GoDuke The Magazine by Blue Devil IMG

Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Basketball Tournament Information SUB-REGIONALS MARCH 19 & 21 Jacksonville, FL Louisville, KY Pittsburgh, PA Portland, OR MARCH 20 & 22 Charlotte, NC Columbus, OH Omaha, NE Seattle, WA

TICKETS Tickets can be purchased at www.GoDuke.com/tickets or at 919-613-7575 during your designated request time on Monday, March 16. You must use your Iron Dukes login and password to purchase tickets.

Group 1* 8:30-10:30am *Online ordering available Sunday, March 15 at 9pm Group 2 11:00am-1:00pm Groups 3 & 4 1:30-3:00pm Groups 5 & 6 3:30pm-4:30pm

TRAVEL Travel accommodations can be made through Anthony Travel at www. DukeFanTravel.com or 1-844-845-5650 during your designated reqeust time. Approximately 200 tickets are available for donor purchase. Allocation is based on availability and Iron Dukes priority.

REGIONALS MIDWEST REGIONAL March 26 & 28 Cleveland, OH WEST REGIONAL March 26 & 28 Los Angeles, CA SOUTH REGIONAL March 27 & 29 Houston, TX

EAST REGIONAL March 27 & 29 Syracuse, NY

TICKETS Tickets can be purchased at www.GoDuke.com/tickets or at 919-613-7575 during your designated request time on Monday, March 23 found below. You must use your Iron Dukes login and password to purchase tickets. Groups 1 & 2* 8:30-10:30am *Online ordering available late Sunday, March 22 Groups 3 & 4 11:00am-1:00pm Groups 5 & 6 1:30-4:30pm

TRAVEL Travel reservations can be made at www. DukeFanTravel.com or by calling 1-844-845-5650 during your designated ticket request time on Monday, March 23. You will need your Iron Dukes account number to make travel reservations.

Approximately 750 tickets are available for donor purchase. Allocation is based on availability and Iron Dukes priority.

FINAL FOUR NATIONAL SEMIFINALS April 4 Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME April 6 Lucas Oil Stadium Indianapolis, IN

TICKETS Tickets can be purchased at www.GoDuke.com/tickets or at 919-613-7575 during your designated request time on Monday, March 30 found below. You must use your Iron Dukes login and password to purchase tickets.

Groups 1 & 2* (6 tickets) 8:30-10:30am *Online ordering available Sunday, March 29 at 9pm Group 3 & 4 (2–6 tickets) 11:00am-1:00pm Groups 5 & 6 (0–2 tickets) 1:30-4:30pm

Women’s Basketball Tournament Information

TRAVEL Travel reservations can be made at www. DukeFanTravel.com or by calling 1-844-845-5650 during your designated request time on Monday, March 30. You will need your Iron Dukes account number to make travel reservations.

Approximately 2,000 tickets are available for donor purchase. Allocation is based on availability and Iron Dukes priority.

SPOKANE REGIONAL March 28 & 30 Spokane, WA

TICKETS

SUB-REGIONALS

Tickets can be purchased at www.GoDuke.com/tickets on Wednesday, March 25. Please use your Iron Dukes login and password to purchase tickets.

TICKETS AND TRAVEL

TRAVEL

Locations and dates TBA.

Travel reservations can be made at www. DukeFanTravel.com or by calling 1-844-845-5650 on Wednesday, March 25.

REGIONALS ALBANY REGIONAL March 28 & 30 Albany, NY GREENSBORO REGIONAL March 27 & 29 Greensboro, NC OKLAHOMA CITY REGIONAL March 27 & 29 Oklahoma City, OK

FINAL FOUR NATIONAL SEMIFINALS April 5 Amalie Arena Tampa, FL

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME April 7 Amalie Arena Tampa, FL

TICKETS Tickets can be purchased at www.GoDuke.com/tickets on Wednesday, April 1. Please use your Iron Dukes login and password to purchase tickets.

TRAVEL Travel reservations can be made at www. DukeFanTravel.com or by calling 1-844-845-5650 on Wednesday, April 1. We anticipate ample tickets to accommodate all requests for every round of the Women’s NCAA Tournament. Allocation is based on Iron Dukes priority.

GoDuke The Magazine 6.6 Dedicated to sharing the stories of Duke student-athletes, present and past

540 North Trade Street Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Phone 336-831-0769 Vol. 6, No. 6 February/March 2015 SENIOR EDITOR John Roth ‘80 ADVERTISING Patrick Streko General Manager

Johnny Moore Senior National Associate

Lane Cody Associate General Manager Ian Haynes Account Executive CIRCULATION Amanda Hobbs STAFF WRITERS Al Featherston ‘74, Leslie Gaber Barry Jacobs ‘72, Johnny Moore Jim Sumner ‘72, Lewis Bowling COVER PHOTO James DiBianco PRINTING RR Donnelley GoDuke The Magazine (ISSN 10668241) is published by IMG with editorial offices at 3100 Tower Blvd., Suite 404, Durham, NC 27707. Published monthly except August for 11 issues per year. Subscription price is $29.95. Periodical postage paid at Winston-Salem, NC, and additional mailing office. Postmaster send change of address to GoDuke The Magazine, 540 North Trade Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Advertising & Editorial Call 919-286-1498

Address Changes IRON DUKES MEMBERS: Call 919-613-7575 SUBSCRIBERS: Call 336-831-0769

Duke junior track & field standout Megan Clark rose to new heights during the 2015 indoor season. The pole vault specialist took first place at four meets, including the recent ACC Indoor Championships. Clark cleared 14 feet for the ACC title, making her the first Blue Devil woman to take gold indoors in the pole vault since All-American and Olympian Jillian Schwartz in 2001.

Clark, who set both the indoor and outdoor school records in the pole vault last year, earned second team All-America honors at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships and placed sixth at the USATF Outdoor Championships last spring. The ACC title was her first, after placing fourth and second at the conference indoor meet her first two seasons.

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> Blue Devil of the Month

JON GARDINER

a blue devil tradition Since 1987, the University Club has been a home for our members -- alumni, faculty, staff & friends of Duke University.

AFFORDABLE MONTHLY DUES provide stunning views in the penthouse of University Tower, casual and formal dining, and seven elegant private dining rooms for meetings & events, CELEBRATIONS | FAMILY TRADITIONS | BUSINESS MEETINGS | FINE DINING For information on membership or private events, please visit www.universityclubnc.com University Club | 3100 Tower Blvd. Suite 1700, Durham, NC 27707 | 919.493.8099 7

> The Numbers Game 4:22.66

Former Duke track star Shannon Rowbury’s time in the mile run at a recent race in Winston-Salem, giving her the fifth fastest indoor mile time in world history, and No.3 among U.S. runners all-time. A month later, Rowbury won both the mile and the two-mile at the USATF indoor national championships.

Duke basketball record for number of 20-point games by a freshman, held by Jabari Parker with 18 such performances last season. Through February, current freshman Jahlil Okafor and Gene Banks (1978) were tied with 11 games of at least 20 points, followed by Mike Gminski (10), Johnny Dawkins (9) and J.J. Redick (9).

4.14

In millions, the number of TV viewers for the first Duke-North Carolina game of the season on Feb. 18, making it the most watched college basketball game of the season (to that point) on ESPN. Duke had four of the top 10 most watched games of 2015 at that time, with the Duke-Virginia game on Jan. 31 ranking third with 3.49 million viewers.

Number of players in Duke men’s tennis history to post at least 100 victories in both singles and doubles. Current senior Raphael Hemmeler became the most recent member of the 100-100 club last month. He joined Henrique Cunha (2010-13), Reid Carleton (2008-11), Doug Root (1997-2000) and current head coach Ramsey Smith (1998-2001).

Total number of ACC championships won by this year’s ACC Basketball Legends honorees Shane Battier and Alana Beard of Duke. Battier (19982001) led the Duke men to four regular season and three ACC Tournament crowns while Beard led the Duke women to both the regular season and tourney titles in all four of her years (2001-04).

250

Career wins for Duke women’s lacrosse head coach Kerstin Kimel after the Blue Devils defeated William & Mary on Feb. 22. The only head coach in the 21 years of Duke’s program, Kimel is one of just seven coaches in women’s lacrosse history to reach 250 wins — and one of just five active coaches to hit the milestone.

350

Career wins for Duke men’s lacrosse head coach John Danowski after the Blue Devils defeated Mercer on Feb. 15. He is one of just two Division I coaches to reach the benchmark, and the fourth across all three NCAA divisions. Danowski is in his 32nd year as a head coach and ninth at Duke, where he has won three NCAA titles.

Points scored by Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Kyrie Irving vs. the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on the night he debuted his new Nike Kyrie I signature shoe. Irving became just the 20th basketball player to have a signature shoe from Nike Basketball, and the first since Kevin Durant debuted his shoe six years ago.

The Kyrie I Brotherhood collection from Nike debuts Mar. 12, including a blue & black version of his signature shoe plus a hat, T-shirt and socks that reflect his affection for the year he spent at Duke in 2010-11. NIKE PHOTO

Number of caps earned by former Duke field hockey standout Stefanie Fee for the U.S. National Team, after she played in a Feb. 14 match against Argentina. A 2012 Blue Devil grad, Fee has been a defender for Team USA for the past three years and helped the squad take fourth place at the World Cup last summer.

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Justise Winslow attacks Syracuse at the Carrier Dome JAMES DIBIANCO

It’s tough to win on the road. And it’s especially tough for a school like Duke that goes into every road game with a huge target painted on it. Venues such as Miami’s BankUnited Center and Florida State’s Donald L. Tucker Center are usually half-empty — but they are always packed when Duke comes to town. For less familiar venues, Duke’s visits are always major events. When Duke went to Indiana in December of 2005, students camped out for tickets — for the first time in the history of that storied program. Last season, when Duke played Syracuse in the Carrier Dome for the first time, the game drew the largest on-campus crowd in basketball history — a record that was matched on Duke’s visit this season. The unusual passion and focus that a Blue Devil visit generates is demonstrated by the fact that until the loss at Notre Dame last month, every Duke road defeat in the last six years has caused opposing fans to rush the floor. Yet, despite the challenges, Duke wins an unusual number of road games. Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who celebrated his 1,000th career triumph in January, has won almost 65 percent of his road games at Duke. During one stretch at the end of the 1990s, Duke won an ACC-record 24 straight conference road games. But has Coach K ever had a greater road accomplishment than this season? Heading into March, Duke had beaten three AP top 10 teams on the road — No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 6 Louisville and No. 2 Virginia. That’s the first time in school history that a team has beaten three top 10 teams on the road. Not to diminish that feat, but rankings — which are, after all, transi-

tory — don’t always tell the whole story. For instance, consider Duke’s 1988 victory at Kansas. The Jayhawks were unranked when the No. 6 Blue Devils visited Allen Field House in Lawrence on Feb. 20, 1988. Despite the rankings, Kansas was a quality team, one that would win the national championship barely a month later. But on this late February afternoon, Duke overcame the raucous Kansas crowd and the monotonous chants of “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” — as well as 31 points from national player of the year Danny Manning — to pull out a memorable 74-70 overtime victory. How significant does that road victory look in hindsight? Or take the 1992 Blue Devils. The eventual national champs beat four ranked teams on the road, although none were ranked as high as this year’s two top victims. Still, consider the circumstances of those 1991-92 road wins: • On Dec. 14, No. 1 Duke beat No. 18 Michigan in overtime. It was the national TV debut of the Fab Five. Chris Webber (27 points, 12 rebounds) and Jalen Rose (18 points, six assists) were spectacular as the Wolverines took Duke to overtime and then took a five-point lead in the extra period. But even with Crisler Arena going nuts, Bobby Hurley sparked Duke’s late rally to seize the 88-86 victory. Almost four months later, the same two teams would meet in Minneapolis for the national title, Duke winning that one by 20. • On Jan. 30, No. 1 Duke faced new ACC member Florida State, ranked No. 23 nationally, in Tallahassee. It was the first ACC meeting between the two schools and with Grant Hill providing 20 points and 10 assists, Duke pulled away in the final minutes for a 75-62 win. • On Feb. 8, No. 1 Duke traveled to Baton Rouge to take on No. 22

LSU. The Blue Devils were playing without Hurley, who had broken his foot three days earlier in a loss at UNC. The Tigers featured a football like crowd in the Maravich Assembly Center and a fired up Shaquille O’Neal, who was burning to revenge the humiliation he had suffered a year earlier in Cameron. Well, Shaq got his 25 points and 12 rebounds, but Grant Hill filled in for Hurley at the point and Christian Laettner hit two late 3s to break it open and give Duke a 77-67 victory. • On Mar. 1, No. 1 Duke traveled to Los Angeles to take on No. 4 UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Hurley was back at the point, but versatile soph Grant Hill missed the game with a high ankle sprain. No matter, senior Brant Davis stepped up with his career best game (19 points and 11 rebounds) while Laettner provided 29 points and 13 rebounds as Duke pulled away, 75-65. Those four road wins — two of them without key players — certainly rank as one of the great road performances in school history, and one reason why the 1991-92 Duke team is generally considered the best team in Duke history. Time will tell just where the 2014-15 Duke team ranks as road warriors. We’ll have to see how significant the three heralded road wins look in hindsight after the season plays out. But at this writing it looks good – two of Duke’s top-10 victims have remained in the top 10. Wisconsin seems certain to win the Big Ten regular season title, while Virginia remains a likely No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed. While it’s early, I’m going to suggest that the win at Virginia will be looked back on as one of Duke’s greatest road wins. It’s not just that Duke beat the No. 2 team in the nation on its home floor – something that’s happened just four times in school history (Duke has never beaten No. 1 on the road). But the win came at a crucial time for a team that was reeling from a heartbreaking road loss at Notre Dame and the unexpected dismissal of junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon in the days leading up to the game. A loss to Virginia would have virtually extinguished Duke’s hopes for an ACC regular season title (which the Cavaliers went on to win for a second straight season) and for a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed. With the win, the Devils remained a top-5 team nationally and proved that they could still compete at the highest level. How many road wins in Duke history have had that much significance? Well, the ones already mention could qualify — at Kansas in ’88 and the four road wins in ’92. Allow me to offer several more historic road wins: • Feb. 5, 1997 – No. 8 Duke upset No. 2 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem as Coach K switched to a small lineup to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Deacons. Tim Duncan had 26 points for the Deacs, but Jeff Capel (18 points) and Roshown McLeod (16) led Duke to the 73-67 win. Not only did the win announce Duke’s return to prominence after two years of mediocrity, it also propelled the team to the ACC regular season title and a top 10 national finish. • Dec. 22, 1990 – No. 9 Duke was a young team trying to find itself when the Blue Devils traveled to No. 11 Oklahoma. The Sooners had a 51-game home winning streak in the Lloyd Noble Center. Coach K started Crawford Palmer at center, but junior Christian Laettner and freshman Grant Hill each had 19 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Thomas Hill (whose father worked at the Oklahoma athletics department) added 16 as Duke registered a 90-85 victory, a pivotal game for a team that would win Duke’s first national title.

RAASHID YASSIN/DUKE BLUE PLANET

Matt Jones in victory at Wisconsin

MEGAN MORR

Quinn Cook vs. St. John’s at the Garden

LANCE KING

Jahlil Okafor leads Duke at Louisville

• Jan. 18, 1996 – Neither Duke nor N.C. State was ranked. The Blue Devils, trying to recover from the disaster of 1995, had gotten off to a good start in 1995-95 with Coach K back on the bench, but that optimism turned sour when Duke opened ACC play with four straight losses. A fifth ACC loss seemed likely as the Wolfpack led late, but Duke rallied and took the lead in the final seconds on a long 3-pointer from Chris Collins — a shot that hit the back of the rim and bounced high in the air before dropping through to give Duke the 71-70 victory. The Blue Devils would win eight of their last 12 ACC games (and add a big non-conference win over UCLA) to sneak into the NCAA Tournament. • Jan. 21, 1988 – A month before Duke beat Kansas in Lawrence, the No. 9 Blue Devils traveled to Chapel Hill to take on No. 2 UNC in the Dean Dome. Kevin Strickland (22 points) and Danny Ferry (19 points) took care of the offense, but it was the defense, especially Billy King and Robert Brickey, which made the difference as Duke pulled out a 71-70 victory over the Heels – Duke’s first win in the Smith Center and the first of the three Triple Crown wins in ’88. • Jan. 19, 1985 – It’s a curious fact that Duke won its first ever game in Carmichael in 1966 and its last trip in 1985, but lost 18 straight times in between. Duke broke the streak against No. 6 UNC as Johnny Dawkins poured in 34 points to lead the Devils to the lopsided 93-77 decision. • Jan. 7, 1984 – Duke ended the 1983 season with a humiliating loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament. Redemption came nine months later

as the Devils traveled to Charlottesville and knocked off the Cavaliers, 78-72. Not only did the win start a streak of 16 straight wins over the Cavs, it also sparked the ’84 Devils to Coach K’s first NCAA bid. • Feb. 8-11, 1958 – Probably the greatest pre-K road achievement was this two-game span over four days in 1958. First, Duke traveled to Chapel Hill and routed No. 7 UNC, the defending national champion, 91-75 in Woollen Gym. Four days later, Duke traveled to No. 10 N.C. State and dominated the Wolfpack 65-48 in Reynolds. The back-to-back road upsets propelled Duke to an unexpected ACC regular season title and the first final top 10 ranking in school history. There is one caveat with that claim that the ’58 doubleheader was Duke’s greatest road achievement before K. On Mar. 13, 1980, Bill Foster’s last Duke ream had to face No. 4 Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Since it was an NCAA game, it doesn’t officially count as a road game, although anyone who was there that day knows that it was about as wild and raucous as Rupp can get. No. 14 Duke had opened the season with an overtime victory over Kentucky in the Hall of Fame Tipoff in Springfield, Mass. Freshman center Sam Bowie was spectacular in that game. But this time, he was dominated by Duke senior Mike Gminski and the Devils got away with a 55-54 victory. To me, THAT would be Duke’s greatest road win — if it were officially a road game.

DUKE BLUE PLANET

Jahlil Okafor stops Virginia

For a literal application of Robert Frost’s literary road less traveled, consider Duke’s final regular-season venture outside the Triangle area. With a bout of winter weather bearing down on the region, the Blue Devils eschewed the convenience and efficiency of their normal chartered aircraft and instead utilized the services of a Champion Coach bus for the trek to Virginia Tech. The early evening ride to Blacksburg the night before the game was uneventful enough, the cruise up into the Virginia mountains requiring barely three hours. Not so the return trip. With the snowstorm at its peak in the wee hours after midnight, it took the Blue Devils a full five hours to negotiate their way down from the Eastern Continental Divide and come sledding to a stop at the front door of Cameron Indoor Stadium — at which point the steely-nerved bus driver received a well-earned round of applause. Durham travel conditions remained so bad, however, that several members of the Duke contingent were unable to head home, holing up at the gym until well after sunrise. It was hardly a conventional road trip for the Blue Devils, except in one significant aspect: although Duke played some of its worst defense of the season and was taken into overtime by a team with a 2-12 ACC record, the Devils were still able to come home with a victory. Tested in every conceivable way on its many out-of-town excursions this regular season, Duke distinguished itself from much of the national pack with its raging results on the road. Heading into March, the Blue Devils’ 26 victories included 12 earned away from the friendly confines of Cameron, six in ACC play and three against teams ranked in the top 10 at the time. While head coach Mike Krzyzewski rightly urges his players

never to take victory for granted at Cameron Indoor, where Duke has lost just once in three seasons, the fact is that almost every top program is successful in defending its home court on a regular basis. Where Duke made its mark this season was on the road. “When we go on the road we become road warriors,” said freshman Justise Winslow. “We don’t want to lose. We want to quiet that crowd. We came up short at N.C. State and at Notre Dame, but we just like that environment of going on the road, that opponent team’s crowd and quieting that crowd.” “The mentality that we have to bring when we go into hostile gyms is just toughness and staying together,” added senior captain Quinn Cook. “Basketball is a game of runs and when you are on somebody else’s home court, their runs can mean more. That can have an effect on the away team with the crowd getting into it. Our team has just been together all year. We play with a chip on our shoulder when we go on the road, like it’s us against the world.” Duke’s proclivity for producing on the road began well before ACC play with its usual November-December slate of showcase games. The Devils dispatched Michigan State in Indianapolis, won the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Brooklyn and knocked off defending NCAA champ UConn at the New Jersey Meadowlands all before the Christmas holidays. But sandwiched in between those neutral territory headliners was Duke’s first true road contest — and the first indication of how this Blue Devil edition might be wired to handle the hostile gyms. They took on No. 2 Wisconsin in Madison, where the Badgers almost never fall, and

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secured an impressive 80-70 decision against a team featuring national player of the year candidate Frank Kominsky and still riding high off last year’s Final Four appearance. When the ACC season hit, Duke had to scramble in the final five minutes to pull out a win in its first league road test at Wake Forest, then fell decisively at N.C. State a few days later. Miami followed at Cameron and thumped the Devils 90-64, leaving Duke with a pedestrian 2-2 conference mark headed to Louisville for its first ACC meeting against a hyped Cardinal team that was ranked sixth in the nation. The Blue Devils surprised most observers by coming out in a 2-3 zone defense, enjoyed a 17-2 run in the first half and got solidly back on track on a day when the season could have turned in a different direction. Two weeks later Duke headed to second-ranked and undefeated Virginia for another stress test, trying to bounce back from a close loss at Tyus Jones at Louisville LANCE KING

Notre Dame and the dismissal of Rasheed Sulaimon from the roster. The Cavaliers led by 11 in the second half and by five with three minutes left before Duke reeled off an 11-0 spurt to close the game and win 69-63, stunning a soldout John Paul Jones Arena. “A defining moment was that Virginia game,” Winslow said. “We were down, trailing the whole game, then everyone just came together and we rallied. Those moments in that game and in the locker room after the game, it’s something that has kind of defined our team and the mentality we have.” “We stayed positive,” Cook noted of the Virginia comeback, during which Duke scored on 14 of its last 15 possessions against one of the nation’s stingiest defenses. “Coach kept believing in us and we kept believing in each other, and we were fortunate enough to hit some shots when we needed them the most, and get some stops as well. I just think it was that positive attitude we kept the whole game.” Duke subsequently enjoyed down-to-the-wire road wins at Florida State and Virginia Tech, bracketed around an 80-72 victory at Syracuse before over 35,000 fans. Although former Blue Devil Michael Gbinije poured in 27 points in trying to spark an Orange crush, Duke started the second half on a 13-2 streak and never looked back. Duke owned a 6-2 ACC road record heading into the regular season finale at Chapel Hill, confident of its ability to handle any adverse postseason situation despite its youth and lack of depth with only eight scholarship players. “You have a tremendous opportunity to grow if you are able to win

on the road, because there is nothing like a huge road win. Nothing like it, except a tournament win,” Krzyzewski said. “So I think it’s brought us closer together. I like the fact that our team has been excited to play on the road. They’ve never been nervous. They’ve come together to play some of our best basketball of the season.” Although much of Duke’s program habits are structured around triedand-true routines, several breaks with convention contributed to the Blue Devils’ 2015 road success. Two cases in point came at Louisville and Virginia. Duke normally goes through a shoot-around at the opponent’s gym on game day to get a feel for the arena, but that wasn’t possible in Charlottesville and Louisville. So Krzyzewski adjusted the routine. At Louisville his team had a mediocre workout at the Cardinals’ practice facility the day before the game, but followed that with a series of evening meetings that brought the team together more and emphasized a Justise Winslow at Virginia DUKE BLUE PLANET

unity factor to complement the zone defense strategy. At Charlottesville, a shoot-around the night before the game proved to be one of the most upbeat workouts of the year — even though it took more than a half for Duke’s shooting prowess to kick in against the Cavs. In both instances, and with several other road games, the objective was to set a good positive mood and shorten the game plan to give the players less to think about, thus helping them to be “as reactionary and as instinctive” as they could be, Krzyzewski said. Subtle adjustments, perhaps — but adjustments that made all the difference for a well-traveled Duke team that plowed through almost every road block on its path to a successful regular season. “There are a lot of things I know I’ll always remember,” said freshman Jahlil Okafor. “Going to Virginia after just losing at Notre Dame against an undefeated team, going to Wisconsin when everybody thought we were too young and being able to beat them — there have been a lot of times when our back’s been against the wall and we’ve been able to respond. “It goes all to Coach K. He gets us mentally ready before the game and he can read all of his players…so in late game situations we trust him with our all, and whatever he says goes for us.” “We never give up. We never quit,” echoed Winslow. “There’s the belief that as long as there’s time on the clock we can still win. Everyone trusts each other and everyone’s capable of having enough confidence to knock down the big shot or get that big rebound. It’s Coach’s belief in us, our belief in each other and the trust we have on the team.”

MORE SPORTS ON ANY SCREEN. Time Warner Cable gives you more of the Blue Devils basketball you love, on more screens, in more places, in and out of your home.

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LET US SCORE POINTS FOR YOU WHEN THE CLOCK IS RUNNING OUT.

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CELEBRATING

HISTORY

The Garden’s impact on the journey to 1K was profound By Barry Jacobs Plenty of notice was taken after Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils won the 1,000th game of his coaching career. Once St. John’s had been subdued, video of hugs and happy faces among the contingent of Duke team members, support staff, family, former players and fans filled screens nationwide. Stories playing on the Coach K-1K theme proliferated immediately on the web and airwaves, and in newspapers the following day. When the team returned to play Georgia Tech in Durham, 1K T-shirts were distributed to the students surrounding the Cameron court. Make as much or as little as you want of the round number 1,000, which certainly is impressive. Of course it’s fair to note other men at lower levels of college competition have accumulated more wins. Not to mention Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt, who retired in 2012 with 1,098 career victories. Such niceties of fact remain a minor hindrance to those reporting on Krzyzewski’s achievements. The enthusiasm for celebrating history also has caused a strange case of blindness among those who insist it’s unlikely anyone will catch the Duke coach. This conveniently ignores the work of, most immediately, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. He was at 963 career wins when Krzyzewski, his close friend, hit the kilo-victory mark.

Particular attention was paid to the fact Krzyzewski’s 1000th was secured at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he also posted his 903rd win against Michigan State on November 15, 2011. That surpassed his former coach at West Point, Bob Knight, until then the reigning leader among active men’s coaches. But there was more, much more to the career victory story, both in terms of Coach K’s overall parade to primacy and his personal history at The Garden. There are other venues where Krzyzewski won more games than New York’s historic midtown arena — the home courts at Army and Duke, for instance, and at the Greensboro Coliseum in ACC and NCAA tournament action, against nonconference opponents during the regular season, and against Wake Forest when it utilized the arena as its home court during the 1980s. In a way those four courts — Gillis Field House at West Point, since replaced by the larger Christl Arena; Cameron Indoor Stadium; the Greensboro Coliseum; and Madison Square Garden — mark key way-stations in Krzyzewski’s journey. While he spent less time at The Garden than at the other sites, other than Cameron none arguably has had a more profound impact.

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Krzyzewski ended his playing career as a hard-nosed Army guard during the second year Madison Square Garden was open at its present location atop Pennsylvania Station. That appearance came in the postseason NIT, then a prestigious event. “Mike was a terrific basketball player,” Knight said nearly 20 years after the fact. “I admired how hard he played. Mike was a great defensive player, the best on the team. I thought he was the heart and soul of what the team got accomplished.” Army went 51-23 during Krzyzewski’s three seasons as a Black Knight, twice led the nation in scoring defense, and went to the NIT in 1968 and 1969. The squad won two games in the ’69 NIT — over Wyoming and then South Carolina, boasting future Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins and All-ACC selections John Roche and Tom Riker. Later Knight’s club was eliminated by a Boston College team coached by Hall of Famer Bob Cousy. In defeating the Gamecocks 59-45, Army beat a program that reached the ACC Tournament finals the following two seasons, winning the title in 1971 before leaving the conference. Krzyzewski and Cremins went head-to-head on the Madison Square Garden court, with the Army guard under strict orders not to shoot. “You take a shot and I will break your arm,” Knight told him. “So, I had this opening — I mean, I was really open,” Krzyzewski recalled, “and I went up to the foul line, but I stopped right there. As I cocked my shooting arm, my whole life passed before me. I passed off. We won. So it worked.” Following military service and a stint as a Knight graduate assistant at Indiana, Krzyzewski took over the Army program for the 1976 season. “He becomes an NCAA head coach, but all he ever did was several months of graduate assistant,” Mickie Krzyzewski, the coach’s wife, remembers of those heady, challenging days. In five years at West Point Krzyzewski’s teams made three appearances at Madison Square Garden. The sole victory came against Manhattan in the third-place game in the 1977 ECAC playoffs, a postseason championship event. For a large portion of Krzyzewski’s coaching career, The Garden was considered tainted turf due to the betting scandals of 1960 and 1961 that led to, among other things, the ancillary banning of Raleigh’s Dixie Classic tournament. More than a half-century passed before the NCAA Tournament returned to New York City. MSG management did what it could to remain relevant in college basketball. Among those attempts was creating an early-season tournament that reserved slots for a sprinkling of major conference representatives. So it was that the event’s inaugural run saw the first great tournament triumph of Krzyzewski’s Duke tenure. Capped by defeats of top-10 St. John’s and Kansas, and an MVP performance by David Henderson, the ’85 Big Apple NIT title validated the championship aspirations of a squad that ultimately reached the NCAA Tournament final. What’s more, given the arena’s location astride the country’s media hub, the NIT crown announced the Blue Devils as a rising national power. Over the years Duke also won the preseason NIT — starting at home and advancing to The Garden for the final two games — in 2001, 2006 and 2010. The Devils also split NIT contests there in 1991, 1997 and 2014. This season’s MSG victory came on Jan. 28, fueled by a rally from a double-figure deficit in the second half against St. John’s. The Queens school employs the Manhattan venue as a home court, given that its on-campus facility, recently renamed Carnesecca Arena, seats only 5,602. The Devils have won six of the eight meetings between the programs at 18,200-seat Madison Square Garden in a nearly annual, 15-edition, home-and-home series that began in 1999 and likely ended with this one. Counting both head coaching stops, Krzyzewski earned 27 wins in 37 tries at the site once regarded as the undisputed mecca of college basketball. That’s more total appearances and more wins than Coach K’s Duke squads have made at any school in the ACC, including North Carolina. Not bad for a home very far away from home.

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Freshman Jahlil Okafor’s play at Madison Square Garden vs. St. John’s helped put the Blue Devils in position to celebrate Coach K’s 1,000th win at a hallowed venue

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THE PEAK OF RESILIENCE

Antidote for adversity? Elizabeth Williams and the Duke women focused on getting better every day By Jim Sumner

JON GARDINER

If it wasn’t for bad luck, wouldn’t have no luck at all. Joanne P. McCallie could be forgiven for thinking of the lyrics of that blues standard. Once again, the Duke women’s basketball coach is ending a season with a lineup that barely resembles the one she started with back in October. Injuries and attrition have reduced Duke to eight recruited players. But McCallie is a glass half-full type. “At this point with what we’ve been through, I think our team will do just about anything and can grow in ways that maybe we didn’t think,” she said after an early-February win over Clemson. “It’s been a tough year for us for a lot of reasons. I just think we can do anything. We’ll just evolve. And no, I don’t make a conscious effort to change things because of someone not being able to play. I really focus on the players that we have and driving us forward and playing with the energy we need to play with.” Duke is down three players from October. Promising freshman post Lynee Belton went out with a knee injury in mid-December, ironically at the end of a career-high 10-point game against Oklahoma. A bigger blow came two weeks later, when freshman wing Sierra Calhoun suddenly and surprisingly announced that she was transferring from Duke. A top-15 recruit, Calhoun started Duke’s first 13 games and averaged 10 points per game. Sophomore Oderah Chidom got the bulk of Calhoun’s minutes and responded well to the opportunity, posting a double-double against Pittsburgh and scoring 14 points in a 66-58 win over eighth-ranked Louisville. But Chidom had been bothered by a balky left shoulder much of the

season and after a third separation, she underwent season-ending surgery. McCallie also has had to deal with the absence of long-time assistant coach Al Brown, who has sat out a large portion of the season for personal reasons. That leaves eight recruited players. Fortunately for McCallie, those eight include five prep All-Americas, her four best players over the course of a season and enough size to shut down even top-level offenses; six of those eight players are at least 6-1. The height keys Duke’s trademark match-up zone. Kendall Cooper, a 6-4 sophomore, has replaced Chidom in the starting lineup, joining 6-3 senior Elizabeth Williams, 6-5 freshman Azura Stevens, 6-1 redshirt freshman Rebecca Greenwell and 5-10 senior Ka’lia Johnson in one of the nation’s tallest starting lineups. Six-foot-4 Amber Henson is the first frontcourt reserve off the bench. The zone allows McCallie to maximize Duke’s size advantage, minimize fouls and keep her team fresh. Clemson coach Audra Smith cited just that after her team lost at Cameron. “They look taller and taller every year. They are a very long, lean and athletic team. They did a very good job disrupting us on the defensive end because of their length.” The zone does more than just stifle penetration. Duke can and will press, can and will go man-to-man. Duke picked up 16 steals against Virginia. Duke also rebounds well out of any of its defenses, out-boarding opponents by almost 17 rebounds per game, while grabbing around 13 offensive rebounds per game. Of course, you have to be able to score on the other end, and the offensive rebounding helps. Much of Duke’s offense comes from a quartet

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of players, two on each end of the experience spectrum. Greenwell and Stevens are gifted scorers. The two freshmen are also are extremely versatile, giving McCallie the flexibility a thin team needs. Both can guard multiple positions and play all over the floor on offense. Greenwell came to Duke with the reputation as an elite 3-point shooter. She’s done nothing to dispel that, long since breaking Abby Waner’s school record for made 3-pointers by a freshman. But she’s also proven to be an adept ball-handler and tough rebounder. Greenwell had 14 rebounds against North Carolina, seven steals against Alabama, five assists against Old Dominion. At 6-5 Stevens is a match-up nightmare. She’s too quick for opposing post players, too big for opposing wings. She still scores mostly inside or in transition but has done that so well that she’s been named national freshman of the week twice. Ka’lia Johnson is Duke’s senior point guard, finally comfortable in that role after an emergency position move last season. Johnson had a triple-double against Old Dominion and averages almost five assists per game. She is Duke’s emotional leader. That brings us to senior center Elizabeth Williams. A three-time All-America, Williams is closing in on 2,000 career points and Alison Bales’ ACC and school record for career blocks. Heading into March, Williams had season highs of 33 points (North Carolina), 20 rebounds (Oklahoma), six blocks (Alabama, Wake Forest), five steals (Wake Forest) and nine assists (Clemson). There are clear strengths for this team but also some real areas of concern. Duke averages around 20 turnovers per game and has hit 25 four times. Duke has about three more turnovers per game than assists per game. Junior-college transfer Mercedes Riggs is the only recruited perimeter backup, which can lead to lineups with shaky ball-handling; freshman post Erin Mathias rounds out the rotation. McCallie says the solution to the turnover problem is simple. “Slow down, stay calm, be smart.” Duke shoots below 70 percent from the foul line, with Williams and Stevens hovering in the 60 percent range. Greenwell is the only reliable 3-point shooter, which has led to forced shots on her part, frequently at the end of the shot clock. Is eight enough for a deep March run? Gail Goestenkors was reduced to an eight-player rotation in 2002 and guided that team into the Final Four. Of course, that team was led by Alana Beard, arguably the best player in ACC history. March Madness success stories often have been written by great players carrying a team on their back. Williams is the only Duke player likely to meet that threshold this season. Williams isn’t the kind of player to toot her own horn. But North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell doesn’t mind. “She touches the ball and she’s going to turn to the right side and she’s really good at just laying it over the rim…She’s a heck of a player.” Williams likes Duke’s chances down the stretch. “I think we are actually in a pretty good place,” she said following the Clemson game. “I think today we did a good job of responding in the sense that we still played hard and we still followed our game plan so, like Coach P said, it’s all about energy and playing with that flow of getting rebounds, doing those types of things from a leadership standpoint.” McCallie has won three ACC Tournaments and has advanced to the Elite Eight four times while at Duke. But that first Duke Final Four still eludes her. Lots of things have to go right for that mountain to be climbed and the margin for error is small. “They’re a great group. This group is resilient,” McCallie says of her team that went 20-9 in the regular season, swept rival UNC and entered postseason play as the No. 4 seed in the ACC tourney. “All I can say is that we’re getting better. We need to keep getting better. We need to keep finding ways to work on things, whether it’s putting wrinkles in defensively or demanding more of each other energetically.”

JON GARDINER

Senior All-America Williams entered postseason play needing 27 blocked shots to break the ACC career record, and 110 points to join Chris Moreland as the only Blue Devils with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds

GRANT SHORIN

JAMES B. SHORIN

Spring football a key time for new starters As spring football practices go, this may well have been one of the most important in recent Duke football history. After establishing themselves as a very respectable program with three consecutive trips to bowl games and a spot in the ACC championship game the past three years, the Blue Devils now find themselves having to replace some pretty key members from teams that have established a winning way in Durham. Those losses include the school’s all-time winningest quarterback, an All-America wide receiver and an All-America offensive guard Gone is quarterback Anthony Boone, who graduated after accounting for 6,589 total yards and 54 touchdowns while establishing or matching 12 school records. Stepping up to replace him is redshirt junior Thomas Sirk. In 2014, Sirk played in 12 games and completed 10-of-14 passes for 67 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 47 times for 238 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. Sirk is joined at quarterback by 6-2, 220-pound Parker Boehme, a redshirt sophomore from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., and Nicodem Pierre, a 6-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman from Miami, Fla. Boehme worked as a backup quarterback last year while Pierre worked mostly with the scout team. But the main emphasis in this spring practice was on the progress of Sirk.

“He has taken upon himself what you want to see a starting quarterback do,” head coach David Cutcliffe said. “He’s in command. He’s in command of what he’s doing, he’s in command of the offense. He’s throwing the ball exceptionally well. He’s got a lot of work, a lot of work, a lot of work that he has got to continue to do to fine-tune things. But he’s physically throwing the football well.” Adjustments must be made to the offensive line that will protect the new quarterback after the graduation of two true veterans in All-ACC tackle Takoby Cofield, who made 41 career starts, and guard Laken Tomlinson, who became just the fifth consensus All-America in program history. Stepping in to replace them are 6-3, 205-pound redshirt senior Cody Robinson at right guard and 6-6, 275-pound redshirt sophomore Gabe Brandner at left tackle. The anchor of the offensive line will be All-ACC center Matt Skura, a redshirt senior, who headlines the list of six returning starters on offense that also includes redshirt junior tackle Casey Blaser and redshirt junior guard Lucas Patrick. “Our twos are very competitive on the offensive line and the battles we are having in spring practice will make us better on the line and give us a chance to have some different combinations,” explained Cutcliffe. “And Skura is key for us at center. He is actually becoming known as

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JC RIDLEY

RB Shaquille Powell

Coach Skura as a leader of the offensive line.” With the loss of Jamison Crowder and Issac Blakeney at receiver, the ball will now go to a new group of wideouts led by senior Max McCaffrey and junior Johnell Barnes. In spring practice Cutcliffe was impressed with the play of Chris Taylor, Ryan Smith and Terrence Alls as well. Of all the positions, the most solid is the running back spot with veterans Shaquille Powell, redshirt sophomore Joseph Ajeigbe and sophomore Shaun Wilson along with the return of Jela Duncan. “It’s really good to see Jela back out on the field,” said Cutcliffe. “He is a very heavy running back. I don’t mean he is too big —he’s very powerful and tough to bring down.” On the defensive side of the ball Cutcliffe will have to replace three starters along the defensive line as well as All-ACC linebacker David Helton, who in 2014 paced the conference in tackles for the second consecutive season. Veteran Jeremy Cash will be the leader of that unit. Cash, absent from spring practice due to shoulder surgery, is a two-time All-America selection who has amassed 232 tackles and six interceptions in 27 career games. The secondary is becoming the most experienced group of players on the defensive side of the ball with the return of cornerback Breon Borders, safety DeVon Edwards, cornerback Bryon Fields, and safety Deondre Singleton. Edwards was an All-ACC choice last season after posting 133 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one interception and nine pass breakups. “Our main goal in spring practice is to build depth,” explained Cutcliffe. “We’re moving some linebackers around and shifting Alonzo Saxton from safety to corner. I am very happy with the way our secondary comes to practice every day ready to get better and improve.” Cutcliffe has always emphasized the kicking game at Duke. The Blue Devils are pretty solid with the return of all three starters in snapper Thomas Hennessy, kicker Ross Martin and punter Will Monday. But gone is Crowder, one of the school’s top and most exciting return men.

CB Breon Borders

The biggest area of emphasis and improvement according to Cutcliffe is the kickoff return team. “We must win the kicking game,” explained Cutcliffe. “Any time we win a game here at Duke, we win it with good play on offense, defense and in the kicking game. The kickoff coverage team is the area where we must 2015 DUKE SCHEDULE make the biggest improvement.” The Blue Devils still have a Sept 3 at Tulane pretty bad taste in their mouth from a 95-yard kickoff return by Arizona 12 NC Central State late in the fourth quarter of the 19 Northwestern Sun Bowl. “We all know that we have to 26 Georgia Tech prove it at quarterback, we have to Oct 3 Boston College prove it on the offensive and defensive lines,” Cutcliffe said. “That’s 10 at Army the biggest issue we got. And we’ve 17 OPEN got to see who is going to make the 24 at Virginia Tech plays.” Along with developing his 31 Miami young players, Cutcliffe also feels Nov 7 at North Carolina good about the fact he will have two veteran players returning for 14 Pitt fall practice in Kelby Brown, an 21 at Virginia All-ACC pick at linebacker after posting 114 tackles in 2013, and 28 at Wake Forest tight end Braxton Deaver, also an all-league choice following a 46-reception, 600-yard, four-touchdown season. Both missed the 2014 campaign after suffering knee injuries in August. Both Brown and Deaver remained out of action during spring drills to continue rehabilitation. All this work is in preparation for the 2015 season opener on Thursday night, Sept. 3, in New Orleans against Tulane. The Blue Devils will follow that trip with a four-game homestand that includes the first two ACC games of the year, against Georgia Tech and Boston College.

JOHN WILLIAMS

By Bradley Amersbach

Defensive midfielder Will Haus next in long line of lacrosse leaders The title of captain holds significant weight on any sports team. Those who are awarded the honor are often held to a higher standard, and serve as an example of how the game is meant to be played. With these characteristics and traits in mind, it would be difficult to question the leadership of the captains Duke’s lacrosse team has had in recent years. The likes of Jordan Wolf, Luke Duprey, Brendan Fowler and Christian Walsh helped guide the 2014 Blue Devils to a second consecutive national championship, while the previous year, the trio of David Lawson, Josh Offit and Bill Conners laid the foundation and tradition of winning for the team’s future leaders. As is the nature of college athletics, the end of each season brings a changing of the guard. Seniors graduate, making way for the younger players that were developed and nurtured through the guidance of the upperclassmen. This season, it’s senior Will Haus’ turn to step into the captain’s role and pass down what he’s learned from those in the same position he is in now. Haus, in many ways, is the perfect embodiment of the Duke lacrosse program. The awards and honors that he received while in high school, including three all-conference first team selections and two All-America

recognitions, showcase the skill with which Haus played as an attackman for Palmyra Area High School in Palmyra, Pa. But once he arrived in Durham, there was a void in the defensive midfield that needed to be filled, and Haus jumped at the opportunity to transition into this new role. For some, such a transition would be difficult, trading the glory and attention that comes along with goal-scoring for the thankless, less glamorous task of playing defensive midfield. For Haus, however, the decision was a no-brainer. “It comes down to not only how you, but also your coaches and teammates, feel you can help your team out the most,” Haus explains. “(Defensive midfield) was the position that they felt I could help the team out the most. Just realizing that the people you’re playing with know that (the position) is important, and it’s just as important as the other positions, is cool.” Haus embraced his new role on the field and found himself with plenty of opportunity to develop his craft. Head coach John Danowski utilized the freshman in his new position throughout the season, providing Haus with invaluable in-game experience. In his first year donning a

PEYTON WILLIAMS

Haus (6) has played on two NCAA title teams

Duke jersey, Haus played in all 20 of the team’s games, including the final game of the season, a 16-10 loss to Maryland in the 2012 NCAA semifinal game. The growth of Haus’ game at the defensive midfield position then became unquestioned over his sophomore and junior years, as he helped Duke register its best and second-best clearance percentages in school history during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. A student of the game, Haus progressed as more than just a player during his first three seasons on campus, however, taking in the intangibles that the upperclassmen on the team emphasized to the younger team members. What struck Haus the most throughout his development was the behavior and demeanor of the team’s leaders that permeated beyond the playing field. “Since I’ve been here, the leadership has been great,” Haus says. “What you take away from them is it’s not only on the field stuff. Obviously a lot of (the previous leaders) were good players, but we had captains my freshman year, like Scott Meyer, who didn’t play, but were respected. It’s about doing things right, not only on the field but off the field. You see those guys who are the leaders just really excel in the classroom, on the field, socially. They’re just people you want to follow. Not even necessarily saying much, but just knowing they’re doing the right thing.” It’s that type of leadership that would help develop the team’s younger players like Haus and guide the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships. Haus consumed the attitude and determination that the team’s upperclassmen showcased during those two years. In reflecting on how the Blue Devils won consecutive national championships, Haus doesn’t credit the team’s talent in helping achieve such a difficult feat, but rather the preparation. And preparation, Haus explains, requires a full team effort. “(The team) always realizes and recognizes those who, during practice, work hard and don’t get the time on the field (in games),” Haus states. “The starters wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing without them, without the help and the hard work that they put in, too.” This attitude has helped develop a team that is truly that, a cohesive group that came together and achieved what few other teams ever have in winning two national championships in as many years. Haus appreciates the success the program experienced in the past, but his maturity allows him to understand that the team can’t rest on its laurels and expect similar results this season. As a captain, Haus feels it’s his responsibility to help mentor the younger players new to the college game, and the message, as it’s always been with Haus, is about the team. “I think with experience comes that hunger,” Haus believes. “We have young guys who haven’t played a lot. I mean, first time on the field, (freshmen are) like, ‘Oh, what am I doing? Am I doing well? Am I playing well?’ As time progresses, the team aspect comes into play. I think that’s key for this team, with the younger guys playing. They’re all talented. They’re all here for a reason, but it’s just figuring out, ‘Hey, it’s more than just me. It’s a team.’” As he’s done throughout his college career, Haus utilizes a team-first attitude, even with regards to his captaincy. Although there are three cap-

tains on this year’s squad, Haus looks at it as a team effort in developing the younger players. “Younger players think, ‘If I just enjoy it and work hard, it’s going to be fun.’ You can’t sit there and pout the whole time, and think ‘I’m not playing.’ It’s not going to be fun. And I think it comes with time, too. I know it’s hard, coming in as a freshman, being all-star at high school and say you’re not playing now. Again, with time, you realize it’s bigger than yourself, it’s the team.” Haus tries to employ all of his experiences to help pay it forward and not only guide Duke as captains before did, but also continue to foster the same values and approaches to the game that helped develop underclassmen much like himself. And even though Haus now finds himself in a leadership role, he isn’t shying away from the realization that there is still room for his own growth. “I’m not the most vocal person in the world,” Haus admits. “I’d say I’m more of a lead-by-example kind of guy. With that being said, being vocal is something that has its time and place, and I feel like that’s one aspect of leadership that I can work on. It’s maybe not so much going out of my comfort zone, but trying to make it more of a priority, almost. It’s something I’m capable of doing. I just don’t usually do it.” As the season moves forward, Haus is motivated to develop as a captain, and transition into this new role in order help the team achieve continued success. “I think it’s just cool at this point, each game coming in asking ourselves, ‘Can they do it again? Was that a one-time thing?’” he wonders. “I think that’s exciting as a team, just knowing on the practice field everyone’s working real hard. It’s always fun to see in games how that translates.”

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: Joe Summit, an Iron Dukes member, recently joined Twitter in order to stay more up-to-date on Duke Athletics. He began following all of his favorite Duke Athletics teams, and he also followed all of the top prospects that Duke is recruiting for the future. Is it permissible for Mr. Summit to follow prospects on social media sites? Answer: Yes, it is permissible for boosters to follow prospects on Twitter and friend them on Facebook. However, it is NOT permissible for boosters to correspond or contact prospects via social media sites. Specifically, it is not permissible for a booster to mention or reply to a prospect in a tweet, direct message a prospect, post on a prospect’s Facebook wall, or comment on photos of the prospect. Please leave the recruiting to the coaches.

Duke Compliance 919-613-6214 33

> The Final Round

From protege to mentor on the tennis court By Leslie Gaber When Duke men’s tennis head coach Ramsey Smith saw film of a recruit hitting with Roger Federer a few years ago, he figured it warranted a closer look. That recruit, now a senior for the Blue Devils, has gone on to form some of the program’s top doubles tandems in recent history and etch his name in Duke’s record books. “As soon as I pressed play and saw a video of Federer, I knew he had to be the real deal,” Smith recalls. “Then I started researching a little more. I loved everything about him — unique player, extremely talented and gifted with his hands. Probably the best feel of any player I’ve worked with.” Like Federer, Raphael Hemmeler hails from the country of Switzerland. He gained experience playing at International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments before arriving at Duke, where he had an immediate impact on the courts. As a rookie during the 2011-12 campaign, he led the team in doubles victories with 30, marking the fourth-most all-time among Blue Devil freshmen. Hemmeler teamed with Cale Hammond for an 8-2 ACC doubles ledger that spring to give him a share of the program record for the most ACC doubles wins as a freshman. The following year, Hemmeler was paired with Henrique Cunha in doubles, a move that proved beneficial for the young Blue Devil in many respects. Duke’s all-time leader in singles and doubles victories and an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-America in each of his four seasons, Cunha mentored Hemmeler on and off the courts. A native of Brazil, Cunha too was familiar with making the transition to playing collegiate tennis in the United States. Hemmeler cites the experience of playing with him as vital to his development on the court and comfort level around campus. “I was a sophomore and he was a senior, so I learned a lot from him from his work ethic on the court and off the court,” Hemmeler says. “It inspired me and impressed me a lot. He was also an international student and he gave me a lot of advice about how to handle certain situations and how to adjust here. I think he was a big part also for my on-court success here at Duke.” The fall of 2012 saw the duo capture three doubles titles, including at the ITA National Indoor Championship. Hemmeler and Cunha were just the second doubles team in school history to win the prestigious title. In the spring, the pair combined for a 39-4 mark with a 9-0 ledger in ACC matches. They received the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA doubles championship at the end of the season, playing their way into the semifinals to earn ITA All-America honors. Hemmeler and Cunha concluded the year as the top-ranked doubles pair in the nation after putting together streaks of 16 consecutive victories twice during the season. “He’s just a natural doubles player,” Smith says of Hemmeler. “He’s not an overpowering player, he’s not a big player, but he really understands the game of doubles. He’s the type of guy everyone wants to play with because he’s got a great, loose, easy-going personality and he has a lot of fun on the court. We’ve matched him with our best players over the years. He always seems to raise his level against the very best competition.”

Hemmeler also excelled in singles as a sophomore, leading the team with a 35-6 record and 25 dual match wins. He posted victories over five ranked opponents during the course of the year and went 8-1 in conference matches. Following the graduation of Cunha, Hemmeler teamed up with Fred Saba and Bruno Semenzato at different points the next year. With Semenzato, Hemmeler saw success during the fall, advancing to the round of 16 in the main draw of the ITA All-American Championships. Along the way, the underclassman tandem registered an 8-4 upset of second-ranked Hernus Pieters and Ben Waagland of Georgia. “Since my first week at school, he was my closest friend here and he still is,” Semenzato says. “He’s an unbelievable person. It is amazing how he’s always in a great mood. He treats everyone with so much respect. He’s just an amazing person in and outside of the court.” Hemmeler and Saba were ranked 50th in the final ITA doubles poll of the spring and compiled an overall ledger of 14-7 with time at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions in the Blue Devils’ lineup. Among the highlights for the duo was a win over North Carolina’s 32nd-ranked duo of Brayden Schnur and Brett Clark in the regular season finale. In addition, Hemmeler topped the 20-win mark in singles for the third consecutive year while playing primarily from the No. 3 position. At the end of his junior year, he was named to the All-ACC third team. “I’ve definitely improved a lot of the physical part of my game,” Hemmeler says. “I’ve worked to play more aggressive. I improved my serve and my net game as well. They put a lot more emphasis on doubles here in the States than in Europe so my net game definitely improved a lot over my four years here.” A member of what is now a veteran Duke lineup, Hemmeler has continued his success into his final year. He has already topped the 20-win mark in singles and has paired with freshman Nico Alvarez for a solid start to the spring at No. 1 doubles. With Alvarez joining the Duke program this season from Lima, Peru, Hemmeler has seen himself mature into a mentor for his younger teammate. “It’s a reversed role now,” Hemmeler said. “I have to take on the leadership role. I’m trying to do the best and to help him to transition into college as well, but he’s doing fantastic so he doesn’t really need a lot of advice or guidance. It’s been so much fun to play with him as well and I see similarities between Nico and Cunha. I think it’s also part of why we get along so well off the court. I’m really enjoying it.” As a senior Hemmeler is also climbing his way up the Blue Devils’ all-time lists. He picked up his 100th career victory in early February to become just the fifth player in program history to reach 100 wins in singles and doubles. “What he’s done is really impressive, especially on the doubles side,” Smith says of Hemmeler’s contributions. “With our schedule he’s playing some of the top doubles teams in the country, so to rack up that many wins is very impressive. He’s certainly going to go down as one of the best players to come through our program. We’ve had a lot of really good players and there are very few people who have done what he’s done already, and there’s still a long way to go in our season.”