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On its NCAA Tournament preview cover, Sports Illustrated asked the question on
everyone's mind: "Can Anybody Beat Duke?" Connecticut marched into St.
Petersburg's Tropicana Field and shouted at the top of its lungs,
"Yes!" The cheers from Storrs nearly drowned out the sound of the
first brick falling. In the weeks following the NCAA title game, Duke sophomores
Elton Brand and William Avery and freshman Corey Maggette became the first
three Blue Devils ever to bolt for the NBA before their four years were up. Add
to that the graduation of sharpshooter Trajan Langdon, the defection to Utah of
center Chris Burgess and postseason hip-replacement surgery for coach Mike
Krzyzewski, and it became clear that the Empire had seen better days. The
program that entered last March with a record of 37-2, the perfect mix of paint
presence (see Brand), outside prowess (see Langdon), defense (see Shane
Battier), depth (see Maggette), and smarts (see Kryzewski) entered 1999-00
praying that its newcomers -- including four McDonald's All-America selections
-- would grow up fast. As Krzyzewski once said, "Sir Lancelot doesn't live
in Camelot forever." Maybe not, but we're betting he'll be
back.
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