Butters passed away on March 31, one week shy of his 78th birthday and 19 years removed from his Duke retirement. He will always be remembered and revered for guiding his department into the modern era of intercollegiate athletics on all fronts — competitively, financially and structurally — and doing so with prudence and unquestioned integrity. Butters hired the head coaches that would go on to win 13 of the school’s current total of 16 NCAA team titles. Blue Devil programs won 40 ACC crowns on his watch and annually graduated over 95 percent of their athletes. In 1999 he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame that he had helped launch almost 25 years earlier. Many of Butters’ career highlights are graphed on page 38 of this issue. Here we present three remembrances of the man that capture the essence of his character and accomplishment: “We are no average athletics department. We are an exceptional athletics department. This is not just because we stand for both academics and athletics. I think it’s because Tom Butters and others before him set us on a good course, based on principles: Hire good people and let them do their job. Do what is right, not what is popular or ‘effective’ at the moment. Integrity is the only ‘brand’ you need. The student-athlete ALWAYS comes first. Expect a lot of people’s character, and this includes operational staff, coaches and student-athletes. This is much more important than winning. In the world of athletics, Tom Butters was a statesman. I am extremely grateful that he welcomed me to Duke. I was proud to work for him.” – Dan Brooks, Women’s Golf Coach “There may not be a person who had a greater positive impact on my career than Tom, who as the director of athletics, invited me to become the head coach at Duke University in 1980. Outside of my mom, no one believed in me more than Tom. The Cadet Prayer at West Point asks us ‘to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong,’ and that always reminds me of Tom. That is how he lived his life — with great principle — and he provided that kind of guidance to me for 36 years.” – Mike Krzyzewski, Men’s Basketball Coach “I loved Tom Butters. I will always be grateful to him for hiring me in the fall of 1977 when it was by no means clear to anyone but Tom that I was in any way qualified for the job. Over the next 20 years I came to admire and respect him for his unqualified integrity, his first-rate mind and his commitment to doing the right thing rather than the easy thing. I have tried to emulate him in every phase of my professional life. He was a great man in every respect.” – Chris Kennedy, Senior Deputy Director of Athletics
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5
> Blue Devil of the Month
6
Year
Record
Win%
ACC
Region NCAA
2013
49-17
.742
—
10th
—
2014
59-30
.663
—
10th
—
2015
30-18
.625
6
5
19th
2016
39-16
.709
7th
13th
6th
th
th
MEGAN MENDENHALL
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7
> The Numbers Game 2
Silver medals won by Duke pole vaulter Megan Clark at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, taking second place in consecutive years with identical final jumps of 14 feet, 9 inches. The senior also won her second straight ACC indoor title and was named ACC women’s indoor field performer of the year for the second straight year.
3
Podium finishes by Duke wrestler Conner Hartmann at the NCAA Championships, making him the first three-time All-America in school history. The fifth-year senior placed seventh in the 197-pound weight class this year, after taking sixth in 2015 and fifth in 2014. He also won ACC championships in 2015 and 2016.
4
Duke basketball recruits who have won the Powerade JamFest dunk competition at the annual McDonald’s High School All-American Game, most recently by Frank Jackson, a 6-4 combo guard from Utah, at the 2016 festivities in Chicago. Previous Blue Devil winners include Ricky Price, Gerald Henderson and Grayson Allen.
5
Honorable mention All-America performers from Duke at the NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships. Freshman diver Evan Moretti placed 16th in the 3-meter springboard, while the 200-yard medley relay team of Kaz Takabayashi, Peter Kropp, David Armstrong and James Peek placed 14th, Duke’s first All-America relay team.
9
Duke basketball freshmen who have declared for the NBA Draft, most recently 2016 ACC rookie of the year Brandon Ingram, who averaged 17.3 points and 6.8 rebounds this season. The first eight were first-round picks: Corey Maggette, Luol Deng, Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers, Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and Tyus Jones.
15.8
Television viewers, in millions, for the 14 Duke home basketball games that appeared on ESPN networks during the 2016 season, topped by 3,174,326 for the Mar. 5 UNC game. That was the most viewed contest in the country this regular season, followed by Duke-Kentucky (3,119,661) at No. 2. Duke at UNC ranked No. 4 (2,863,044).
3
8
Duke alum Shannon Rowbury’s place in the 3,000 meters at the recent 2016 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships, with a time of 8:55.55. An NCAA champ in the indoor mile during her Duke career, Rowbury has finished seventh and fifth in the 1,500 meters at the last two Olympics and is the American record holder in the 1,500 at 3:56.29.
1.67
Earned run average for Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman in his four September starts last year, when he posted a 4-0 record after missing the first five months of the season recovering from knee surgery. A 2012 first-round draft pick from Duke, Stroman was named the Blue Jays’ opening day starter this season.
Just like last year, Duke vs. North Carolina was college basketball’s most watched game of the 2016 regular season JARED LAZARUS
4
Duke alum Curtis Beach’s place in the heptathlon at the recent 2016 IAAF World Indoor Track & Field Championships. In compiling a final total of 6,118 points, Beach won the 1,000 meters, took second in the long jump and grabbed third in the pole vault. During his Duke career Beach twice won the NCAA indoor heptathlon crown.
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9
A Season
10
To
Celebrate All-America Grayson Allen enjoyed one of the best sophomore campaigns in Duke history By Al Featherston Photo by Jon Gardiner
G
rayson Allen first stepped on the national stage almost exactly one year ago, and the spotlight has been on the Duke guard ever since. Sometimes the glare from that national focus has been uncomfortable for the young star, but that didn’t stop Allen from performing at a high level. He just completed one of the three or four best sophomore seasons in Duke history “He plays every possession passionately,” Blue Devil coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “He’s there physically, emotionally and mentally at the highest level. He hates to lose. A lot of people don’t like to lose … a great player hates to lose. I love that in him.” Allen was, of course, a little-used freshman for most of the 2014-15 season. A prep All-American from Jacksonville, Fla., he was overshadowed by his three freshmen teammates, who started and anchored a team that stormed into the national championship game. That’s when Allen stepped to the fore. The Blue Devils were down nine points with 13 minutes to play and appeared — in Krzyzewski’s words — “dead in the water.” That’s when Allen came off the bench and sparked Duke’s comeback. He hit a 3-pointer … forced a turnover with a dramatic diving steal … converted a three-point play and added two free throws in a 69-second span to get the Devils back in the game. “Grayson put us on his back,” Krzyzewski said in the moments after the 68-63 win over Wisconsin. But that was a moment of glory. With his three freshmen classmates on to the NBA, Allen became one of the building blocks for the 2015-16 Blue Devils. Could he translate his unexpected title game heroics into a season-long starring role? “Last year, when I was put into more situations at the end, it was because my confidence was up and I was playing better,” he said in a preseason interview. “I’m definitely hoping to continue that this year. I think the biggest carryover I can control is my mind and how I approach the game. I’m going to approach this year with the same aggression that I had toward the end of the year last year. That same confidence. That same attacking mindset.” It didn’t take long for Allen to prove that he could play at a high level almost every time out. He did stumble early in a loss to Kentucky, but the 6-5 wing guard followed up that disappointment with back-to-back 30 point games in narrow victories over VCU and Georgetown in New York. He would top 30 points four times on the season … he topped 20 points in 19 of 36 games. Allen’s season-long jump from 4.4 points a game as a freshman to 21.6 points a game this season is the greatest single-season improvement in ACC history — by a wide margin. Before Allen improved by 17.2 points, the ACC record was a 14.6-point jump by Clemson’s Will Solomon in 2000. “Grayson has improved more in one season than any player I have ever coached,” Krzyzewski said. It was more than scoring. Allen also led Duke in assists and in steals. His shooting percentages were solid from the floor (46.6 percent), the 3-point line (41.7 percent) and the foul line (83.7 percent). His average of 4.6 rebounds a game ranks among the top five of any guard in the K era. And Allen also became a leader for one of the most inexperienced teams in Duke history. “The main way he leads is how he plays,” Krzyzewski said. “This kid comes every day and he’s as good a competitor as there is in college basketball. He’s a great kid. He works that hard in practice, but he also works that hard in the classroom. He’s an Academic All-American, a great teammate. So it doesn’t surprise me the success that he’s had. He’s just a balanced, balanced kid. I love him.” Allen’s numbers compare favorably with any wing guard in the Coach K era. J.J. Redick was better in 2006, when he won national player of the year honors as a senior, but his 2005 stats — when he was a consensus first-team All-American as a junior — weren’t quite as good as Allen’s
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this season (Redick scored a fraction more, 21.8 to 21.6, but his per- get the better of him and twice tripped opponents, the two incidents were centages from the floor and 3-point line were significantly lower and he treated as a cause célèbre and solidified the national story line that Allen didn’t have as many assists, rebounds or steals). was a villain. Johnny Dawkins’ numbers were probably better as a senior. MayIt got ugly during the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C., where be Jason Williams even the appearance JARED LAZARUS in 2002, when he of Allen on the video shared the point with board drew a strong Chris Duhon. negative reaction. But remember, That led KrzyzewsAllen has just comki to make a grand pleted his sophomore gesture of support season. How many for his much-abused sophomores at any scoring leader. When position have been Allen fouled out in better? Or as good? the final seconds of The list is short: Duke’s overtime loss • Art Heyman to Notre Dame, the averaged 25.2 points Duke coach greeted a game as a soph in his disappointed star 1961 (and added 10.9 at midcourt with a rebounds a game) for bear-hug — much a top 10 Duke team. like he famously • Jeff Mullins avhugged Steve Woeraged 21.0 points jciechowski in a moand 10.4 rebounds as ment of triumph. a sophomore in 1962, Asked about the although he did have hug after the game, the luxury of being Krzyzewski made it the team’s No. 2 opclear that the gesture tion to Heyman. was intentional. • Bob Verga av“He’s getting a eraged 21.4 points lot of abuse,” the a game as a soph in Duke coach said. “I 1965. He shot a good wanted to show evpercentage from the erybody what I think floor (53.8 percent), of him and what evbut not so much from ery Duke fan should the foul line (unthink of him. He’s a der 70 percent). He great, great player. didn’t pass out assists He’s a great player. or rebound like Allen “Look, he’s as did. good a competitor • Mike Gminski as there is in college averaged 20.0 points basketball. We go the Allen’s 779 points this season were the second most ever by a Duke sophomore, and 10.0 rebounds as way he goes. This behind only Jason Williams’ 841 in 2001 a sophomore in 1978. kid has been a great, He also led the team in blocked shots and shot a very high percentage great player for us, a warrior. I’m as proud as I can be to be his coach. He from the field (54.7 percent) and the foul line (84.1 percent). He also was embraces what we want in our program. He’s Academic All-American, the team’s No. 2 scorer, behind Jim Spanarkel. an All-American, a warrior, a tough kid. That’s why I embraced him, just • Jason Williams averaged 21.6 points and led Duke’s national cham- to say thanks.” pionship team with 6.1 assists a game as a sophomore in 2001. His shootWhen the year ended, Allen faced a tough off-season choice. He was ing percentages from the field and 3-point range were similar to Allen’s being projected as a late first-round NBA draft pick if he elected to put (although his free throw percentage was much worse). his name in the draft. But he opted to return to Duke and add to his legacy Johnny Dawkins and Elton Brand also had strong sophomore years, with the Blue Devils while moving ever closer to graduation. although their numbers fall short of what Allen accomplished. All-time A year ago — after his shining moment in the national title game — greats such as Grant Hill, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Shane Battier Allen was rumored to be mulling a jump to the NBA. He later said that and Redick were far short of Allen’s level as sophomores. he never considered leaving Duke and only issued a statement that he was staying to quell the rumors. he point is that Grayson Allen just completed one of the It’s clear he still treasures his opportunity to be a Blue Devil. great sophomore seasons in Duke history … and one of the “I love Duke and I’ve made relationships with my teammates that greatest seasons of any player in any class. He deserves to will last forever,” he said. “Coming back next season to play with them be celebrated. is important to me. Earning a Duke degree has always been a dream of Instead, Allen spent most of the season being vilified by the national mine, so I’ll also be working to get closer to that goal.” media. There’s no question that Allen has made it all work so far. His sophBefore the first game was even played, USA Today ran an article des- omore season will stand as one of the great single-season performances ignating Allen as “the next hated Duke player.” When he let his emotions in Duke history.
T 12
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Expansion,
JARED LAZARUS
Reconsidered
Duke’s 25-11 season included back-to-back wins over eventual NCAA No. 1 seeds — Virginia at home and finalist UNC on the road
ACC now delivering where it counts most, in the NCAA tourney By Barry Jacobs Maybe those disdainful of the ACC’s recent expansions should reconsider in light of the league’s exceptional performances in the last two NCAA tournaments. It’s a thought, anyway. The move from 12 teams to 15, as well as cadging Louisville to replace Maryland, made strategic and pecuniary sense within the oddly contorted imperatives of modern college sports. A passing nod was made to aggregating like-minded universities, but much of the talk involved extending something called an ACC footprint. This was a matter of reaching markets where some 105 million people reside, including half of the nation’s 10 most populous states and eight of the top 16. While some commentators erroneously attributed the ACC’s motives to an interest in bolstering its basketball prowess, the effect was much the same. Between them new members Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse arrived boasting four NCAA titles, 17 Final Four appearances and a pair of Hall of Fame coaches. (Maryland, by contrast, made a pair of Final Four visits and won the 2002 national championship behind Hall of Famer Gary Williams.) ACC commissioner John Swofford, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and others began openly anticipating the league’s imminent transformation into the undisputedly greatest men’s basketball conference in the history of the universe. They just neglected to warn us it would not happen overnight. The first season of a 15-team league, 2014, did prove extraordinary,
14
but not in the manner anticipated. For the fourth consecutive year the ACC failed to get a team to the Final Four, its longest drought since 1958 to 1961. For just the third time since 1980, not a single ACC squad advanced to the Elite Eight. Only Virginia, the regular season and ACC Tournament champion, even managed to reach the Sweet 16. The six ACC entrants in the NCAAs combined for six victories and six defeats. The sole winless team was Duke, dumped by Mercer in its opening game. The lows of 2014 understandably dampened enthusiasm for the transformative properties of expansion — which then went largely unnoticed when they kicked in during the 2015 postseason. The ACC again got six teams in the NCAA field, and this time did something with the opportunities. Five of the six advanced to the Sweet 16, a record for the league. Duke, Louisville and Notre Dame got to the Elite Eight, just the third time the ACC had so strong a representation in the regional finals, after 1983 and 1985. And the Blue Devils not only won their game, but ended the ACC’s Final Four drought and won the 2015 national championship, the program’s fifth title under Krzyzewski. As far as the ACC was concerned, that was all prelude to 2016. This season the league boasted a sixth straight different champion in the ACC Tournament, a streak of diversity unprecedented in league history. Seven teams, including several that might in other years have been rightly excluded, were given NCAA bids in what surely was a testament to the ACC’s overall prowess.
Durham’s Favorite Destination
RELAXATION
ANTICIPATION
CELEBRATION
RECREATION
COLLABORATION
Six of the seven NCAA entrants, Duke among them, reached the Sweet 16, a record for any conference. “This is unprecedented, what’s going on,” said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, the former Krzyzewski assistant at Duke from the 1988 through 1995 seasons. “I thought, at this year’s media day in Charlotte, that this league would show it’s the deepest and the best. It’s evolved into that. It really has. Delivering in the NCAA Tournament is the ultimate.” Tournament success is the ultimate financially too. The 2015 and 2016 showings by ACC teams guaranteed the league more than $72 million in NCAA revenues distributed from 2016 to 2022. Even divided by 15 members and shared equally, that’s quite a windfall. Coaches cashed in too — UNC’s Roy Williams secured $675,000 in bonuses just for reaching the ’16 Final Four. Players get T-shirts and ballcaps. Surveying the fiscal landscape, Tar Heel senior Marcus Paige, an Academic All-America, deduced that the no-pay system for athletes “seems a little antiquated.” Since the NCAA began extending bids to multiple teams from the same conference, about once every other year some league has sent at least three members to the Elite Eight (19 times in 42 years). Yet, when four ACC squads advanced to the regional finals this season — North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia — it marked just the second time a conference filled half of the field. Only the Big East in 2009 matched that thoroughly impressive achievement. What’s more, getting seven teams to the Elite Eight in a two-year span was a record showing. “In the end, how you play in the postseason is really the measure of the quality of your conference,” Bob Bowlsby, commissioner of the Big 12, told USA Today. “I think the NCAA Tournament certainly is the coin of the realm.” While that standard may be a bit simplistic, there’s no question NCAA competition provides a rare opportunity to compare leagues on more or less equal terms. Which made it all the more striking when the ACC advanced a pair of teams to the 2016 Final Four. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s more common for leagues to get a pair of teams into a Final Four than it is to get a trio into the Elite Eight. This is the 25th time (out of a possible 42 years) that a conference was represented by two schools in the Final Four, and the 11th time a pair actually played one another on the game’s biggest stage. This year’s Final Four meeting between North Carolina and Syracuse, rules-compliance blemishes and all, was the third matching ACC clubs.
JON GARDINER
Duke’s Elite Eight trip in 2015 one of seven by ACC members in the past two seasons
Virginia and North Carolina, featuring six future pros, met in the 1981 semifinals. Ralph Sampson’s Cavaliers had rallied to victory in the teams’ two regular season contests, but Al Wood’s 39 points helped UNC to a decisive win in the Final Four. The Tar Heels then lost to Indiana in the title game. Twenty years later, Duke and Maryland met in the national semifinals. Like UVa and UNC during Sampson’s Charlottesville tenure, for a time the Terrapins and Blue Devils were THE rivalry in the ACC. They split during the 2001 regular season, back when there was still a round-robin conference schedule. Propelled by Jason Williams, Duke rallied from 10 down with 55 seconds left to win at College Park, then Maryland won at Cameron when Carlos Boozer broke his foot. The talent-laden teams, boasting 10 future NBA draft choices, met for a third time in the ACC Tournament semis, with Duke edging the Terps on a late tip-in by Nate James. Surely eager to exact revenge, Maryland jumped to a 22-point lead in the first half of their Final Four clash. But Duke rallied to victory, mounting the biggest comeback in the history of the event, then subdued Arizona to win the school’s third national championship. That ’01 Final Four meeting proved the last between league rivals, ACC or otherwise, for 15 years, until Carolina and Syracuse crossed paths this April. Regardless of who was involved — and some fans surely wish to ignore their identities — the 2016 semifinal proved a rare, triumphant moment for a league whose leaders want to believe it’s grown too big to fail. Not even a last-second Villanova shot that sank the Tar Heels in the championship game could dim that sense of achievement.
PARITY & POWER IN THE ACC The ACC has crowned a different men’s basketball champion for the last six straight years and has enjoyed noteworthy NCAA Tournament success as an expanded 15-member league, with 36 tourney wins, 11 Sweet 16 berths and seven spots in the Elite Eight across the past two seasons. Year Schools
ACC Champ
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
12 12 12 12 12
DUKE DUKE DUKE FLORIDA ST MIAMI
7 (9-6) 6 (9-5) 4 (8-4) 5 (6-5) 4 (6-4)
2 1 3 2 2
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 0 0 0
2014 2015 2016
15 15 15
VIRGINIA NOTRE DAME UNC
6 (6-6) 6 (17-5) 7 (19-7)
1 5 6
0 3 4
0 1 2
16
NCAA Teams (W-L) S16 E8 F4
NCAA Champ UNC DUKE
DUKE
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ACT
CLASS
Deemer Class & Myles Jones reaching new heights as the dynamic duo of the Duke lacrosse midfield By John Roth
W
hen Duke hosted Syracuse in the 2016 ACC lacrosse opener, every Blue Devil wore Jimmy Regan’s name on the back of his jersey, a Military Appreciation Day tribute to the former Duke player and U.S. Army Ranger who lost his life on active duty in Iraq nine years ago. Deemer Class, one of the Blue Devils’ senior starters, also wore Regan’s old number on his jersey against the Orange — just as he has for every game over the past four seasons. He’s understood the significance of being No. 10 since he first arrived on campus, when he saw the Jimmy Regan display on the wall in the team’s locker room and was pulled aside by then-teammate Casey Carroll for a personal briefing. Carroll had just rejoined the program as a 27-year-old grad student to use a final year of eligibility after serving five years himself as an Army Ranger, a course of action inspired by Regan, who was killed during Carroll’s senior season of 2007. “Casey told me about Jimmy and his parents, and I actually wrote a letter to the Regans and reached out and got to meet them freshmen year,” Class recalled. “That was the start, Casey informing me of the importance.” “Jimmy Regan means the world to our program,” Duke coach John Danowski noted. “He is the ideal Duke man. He is who we hope to be on our best day.” So it could not have been more fitting that the Blue Devil in No. 10 commanded the spotlight on Regan’s day, with Regan’s dad in attendance, as Class fired in seven goals and added two assists to pace a pulsating 16-15 overtime victory. Duke trailed the fifth-ranked Orange 14-10 entering the fourth quarter before rally-
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ing behind Class, who had three goals and an assist in a definitive 5-0 run. The Devils then won the contest on a goal by fellow midfielder Chad Cohan 53 seconds into overtime. The performance was one of the more memorable in what has become a long line of sterling efforts by Class, who is about to leave his own legacy at Koskinen Stadium. With a few weeks and a handful of games left in his college career, Class ranks as the Blue Devils’ all-time leader in goals scored by a midfielder. With classmate and running mate Myles Jones’ standing as the program’s all-time leader in total points registered by a midfielder (goals + assists), the duo could long be remembered as the top midfield tandem in school history. Most of Duke’s prolific scoring stars during Danowski’s decade in Durham have been the high-octane, high-profile attackmen such as Matt Danowski, Zack Greer, Max Quinzani, Ned Crotty and Jordan Wolf — key figures in the eight straight Memorial Weekend trips to the final four and the three national titles of 2010, 2013 and 2014. But with Class and Jones starting together on the first midfield line for the past three years, it’s been impossible for opponents to focus their defensive attention on the Duke attackmen. Class had 38 goals and 27 assists to rank second in scoring on the ’14 NCAA champs, his 65 points that year setting a record for the most ever by a Blue Devil midfielder. The mark didn’t last long, however, as Jones broke it with 77 last year, when he led the team in scoring and topped all midfielders nationally in total points. Through 12 games this season, Jones again was leading the team in points with 51 — and in fact ranked first among all current players
nationally in career scoring with 212 points — while Class was leading the Blue Devils in goals. Class needed just 19 more points to join Jones in the career 200 club, a plateau no other Duke midfielders have ever reached. There are some who regard Jones as the face of college lacrosse at this moment in time, and certainly he stands out in more ways than one. At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds he is typically the biggest guy on the field and a beast athletically. He doesn’t hesitate to press his advantage physically, whether he is charging through a defense or spinning out of a double team, displaying skills honed as a Long Island high school football quarterback and basketball playmaker. And when he rears back to fire a shot on goal, think Nolan Ryan fastball with Randy Johnson leverage — and what it might be like to catch either without a mitt. Jones also is a rare African-American star in a sport that remains predominantly white.
JACK GILL
Twelve games into their senior seasons, Deemer Class (#10) had scored 119 career goals and running mate Myles Jones had 118 — the top two totals for midfielders in Duke history
Kids flock to him after games for autographs and selfies and he never disappoints, seeming to relish the opportunity to serve as a role model. As the first overall pick in the Major League Lacrosse draft this winter, he has a promising professional platform awaiting after graduation — accompanied by observations that he could be a game-changer for an entire sport. Jones was the national midfielder of the year last season and may be the most recognizable Blue Devil, but Class is much more than his sidekick. He was an All-ACC and All-America pick the past two years and also was drafted by the MLL in January, as the No. 10 pick. One of the reasons both are so successful is the chemistry they have and the bond that has been building between them since freshman year when they saw reserve duty for a national championship team. “Deemer and I came in in the same class, we’ve played on the same midfield line since
freshman year and we’re good friends on and off the field,” Jones said. “We shoot together, we hang out together, eat lunch, talk — it’s kind of that dynamic duo that everyone wants to push, but it’s more of a friendship that bleeds out on to the lacrosse field. “Teams have to game-plan for both of us. If you put a short stick on Deemer he’s very capable. Obviously you’ve seen him (against Syracuse) with a hot performance. Teams are throwing different things at us to see what works, what sticks. With the man-to-man stuff teams are really focusing on us. That’s why our attack and Chad (Cohan, the third midfielder) get those opportunistic plays where they’re open for a split second and they shoot and score. “Deemer and I are very aware that teams are game-planning for us and we really trust the other four guys. It makes the game easier knowing week in and week out there’s some-
thing coming and we can lean on those guys to finish the plays that are necessary.”
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Baltimore product, Class has been playing lacrosse since he was six years old but developed his keen “athletic IQ” through involvement in multiple sports, including football and basketball. He was ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect and No. 3 midfielder nationally in his recruiting class and scored his share of goals at Loyola Blakefield, but he thought of himself as more of a “feed-first” player until he arrived at Duke. “I guess I felt like if you were always looking for other guys it was more unselfish,” he said. “And then you get here and you realize you have a short-stick matchup on defense, so you have to score goals to draw attention off guys like Jordan Wolf who have a long pole all game. So you have to be a threat. When I
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JACK GILL
Myles Jones won the 2015 Lt. j.g. Donald MacLaughlin Jr. Award as the most outstanding midfielder in college lacrosse and was the No. 1 pick of the 2016 MLL Draft (Atlanta Blaze)
started getting that mentality that I have to be a threat and started drawing some attention as well, that helped open up other guys and that’s when the scoring piece started coming into play.” That mentality has been enhanced by his nonstop attention to the process of getting better every day. Almost every day Class can be found, either before or after practice, working on some sort of shooting drill, technique or maneuver with one of his coaches, teammates or Jones. “I would definitely attribute everything to getting after it and doing what I can to improve, because guys are always improving around you on other teams,” Class explained. “If you are not doing it, you are going to fall behind. You can’t really sit and dwell on some good things you’ve done. You always have to try to get better.” No question the career turning point for both Class and Jones came during the middle of their sophomore season of 2014 with a game against Syracuse. Through the first eight contest of the season, Class had scored 10 goals and Jones eight, and the Blue Devils owned a 6-2 record with a team scoring average of 11.8 goals per game. But Class erupted for six goals and four assists against the Orange and Jones poured in five goals as Duke won in over-
whelming fashion, 21-7. With Class and Jones suddenly providing a lethal alternative to then-senior star Jordan Wolf, the Blue Devils averaged 16.6 goals the rest of the year and went 10-1 on the way to a second straight NCAA title. Class and Jones finished with 65 and 63 points, respectively — behind only Wolf’s 103 — and their position as legitimate offensive forces was established. “That was the moment where it was like, ‘Hey, we can compete at this level and we have the skills and the coaches believe in us and our teammates believe in us,’” Class said. “As a group you couldn’t pick who to key on. Jordan was a first team All-American, the best player in the country, but if you were to put all your attention on him we were scoring as well. And if you started putting attention on us, that opened up a lot of lanes for him and Josh Dionne. “When we got in that mode, everyone had a lot of fun and played with a lot of confidence and that’s hard to match. That energy is tough for other teams to match. And I think that’s something this (2016) team is starting to figure out. If we bring that energy and that focus it’s going to be a tough game.” Class and Jones both credit the influence of former teammate Christian Walsh, the senior leader of the 2014 midfield, for helping them grow into confident, dominant performers on
the field. They are trying to take the same approach with their younger teammates this season, which seemed to sit at a crossroads with a 7-5 record heading into the final few ACC weekends. It certainly appeared as though the Blue Devils figured out what they needed to do on the offensive end of the field with the first two conference contests. After the nine-point burst by Class led to 16 goals against Syracuse, Jones followed with an 11-point explosion (five goals, six assists) to spark another 16-goal night against North Carolina. Unfortunately Duke dropped that game, before a packed Koskinen audience, 17-16 in overtime. While the team looked for a run to enhance the postseason possibilities, the dynamic duo of the midfield and their 13 fellow seniors could also look back and draw upon the life lessons of noteworthy careers in trying to lead the Blue Devils down the stretch. “It’s been great,” Class said of his chemistry with Jones. “We’ve had a lot of plays where he’s fed me, I’ve fed him, we get each other open and draw attention back and forth. When we’re doing well it’s definitely helpful for everyone because they don’t always know who to focus on. And it’s been great becoming really close to Myles over the four years. It’s been an awesome experience.”
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PETER LAZAROFF
Stop Tactics Senior duo anchors stingy defense for women’s lacrosse By Leslie Gaber
Veteran GK Kelsey Duryea
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n a conference known for its high-scoring offenses, the Duke women’s lacrosse team has drawn attention for its play at the other end of the field. Led by four-year starting goalkeeper Kelsey Duryea and a host of upperclassmen, many of the Blue Devils’ best moments in 2016 have been fueled by defensive stops. “When the defense makes a great stand, that gives us energy to go forward and execute on attack,” senior midfielder Maddy Acton said following a 12-6 win over Penn. “And when we score great goals, defense is behind us cheering us on. That’s something that’s really crucial to our team chemistry this year.” Duryea in particular is making the most of her final season, having turned in several double-digit save performances. Since taking over the net as a freshman, she has established her place among the most successful goalkeepers in program history. After missing her senior high school season and her first fall at Duke while recovering from a knee injury, Duryea was cleared to play in late February 2013. She made her debut in a Blue Devil uniform during the second half of an ACC road game at Maryland in front of a crowd of over 1,500. “To be called upon in such a big game was exciting but also nerve-wracking,” Duryea recalls. “I just felt like there was nothing to lose. It was easy for me with a senior defense to step in and just do my thing, play my position and let them take care of the rest.” Duryea cites crease defenders Lauren Martin and Mie Graham — both senior captains that spring — and 2014 graduate Taylor Virden as older players who helped her get acclimated in the net. She took over starting responsibilities following the contest against the Terrapins and went on lead the ACC in saves per game, save percentage and ground balls per game that year. The rookie earned All-ACC honors while guid-
ing Duke to the NCAA quarterfinals and, at the end of the season, she became the first goalkeeper in program history to receive All-America recognition as a freshman. From there, Duryea continued to make strides. She joined Shannon Chaney and Meg Huether as the only goalkeepers in program history to surpass the 200-save mark in their second season. Duryea and the Blue Devils reached the NCAA quarterfinals her sophomore year and last spring the squad advanced to the national semifinals for the first time since 2011. Duke’s memorable 2015 campaign saw Duryea and the defense hold 16 of 21 opponents to single-digit scoring and rank second in the ACC with an 8.00 goals against average. The unit complemented a veteran attack, setting up the Blue Devils for the extended postseason run. While the on-field abilities have been there for Duryea, she feels her final year has seen her pair her play in the crease with the mental and vocal aspects of the position. “I’m naturally a loud person so it’s kind of easy for me to be a vocal leader,” she says. “But I would say I didn’t really have the leadership and the lacrosse all together until this year, where I kind of am trying to get back to my freshman year ways of really just trusting the defense and letting our juniors and seniors who have been out there for a couple years take the reins, and just really worrying about my position and saving the ball.” The veteran group of defenders in front of Duryea includes senior Claire Scarrone, a two-year captain with a lot of minutes under her belt. She handles some of the Blue Devils’ toughest one-on-one matchups and excels as a vocal leader on a relatively young squad. Scarrone and Duryea are close friends off the field, which only increases their on-field chemistry and ability to rely on each other in tight contests.
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“I don’t have any sisters and Claire has four sisters, but I would say she is the closest relationship I have to a sister,” Duryea says. “Her energy is contagious all over the field and she is someone that I really admire. She puts her heart on her sleeve and puts everything she has into everything she does. The way she plays and the way she carries herself is a great thing for our younger players to emulate.” “Kelsey realizes how important her role is, as kind of the anchor of our defense and someone who can make those big stops in high-pressure situations,” Scarrone says. “We became fast friends and then it was easy to translate onto the field because of our closeness. I’ve learned a lot from her as someone who is always watching film and always doing individuals, working on what she can do to get better and kind of better our younger goalies and also our younger defensive players.” Together, the duo has helped Duke develop one of the conference’s most consistent defensive units. Although the first half of the 2016 season included some untimely losses, the defense, in large part, stood tall against a tough slate. Stalwart play set up the attack to round out the victory over No. 13 Penn on a 5-0 run, and the defense also shined in a 16-5 upset of fifth-ranked Louisville, allowing just one first-half tally. With a gauntlet of ranked ACC foes awaiting prior to the conference championship, Duryea, Scarrone and the Duke defense will certainly be called upon to guide the Blue Devils down the stretch. “Last year, I would try to guard Kerrin Maurer every single practice in order to kind of prepare myself for the next game because she was just amazing, so savvy around the crease,” Scarrone says. “Having the ability to go against some of the best attackers in practice will aid us in preparing to go against some of those attackers in the ACC. It really is exciting to go against some of the best attackers in the country.”
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Senior captain Jamie Ikeda
JOHN JOYNER
Lesson Learned, And Passed Along: Just Keep Playing
amie Ikeda had plenty of mentors to look up to on Duke’s 2013 and 2014 national championship men’s lacrosse squads. Long poles Chris Hipps, Luke Duprey and Casey Carroll patrolled the box for the Blue Devils, with Duprey rounding out his career as Duke’s ground balls leader and Hipps starting 78 of 80 games played en route to All-America status. A Blue Devil standout from 2004-07, Carroll returned to Duke in the fall of 2012 after serving for five years with the U.S. Army Rangers. “Casey was 29 years old when he left here,” Ikeda says. “I was 18 when I first met him and he was 26 or 27. He was a great mentor, a big brother figure, which is really cool to have around.” But more than techniques or tactics, Ikeda says he learned from his elder teammates how to handle the mental aspects of the game. Now in the second half of his final season, those are the lessons he’s calling upon to help lead the 2016 edition of the Duke defense. “You don’t really realize until you are a senior how fast it goes, and those guys always had fun, whether it was a tough day or anything,” Ikeda recalls. “They always seemed to have a good time and play right at the same time. That was another big thing: when you are frustrated, you have to keep playing.” This spring has had its ups and downs for the defensive unit against a heavy-hitting slate of high-scoring opponents. But Ikeda has risen to the challenge, surpassing his ground ball output from a year ago in just 11 games. He has also doubled his caused turnover total, ranking
GEORGE JENNISON
Senior captain Claire Scarrone
among Duke’s leaders in that category. Ikeda has worked to develop his leadership abilities as well, cherishing his role as a team captain and one of the more veteran players among the defensive unit. However, he notes the nature of the position requires selflessness and trust between teammates in order to succeed. “It is a really big honor to be a captain — you know people will really listen to you and respect what you have to say,” Ikeda says. “On defense, you really have to play together. There’s no one guy you look to if you are playing. It is not an outright voice but it is more like getting everyone together and making sure everyone is doing the same thing. It is really seven guys playing together rather than just one guy telling people what to do.” While the road ahead does not appear any easier for the defensive group, Ikeda remains confident in its ability to make stops and get the ball back to Duke’s potent attack. “We’ve lost a few games and won a few games against some good teams,” he says. “A lot of it is knowing ourselves. We have a lot of really good athletes who can cover anyone, I think we can. It is more just keep playing.” And like the long stick midfielders who came before him, Ikeda looks to take a similar approach toward the final days of his collegiate career. “It’s just being with my friends that I have been with for four years,” he says. “It has been a great honor to play with them. For me, I just want to enjoy it.”
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DUKE PHOTOGRAPHY
Cutcliffe discusses strategy with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles during the Blue Devils’ fourth straight bowl season of 2015
The Right Mix
Inside Coach Cut’s moves to fill three spots on his coaching staff
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By Johnny Moore
ach spring brings a new life to the college football world. Coaches and fans get the opportunity to see younger players in action as they prepare for the fall season. At Duke this spring, not only are there a number of newcomers in uniform, but there are several on the coaching staff as well. Offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery left Duke in January to become the head coach at East Carolina. Veteran offensive line coach John Latina retired in the wake of the Blue Devils’ Pinstripe Bowl victory. And long-time Duke linebackers coach Jim Collins moved into an administrative role as Director of Football Relations and Special Assistant to the Head Coach. To fill these three spots, Blue Devil head coach David Cutcliffe looked in several different areas to find just the right mix. First he stayed within the family and named Marcus Johnson as of-
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fensive line coach. Johnson’s promotion from quality control to fulltime assistant marked the fourth time Cutcliffe has hired a Duke support staff member as an assistant coach. More than half of Duke’s nine assistants rose through Cutcliffe’s farm system from player to coach. Since Re’quan Boyette was the first to be promoted from within the Duke staff in 2013, the Blue Devils are 27-13. The three years prior to Cutcliffe’s arrival, they had two wins combined, one against an FCS school. “There’s a huge reason we do it,” explained Cutcliffe, headed into his ninth season at Duke. “Our greatest winning edge is our day-to-day operations in practice, how we manage and motivate and mentor players. It’s somewhat of a learned behavior in that regard. We are very committed to the mentorship, not just the coaching, and so I think our people really understand that. And the greatest benefactors from that are our players.”
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Ben Albert • Defensive line
Jim Bridge • Special teams/Tight ends
Johnson, an All-SEC offensive lineman for Cutcliffe at Ole Miss, has spent the last five seasons on the Duke staff. He served in the capacity of offensive quality control for the past three campaigns. He was an assistant with the program’s strength and conditioning unit for two seasons before that. “Without question, Marcus has emerged as one of the brightest young coaches in college football,” Cutcliffe said. “He obviously played at the highest level, and now has taken advantage of the opportunity to shift his passion to teaching, motivating and leading young men. I know our current and future players will love playing for him, and he’ll continue to be a huge asset to our entire staff.” A native of Coffeeville, Miss., Johnson lettered four seasons (200104) at Ole Miss, serving as team co-captain his senior season. He helped the Rebels to 28 wins over four years, the SEC Western Division co-championship in 2003 and a pair of bowl game appearances. After earning second team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press as a senior, Johnson represented Ole Miss at the 2004 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. A second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings at the 2005 NFL Draft, Johnson spent four seasons with the Vikings and helped the squad to the NFC North Division championship and a playoff berth in 2008. After spending the 2009 campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he closed his playing career with a stint with the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League.
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utcliffe moved outside the program for his next two hires as he looked for a defensive line coach and a tight ends/special teams coach. For the defensive line spot he selected Ben Albert, who served last year as the defensive line coach at Boston College. Albert spent three seasons at BC. Last year, the Eagles led the country in total defense — giving up just 254.3 yards per game — as well as third down conversion defense and tackles for loss per game. “Ben brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the areas of defensive football and recruiting to our staff,” said Cutcliffe. “Obviously, we know his work with the Boston College defense all too well from a season ago, when we couldn’t have been more impressed with their preparation and execution. You don’t lead the country in total defense by accident. You have to have a combination of outstanding players and exceptional coaches. I have a great deal of respect for his coaching background, especially when you consider that he’s worked in programs that have won championships and reached bowl games at different levels of college football.” Along the defensive front, Duke returns one starter in rising redshirt senior tackle A.J. Wolf, who earned the program’s Mike McGee Award as the team’s most outstanding defensive lineman in 2015 after posting
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Marcus Johnson • Offensive line
54 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and three QB pressures. Seven other lettermen return. “When I watch the tape the first thing I notice about Duke is the way they play with passion and hustle around the ball,” explained Albert, when asked what he thought about the Duke football team as an opposing coach. Albert also knows that great defensive linemen can come in any size. Last year he coached Harold Landry, an undersized BC defensive lineman who earned the respect of the entire league. “I can handle and coach through mistakes,” Albert explained. “What I need to see from my guys is the desire and hustle on every play. Our job on the defensive line is to reestablish the line of scrimmage on each play.” Prior to his three campaigns in Chestnut Hill, Albert served two seasons as the linebackers coach at Temple University. In 2011 he helped the Owls rank third nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 13.9 points per game. Temple posted a 9-4 overall record that year and defeated Wyoming, 37-15, in the New Mexico Bowl, for the program’s first bowl victory in 32 years. Albert spent the 2010 season on the staff of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, serving as an assistant defensive line coach. “Under Coach Cutcliffe Duke has been on a rise, a steady incline of success, and you can see the investment in the program,” said Albert, when asked why he took the job with the Blue Devils. “This is a great athletic department and football is important in the South. It was an opportunity for me to be part of a program on a definite incline, plus my mom lives in Greensboro so it gets me closer to her.” A native of Paterson, N.J., Albert got his start in coaching at his alma mater, Massachusetts, where he coached the defensive line for two seasons, in 1995-96, before helping Richmond to a pair of conference championships during a four-year (1997-2000) stint coaching the Spider defensive line and linebackers. After one season mentoring the defensive front at Rutgers, Albert returned to Massachusetts for two seasons, 2002 and 2003, to coach the inside linebackers while coordinating the special teams units. During this stretch, he helped the Minutemen to the 2003 Atlantic 10 Conference championship and aided in the recruitment of fellow Paterson native wide receiver Victor Cruz to Massachusetts. Cruz, a two-time all-conference pick at UMass, helped the New York Giants to a 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI and was a Pro Bowl selection in 2012. An all-conference defensive lineman at Massachusetts, Albert graduated in 1995 with a degree in political science and sociology. He later earned a master’s degree in education from Massachusetts in 1997. Continued on page 30
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or his special teams and tight ends coach Cutcliffe selected Jim Bridge, whose official title will be Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator. “Jim’s a veteran coach who has been part of some really, really good coaching staffs, and that’s not by accident,” explained Cutcliffe. “He’s coached in a bunch of bowl games. He’s recruited at a very high level. We certainly knew Jim from both a coaching and recruiting standpoint when he was at N.C. State. On top of the coaching aspect, I know he’ll fit right into our program because of his value system. He’s a great husband and father. He’s a terrific addition to our staff.” “The opportunity to work for and with Coach Cutcliffe was why I took this job,” Bridge explained from his office in the Yoh Building on the Duke campus. “I have admired him for years. All he has accomplished as a football coach and I have been so impressed with him as a person.” Bridge spent the last three seasons as the offensive line coach at Purdue University. He takes over supervision of Duke’s special teams units and tight ends from Zac Roper, who was named the Baxter Family Associate Head Coach and offensive coordinator following Montgomery’s departure. It will be a very interesting assignment for Bridge as Duke must replace a pair of four-time All-ACC specialists in kicker Ross Martin and punter Will Monday. Both primary return men from last fall — DeVon Edwards and Ryan Smith — are back. “I would love to have those experienced players back, but what we have are very talented players who will gain that experience on the field,” said Bridge. On the tight ends front, rising redshirt senior Erich Schneider (15 receptions for 123 yards and three TDs in 2015) and Dan Beilinson are two returning lettermen as the Blue Devils look to replace two departed starters in Braxton Deaver (75 receptions for 890 yards and six TDs in 38 career games) and David Reeves (47 receptions for 367 yards seven TDs in 53 career games). “The tight end in this offense is as involved as any player on the field,” said Bridge. “He can be a blocker on the line or in the backfield, a receiver from his tight end spot or a stand-up split-out receiver. We have smart diligent kids on this team who are dual-threat guys, being able to play with their hand in the dirt blocking or catching passes.” Prior to his stint at Purdue, Bridge spent six seasons from 2007 to 2012 on the coaching staff at N.C. State, where he helped the Wolfpack to a 40-35 overall record with four bowl game appearances. As an assistant coach mentoring the tight ends, Bridge served four seasons, 2003 to 2006, on the staff at Boston College as the Eagles compiled an overall ledger of 36-14 with four straight bowl game berths. He also spent time on the staffs at Bowling Green, Virginia, The Citadel, Ohio State and Eastern Michigan. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bridge lettered as a tight end at Wittenberg University before graduating in 1992. He later earned a master’s degree from Bowling Green in sports administration in 1994.
Zac Roper, in his 9th season at Duke, fills the offensive coordinator role vacated with Scottie Montgomery’s move to ECU
David Cutcliffe’s 2016 Coaching Staff Assignments ZAC ROPER • Baxter Family Associate Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator (Quarterbacks) JIM KNOWLES • Defensive Coordinator (Linebackers) BEN ALBERT • Associate Defensive Coordinator (Defensive line) JIM BRIDGE • Assistant Head Coach, Special Teams Coordinator (Tight ends) DEREK JONES • Assistant Coach (Cornerbacks), Assistant Special Teams Coordinator RE’QUAN BOYETTE • Assistant Coach (Running backs) JEFF FARIS • Assistant Coach (Wide receivers) MATT GUERRIERI • Assistant Coach (Safeties) MARCUS JOHNSON • Assistant Coach (Offensive line) 30
GRANT HALVERSON
Ivy League grad transfers bolster Blue Devil pitching corps By Jim Sumner
Cornell’s loss is Duke’s gain. You don’t hear that a lot, at least in a baseball context. But two key components of Duke’s starting rotation this spring are grad student transfers from that Ivy League school. Brian McAfee and Kellen Urbon are both right-handed pitchers who traveled from the west coast to Cornell; McAfee is from the Seattle area, Urbon from San Diego. The duo helped Cornell to the 2012 Ivy League title, Urbon as a closer, McAfee a starter. Urbon was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Both pitched in the NCAA Tournament. Urbon then missed most of the 2013 season with a shoulder injury, McAfee most of the 2104 season with a back injury. The Ivy League frowns on medical redshirts and doesn’t allow graduate students to participate in athletics. But NCAA rules allow athletes with eligibility remaining to graduate, transfer and play immediately as grad students, an appealing option to Urbon and McAfee. Cornell coach Bill Walkenbach — he’s now at Division III Claremont Mudd-Scripps — gave his friend Chris Pollard, the Duke coach, a call.
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Brian McAfee tosses a complete game shutout to defeat defending national champion Virginia
Pollard was receptive. Duke was losing much of its pitching following the 2015 season and needed arms. Quality arms. But it was more than that. Duke had identified the Ivy redshirt position as an opportunity. “There’s no pushback,” Pollard notes. “These guys don’t have the opportunity to return, so their coaches are looking to help.” Ivy Leaguers tend to be good students and Duke’s Fuqua School of Business has an attractive 10-month master’s program, ideal for an athlete looking for one more year in college. And college athletes have a track record against other college athletes. McAfee, for example, threw seven shutout innings against topranked Virginia last season; the bullpen gave up the lead. Pollard has had success with Ivy League grad student transfers before, most notably Pennsylvania transfer Ryan Dietrich, who hit over .300 in 2014. College-tested players, Ivy League-caliber students. What’s not to like? Pollard emphasizes that Walkenbach made that same phone call to
other schools, including ACC rival Notre Dame, so Duke still had to recruit them. In McAfee’s case, not very long. “Duke locked me up early. I couldn’t envision anywhere else,” he says. Urbon tells a similar story, jokingly adding that those Ithaca winters made Durham much more attractive. McAfee’s role was always to be a weekend starter, joining junior BaiREAGAN LUNN
Kellen Urbon served as a mid-week starter before moving into the weekend rotation vs. ACC clubs
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ley Clark and Duke grad student Trent Swart in starting the all-important ACC games. He has become the Sunday starter, which he says works for him. “It gives me a chance to scout the hitters and go over the tendencies with (pitching coach Pete) Maki.” He’s 6-3, 210 pounds, with a variety of pitches. Pollard praises McAfee’s two-seam fastball, which he turns into ground ball after ground ball. He’s also remarkably efficient. He walked only six batters in 56 innings last season at Cornell, leading to a 1.77 earned run average. His pitching philosophy? “Throw strikes. Be careful. Get ahead in the count. Make them swing early in the count. Get the batters out of the box as quickly as possible.” McAfee saved two early weekends with outstanding Sunday performances. In fact, his March 13 performance against Virginia is one of the great mound performances in recent Duke history, Marcus Stroman and Michael Matuella notwithstanding. McAfee shut out the defending national champions 3-0, allowing five singles, striking out three and issuing zero walks. He pitched a complete game, throwing 94 pitches, 72 of which were strikes. He says his 2015 success against the Cavaliers helped. “I knew what to expect. I was pretty hyped up, locked in and focused. It reduced my anxiety level.” Pollard credits McAfee’s efficiency to his baseball IQ. “He’s very cerebral, very analytical. He’s a bright guy, with great stuff.” McAfee was almost as good two weeks later, defeating Wake Forest 3-2, going seven innings and letting the bullpen finish the job. Urbon came to Duke as more of a wild card. He closed early at Cornell before becoming a starter. He says Pollard promised him nothing more than a chance to compete for innings. “Whatever we need,” Urbon says. “I’m just happy to get an opportunity. I love pitching.” “We tried him in a number of roles early in the season,” Pollard says. “He responded better in a starting role. He was more comfortable. It was an easy decision to keep him as a starter.” Urbon isn’t as big as McAfee but makes it work with command of three pitches, like McAfee concentrating on throwing strikes early and forcing batters to hit his stuff. “No offense to the Ivy League,” he says, “but you could make a mistake there and get away with it. In the ACC, you can’t make a mistake.” He’s not making many. Urbon had outstanding mid-week performances against Davidson and Maryland Eastern-Shore (six scoreless innings). He was moved to the weekend when Swart began to have arm problems. He pitched well at Wake Forest — seven innings, two runs — but got a no-decision in a 10-inning loss. At press time Duke expects Swart back. Pollard says fitting four weekend starters into three slots is a good problem to have. Duke will need the help. McAfee’s wins over Virginia and Wake Forest were Duke’s only victories in the first three ACC series. What comes next? Pollard expects McAfee and Urbon to get shots at the next level. McAfee could be a high draft pick. If that doesn’t work, both will have an undergraduate degree from Cornell, a graduate degree from Duke and a lot of options. Urbon’s Cornell degree was in economics. He wants to get back to southern California and can see staying in baseball, perhaps coaching or in a front-office capacity. McAfee majored in operations and research engineering — think analyzing and designing complex business systems — and has his eyes on Nike back in his hometown. Pollard says that Ivy League grad students will continue to be an important part of the program. By definition, these transfer are only going to be around one season and for the concept to work, Duke can’t afford any missteps. So far, so good. “It’s been a positive experience,” Pollard says. “Both of these guys are great teammates, great students. They’ve worked hard to fit in. It’s going to continue to be a big part of our recruiting strategy.”
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DUKE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS INVITES YOU TO THE
2016 Awards Celebration THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2016 6:30 P.M. DINNER & PROGRAM Floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium $55 for adults $15 for children 12 and under Business Attire 7:30 P.M. PROGRAM Stadium seats of Cameron Indoor Stadium $15 per person Dinner and Program orders will be filled based on Iron Dukes priority if received by Thursday, April 7. Seating based on Iron Dukes priority is not guaranteed after this date. RSVP by Wednesday, April 13 by visiting www.GoDuke.com/tickets For questions please contact the Duke Ticket Office at (919) 681-2583.
MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016 SCHARF HALL KRZYZEWSKI CENTER FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
7:00 pm Dessert Reception • Scharf Hall Patio 8:00 pm Awards Program • Scharf Hall $20 for adults, $10 for children 12 and under To RSVP please go to www.GoDuke.com/tickets. For questions please contact the Duke Ticket Office at (919) 681-2583. Parking will be available in the Public Policy Parking Lot. Check-In will be located at the patio entrance to Scharf Hall. Names will be on a guest list upon arrival. Banquet orders will be filled based on Iron Dukes priority. RSVP’s must be received by Monday, April 11. BUSINESS CASUAL ATTIRE
Pleased to meet you Connect with colleagues and enjoy special meeting rates that include free breakfast. To learn more or to book your group contact Teresa Palmieri at 919.941.8106.
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BRIAN SPURLOCK/USA TODAY SPORTS
A day after scoring a team-best 18 points for the East in the McDonald’s All American Game, Duke recruit Jayson Tatum was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year for 2016. Tatum led Chaminade College Prep to the Missouri state title with his 29.5 scoring average and helped the U.S. win gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championships in Greece last summer
Player of the Year
Compliance
Quiz
The Duke Compliance Office is responsible for education and enforcement of NCAA rules. NCAA rules are vast and complex, and we hope you read the information below as an introduction to a few of the issues that could arise as you root for the Blue Devils. If you have any questions about NCAA rules, please contact the Compliance Office at 919613-6214. We truly appreciate your continued support of Duke University and Duke Athletics. Always remember to ask before you act. Question: Benjamin Booster, a Duke baseball season ticket holder, is friends with a Charlotte-area high school coach, Coach Bunter, who has one of the top young pitchers in the country. Unfortunately, Booster is not able to attend Duke’s next weekend home series and decides to offer his tickets to Coach Bunter for free. Is this permissible? Answer: No. It is not permissible to provide high school coaches with any extra benefits, including hard tickets to games. Through Duke, all high school coaches have access to two complimentary admissions to every home game, which are issued through a pass list.
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www.SummitHospitality.com 37
> The Final Round Saluting Duke Athletics pillar Tom Butters, gone but never forgotten
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1991-92 Duke becomes the first school since UCLA under John Wooden to win back-to-back men’s basketball championships. The Blue Devils emerge as the nation’s top program with seven Final Fours in nine years (1986-94). 1988 Duke dedicates the Murray Building, a new locker room, office and training complex for the football team. 1988 Duke launches women’s soccer as a varsity sport, then in subsequent years track & field and lacrosse, as Butters builds one of the nation’s top women’s sports programs.
1987 Duke begins an extensive interior renovation project at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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1984 Duke installs permanent lights at Wallace Wade Stadium, leading to one of Butters’ most infamous quotes: “I’ve been in Durham for 16 years, and if there is anything to do here on Saturday night I haven’t heard about it.” s
1989 Duke enjoys its best football season under Butters, winning the ACC championship and playing in a bowl game for the first time since 1961. But as soon as the bowl ends, Butters loses his head coach and good friend Steve Spurrier to Florida.
1986 Duke wins its first NCAA team championship when Butters hire John Rennie guides men’s soccer to the national title.
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1982 Butters makes his most controversial personnel decision by dismissing head football coach Red Wilson a few hours after the Blue Devils enjoy a stirring victory over UNC to produce a second straight winning season. Butters never publicly explains the reason for his action.
1989-94 Butters serves on the NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee and is instrumental in negotiating a $1 billion TV contract with CBS.
1994 The Duke Golf Club reopens after a massive restoration and redesign, funded by Butters’ unique endowment plan
1994 Duke enjoys its second bowl season under Butters, when first-year coach Fred Goldsmith directs Duke to a 7-0 start and a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl.
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1981 Duke wins the CFA Academic Achievement Award for leading the nation in football graduation percentage — the first of nine such awards on Butters’ watch.
1997 About three months after suffering a heart attack and undergoing quadruple bypass surgery, Butters announces his retirement from Duke.
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1977 Butters is named Duke’s director of athletics. He rolls up his sleeves and goes to work on a massive capital campaign for facilities projects, prompting a national magazine to label him the champion of fund-raisers.
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1981 Duke completes a refurbishing of Wallace Wade Stadium by opening the Finch-Yeager Building, a revolutionary Butters facility project that combines a press box with a health center.
Thomas Arden Butters April 8, 1938 – March 31, 2016
1996 Duke breaks ground on a new student recreation center that Butters has been envisioning for over a decade (now known as Wilson Recreation Center).
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1980 To replace the popular Bill Foster, who leaves Duke for South Carolina after a third straight NCAA Tournament season, Butters hires little-known Mike Krzyzewski as head basketball coach — a move many regard as one of the defining points of his tenure.
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1975 Butters plays a key role in establishing the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame, a shrine in which he would later be inducted (Class of 1999) and which is now located in a building bearing his name (the SchwartzButters Center).
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1970 Butters creates the Iron Dukes fund-raising organization and raises over $30 million during his years as its director, while also launching an endowed scholarship program that is emulated by other schools.
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1968-70 Butters serves as Duke’s head baseball coach, compiling records of 12-19, 14-18 and 17-16 with the non-scholarship team.
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1967 Butters is hired by Duke as director of special events, three years after his professional baseball pitching career is terminated by a neck injury suffered in an automobile accident.
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The Blue Devil timeline of former director of athletics and university vice president Tom Butters, who passed away on Mar. 31 at the age of 77, reveals the depth of his impact in leading his department into the modern era of college athletics
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