D2: The Mighty Devils
By Chris Bunn
Mar 29, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Josh Hairston (15) high fives guard Seth Curry (right) while standing next to teammates Rasheed Sulaimon (14) and Tyler Thornton (3) in the second half during the semifinals of the Midwest regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament against the Michigan State Spartans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
In what is arguably the greatest cinematic feature in history, Coach Gordon Bombay leads the rag-tag USA junior hockey team through a gauntlet of traditional superpowers such as Trinidad & Tobago and Italy into the International Elite Youth Hockey Championship of the World (or something along those lines). This dynamic unit isn’t made up of twenty-five baby Gretzkys but instead, each player brings a unique skill set (like cattle wrangling) to fit a greater team purpose.
The blending of these talents is not unlike the 2013-2014 Blue Devils squad that heads into the summer as somewhat of an unknown. I say somewhat because while we are unsure how the pieces will fit together, most are confident it will form a contender to Kentucky’s Iceland impersonation.
In fact, many of the qualities of that legendary hockey team have comparables to some of the Duke players.
The Bash Brothers – Amile Jefferson and Josh Hairston: Dean Portman and Fulton Reed, the bandana bruisers of the defense made it well known that any attacking force needed to proceed with trepidation for fear of their skull being sent through the glass. While Jefferson and Hairston aren’t allowed to be as violent, their physicality in the post will be needed as the last line of defense. Quinn Cook, unless larger strides are made, has a tendency to allow ball-handlers to turn the corner on him when he’s high screened. When he goes under the screen, he cuts off his man much more often. However, when he goes over, he often leaves the man in the middle to act as his safety net. That was fine when Duke had two 6’11”+ players in the post to head off those drivers. Now, the mop up duty will be left to the Block Brothers, if you will. (You will.) The combination of Jefferson’s length, rebounding, and finishing to go with Hairston’s ability to seal his man and draw charges should do fine as compensation for the departed seniors. And that is only in the half court sets. Jefferson’s agility, energy, and positioning awareness will be work perfectly for Duke’s high-pressure defense next season.
Jesse Hall – Quinn Cook: The brash star that backs down from no one, possesses high end straight-away speed, serves as creator of the offense, leader of the flying V, is most likely to call someone a “cake eater.” I mean, he will almost definitely call Jabari Parker a cake eater at some point and it will change the season forever (I’m going to assume for the good but really, everything is on the table). Plus, if there was one player to duck out in the middle of the NCAA tournament to play some streetball and bring back Kenan Thompson, it would be Quinn Cook, right?
Les Averman/Kenny Wu – Marshall Plumlee: The comic relief guy that you aren’t sure ever plays because he is cracking jokes at Coach K on the sideline. Then you have this that certifies him as the third bash bro.
Russ Tyler – Andre Dawkins: The one-trick pony whose one trick is pretty damn good and really is only there when you need him to be. Dawkins will forever be loved by the Duke fan base for the way he stepped into college early to aid the 2010 National Champions. In the same fashion, Russ Tyler will always be an American legend like Thomas Jefferson or Clint Dempsey for the way he joined the USA junior hockey team halfway through the biggest tournament of their lives and helped them (SPOILER!!!!!) win. Also, I imagine Dawkins sitting over Cook’s shoulder this past season from behind the bench saying stuff like this. Tyler’s clutch rating is off the charts even by movie standards and you’d have to imagine Dawkins is too. Down by 9 on the road in Wisconsin? Dre hits three consecutive threes to close the gap to one possession. Struggling to put away Michigan State for win 903? Dre drops 26 on the Spartans including 6-10 from deep. Up only 4 on the road in Littlejohn with 1:15 left to play? Dre scores 7 straight points for Duke to seal the game. It’s obvious that when motivated and focused Dawkins is a great closer and will be an underrated asset to this team, assuming he has fully recovered from his year away from the game.
Dewayne Robertson – Rodney Hood: Truthfully, we know very little about Hood other than he is very good at basketball and he is very country. So this spot was one of the few absolute locks on the list because we all know at halftime of the national championship this season, this will happen and Hood will undoubtedly emulate Mr. Robertson. Also, greatest post-regulation speech in history? Greatest post-regulation speech in history.
Adam Banks – Jabari Parker: The tradition-rich superstar that only knows how to win, has clearly the brightest future, has a history with injuries, and will definitely get called a “cake eater” as Jesse/Quinn tries to keep him in check. Parker brings a centerpiece to mold the team around much the same way Bombay built the Ducks attacking efforts around the consistency and skill of Banks. When you have that much volatility around the team, a constant is always needed to ride out the troughs in the waves. That is what Parker will bring this season: Elite level scoring and awareness, great defending, ball handling, athleticism, length, and passing. He’ll do it all, as Banks did, and provide Duke with its much needed cake eater.
Guy Germaine – Rasheed Sulaimon: Guy/Rasheed is the guy that is there, contributing a goal here or there, a few flashes passes, some solid man to man defense, and occasionally completely takes over a game. What, you guys never saw Guy Germaine completely dismantle Egypt in the opening rounds of the tournament? You don’t remember his wrister from the blue-line that went five-hole and the subsequent celebratory mummy pose that lit twitter aflame in its aftermath? Maybe you should rewatch it.
Charlie Conway – Tyler Thornton: No one wears the C better than Charlie Conway or Tyler Thornton. As the brains of the operation, you often see the two taking a backseat to the action and dictating play with heady clearances, pesky ball-denial, diving out of bounds to save the ball, or coaching the team when Bombay gives up hope. Ok, maybe that one only applies to Charlie but we all know Thornton would chomp at the bit to lead with a clipboard. Perhaps every team needs that guy. The player that understands the deeper need to sit back and push the buttons of his more talented teammates. Some players understand how to do that but have to be involved in the play. It takes a rare player with the humility to play a lesser role for the benefit of the team and have the desire to do it. Especially in this day and age of the attention seeking AAU world that seeps into players like a virus. The Thornton/Conway types are a rare, if athletically limited, breed that should be appreciated for all the cerebral skills they bring to the game.
Just to hammer home this comparison, there is a gloriously poetic scene (3:00 mark) in D2 that is just so Thornton. When Adam Cake Eater Banks miraculously returns from his death-defying wrist injury, Russ Tyler had already filled the roster spot. Tyler begins to take his jersey off but Charlie stops him. Like a captain. Charlie volunteers as tribute, err, rather volunteers his roster spot so that Banks can play. There is less than zero doubt in my mind that Thornton would give up his spot on the team if it meant Jabari Cake Eater Parker could play.
Julie Gaffney – Todd Zafirovski: Because this season will undoubtedly end with Zaf stuffing Julius Randle at the rim, left-handed, after Randle’s patented triple-deke.
Luis Mendoza – Alex Murphy: Both have tremendous skill sets with one crippling mental block. For Mendoza it was having the confidence to stop on skates, for Murphy it’s simply confidence. His shooting has struggled and he sometimes looks like a lost dog without guidance. Most of this has developed for unknown reasons but I’m under the impression he over thinks on the court. In high school and AAU, the coaching and systems were simpler and allowed him to play more loosely. It’s not that Duke’s system is complex or strict because it’s not. It seems to be more of a factor of Murphy trying to process his smaller role in the team than he is used to and whether or not he’s assigned certain duties on the court. In the games in which he has taken over a more prominent role such as the blowout Miami game, Murphy seemed to find himself in his element. All this said, I think he will be a fantastic player as an upperclassmen when he assumes a bigger role and more minutes.
Greg Goldberg – Matt Jones or Semi Ojeleye: Goldberg was the premiere irrational confidence guy. His pregame meals were deep-fried, cheeto-stuffed calzones. His halftime replenishment was two liters of Sunkist or Surge. Then he strutted out onto the ice and hung donut after donut on the scoreboard WHILE DOWNING DONUTS ON THE ICE. Logically, Goldberg should have been a fat, unathletic keeper with horrible stick and glove skills. Instead, he was clutch on top of clutch. Jones and Ojeleye aren’t at that level yet but they have the potential to be super subs this season and bring that irrational confidence off the bench for spot minutes. Expecting more than that from this duo would be, for lack of a better word, irrational.
With such an epic season no doubt on the cusp of fulfilling this prophetic comparison, my only hope is that Countdown To Craziness opens with a mock skit of this scene led by Tyler Thornton and a duck call.