2010-11

Season Overview

The 2010-11 Duke Blue Devils entered the season as the defending national champions, ranked #1 in the preseason AP poll, and armed with a roster that looked, on paper, like the most talented team Mike Krzyzewski had ever assembled. Seniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler returned as proven stars from the championship run. The Plumlee brothers — junior Miles and sophomore Mason — anchored the frontcourt. Sophomore Seth Curry and sophomore Andre Dawkins provided backcourt depth. Sophomore Ryan Kelly added stretch-four versatility. And arriving as the crown jewel of the recruiting class was Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall recruit in America, a point guard from St. Patrick’s in New Jersey whose handle, vision, and scoring ability were already drawing Chris Paul comparisons.

For eight games, the dream was real. Irving averaged 17.4 points on 53.2% shooting with 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Duke was 8-0, obliterating everyone in its path. The Smith-Irving-Singler trio looked unstoppable — three future NBA players sharing backcourt responsibilities, each capable of creating for himself and others, each deadly from outside. Cleveland Cavaliers scouts attended every game, already locked in on Irving as a potential #1 pick.

Then, on December 4, 2010, in a rematch of the national championship game against Butler, Irving jammed his right big toe. He went back in and finished the game. It seemed like nothing — a stubbed toe, the kind of injury that happens a dozen times a season. “I feel like he just stubbed his toe,” the team’s athletic trainer recalled. “Something you see in a lot of basketball games.” But the injury didn’t heal. The ligament damage was worse than anyone initially realized. Irving missed 26 games. The #1 recruit in the country, the player who was supposed to make Duke unbeatable, was gone.

What happened next proved the character of this team. Rather than collapse, Duke adapted. Seth Curry, a quiet sophomore from the basketball family that produced his older brother Steph, moved into the starting point guard role and played with poise far beyond his experience. Nolan Smith, freed from sharing playmaking duties, unleashed the full scope of his game. He became the first player in ACC history to lead the conference in both scoring and assists in the same season, averaging 20.6 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He scored a career-high 34 points in a home win over #20 North Carolina, making 13 field goals. He scored 25 or more points in ten games and 18 or more in all sixteen ACC games. He was named ACC Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American, and a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, and Bob Cousy Award. He was the son of the late Derek Smith, a member of Louisville’s 1980 championship team who died in 1996 when Nolan was eight years old. The tattoo on his right arm reads: “Forever Watching.” His senior season was a masterpiece born from necessity.

Kyle Singler, the steady, unflashy Oregonian who never missed a big moment, averaged 16.9 points and 6.3 rebounds while earning first-team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season. Together, Smith and Singler carried the load through conference play, going 13-3 in the ACC and finishing as co-regular-season champions with North Carolina.

The UNC rivalry produced a classic split. At Cameron Indoor on February 9, Smith erupted for 34 points in a 79-73 victory — a performance that announced his candidacy for every national award. At Chapel Hill on March 5, UNC exacted revenge on Senior Night with an 81-67 win that clinched the outright regular-season title. Smith scored 30 and Curry added 20, but the Tar Heels, led by Harrison Barnes’ 18 and Kendall Marshall’s 15 points and 11 assists, pulled away in the second half. Duke got the last word the following week, beating Maryland, Virginia Tech, and UNC in the ACC Tournament to claim the program’s record 19th conference tournament championship and its third in a row.

As the #1 seed in the West Region, Duke entered the NCAA Tournament with a tantalizing storyline: Kyrie Irving was coming back. He had missed 26 games, hadn’t played competitive basketball since early December, and was attempting to integrate back into a team that had learned to win without him. In the first round against Hampton, Irving came off the bench and led the team with 14 points in 20 minutes. Duke won 87-45. In the second round against Michigan, Smith scored 24 as Duke survived 73-71 — a game that also gave K his 900th career victory, making him only the fourth coach to reach that milestone.

The Sweet Sixteen, held in Anaheim, brought #5-seeded Arizona and its transcendent sophomore, Derrick Williams. Duke led 44-38 at halftime despite Williams scoring 25 first-half points, including going 5-for-5 from three-point range. But in the second half, Arizona erupted for 55 points. Williams finished with 32 and 13 rebounds in a career-defining performance. Irving, playing in only his eleventh game of the season, was magnificent in defeat — 28 points on 8-of-17 shooting — but the chemistry that might have existed with a full season of development simply wasn’t there. Arizona won 93-77. “I’ve never seen Duke get beat like this,” Kenny Smith said on the broadcast. “I’ve never seen a Duke team this rattled.”

The season ended at 32-5. Kyrie Irving declared for the NBA Draft and was selected #1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nolan Smith went 21st to the Portland Trail Blazers. Kyle Singler went 33rd to the Detroit Pistons. In total, seven players from this roster would play in the NBA: Irving, Smith, Singler, Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee, Seth Curry, and Ryan Kelly.

For Duke fans, the 2010-11 season lives in a permanent state of torment and wonder. The belief — held by Krzyzewski, by analysts, by anyone who watched those first eight games — is that a healthy Kyrie Irving would have produced an undefeated season and back-to-back national championships. Duke Basketball Report put it bluntly: “It’s our firm belief that the Blue Devils were poised for an undefeated season when Irving went out with a toe injury and a second set of back-to-back national championships.” Instead, a stubbed toe — just a stubbed toe — changed everything. The greatest what-if in Duke basketball history.

Duke led 44-38 at halftime despite Williams scoring 25 first-half points, including going 5-for-5 from three-point range. But in the second half, Arizona erupted for 55 points. Williams finished with 32 and 13 rebounds in a career-defining performance. Irving, playing in only his eleventh game of the season, was magnificent in defeat — 28 points on 8-of-17 shooting — but the chemistry that might have existed with a full season of development simply wasn't there. Arizona won 93-77. 'I've never seen Duke get beat like this,' Kenny Smith said on the broadcast. 'I've never seen a Duke team this rattled.' The greatest what-if in Duke basketball history ended 2,500 miles from Cameron Indoor.