Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FRANK VEHORN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Imagine:
Late Saturday night the last light clicks off in Cameron Indoor Stadium, where earlier in the evening Duke had beaten Michigan.
A slender, dark-haired man in a blue suit slips out of a side door, slides behind the wheel of a luxury sedan and drives away into the misty night.
A few minutes later, the car pulls to a stop on the side of the road and out of view from passing traffic.
Suddenly and uncontrollably, the man begins pounding his fists against the leather steering wheel, laughs loudly and shouts, ``I've done it again! I've done it again! Yes, I have!''
Of course, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski never would permit himself to do such a thing.
But who could blame him if he did?
In the last decade, Krzyzewski has been the master of bringing in new players to replace supposedly irreplaceable superstars and, year after year, molding them into Final Four teams.
Duke has been to seven Final Fours the past nine years - more than all the Big Ten or Big East teams combined - and despite preseason predictions to the contrary, anyone would be foolish to think it can't happen again this season.
Some thought Duke's run in the sun would end when Christian Laettner graduated.
It didn't.
Some thought it was over when Bobby Hurley left.
It wasn't.
Others were certain the Blue Devils would need time to regroup this year after graduating megastar Grant Hill and plugging three freshmen into the rotation.
But, look. Krzyzewski has done it again.
The Blue Devils are 5-1, and certain to move up from ninth place in this week's polls.
The early season success hasn't come against a cupcake schedule, either.
In an eight-day span that ended Saturday, Duke defeated a pair of Big Ten teams, Illinois and Michigan, and blew out not-too-shabby George Washington.
Its only loss was by four points to Connecticut in the third game of the season.
This isn't the way it was supposed to be for a team that occasionally puts all three freshmen - none over 6-foot-6 - on the court at the same time.
In the 69-59 victory over Michigan, the Blue Devils started freshmen Ricky Price and Steve Wojciechowski along with seniors Cherokee Parks and Erik Meek and sophomore Jeff Capel.
A third freshman, Trajan Langdon, was the first player off the bench and Duke's second-leading scorer with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
While some teams fret about ``chemistry,'' Duke veterans say the new players are blending in.
``They know what we are doing, and none of them is holding back,'' said Parks, this season's resident All-America candidate.
``They didn't have to get a feel for anything. They just jumped right in.''
Wojciechowski, a 5-11 guard from Baltimore, quite literally jumped right in - diving for loose balls as Hurley did in his four years. Despite being a freshman, Wojciechowski is the one who leads the Blue Devils out of the dressing room and onto the court.
That probably is because if the door gets jammed, Wojciechowski, who resembles a blond fireplug, will run right through it.
Already Duke fans have their own cheer for him (``Let's go, Wojo''), and they constantly compare him to Hurley, an all-time favorite.
``I hear that a lot,'' Wojciechowski said. ``It is an honor but, really, it is unfair to Bobby for anyone to compare me to him after only six games. He did so much in his four years as a starter here, and I haven't done anything yet.''
But Wojciechowski isn't surprised to be playing right away, just as Hurley did as a freshman.
``Not at all,'' he said. ``Coach K tells you when he is recruiting you that he doesn't recruit anyone to sit on the bench. He says if you compete, practice hard, and do everything he says to do that you are going to play.
``He's that way with the other freshmen, too. It's unbelievable he has that much confidence in us.''
Price, who may be the most talented freshman, isn't surprised either when he finds himself in the game with the other two.
``All three of us are good players, so why not put us in?'' he said.
Of course, it is still December, and by no means is this a polished Duke team. The veterans are more aware of that than the new kids on the court.
``We are a young team that is still learning and developing,'' Capel said.
``We don't have anyone who can take over a game like Grant Hill could do. We have to do as a group what he did for us last year.''
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB