Why beating Wofford is a signature win for No. 4 Duke
Duke’s players showed up for a team meeting at Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night and left having completed a transaction they intend will lead them to great things this season.
One by one, following coach Mike Krzyzewski’s wishes, the Blue Devils used a silver Sharpie pen to sign their names on the famed hardwood.
Right there in front of the home bench, a inch or two in front of the carpet that’s under their seats, the signatures of each player and coach are visible on the blue paint.
“When you conduct a transaction, you are signing your name,” said Duke senior forward Javin DeLaurier, one of the team’s captains. “That was a really significant moment for our group, having a moment to put our names on that floor. It makes it ours. We own it now.”
This year’s Duke team saw the bloom knocked off the famed stadium’s rose last month when Stephen F. Austin beat the Blue Devils 85-83 in overtime. That Nov. 26 loss was the first Duke had suffered to a nonconference team at home since February 2000.
Some of the players whose signatures now adorn the court weren’t even born when that streak of nonconference wins began.
Tasked with starting another one, they ran it to a modest two in a row with Thursday night’s 86-57 win over Wofford.
The Terriers gained attention with their 68-64 win over North Carolina at Carmichael Arena last Sunday, an upset that knocked the Tar Heels from the nation’s top 25.
Duke was No. 1 when it absorbed that loss to Stephen F. Austin. Now ranked No. 4, the Blue Devils were determined not to relive the kind of loss they or their bitter rival has already suffered this season.
Krzyzewski pulled out a motivational tactic he’s used previously but not in a decade or so.
“Coach wanted our court to feel like home for us,” Duke freshman guard Wendell Moore said. “He said we hadn’t been playing well here and we all knew that as a team. We knew this game was a chance for us to make a statement. They were coming off winning at Carolina and would come in with a lot of hype. We had to come in and show that this was our home floor.”
Three nights after the loss to Stephen F. Austin, Duke played better, but was far from dominant, in beating Winthrop, 83-70, at home.
Impressive road wins at Michigan State and Virginia Tech the following week preceded an extended break so players could take final exams.
The Wofford game starts a stretch of three consecutive home games over 13 days that include eight days off for the Christmas holiday. Games with Brown on Dec. 28 and Boston College on Dec. 31 are upcoming.
Big Four rivals Wake Forest, N.C. State and North Carolina all come to Cameron in league play. So do Louisville, Virginia Tech and Florida State, plus two teams led by former Duke assistants, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.
So if this Duke team wants to hang banners like past Blue Devil squads, by winning the ACC, reaching the Final Four or claiming a national championship, it needs to play solid basketball at home.
Against Wofford, the Blue Devils (10-1) did just that.
“We haven’t played well in the past in this gym,” Duke junior guard Alex O’Connell said. “I think tonight we did that and I think signing the court was a big part of that.”
Even playing without Tre Jones, a superior defender at point guard who missed the game due to a sprained left foot, Duke clamped down defensively. Wofford shot 35.5 percent and netted just 0.95 points per possession (57 points on 58 possessions).
The Blue Devils protected the ball well, committing only eight turnovers. Joey Baker’s 22 points in a reserve role gave the offense a boost as the Blue Devils shot 54.2 percent and handily won the rebounding battle, 43-27.
A 20-point, 10-rebound game from 6-10 freshman Vernon Carey gave Duke strength inside.
“I’m really proud of my guys for what they have done,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s really an outstanding performance.”
The Blue Devils felt they turned in a performance worthy of the court-signing gesture. Sure, to many outside the program it’s a gimmick.
But inside Duke’s locker room, and more importantly on its bench where they’ll look down and see their signatures on the court during every home game, it carries meaning.
“It’s just a tremendous honor,” DeLaurier said, “knowing all our brothers who have come before us and played on that court.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Why beating Wofford is a signature win for No. 4 Duke."