Coach K: We’ve Played Really Good Basketball, But Not Tonight
Duke suffered its second loss in three games on Tuesday at Wake Forest, six days after losing at NC State. In both road games, the Blue Devils didn’t come out with the intensity that coach Mike Krzyzewski wanted. But the coach cautioned not to press the panic button.
“We’ve won 23 games,” he said. “So obviously, we’ve put together complete games consistently. Obviously, we’ve played really good basketball. But we didn’t tonight.”
On the heels of an 0-for-6 scoreless game against Duke in Cameron, Wake senior guard Brandon Childress went 0-for-10 in the first 39 plus minutes in Winston-Salem. He then hit his first shot of the game to tie it in the final minute.
"It’s more of him being the veteran (than anything Duke did wrong),” Krzyzewski said. “Brandon played well over 100 games for Wake Forest—Four seasons of ACC play. He's a veteran, and he's a great kid and a great competitor. The fact that he did not score and then scored does not surprise me, because that's what really good competitors do, and that's what he is.”
Krzyzewski was asked to compare Childress to his father Randolph.
“His dad would have scored in the first half,” Krzyzewski joked. “No, but that whole family, they’re competitive. They’re great. I love them. Randolph is a great friend. I admire their family, and the fact that finishing out his senior year, he was able to do this in this game, that’s terrific for them. I applaud them for that.”
