The 2010-2011 Duke Basketball Team - A Prediction

If you enjoy college basketball, then you know that this year Duke University went all the way in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. They are the 2010 National Champions. I know a whole lot of folks aren't happy about that. Duke seems to have won more than their share of championships these past 25 years.

I want to affirm that I'm not among the Duke-haters. 

I was a cadet at West Point in the mid-1960s when Mike Krzyzewski was a cadet, and I watched him play under Bobby Knight. I went to graduate school and earned my Ph.D. at Duke in the early 1970s, and I have wonderful memories of my time there. I'm an over-the-top, 100% loyal DUKE FAN. I decline social events and reschedule business appointments so I can watch Duke play on TV. I wear the hat, the t-shirt, and the sweatshirt. I follow the recruiting news in the off-season.

There. I said it. Now you know. 

Also, I'd like to say that winning the championship this year was unexpected. Yes, it was such a thrill to me that weeks later I still feel the euphoria. I'll probably still be feeling it next December, when the new season starts up. That's what happens when your favorite team wins the National Championship. But the victory was a surprise to me. Yes, I picked them to win - out of a sense of loyalty. But I didn't really expect them to go that far. How could they? I figured they'd have to get past Syracuse, then Kentucky, and finally Kansas - all teams with more talent.

Yes, they had some luck. Those superior times were beaten and Duke never had to face them. But mostly, the Duke players won all their games because they engaged many personal strengths: commitment, effort, excellence, teamwork, patience, perseverance, focus, composure and others. In interviews, Coach K acknowledged that they were a very good team, but not a "great" team, and that he loved coaching them because of their character strength.

I mention all this because Duke's 2010-2011 team will be quite a bit more talented than this year's championship team. All-Americans Kyle Singer and Nolan Smith will return as seniors. The underclassmen will return stronger than before, including three experienced 6' 10" power forwards. And five new players will be on the team. They include sophomores Seth Curry (NBA star Stephen Curry's younger brother, a sophomore transfer who was the leading college freshman scorer) and Carrick Felix, a talented junior college transfer. And three high-ranking high school recruits, including Kyrie Irving, a future NBA star that Coach K compares to Jason Williams and Bobby Hurley. All five of the players who start for Duke could very well be future NBA players. 

For this reason, many preseason polls have Duke ranked No. 1. Unlike last year's team, this new team is the kind of team that is expected to be in the Final Four.

But reason has little to do with whether this stronger team will go that far and possibly win a back-to-back championship. What matters more than talent is character. Will this new team display the same commitment, effort, excellence, teamwork, patience, perseverance, focus, composure and other personal strengths?

This is the challenge for Duke this coming year.

So when I don my Duke cap and sweatshirt and set up my favorite beverage and snacks to watch my Dukies in high-definition, that's what I'm going to be looking for, more than anything. The intangibles. I have faith and confidence that I'll see it, because Coach K prizes "heart" above all and consciously cultivates character strength. And if he pulls it off, it seems inevitable that yes, the Blue Devils once again will be in the Final Four, contending for the championship.

Post by Dennis E. Coates, Ph.D., Copyright 2010. Building Personal Strength . (Duke Blue Devils logo copyright owned by Duke University. Use in this blog complies with U.S. copyright guidelines for fair use to identify the university.)