The Same Old Same Old

I read Pat Forde's article last week about how the University of North Carolina Tar Heels should be very alert that Duke is playing great basketball. He pronounced that they were back and would challenge UNC.

Forde was not alone in his prognostication. Turn on any Blue Devil game and hear all of the announcers talk about how Kyle Singler has gotten stronger, how they are more athletic and how Gerald Henderson is a great athlete.

All of this may be true, but Saturday's loss to Michigan proved one thing: they still have the same coach who refuses to adjust and cannot develop a productive lineup.

Duke handled Michigan easily 71-56 earlier in the season. What did they do to prepare for the Wolverines a second time around? Nothing.

What did John Beilein do to prepare his squad? He committed to the back-door cuts, and he preached a 1-3-1 defense that did not allow Duke to get close to the basket down the stretch and that created problems for John Scheyer handling the ball.

Gerald Henderson again postponed his coming out party that we continue to hear he will one day have.

Duke continued to live and die by the three, really only making them down the stretch it was too far behind to make any difference.

And all the depth, talent and athleticism we've heard so much about. It was not guarding Michigan in the second half.

This team is no different than last year save for one exception. Nolan Smith offers more than Greg Paulus does at the point both on offense and defense.

However, Nolan Smith is not enough to beat Carolina. He's not enough to win an ACC title. And he's certainly not enough to carry this team to the Final Four as of December.

A win in a statement game over Xavier next Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J., could offer some evidence to prove me wrong.