Duke basketball: 3 consistencies key to a final Coach K title
By Matt Johnson
Necessary Duke basketball consistency: Clutch point guard
The first prerequisite for a Duke basketball title is a solid, clutch point guard. While one could argue that every successful team needs a trusty floor general, it’s of particular importance to the Blue Devils and Coach K as the point guard is a natural extension of his personality on the court.
The 1991 and 1992 squads had Bobby Hurley, 2001 had Chris Duhon and Jay Williams, 2010 had Jon Scheyer, and 2015 had Tyus Jones.
All of those dudes were studs. Whether it’s Scheyer hitting the corner three in the ACC title game or Jones knocking down so many clutch shots in the national championship game — Jim Nantz sounded like he wanted to adopt him — our points have a clutch gene you just can’t teach.
Sophomore Jeremy Roach has big shoes to fill, but he has all the talent in the world to make things happen when Duke needs him most. His 8.7 points per game last season feel small. But towards the end of the season, he was starting to get his act together.
More than scoring, though, the most important thing Roach will have to harness from his predecessors is the ability to know exactly what the team needs and when. When Christian Laettner was missing everything in 1992, Hurley knew he had to make the shots…