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No cooling off Duke
By Tim Crothers, Sports Illustrated
Krzyzewski's primary task during this preseason is more of a restoration project, the reinstitution of Duke's trademark ballhawking defense that the Blue Devils coach dialed down significantly last season because of a lack of depth. The maturation of sophomores like Nick Horvath and Casey Sanders -- and particularly the addition of blue-chip freshman point guard Chris Duhon -- afford Krzyzewski enough bench cavalry to unleash the pressure. And, rest assured, it will wither the enemy more than his own team. This is a devastating weapon for a club that returns the same core of players (minus Chris Carrawell) that led the nation in scoring last season and finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the polls. Any concerns about whether a climate-controlled Cameron will hold the same mystique as the sauna of the past are quickly debunked by Duke's players. "It's nice for our fans that they're putting in the AC," Blue Devils senior swingman Nate James says, "because now that we're turning up the heat on defense again, this place is going to get uncomfortably hot for the visiting team." Several Sports Illustrated writers are touring college campuses and will file occasional Postcards for CNNSI.com.
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