By CHRISTIAN FRANKLIN
Opinion Editor
Duke University men’s basketball team has been well known for their excellence on the basketball court especially while having legendary Coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The Blue Devils have managed to acquire five national championships, on top of 15 final four appearances and that’s a recipe for one of the most successful programs in NCAA history.
Duke’s basketball team predicted to live up to high expectations but instead faced unforeseen losses, especially in March Madness, and it was considered nothing but short of failure.
This year while Duke tried making a run to dominate like they normally do, unfortunately this March Madness came to a crashing halt, in the final four as they were beaten by the Houston cougars 79 to 73.
This loss was painful to many fans and to all players who serves as a reminder to the Blue Devils basketball program that they will have to get back to the drawing board and make changes.
This may be a setback for the Blue Devils, but this year‘s tournament was disappointing.
But will this be the big reality check the program needs to get to where they need to be in the future?
Originally Duke’s basketball team entered March Madness with optimism after they had already established their young talent and talented roster that has shown nothing but countless flashes of brilliance throughout the season.
With their freshman stand out Jamal Davis, he has been the face of their scoring with his unique scoring ability and leadership to many of his fellow players.
Sophomore center Greg Luis, made them a threat in the paint, which led many to believe they had the potential to go all the way.
But as we’ve seen time and time again in March Madness, potential is not always enough to deliver a championship.
Going up against Houston, Duke fell victim to being inconsistent and lack of discipline in crucial moments which led to them not being able to execute in high-performance environments like in March Madness.
Even through it all Duke still managed to have strong, individual performances, Davis and Luis both had solid games while the team struggled to find a rhythm during the game as they began to be more out paced by Houston’s offense and defense which was more intense and physical than Dukes.
It is important to recognize that Duke’s performance in the tournament showed more than just defeat.
They managed to highlight a deeper question about the blue Devils basketball program.
The days of Coach K are looking to be in the rearview mirror as the team faces a new chapter under Head Coach Jon Scheyer.