Lack of talent biggest culprit for Duke woes

ATLANTA -- When the final horn sounded the students leapt the large white wall and completely flooded the court. They were jumping and hugging alongside the Georgia Tech players, and it was a nice and joyful scene, just like any other you've ever watched.

Duke falling to Georgia Tech is not that big of a surprise. (AP)

I bet Mike Krzyzewski was pissed. He doesn't like celebrating, if you didn't hear.

"You're too good of a player to be celebrating like that."

That's what Virginia Tech's Zabian Dowdell told the Herald-Sun Krzyzewski told him following the Hokies' upset of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium over the weekend. So I'm guessing Coach K must've been offended Wednesday after Georgia Tech handed the Blue Devils a 74-63 defeat here at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and forced him to observe students pouring onto Cremins Court from both end zones, he being the Celebration Police and all.

"I have to congratulate Paul (Hewitt) and his kids," said Krzyzewski, but do you think he really meant it? Inside, he must've thought all the chanting and high fives were a bit silly after nothing more than a January win over the premier college basketball program in the nation.

And you know what?

If Krzyzewski thought that, he was right. Because these are not your normal Blue Devils; beating them doesn't mean as much as it once did.

"Coming into this game, we were like, 'Man, we know we're the better team and we've got the better athletes,'" said Georgia Tech's Thaddeus Young. "Duke ain't what it's been."

No, it ain't.

If that wasn't clear following the tough wins at home against Kent State and Holy Cross or the losses to Marquette and Virginia Tech, then it has to be clear now. Duke ain't what it's been, and the reason is simple.

It's because despite what the folks who comprise McDonald's All-American teams might suggest, Krzyzewski has a roster devoid of Duke-level talent, the kind he had as recently as last season when he spent many a week atop the Associated Press rankings.

In some respect, Krzyzewski acknowledged as much.

"Just because (these players) are at Duke doesn't mean that they've inherited winning," he said. "We've won a lot, (but) you inherit money, or at least some people do. You don't inherit how to win."