In life there are a few certainties on which you can depend.
 

 If you’re fortunate enough reach adulthood you’ll have to pay taxes. One day you’ll earthly life will end.

 Beyonce’s thick thighs and bountiful behind will always remain “bootylicious,” and the Duke Blue Devils will win a lot of games.
 

 Since the Dukies avenged their 30 point throttling the previous year and pulled off the historic upset of the undefeated UNLV Runnin’ Rebels at the 1991 Final Four, Duke has been the preeminent program in men’s D-1 basketball.

 During the last 17 years, head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s Devils have won three NCAA championships, were the first squad to win back-to-back since Bob’s Knight’s unblemished 1976 Indiana Hoosiers and have captured 11 regular season and 10 ACC Conference Tournament titles. To put this in perspective of just how dominant the Blue Devils have been, Duke has reached the Final Four 10 of the last 22 years! That’s true big dawg domination and devastation of the basketball nation.

 During that time, Coach K has manufactured a brand of basketball Duke haters and lovers have all come to know. Intense, smothering half-court man-to-man defense, tenacious pursuit on the boards and a high-octane, frenetic, attacking offense have all signatures of Duke basketball. While many of Duke’s philosophies have remained the same, Coach K has decided to change the game like Jay-Z.

 While Duke is still a very talented team, they don’t possess the typical exceptionally gifted athletes thatusually permeate their roster. DeMarcus Nelson is a very good college player and is having a phenomenal year, but he’s not a franchise player. Gerald has stupid bounce, and he’s improved tremendously, but his perimeter game and ball-handling is too underdeveloped. Freshman forward Kyle Singler has the potential to become a great player, but he’s too young to be the franchise.

 Without the aid of an explosive hooper who can completely take a game over, like a Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, or Jay Williams Coach K has implemented some new things into his squad’s arsenal.
After having coach the U.S. men’s national basketball team this past summer, Kryzyzewski had the chance to work with Phoenix Suns coach Mike D’Antoni and Syracuse legend Jim Boeheim. With no strong interior offensive force, ala Elton Brand, Coach K has adopted the drive and kick principle that has made D’Antoni’s Suns run and gun offense so prolific.

 There no better example of the new drive and dish attack then Duke’s 89-78 win over North Carolina two weeks ago. The Blue Devils unleashed a torrential rain of treyballs on the Tar Heels, draining 13 of their 29 three-point attempts. The increased spacing and more pick n’roll action opens more driving avenues for Greg Paulus, Nelson, and Henderson to slice through, putting the defense in a compromising position.Having to cut off drives creates uncontested triples for Paulus, Nelson, Singler and Jon Scheyer, all great shooters who can make it rain with best of them.

 It also alleviates Paulus from having to generate offense off the bounce which led to him getting ripped and exposed against top point guards last year. This season Paulus has minimized turnovers substantially, carrying a 2.2/1 assist to turnover ratio. More driving and dishing also compensates for a lack of a low post scoring threat.  

 Duke’s adaptation hasn’t stopped at the offensive end. Coach K has always relied on a fierce, staunch, aggressive style of defense that doesn’t allow opponents to breathe. However, Duke has normally had a big boy to protect the block and smack some shots. Players such as Andrew Lang, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer and Sheldon Williams patrolled the paint and punished perpetrators who tried to violate their turf. Devoid of a fierce shot-blocker, Krzyzewski has deviated from exclusively playing man-to-man, and has incorporated Boeheim’s 2-3 zone defense.

 Though man-to-man is certainly still Duke’s breads and butter, occasionally going to the 2-3 zone has benefitted Duke. In the past you had about as good a chance of seeing Duke play zone as Hakeem Olajuwon eating a Hardee’s thickburger during Ramadan. Never happen!

 However, switching up looks enables Duke to hide some of their defensive deficiencies, primarily shot-blocking and given them the chance to utilize their quickness on the perimeter. Nelson, Singler and Henderson rotate out quickly to the wings and cover passing lanes well. Duke may not be beating as many shots, but Henderson’s athleticism makes him a constant threat to swat shots from the rear or alter them.

 Duke suffered a minor setback with a horrible upset loss at Wake Forest on Sunday, but they still sit atop the ACC and own the tiebreaker over UNC. If Lawson comes back totally healthy from his sprained ankle it will make the Heels much tougher to beat because Lawson is practically a one man fast break, and sparks UNC’s deadly up tempo game.

 The battle of titans on March 9th, the last day of the season between Duke and Carolina at Cameron Indoor Arena could be a showdown to determine for ACC supremacy. Barring any major slip-ups the winner will also have a great chance of earning a #1 seed on Selection Sunday. If Duke continues to play with the same confidence and consistency they very well could come and take the number one spot. And it’d all be thanks to Coach K’s flexibility to flip up his traditional style.