2012-13

Season Overview

The 2012-13 Duke Blue Devils were the culmination of a senior class that had arrived in Durham during the 2010 national championship season and grown up together through Irving’s injury, Austin Rivers’ one-and-done departure, and the Lehigh catastrophe. Seniors Mason Plumlee, Seth Curry, and Ryan Kelly had seen everything. Now it was their turn to lead.

Plumlee was the headliner. The middle Plumlee brother, who had arrived as a raw, athletic freshman in 2009, emerged as one of the most complete players in the country. He averaged 17.1 points on 59.9% shooting and 9.9 rebounds per game, posted 18 double-doubles, led the team with 33 dunks and 26 blocks, and was named ACC Player of the Year, first-team All-ACC, first-team Academic All-American, and a Senior CLASS Award finalist. His 32-point, 9-rebound demolition of Wake Forest in January was the kind of performance that announced a player had become unstoppable.

Seth Curry, Steph’s little brother who had transferred from Liberty before the 2010 championship season, completed one of the most satisfying developmental arcs in Duke history. He averaged 17.5 points per game and shot 43.8% from three-point range, earning first-team All-ACC honors. His entire Duke career had been spent ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll. He led the team in scoring in the NCAA Tournament at 21.0 points per game, including a masterful 29-point, 6-for-9-from-three performance against Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen that sent Duke to the Elite Eight.

Ryan Kelly, the 6-11 stretch four from Raleigh, was the third senior and the season’s most dramatic storyline. Kelly averaged 12.9 points and 5.3 rebounds when healthy, and Duke was 21-1 with him in the lineup and 4-0 against top-5 opponents. But in mid-January, a foot injury sidelined him for 13 straight games. Duke went 9-4 without him, losing its grip on the #1 ranking and its aura of invincibility. Then, on March 2, Kelly returned against #5 Miami in Cameron Indoor Stadium and produced one of the greatest individual performances in the building’s history: 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, leading Duke to a 79-76 victory. K was almost speechless afterward: “I mean, me saying ‘spectacular’ or whatever doesn’t do his performance justice. One for the ages. Probably as good a performance as any player has had — a Duke player has had — in Cameron.”

Sophomore Quinn Cook, who had shown flashes during the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament as a freshman (he won tournament MVP), ran the point with increasing confidence and led the team in assists. Freshman Rasheed Sulaimon provided a scoring punch off the bench, including a second-half takeover against #4 Ohio State when he scored all 17 of his points after halftime to spark a comeback from an 8-point deficit. Sophomore Amile Jefferson contributed rebounding and defense. Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton provided senior-level toughness.

The non-conference schedule was elite. Duke won the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, beating Minnesota, VCU, and #2 Louisville on three consecutive days — with Cook earning MVP honors. They beat #3 Kentucky and #4 Ohio State in Cameron. They were ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll for the entire season, including five weeks at #1. They went 16-0 at home and beat four top-5 opponents.

The UNC rivalry produced a season sweep. At Cameron Indoor on February 13, Plumlee had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Cook scored 18 as Duke rallied from a 26-minute deficit to beat the Tar Heels 73-68. UNC, led by P.J. Hairston’s 23, led for the first 26 minutes before Duke’s experience took over. Seth Curry’s three from in front of the bench gave Duke its first lead, and Tyler Thornton — who had missed 12 of his previous 14 three-point attempts — hit two consecutive corner threes to blow the game open. At Chapel Hill on March 9, Duke completed the sweep in a game that sealed the program’s confidence heading into March.

The ACC Tournament ended early with a quarterfinal loss to Maryland. But as a #2 seed in the Midwest Region, Duke found its tournament form. Albany fell 73-61. #22 Creighton was dispatched 66-50. In the Sweet Sixteen, Curry’s 29-point masterpiece against #9 Michigan State — 6-for-9 from three, nine points during one decisive 11-2 run — sent Duke to the Elite Eight with a 71-61 victory. K improved to 3-1 against Tom Izzo in the NCAA Tournament.

The Elite Eight brought #1 overall seed Louisville and one of the most emotionally devastating games in tournament history. The game was tied 42-42 early in the second half when Louisville guard Kevin Ware landed awkwardly after contesting a three-pointer and suffered a compound fracture of his right leg — the bone visibly breaking through the skin on national television. Players from both teams were in tears. Ware was stretchered off the court. The Cardinals, galvanized by the horror, went on a 17-2 run. Duke missed 10 consecutive field goals against Louisville’s suffocating full-court press. Russ Smith and Peyton Siva combined for 39 points and just one turnover. The final score was 85-63 — the largest tournament loss of Krzyzewski’s career since the 1990 UNLV title game.

Plumlee went out fighting: 17 points and 12 rebounds, his 18th double-double. Curry and Cook each added 12. It wasn’t enough. Louisville went on to win the national championship (later vacated by the NCAA).

Mason Plumlee was drafted 22nd overall by the Brooklyn Nets. Ryan Kelly went 48th to the Los Angeles Lakers. Seth Curry went undrafted but built an 11-year NBA career. The senior class departed with 111 wins against 14 losses, a .888 winning percentage that ranked third in program history. They had been to a national championship, an Elite Eight, survived a 15-seed upset, and carried Duke through the departure of Kyrie Irving and Austin Rivers. They were the bridge between the 2010 title and the 2015 title. The Brotherhood depended on players exactly like them.

Ryan Kelly hadn't played a basketball game in six weeks. A foot injury — the same kind of injury that haunts big men, the same kind that had sidelined Kyrie Irving two years earlier — had kept the 6-11 senior out of 13 consecutive games. Duke went 9-4 without him, losing its #1 ranking and looking vulnerable for the first time all season. When Kelly returned on March 2 against #5 Miami, no one expected what happened. He scored 36 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including four three-pointers, leading Duke to a 79-76 win over the Hurricanes. He played like a man who had been storing energy for six weeks and released it all in 37 minutes. The Cameron Crazies erupted. K searched for words in the postgame press conference and couldn't find ones big enough. Duke was 21-1 with Kelly in the lineup that season. They were a different team with him — and his return announced that Duke was ready for March.