The Drubbing

While I was taking a break from reading the bible that is the menu at Cheesecake Factory, I glanced up to the TV screen to see Duke beating a small school by about 35 points.  This got me to thinking, what made Duke so consistently successful in college basketball over the past 20 years?  Duke has won at least 22 games since ’96!  Now, some bitter Tar Heel and Terp fans may say the reason for this is because of biased officials, i disagree.

My rationale for Duke’s success over the past 15 years comes down to one simple formula.  great coaching + 3-point baskets + good players.  Well, no duh you say.  But lets take a look at this formula a bit deeper so we can see the real genius behind this strategy for building a successful basketball program.

Great Coaching - this is the consistent through out a really good program, great coaching.  Players come and go, but a trusted system with emphasis on help-side defense and the 3 point shot stays the same.  All the haters in the world can argue as much as they want, but the fact remains, Coach K is a very, very good coach.

3point baskets - Now this is another no brainer, but combined with the last part of the equation, it becomes magnified a bit more.  Duke relies heavily on the 3 point shot.  Since 2002, Duke has averaged just over 20 3point shots per game (20.26).  Wow, that is a lot of shots, about 1 per 2 minutes.  The inception of a standardized 3point line in 1986 has changed the game of college basketball completely.  Gone are the days of dominant post play, and emphasis on getting to the paint to score.  A team can shoot from outside and get more points than a team that drives to the hoop.  Duke will happily trade 3 point baskets for 2 point baskets during a game.  The 3 point shot will allow a hot team to stay in games where they are physically and athletically out matched.

Good players - What do i mean by good players? I mean talented basketball players who know how to play, and hustle.  I don’t mean “great” players.  Think about it for a bit.  Coach K recruits all of these good basketball players, why? Because a good player, will stick around school for 4 years, while a great player in this day and age will stay maybe 2 years tops.  Being able to have a team that grows and the turnover is only every 4 years is a huge advantage over a team that is constantly changing their players.  Communication on defense, knowing how your teammates play, knowing all of the offensive plays and how a defense reacts to those plays, trusting your teammates.  Those are all huge things that can only be built over time.

So, the next time you watch a college basketball game and see a not-as-talented Duke team beating an over-hyped , athletically gifted team, don’t immediately assume it is because the officials were hypnotized by Dick Vitale.  Maybe, just maybe, it is because they play as a team, one who may not be able to take you one-on-one every time down the floor, but a team that will score 3 points to your 2, and will slide over to take help-side charges.