Mike Krzyzewski usually relies on a relatively modest core group of players, particularly as a season winds down. Yet only twice, in 1984 and 2010, has more than one member of the same Duke squad averaged at least 35 minutes per game.
Ten of Coach K’s two-dozen 35-minute players were voted first team All-ACC the same season they accumulated so heavy a dose of playing time. Most were guards.
The ’84 team, reliant on a backcourt of starters Johnny Dawkins and Tommy Amaker, put Coach K’s program on the national basketball map. Going 24-10 the Devils ended a run of consecutive losing seasons and earned the first of 34 NCAA appearances under Krzyzewski.