THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501160130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
There is trouble in hell, that noisebox named Cameron Indoor Stadium where Blue Devils in recent years have merrily tormented opponents beneath a sky of championship pennants.
This is where devilish Duke students, a.k.a. ``Cameron Crazies,'' have ridiculed some of the ACC's greatest players, from Michael Jordan to David Thompson while bowing at the feet of their own heroes.
But now, with the Blue Devils off to their worst start in the ACC since the 1981-82 season, the spoiled ``Crazies'' are turning their verbal venom on their own.
``Don't show up for practice tomorrow. You are a disgrace,'' shrilled one angry fan Saturday after the Blue Devils blew a 23-point lead and lost in double-overtime to Virginia.
When a reminder came over the loudspeaker that Duke would be playing in Cameron on Wednesday against Tobacco Road rival North Carolina State, another student shouted an obscenity and gave a one-fingered salute as he headed for the exit.
``I won't be here,'' he muttered.
If some Duke fans are having a hard time handling defeat, there is a good reason. They haven't had much practice in recent years.
The Blue Devils in the last decade have won 296 games, four ACC regular season championships, 39 NCAA tournament games, advanced to seven Final Fours, and won back-to-back championships.
But, what have they done lately?
They have lost their first four ACC games, two at home against Clemson and Virginia, and are in danger of falling out of the national rankings for the first time since the fifth week of the 1986-87 season.
The last time Duke opened the ACC regular season with four losses was in 1981-82, its second season under coach Mike Krzyzewski, who would make the program the most respected in the nation.
Coincidentally or not, the present slide has come without Coach K being on the sidelines.
Only a couple of weeks ago, it seemed Krzyzewski was building another powerhouse despite losing All-American Grant Hill and trying to break three freshmen into the rotation.
The Devils had beaten Illinois, Michigan, and Georgia Tech and ranked seventh in the AP poll.
Then, following a shocking loss to Clemson, Krzyzewski re-entered the hospital because of back pain, apparently brought on by trying to come back too soon from surgery last Oct. 22 for a displaced disc.
Krzyzewski was released from the hospital last Tuesday to begin rehabilitation, but doctors have advised him not to return to coaching for at least several weeks.
Assistant coach Pete Gaudet was named interim head coach and has become the most visible target for some of the fans' frustration.
``They are ripping him up pretty good on the (radio) talk-shows,'' says Mickey McCarthy, a columnist for the Raleigh News and Observer.
``It's a shame, too.''
McCarthy wrote in a column Saturday morning he thought the rebuilding Blue Devils would have gotten off to a 0-3 start in the league even if Krzyzewski had been there.
``I'm not sure they would 0-4, though,'' he admitted after witnessing the crushing collapse Saturday afternoon to Virginia.
Guadet, who has been at Krzyzewski's side at Duke the last 12 years, concedes that trying to replace Krzyzewski is a burden.
``I told my wife it was really tough in the office trying to make up for two people,'' Gaudet said.
``She asked who else was out, and I told her just Mike, but he does the work of two people.''
Gaudet and the other two assistants, Mike Brey and Tommy Amaker, have had little contact with Krzyzewski since he left the team.
``He told us to use our own judgement and not call him,'' Gaudet said, ``so that is what I have tried to do.''
While other league coaches are careful not to fault the Duke assistants, they admit the Blue Devils are at a disadvantage without Krzyzewski.
``He (Krzyzewski) belongs in the hall-of-fame right now,'' said Georgia Tech's Bobby Cremins. ``You don't lose a coach like that and not miss him.''
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom compared the absence of Krzyzewski to losing an All-American player.
``You just can't replace someone like that,'' he said.
Still, others contend the problem runs deeper than Krzyzewski's absence.
``They are younger and don't have the superstars they had when (Christian) Laettner, (Bobby) Hurley, and Hill were there,'' said Wake Forest guard Randolph Childress.
``You can't compare this team to those in the last few years''.
A Laettner, Hurley, or Hill would have been expected to step up and taken charge Saturday when Virginia began mounting its comeback Saturday.
But there was no one to stop Virginia guard Cory Alexander, who took over the game midway through the second half to lead the Cavaliers to what was being called the greatest comeback in school history.
Meanwhile, the Blue Devils were left to consider the damage from such a collapse in front of their home fans.
``I am definitely in shock,'' admitted sophomore guard Jeff Capel, one of a few Blue Devils who lingered in the dressing room to answer questions in the wake of the disaster.
``In my wildest dreams I never would have imagined we would start the conference oh-and-four, or for that matter, lose four games in a row anytime in the season.''
Capel, who led Duke with 28 points, sighed softly.
``I don't want to say it is time to panic, but it seems like it is getting to that point. There is no doubt this (loss) is going to be tougher than the others to put behind us.
``Once we get that first ACC win, get our confidence back, I think we can go on and be the kind of team we know we can be.''
In another corner of the quiet room, freshman point guard Steve Wojciechowski sat solemnly beside a couple of boxes of untouched doughnuts.
After the loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday, Wojeciechowski had said the Blue Devils missed Krzyzewski's guidence.
He didn't feel that was the case against Virginia.
``We can't use that as an excuse,'' Wojeckiechowski said.
``There was nothing Coach K could have done. He couldn't have gone out there and guarded Alexander. The asistant coaches did a great job preparing us.''
Across the room, Capel was saying the same.
``There are no excuses in this dressing room,'' he said. ``We'd love to have Coach K here, but the fact is he is not here and he has to do whatever it takes to get healthy again.''
The Blue Devils can only hope they still have a heart beat when he does return. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Mike Krzyzewski
by CNB