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Duke freshmen focusing on the here and now

Duke's freshmen handled their first NCAA Tournament game quite successfully, knocking off Iona, 89-67.
Duke's freshmen handled their first NCAA Tournament game quite successfully, knocking off Iona, 89-67. (Associated Press)

PITTSBURGH – There isn’t a whole lot Division I college basketball can offer that Duke’s star-studded cast of freshmen haven’t already experienced.

From the instant celebrity status, the nationally televised games, the privilege of dawning the Duke uniform and playing for Mike Krzyzewski, the North Carolina rivalry nights and the Cameron Crazies, Duke’s quartet of NBA-ready talent fielding its starting lineup had basically seen it all.

Well, except for the Big Dance. Until Thursday.

But this was different, though.

“It’s March Madness,” said Wendell Carter Jr., after Duke’s 89-67 win over 15th-seeded Iona. “It’s win or go home. There ain’t no more second chances. There ain’t any of that.

“Like yeah, we beat Iona but we got a game in two days. That’s what you need to be focused on no matter how many points you scored today. You’re only going to be remembered if you win the whole thing, not if you lose in the Sweet 16 or you lose in the Elite 8.”

“I think that’s what helps us lock in,” echoed Marvin Bagley III. “We understand we don’t get to come back and practice and try it again.”

The win over the Gaels marked the first step of Duke’s quest to cut down the nets as a national champion to the tune of One Shining Moment playing in the background – a lifelong dream any aspiring college basketball player develops during their earliest introductions to the game of basketball – and replicating the 2015 Duke Final Four team that battled back to defeat Wisconsin in the national championship and do just that.

“The magical run they had. It’s something I think about a lot,” Gary Trent Jr. admitted. “The togetherness those guys still have. I played with Tyus Jones in high school so it was great to see him go through that, see that magical moment in the end where they were holding up the trophy.

“Just seeing it, how great it was. And to this day, that whole team is still together and still talk just based off that moment they shared together.”

But there’s a lot more that goes into the process than just basketball. Execution on the court is all well and good, but it can’t be attained without the proper mindset outside off of it. There’s increased distractions spanning from expectations, brackets, upsets, enhanced game environments and the pressure associated with being out of your comfort zone.

Grayson Allen, the lone senior among Duke’s starting lineup, was a freshman when Duke garnered the 2015 title, playing hero with 16 points off the bench in the win over Wisconsin. Allen’s role was different than that of the current freshmen class, but he can still remember the tournament’s magnitude and the required mentality that went along with it.

“(I’m) really just trying to tell these guys to prepare them for the atmosphere being inside of (the NCAA tournament) versus being on the outside of it,” Allen said. “Where last year, they were watching the games in high school during the day. Now, you’re in it. It can be easy to get distracted with who’s playing who, who is beating who, what’s the score going on there.

"But if you’re able to focus on today – Duke versus Iona – we can come out and play well. We first focus on Duke, not Rhode Island, not anything else.”

Trevon Duval played with poise in his first NCAA Tournament game.
Trevon Duval played with poise in his first NCAA Tournament game. (USA TODAY Sports)

For everything this group of 19 year-olds have experienced thus far, the next three weeks are going to be unlike anything they’ve seen – especially if Duke’s run continues to grow deeper.

“What happens when you’re 18 and 19, and you go into new experience – that’s what we’ve had to go through the whole year,” Krzyzewski said. “You know, the first road game. The first conference game. The first 10 p.m. game. This is another first of them. …You get jittery. You get a little bit tight. That’s what happens to people.”

Players have different methods of dealing with it. Trent Jr. pointed to constant communication with teammates. Bagley III emphasized approaching the process one day at time. Carter even deleted Instagram and Twitter off his IPhone Wednesday night.

“I don’t even want to look at it,” he said with a laugh. “If it’s on my phone I’m going to look at it. It’s just to keep my mind on tunnel vision. I know myself and know that it’d be a distraction.

“You’re dreaming. Visualizing attacking. Going through your mind. Before you go to bed you’re thinking about what you’re going to do in the game. It’s what that night consists of. Closing my eyes, visualizing about what I’m going to do and how I’m going to affect the game.”

Carter, Bagley III, Trent Jr. and Trevon Duval appeared as advertised Thursday, combining for 66 points on 27 of 46 shooting. Bagley III – both the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Player and Rookie of the Year – posted 22 points and seven boards on 10 of 14 from the field, while Carter ended with nine points, eight boards, two steals and a block as Duke capitalized on Iona’s clear disadvantage inside with 46 total points in the paint. Trent Jr. added 16 points on four treys. Duval, who has struggled, at times, with inconsistency this season, opened the first half with 13 points and six assists to one turnover.

It’s safe to say those jitters weren’t an issue.

"I'm happy with my team," Krzyzewski said. "You bring a young team in here. I thought our guys really handled their first NCAA game very well against a team that has a championship pedigree. Tim's program is one of the best in the northeast and the Iona name in basketball is huge."

Duke will face a scrappy Rhode Island team in the round of 32 after the Rams prevailed over Trae Young and Oklahoma, 83-78, in overtime in a game that featured 16 lead changes. The Rams, who made the tournament last season and field four seniors and a sophomore in their starting lineup, wont enter Saturday with an ounce of intimidation while riding the wave of an NCAA tournament win over a Power 5 conference opponent.

In turn, the Blue Devils won’t be handed anything, and they know that.

“They’re a veteran team. They’ve been here,” Bagley III said. “It forces us to be mature in every aspect of the game.”

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