How to describe Duke? Strong but silent hype

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- This year's Duke basketball team is under-hyped and flying under the radar.

Read that sentence again and try to fully digest it.

Duke, the program that has received more media attention in the past two decades than Paris Hilton, Donald Trump and the cast of Jersey Shore combined, has not received the attention it deserves. And coach Mike Krzyzewski, a man who was once on so many commercials that he made Peyton Manning look underexposed, has not received the attention he deserves for just how good this Duke team is playing heading into March.

It is hard to believe that Duke, the face of college basketball for the better part of the past decade, has somehow dropped off our collective national radar, but yet it most certainly has happened.

With UNC winning two of the past five national titles, John Calipari arriving at Kentucky and Kansas producing consistent Final Four contenders, it has been easy to forget about the Dukies (unless, of course, you are tuned into a game called by Dick Vitale, in which case you will hear about their "toughness and specialness" for two hours straight, whether or not the game actually involves the Blue Devils).

Part of the lack of attention is due to Duke's own play ... the program simply hasn't been the Duke of old, failing to make it past the Sweet Sixteen since 2004. While talent has certainly passed through Durham, it hasn't been at the level of the previous decade. Over the past five years, Duke has developed a reputation of being soft, ready to wilt when faced with athletic, physical play.

Beyond the underachieving, however, it can't be denied that some of the reason for the lack of attention paid to the Blue Devils was a collective "Duke fatigue" on behalf of college basketball fans everywhere. We were simply sick of Duke. We didn't want to hear anymore about how Josh McRoberts was a "special" player, J.J. Redick "the all-time greatest shooter" or Greg Paulus a "quarterback on the floor." The media's obsession over Duke had turned it into the rest of college basketball's enemy No. 1, and the hype, combined with the underperformance in March, made it the team we all wanted to simply go away.

However, as the Blue Devils showcased again on Sunday night in their 67-49 victory at Virginia, this group might be ready to reverse the trend and actually deserve more attention than it is getting. In a game in which Virginia was helpless on offense due to the injury of top scorer Sylven Landesberg, Duke was brilliant. From the opening tip, Duke dominated on both ends of the floor. The final margin of 18 was more a product of Coach K's desire to empty his bench than a reflection of the players on the floor.

This Duke team shares some components with the groups of the past five years -- they shoot the ball well, hold their own on the glass and show continuous movement on both ends of the floor.

But this team does other things those underachievers of the past five years could not. This group is not merely a bunch of scrappy shooters who hustle on every play, but they also are athletic enough to "play above the rim from time to time," as forward Lance Thomas noted. The Blue Devils don't necessarily get the credit they deserve for such athleticism, but as Thomas says, "We may not look it, but I think we are as athletic as any team in the country."

While Thomas might be exaggerating a bit, he is correct that this Duke group plays a different type of basketball than what we have seen in the past. They have a physicality that simply hasn't been in place in Durham in recent years. However, the lingering view of the disappointing Duke teams of the past few seasons is affecting how we look at this Duke team.

It is easy to feel, as I have most of the season, that this was another classic Duke team, racking up wins against second-rate foes, but ready to fall to the first team that comes and "punches them in the mouth" in the way Georgetown did in a thrashing only a month ago. Even the players understand that sentiment. "Based on the last few years, we can't really say much until we make a run in March," Jon Scheyer said.

And even if they can't complain about that perception and the corresponding lack of national attention, it doesn't mean they don't notice it. Nolan Smith said, "A lot of people don't consider us a top team no matter what we are ranked. They talk about Kentucky and Kansas, but they don't talk about us."

And he is right. For the first time in my memory, Duke has snuck up on the college basketball world. It is in the top five, likely to get a No. 1 seed and even if Coach K is correct when he says Duke is "not a great team, but a very good team," that is still usually enough to make Duke hysteria dominate college basketball talk.

However, this year is different. Duke is not dripping from the lips of every overconfident analyst on television, and we have been pardoned from those who wax poetic about how they represent all that is good with college basketball, life and humanity. But that doesn't mean they aren't good. This Duke group is not the type that received a scare from Belmont and was upset by Virginia Commonwealth in March. Instead, it has the look of a Duke team that can succeed regardless of matchup, and thus contend once again for a Final Four.

This Duke team isn't Kansas, Kentucky or Syracuse. But it might be the next best team in America, and could beat any of the other top three in a one-game scenario. We might not be hearing about the Blue Devils much right now, but if Nolan Smith gets his wish and "we make people realize that we are good and earn the respect when it matters," we will hear a lot about them in a few weeks. Just be prepared to hit the mute button.