Meet The Opponent- Duke Blue Devils

Fun Facts

• Besides Cincinnati and UCLA, Duke is the only other school to make 5 consecutive Final Four appearances.
• Coach Mike Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in NCAA Basketball history, amounting a win total of 927 games beginning at the start of this year.
• This is Duke’s 19^th time in the Elite Eight, last going in 2010 where they beat Butler in the NCAA Championship game.
• Coach K is an astounding 11-1 in Regional Championship games. With a win tomorrow he ties John Wooden (UCLA) for most all-time Final Fours

Famous Alumni

Richard Nixon, Jay Bilas, Grant Hill.

Starting Five

      Guard- #14 Rasheed Sulaimon, 6-4, 185 lbs, Freshman

     Bringing home many honors his senior season at Strake Jesuit College Prep, Rasheed Sulaimon was a highly decorated athlete as he should be. Achieving honors such as McDonalds All American and Jordan Brand Classic All American, Sulaimon was also on the gold medal 2012 USA U-18 Team in Brazil this past year. Having a five-star rating from Scout.com and Rivals.com, Rasheed verbally committed to Duke on an unofficial visit on February 10^th 2011, later signing his letter of intent in November. Also having offers from UNC, Arizona, Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M, Sulaimon is making an immediate impact at Duke. Averaging 11.8 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game, and a season high over 27 points, Rasheed is striving as a young freshmen on another wise bulked senior lineup.

Guard- #30 Seth Curry, 6-2,185 lbs, Senior

     A native of North   Carolina, Seth Curry and his family are no strangers to sports. His father, former NBA 6^th man of the year Dell Curry, his mother, Sonya Curry, is a former volleyball stand out, and his brother, Stephen Curry, is the current guard for the Golden State Warriors. He attended Charlotte Christian School, where he led them to the state final in 2006 and averaged 22.3 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds as a senior. He received Mcdonalds All- American nominee and was a part of the FIBA under 19 USA team that won the championship in 2009. After high school, Curry attended Liberty his freshmen year before transferring to Duke and sitting out the 2010 season. He got his chance to shine last year when Kyrie Irving got injured, and has earned a starting role ever since.

Guard- #2 Quinn Cook, 6-1, 175 lbs, Sophomore

     From Washington D.C., Quinn Cook attended DeMatha Catholic High School for 3 years, where he lead the Stags to a 85-18 record and finished as the top team in the state of Maryland in Cook’s junior year. Quinn then decided to transfer to OakHill Academy, which is notoriously known for a strong basketball tradition. With players like William Avery, Steve Blake, Brandon Jennings, Rajon Rondo, Ty Lawson and Nolan Smith at the point guard position, Quinn Cook was soon to follow in those foot steps. 19.1 points per game and 10.9 assists per game were his averages his senior year as he lead Oak Hill to a 31-4 record. Cook was one of the most highly recruited in his class and also played in the McDonalds All American Game. A second team All-American by Max Preps, Cook chose Duke over Villanova, North   Carolina and UCLA.

Forward- #5 Mason Plumlee, 6-10, 235 lbs, Senior

     Much like Curry, Mason Plumlee comes from a long line of basketball family. His parents played college ball, he plays with his younger brother Marshall on Duke while his older brother Miles Plumlee is currently playing for the Indiana Pacers. Also, His grandfather “Bud” Shultz and two uncles (William and Chad) played basketball as well. Plumlee played his high school ball at ChristSchool, Mason lead his team to three state championships and was named Mr. Basketball in the state of North Carolina. In 2009 he was an McDonalds All American, averaging 15.3 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.5 blocks a game as a senior. In addition to all of this, Plumlee also competed in the long jump on the track and field team, with 6’8” being his overall best height. Given a grade of 98/100 on ESPN, Plumlee committed to Duke. His brother Miles had initially committed to Stanford, but when coach Trent Johnson packed his bags for LSU, Miles packed his bag for Duke. Mason was a role player coming off the bench last year, but this year he has settled in as a starter. This year he was an Academic All America selection, along with being named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.

     Forward- #34 Ryan Kelly, 6-4, 230 lbs, Senior

     Kelly started out at Ravenscroft School, leading them to 3 conference championships and an overall record of 70-24 during his tenure. Named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season, Kelly holds all time school records in points, points per game, blocks, rebounds, free throws, field goals, and field goal percentage. Listed as the number 4 power forward in his class, Kelly committed to Duke. This year he was named team captain for the second straight year. He’s taken over 40 charges throughout his career at Duke and currently averages 13.3 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Coming off foot surgery in the off-season, Kelly also averaged 11.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, also adding a nice 40.8 percent from downtown his junior year.

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The Breakdown

Duke is one of the best overall teams in the country. They have size, speed, athleticism, and most importantly, discipline. Coach K demands the best out of his team, and frankly put, his team usually gives back. With one of the strongest front courts in the country, the Blue Devils attack is led by Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly. Duke ranks 6^th in points per game and 17^th in field goal percentage, along with five players that average over 10 points a game. It’s simple, they can shoot lights out. However, rebounds are the Achilles heel in an other wise healthy team. Ranking 213^th in rebounds, the way to beat Coach K is to attack the boards. Duke also uses their bench to its fullest strength, with only 3 players not averaging over 10 minutes a game. Overall, Duke keeps fresh bodies in the game at all times and plays at a faster than usual tempo, with the goal in mind to wear you out.

How They Got Here

 Assorted Info

Duke won an earlier match-up this season in the final for The Battle For Atlantis 76-71. All of Dukes starters were in double digits with Plumlee leading the way with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Peyton Siva led the way for Louisville with 19 points,6 steals, 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Also important to note, Louisville Center Gorgui Deing missed this game with a wrist injury. Louisville lost despite outscoring the Duke bench 22-3 and out-rebounding Duke 37-31 including 13 Offensive rebounds. If the Cards want to win Sunday they must do both again. The difference will have to come on  turnovers. In the previous game Duke forced us into 1 more turnover than they had, something the Cardinals have been known for doing to their opponents all year

Here is info from that game:

(BoxScore courtesy of GoCards.com)