2011-12

Season Overview

The 2011-12 Duke Blue Devils entered the season with more questions than answers. Gone were Kyrie Irving (#1 overall pick), Nolan Smith (#21), and Kyle Singler (#33) — three of the previous year’s four leading scorers and the heart of back-to-back #1-ranked teams. Only 47.2% of the previous season’s scoring returned. There was no established point guard, no proven go-to scorer, and a roster full of talented but largely unproven role players stepping into bigger roles.

The answer, it turned out, wore #0 and carried the last name of an NBA head coach.

Austin Rivers, the #2 overall recruit in the 2011 class and the son of Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers, arrived in Durham as the most hyped Duke freshman since Irving. And unlike Irving, he stayed healthy. Rivers became just the third Duke player to lead the team in scoring as a freshman, averaging 15.5 points per game. He scored in double figures in 30 of 34 games. He was the unanimous ACC Rookie of the Year and the first Duke freshman in program history to earn All-America honors.

Around Rivers, a supporting cast emerged. Seth Curry, now a junior, evolved from a spot-up three-point shooter into a complete player, averaging 13.6 points and leading the team in assists while shooting 43% from three. Mason Plumlee, a junior, took a quantum leap — averaging 11.1 points and 9.2 rebounds while leading the team with 33 dunks and anchoring the defense with 26 blocks. His older brother Miles, a senior, contributed 6.5 points and 5.7 rebounds. Ryan Kelly, a junior stretch four at 6-11, averaged 11.8 points and provided the floor spacing that opened driving lanes for Rivers and Curry. Junior Andre Dawkins added 8.2 points off the bench. And a trio of freshmen arrived: Quinn Cook, the future team captain from Washington, D.C.; Alex Murphy; and Michael Gbinije.

The season’s most historic moment came on November 15, 2011, at Madison Square Garden. Duke faced Michigan State in the Champions Classic, and when the Blue Devils won 74-69 behind 26 points from Andre Dawkins, Mike Krzyzewski recorded his 903rd career victory — breaking the all-time record previously held by his mentor and former coach, Bob Knight. Knight was in the building. At the final buzzer, the two men embraced at midcourt. “I just told him, ‘Coach, I’m not sure people tell you this, but I love you and I love what you’ve done for me, and thank you,’” Krzyzewski said afterward. It was one of the most powerful moments in the history of the sport.

Duke started 15-0 and was ranked #1 in the AP poll for nine consecutive weeks. The first loss came on January 14 at Florida State, 76-73 — one of only four losses all season that came in true road games. The Blue Devils would go on to post a perfect 8-0 ACC road record, becoming only the 13th team in the conference’s 58-year history to accomplish that feat. They won 16 games by 10 points or fewer — the second-most such victories in program history — a testament to a team that won on toughness and grit more than overwhelming talent.

The rivalry games produced one of the most iconic moments in Duke-UNC history.

On February 8, 2012, at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, Duke trailed by 10 points with three minutes remaining. UNC, ranked #5 and led by Tyler Zeller’s dominant first half, appeared to have the game sealed. But Duke launched a furious rally. Tyler Thornton hit a three. Ryan Kelly scored on a baseline jumper. UNC missed critical free throws down the stretch. Zeller accidentally tipped in an errant Duke three-point attempt, cutting the lead to one. And then, with time expiring, Austin Rivers caught the ball on the right wing, rose, and buried a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. Duke 85, North Carolina 84. Rivers finished with 29 points. The celebration at midcourt was bedlam. It remains one of the five most replayed shots in the history of the rivalry.

The return game at Cameron Indoor on March 3 — Senior Night for Miles Plumlee — was the opposite. UNC never trailed, built a commanding lead, and won 88-70, clinching the outright ACC regular-season championship and denying Duke a share of the title. Smith and Curry combined to score the majority of Duke’s points, but the Tar Heels were simply too deep and too talented.

In the ACC Tournament, Duke beat Virginia Tech before falling to Florida State in the semifinals — a loss that stung because Curry’s desperation heave at the buzzer rimmed out, leaving Duke one possession short. Florida State went on to beat UNC for the tournament title.

Duke earned a #2 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, with overall #1 seed Kentucky at the top of the bracket — a potential rematch exactly twenty years after the Laettner game. But the Blue Devils never got close. In the Round of 64, #15-seed Lehigh, the Patriot League champion, stunned Duke 75-70. Mountain Hawks guard C.J. McCollum — a future NBA starter — poured in 30 points, including 18 in the second half, dismantling Duke’s defense with a performance that announced his own future stardom. Mason Plumlee and Rivers each scored 19, but it wasn’t enough. It was only the fourth first-round upset loss in 28 NCAA Tournament appearances under Krzyzewski.

“The game is a great game,” K said afterward. “I’ve been in it for 37 years, and it takes you to incredible highs. And it also takes you to incredible lows. And tonight’s one of those lows. But it wasn’t just our doing. They played that well.”

Miles Plumlee, playing his final game, offered advice for future Blue Devils: “First, I would tell them you’re becoming part of a family and we’ve got the best coaches, best staff, the best everything.”

Austin Rivers declared for the NBA Draft and was selected 10th overall by the New Orleans Hornets. Miles Plumlee was drafted 26th by the Indiana Pacers. The season ended in the most painful way possible, but the pieces left behind — Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, Quinn Cook — would form the backbone of Duke teams that would reach the Elite Eight in 2013 and the national championship in 2015.

It is one of the most iconic shots in the history of the rivalry. Duke trailed #5 North Carolina by 10 points with three minutes remaining at the Dean Smith Center. The Tar Heels, led by Tyler Zeller's dominant first half, appeared to have the game sealed. But Duke launched a furious rally. Tyler Thornton hit a three. Ryan Kelly scored on a baseline jumper. UNC missed critical free throws. In one of the strangest plays in rivalry history, Zeller accidentally tipped in an errant Duke three-point attempt, cutting the lead to one. And then, with time expiring, Austin Rivers — the freshman, Doc's kid, the one everyone said couldn't carry a team — caught the ball on the right wing, rose up, and buried a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded. He finished with 29 points. The celebration at midcourt was bedlam. It remains one of the five most replayed shots in the history of Tobacco Road basketball.