Greetings to all of our Blue Devil Fans. Happy New Year to everyone. It’s really been great to be back playing after our 17-day layoff during the holidays. We felt that the break would be really good for our players to get recharged and refreshed for the second half of the season, and hope that it will pay dividends as the season winds down in February and March. Time will tell if that proves to be true.
We just got back from Philadelphia where we came away with a hard-fought victory over Temple at the Wachovia Center. There was an amazing crowd at the game with alot of Duke fans. It’s always great for our guys to see what a tremendous following we have all over the country. Some of the ushers at the arena told us that it was the best crowd they had seen in that building all year, including Sixers and Flyers games. For us to get the win shorthanded on the road, without Brian and Lance, was a good confidence builder for the team. Our bench really stepped up, most notably, Taylor King and Nolan Smith, and gave us great minutes and production. Hopefully we will have both Brian and Lance back soon. We certainly are a better team when we have everyone healthy!
All of us are very excited about starting up with ACC play this weekend. The start of conference play is always the beginning of a new season. Our team is motivated to contend for the conference championship this season and, in order to do that, you have to play each game with a high level of intensity and togetherness. The ACC is, year in and year out, loaded with great teams and programs. This year is no different. The names on the back of the jerseys may change, but the level of excellence in each of the programs in our league always remains the same. When you add in the tough environments that welcome you at each and every venue, winning in the ACC is never easy. It’s fun to be able to begin that journey with our current group.
In our first game, we have a talented Virginia team coming to Cameron led by All-American Point Guard Sean Singletary. He is a terrific player and a senior leader. They are a team that has alot of depth and really shoots the three-point shot well. They have already won a tough road game at Arizona this year, so they know what it takes to win on the road. In order for us to be successful, we are going to need all of our players to be ready to play at a high level. We will also need Cameron to be alive and give our guys the support we need!!
Thanks for reading… I’m off to practice to get started with the preparation…
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