The No. 10 Blue Devils (21-6, 12-4 ACC) have a long way to go before attaining the status of the 2009-10 Duke basketball national champions. But second-year head coach Jon Scheyer, a starring senior and full-time starting floor general for that memorable squad in Durham 14 years ago, sees a similar mood taking shape.
On Monday night, the 36-year-old told Voice of the Blue Devils and Fast Break with Jon Scheyer host David Shumate that the emotions in the locker room following Saturday's 83-79 letdown at Wake Forest brought to mind his last loss in college: 79-72 at Maryland on March 3, 2010, dropping that Duke team to 25-5 overall (12-3 ACC).
Scheyer spoke at length about the connected mentality that his Blue Devils must have to make this their "moment" to spark a season-ending winning streak of their own, with the potential to be a few games longer than the 10 in a row that he and the 2009-10 Blue Devils reeled off en route to cutting down the nets in Indianapolis:
"It reminds me a little bit of my senior year. We played at Maryland, and our team at that point had been on a roll. And we lost. It was their Senior Day. We lost a close game down the stretch...We came up short, and it wasn't because of effort or anything like that. We just missed out on a couple plays.
"And it was similar to [the loss at] Wake. You know, we competed...I mean, we played hard. We tried. It's not just [about] playing hard, though. It's playing smart, and it's being incredibly connected against a good team.
"So, if you're a second late in a rotation, they're gonna make you pay. If you leave your feet when you need to stay down and not go for a shot fake, they're gonna make you pay. You know, we doubled a couple of times from the post; if you come from the wrong way or don't communicate it, they're gonna make you pay.
"I can go down the line. But throughout a game, those plays add up. And that's what we learned my senior year. We went on to not lose after that.
"But I thought this moment [on Saturday]...I mean, look, guys were crying in the locker room. They're disappointed. They're upset today. They're taking responsibility. They're ready to get back to work. And to me, that's a mark of a team that cares, that wants to do really well...
"This is going to be a moment for us. I feel it. It's gonna be a moment for us."
NEXT DUKE BASKETBALL GAME: at home versus unranked Louisville (3-13, 8-19 ACC), 7 p.m. ET Wednesday (ACCN)
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