THE CHRONICLE THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010 | 13

Convenience Meets LuxuryThe Pointe at Chapel Hill's upscale apartment community has outstanding proximity to UNC, Duke University, two major research hospitals

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slightly more than two-thirds of the team’s points this season. Zoubek, senior Lance Thomas and the Plumlee brothers (Miles and Mason) need to chip in—even just a basket or two a game—for Duke to pose a threat to an elite team such as Villanova.

4. Protect the BallThe Blue Devils turned the ball over 12.9 times per

game during their first six ACC games and won just four of those matchups. In possibly its worst game of the season, an 89-77 defeat to Georgetown Jan. 30, Duke coughed up the ball 15 times.

In the 13 games since that lopsided loss to the Hoyas, however, Duke has turned the ball over just 9.7 times per game and has lost only once during that stretch. Turnovers hurt a team twofold: They waste possessions, and many times, they give opponents easy baskets.

5. Capitalize on the FreebiesOne of the most underrated, but most important as-

pects of this year’s Duke team, is that it is full of exception-al free-throw shooters. As a team, Duke shot 76.3 percent from the charity stripe, good for seventh in the nation and best in the ACC. In the last couple of minutes of a game, the Blue Devils have knocked down clutch free throws and prevented their opponents from starting a comeback. During the NCAA Tournament, when teams become even more desperate and free throws even more important, the Big Three have the skill and composure to knock down free throws when the team needs them most. Smith shoots 78 percent from the free throw line, Singler shoots 80 per-cent and Scheyer a league-best 88 percent. Keeping up that excellent free throw percentage will significantly help the Blue Devils come Tournament time.

KEYS from page 8

SAM SHEFT/CHRONICLE FILE PHOTO

Duke’s top trio of Kyle Singler, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith gets to the foul line frequently, and all three shoot better than 75 percent from the line.

has really allowed players to play their game, what fits their talents best.... He likes players to be free, to play their game within his system.

TC: We’ve noticed that there’s been a spurt of trans-fers [away from Duke] lately. I was wondering if you could explain why you think that keeps happening?

JB: I was asked so many times, “How could you leave Duke?” But I think what people need to understand is that as you look at Duke’s bench, those players could be a main contributor on another team. Going in, you don’t understand the sacrifice you have to make. You dream about playing at Duke, like I did. I dreamed of being like Shane Battier, to have that type of ca-reer [where] I’d be one of the featured players. I felt if I could have the scholarship to play at Duke, why couldn’t I be one of those players? I think it’s hard to say, “Be patient and keep working hard” when you only have four years. I think if you do leave, the lessons that you learn there are priceless. The lessons that I

learned at Duke I still use today.I worked as hard as I could to be in that seven-

man rotation. The reality of it is, everyone can play and everyone deserves to play, but everyone can’t play. That’s just the reality. Before I left, for me, get-ting mononucleosis made the decision for me. Before that, I had it in my head that I was going to be the type of player that would have to be content [with] giving the team as much as I could in practice. I was content with that. My family noticed a change, but the way I thought was, I’m a part of something bigger than myself and Coach K obviously knows what he’s doing. What he has me doing is what I should do for this program to be successful.

I was willing to do that, but getting sick and hav-ing to miss that year made the decision for me. If not for that, I would have continued to be there and be a role player, and I would never probably have known [laughs] what it felt like to have a 20-and-10 game and help a team build its program back to the best in the conference. I think I still would’ve been happy [at Duke], but it’s hard to tell.

BOYKIN from page 9