![]() Duke won its second consecutive NCAA crown with a 71-51 victory over Michigan. 1 ranking from start to finish (18 polls). Behind National Player of the Year Christian Laettner and fellow All-Americans Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill, the Blue Devils rolled to a 34-2 record and held the No. In 1992, the stage was set for an unprecedented chapter in college basketball history, and Coach K and his squad were up to the task. Duke’s crowning glory came on April 1, 1991, with a 72-65 victory over the Jayhawks as Christian Laettner earned MVP honors in Duke’s first national basketball championship. In the semifinals, Duke got another shot at the Runnin’ Rebels, who were undefeated, and this time Coach K masterfully led the Blue Devils to a 79-77 victory to earn a matchup with Kansas for the title. The Blue Devils won the regular season ACC title and posted four consecutive lopsided victories in the Midwest Region for yet another trip to the Final Four. After the 30-point loss to UNLV in the 1990 final, Krzyzewski’s team was determined to avenge the loss. Then came 1990-91, a season that forever changed the face of basketball at Duke. The group won its third consecutive East Regional championship with an overtime triumph over top-seeded Connecticut. ![]() In 1989-90, seniors Alaa Abdelnaby, Robert Brickey and Phil Henderson led the way to the Final Four with a 29-9 record, landing just one game shy of the title in Denver. They guided the team to another trip to the NCAA Final Four with a win over heavily favored Georgetown in the East Regional final. This time, it was the National Player of the Year Danny Ferry, Quin Snyder and John Smith taking the reins. The role of leadership again fell to the senior class in 1988-89. Senior Billy King followed Amaker by winning the second straight National Defensive Player of the Year award by a Blue Devil. The 1987-88 campaign began Duke’s amazing streak of five straight NCAA Final Four appearances as the Blue Devils won 28 games, claimed the ACC title, won another East Regional championship and found themselves in Kansas City. Amaker ended his career as the National Defensive Player of the Year, closing out a season that Coach K looks back on as the one that demonstrated the winning consistency of the program. The team won 24 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion Indiana. With the loss of the five seniors, many expected Duke to drop considerably in 1987, but not Krzyzewski. They established a school record with a 21-game winning streak during the year (that has since been broken), were undefeated at home, advanced to the NCAA Championship game in Dallas and played more games (40) than any other team in college basketball history. With the class of Dawkins, Alarie and company now seniors, the 1986 Duke Blue Devils won a then NCAA-record 37 games while claiming Big Apple NIT, ACC regular season, ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regional titles. Duke won 24 games with that nucleus in 1984 and earned the first NCAA bid under Coach K. Joining that powerful group was guard Tommy Amaker in 1983. It was rated one of the nation’s best and put Duke on the map to stay. He landed a recruiting class in 1982 made up of Johnny Dawkins, Mark Alarie, David Henderson, Jay Bilas and Weldon Williams. The squad hustled its way to a bid in the NIT, but it was obvious that the recruiting trail was Krzyzewski’s only answer if the team was to succeed in the long run. Krzyzewski inherited a Duke squad in 1980-81 with a thin talent base outside of All-America Gene Banks, Kenny Dennard and Vince Taylor. ![]() They take time, and the latest chapter in Duke basketball is no exception. Duke men's basketball boasts the largest combined social following in college athletics.Success stories do not just happen overnight. The show, which puts the players front and center, tells you their stories and gives fans a first-hand look inside the Duke program from the players' perspective.Įdited and produced the last two seasons by the team's Creative Content Producer Stephen Ochoa, DBP has averaged nearly 2.7 million views annually and totaled one million hours of watch time across the Duke men's basketball social accounts. The Duke Blue Planet series, which has twice earned the Sports Video Group (SVG) award for best series in college athletics, annually features the Blue Devils with exclusive and authentic content. The first episode for this season gives fans a glimpse of the team's freshman class, catches up on the summer vibe on campus and highlights the farewell press conference for head coach Mike Krzyzewski, as he begins his final season on the bench. DURHAM - The 2021-22 debut episode of Duke men's basketball's award-winning web series, Duke Blue Planet, is now available.
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