University Duke University Location Durham, NC Student section Cameron Crazies Head coach Mike Krzyzewski Conference Atlantic Coast Conference Mascot Blue Devil | All-time record 2,091–868 (.707) Nickname Blue Devils Colors Duke blue and White Arena/Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium Division Division I (NCAA) League Division I (NCAA) | |
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President obama welcomes the ncaa champion duke blue devils men s basketball team
The Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team is the college basketball program representing Duke University. The team is fourth all-time in wins of any NCAA men's basketball program, and is coached by Mike Krzyzewski.
Contents
- President obama welcomes the ncaa champion duke blue devils men s basketball team
- By the numbers
- Team history
- Mike Krzyzewski era
- NCAA Tournament seeding history
- Complete NCAA tournament results
- NIT results
- Cameron Indoor Stadium
- Player awards
- Blue Devils in the NBA
- References
Duke has won 5 NCAA Championships (tied with North Carolina and Indiana for third all-time behind UCLA and Kentucky) and appeared in 11 Championship Games (third all-time) and 16 Final Fours (fourth all-time behind North Carolina, UCLA, and Kentucky), and has an NCAA-best .755 NCAA tournament winning percentage. Eleven Duke players have been named the National Player of the Year, and 71 players have been selected in the NBA Draft. Additionally, Duke has 36 players named All-Americans (chosen 60 times) and 14 Academic All-Americans. Duke has been the Atlantic Coast Conference Champions a record 19 times, and also lays claim to 19 ACC regular season titles. Prior to joining the ACC, Duke won the Southern Conference championships five times. Duke has also finished the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll seven times and is second, behind only UCLA, in total weeks ranked as the number one team in the nation by the AP with 121 weeks. Additionally, the Blue Devils have the second longest streak in the AP Top 25 in history with 200 consecutive appearances from 1996 to 2007, trailing only UCLA's 221 consecutive polls from 1966–1980. As a result of such success, ESPN, in 2008, named Duke the most prestigious college basketball program since the 1985–86 season, noting that "by any measure of success, Duke is king of the hill in college basketball in the 64-team era of the NCAA tournament." Since that designation, Duke has won two additional national titles in 2010 and 2015.
By the numbers
Team history
Adapted from Duke University Archives
In 1906, Wilbur Wade Card, Trinity College's Athletic Director and a member of the Class of 1900, introduced the game of basketball to Trinity. The January 30 issue of The Trinity Chronicle headlined the new sport on its front page. Trinity's first game ended in a loss to Wake Forest, 24–10. The game was played in the Angier B. Duke Gymnasium, later known as The Ark. The Trinity team won its first title in 1920, the state championship, by beating the North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (now NC State) 25 to 24. Earlier in the season they had beaten the University of North Carolina 19–18 in the first match-up between the two schools. Trinity college then became Duke University.
Billy Werber, Class of 1930, became Duke's first All-American in basketball. The Gothic-style West Campus opened that year, with a new gym, later to be named for Coach Card. The Indoor Stadium opened in 1940. Initially it was referred to as an "Addition" to the gymnasium. Part of its cost was paid for with the proceeds from the Duke football team's appearance in the 1938 Rose Bowl. In 1972 it would be named for Eddie Cameron, head coach from 1929 to 1942.
In 1952, Dick Groat became the first Duke player to be named National Player of the Year. Duke left the Southern Conference to become a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953. The Duke team under Vic Bubas made its first appearance in the Final Four in 1963, losing 94–75 to Loyola in the semifinal. The next year, Bubas' team reached the national title game, losing to the Bruins of UCLA, who claimed 10 titles in the next 12 years. Bob Verga was Duke's star player in 1967.
The basketball program won its 1000th game in 1974, making Duke only the eighth school in NCAA history to reach that figure. In a turnaround, Coach Bill Foster's 1978 Blue Devils, who had gone 2–10 in the ACC the previous year, won the conference tournament and went on to the NCAA championship game, where they fell to Kentucky. Gene Banks, Mike Gminski ('80) and Jim Spanarkel ('79) ran the floor.
Mike Krzyzewski era
Mike Krzyzewski has been at Duke since 1980. His many accomplishments include:
Krzyzewski's teams made the Final Four in 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2010 and 2015.
Duke upset the heavily favored UNLV Runnin' Rebels 79–77 in the Final Four in 1991, a rematch of the 1990 final in which Duke lost by 30 points. The team, led by Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, and Thomas Hill went on to defeat Kansas 72–65 to win the university's first NCAA Championship. Ranked #1 all season and favored to repeat as national champions in 1992, Duke took part in a game "acclaimed by many [as] the greatest college basketball game ever played," according to ESPN. In the Elite Eight, Duke met the Rick Pitino-led Kentucky Wildcats. It appeared Kentucky had sealed the win in overtime when guard Sean Woods hit a running shot off the glass in the lane to put Kentucky up by one with 2.1 seconds left on the clock. After a timeout, Duke's Grant Hill threw a full-court pass to Christian Laettner. Laettner took one dribble and nailed a turn-around jumper at the buzzer to send Duke into the Final Four with a 104–103 victory. Duke went on to defeat the Sixth-seeded Michigan 71–51 to claim its second NCAA Championship. They would later meet Kentucky for another classic regional final game, but blow a 17-point second half lead in losing to the Wildcats. The Blue Devils would lose the 1994 title game to Arkansas and their "Forty Minutes of Hell" defense. The next two seasons would see them fall to just 31–31, though they made the 1996 tournament with an 18–12 record, 8–8 in conference play. They would also fall in the 1999 title game, this time to Jim Calhoun and the UCONN Huskies. Duke defeated Arizona 82–72 to win its third NCAA Championship in 2001, becoming one of a handful of teams in NCAA Tournament history to defeat all of their tournament opponents by double digits. Coveney was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame later that year. On April 5, 2010 Duke Men's Basketball won their fourth NCAA Championship by defeating Butler 61–59. On April 6, 2015 Duke's Men's Basketball won their fifth NCAA Championship by defeating Wisconsin 68–63.
Highly ranked recruit Jabari Parker signed with Duke before the start of the 2013–2014 season. He was ranked as the second best recruit by ESPN. He has the record for most 20 point games by a Blue Devil in their Freshman year.
Duke has been ranked as the #1 team in the nation 235 weeks in their history.
Former Duke stars such as Alaa Abdelnaby, Johnny Dawkins, Cherokee Parks, Bobby Hurley, Antonio Lang, Roshown McLeod, William Avery, Trajan Langdon, Grant Hill, Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Chris Duhon, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Daniel Ewing, J.J. Redick, Shavlik Randolph, Shelden Williams, Corey Maggette, Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts, Gerald Henderson, Austin Rivers, Lance Thomas, Kyle Singler, Miles Plumlee, Mason Plumlee, Nolan Smith, Jason Williams, Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood and Kyrie Irving have gone on to play in the NBA. Many of Krzyzewski's assistants and former players, such as Tommy Amaker (Seton Hall, University of Michigan and Harvard), Bob Bender (Illinois State University and University of Washington), Mike Brey (Delaware and Notre Dame), Jeff Capel (VCU and Oklahoma), Chris Collins (Northwestern), Johnny Dawkins (Stanford), Quin Snyder (Missouri), and Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette) have become head basketball coaches at major universities, while Pete Gaudet is now the head coach of the India women's national basketball team.
NCAA Tournament seeding history
The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.
Complete NCAA tournament results
The Blue Devils have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 40 times. Their combined record is 107–35.
NIT results
The Blue Devils have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times. Their combined record is 5–6.
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium was completed on January 6, 1940, having cost $400,000. At the time, it was the largest gymnasium in the country south of the Palestra at the University of Pennsylvania. Originally called Duke Indoor Stadium, it was renamed for Coach Cameron on January 22, 1972. The building originally included seating for 8,800, though standing room was sufficient to ensure that 12,000 could fit in on a particularly busy day. Then, as now, Duke students were allowed a large chunk of the seats, including those directly alongside the court. Renovations in 1987–1988 removed the standing room areas and added seats, bringing capacity to 9,314.
Duke's men's basketball teams have had a decided home-court advantage for many years, thanks to the diehard students known as the Cameron Crazies. The hardwood floor has been dedicated and renamed Coach K Court in honor of head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and the tent city outside Cameron where students camp out before big games is what is known as Krzyzewskiville. In 1999, Sports Illustrated ranked Cameron the fourth best venue in all of professional and college sports, and USA Today referred to it as "the toughest road game in the nation".
Player awards
National Players of the Year
ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year
ACC Rookies of the Year
National Defensive Player of the Year
ACC Defensive Player of the Year (since 2005)