Mike Krzyzewski wants everyone to choose their words carefully.
He says his top-ranked Duke team isn't defending a national title. Krzyzewski says the Blue Devils aren't trying to repeat as champions. And he points out ''replacing'' is the wrong verb to use when discussing the holes left by a senior class that helped hang a fourth NCAA championship banner in the Cameron Indoor Stadium rafters.
If that sounds familiar, it should: That wordplay wound up serving the Blue Devils pretty well once before.
''I think I said that about 20 years ago when we were coming off'' Duke's first national title in 1991, Krzyzewski said. ''And, really, it makes sense. Like Kyrie Irving and the freshmen, they haven't been a part of it. So to say you're defending something that they weren't a part of ... if I said it, it would be dumb.''
Semantics aside, what Krzyzewski is saying is that he's chasing the first championship for this particular collection of Blue Devils.
Instead of simply plugging two big bodies into the lineup to fill the holes left by a pair of graduated post players, he's changing the way they'll play at both ends of the court to better take advantage of a lineup that returns a few familiar faces but otherwise will operate at a distinctly faster pace.
''The reason 'replace' isn't so good is because we're not running the same system,'' Krzyzewski said. ''Coaches that run a system every year - there's nothing wrong with that - then they're trying to plug in somebody, like 'I need this point guard to do what that point guard did.' We try never to do that, so you never feel like you have to be like somebody. Be yourself. Let's develop a system and go from there.''
A combination that includes returning starters Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith welcomes hyped freshman point guard Kyrie Irving and transfer Seth Curry - Stephen's younger brother - to the rotation. They figure to play central roles in the Blue Devils' pursuit of title No. 5.
Duke opens the season ranked No. 1 for the seventh time, and was an overwhelming choice to win the Atlantic Coast Conference for the third straight year.
Among the other times the Blue Devils followed championship runs with preseason No. 1 rankings the following autumn, the Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley-led team won another title in 1991-92. The Blue Devils also were the preseason No. 1 in 2001-02, the last time they tried for two in a row.
''It's not in our mind to go back-to-back - it's just to win another national championship,'' said Singler, the most outstanding player at the Final Four. ''We have a lot of talent this year, and it's not so far out of reach. It's a definite goal of ours.''
With the emphasis on playing a little faster, Duke figures to look like a vastly different team than it did last spring.
Last year's group of defense-minded Blue Devils rode the hot outside shooting of Singler, Smith and Jon Scheyer and the tough interior presence of 7-footer Brian Zoubek and emotional leader Lance Thomas through both the ACC and NCAA brackets.
They allowed only one team in the NCAA tournament to reach 60 points, but had to hold their collective breath as Butler's game-winning heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim in Indianapolis.
''We do have a lot of offensive weapons, but we've got to focus on defense,'' Singler said. ''Just going through what we went through last year, we realize that playing defense and working together is a key to winning. We're definitely going to have to do that this year.''
They will, but in a new way. Instead of locking down on opponents in the half-court game, this team will look to take advantage of its improved depth by using more full-court pressure to generate turnovers, and depending on its guards to rebound from the perimeter and get the Blue Devils off and running.
''Hopefully, we can rebound, so we can run,'' Krzyzewski said. ''We're going to try to force more turnovers and try to get more possessions in a game. I think more possessions in a game would favor our group, whereas not as many possessions in a game would have favored last year's group.''
Krzyzewski has never been afraid to shake up his team's style during his three-plus decades in Durham, but he cautions that this team might not be championship-caliber when the season starts. It's more important for them to peak in March and April.
''I shouldn't say this because people expect us to win, be perfect right away,'' Krzyzewski said. ''The people who expect that won't get that. So we don't expect that. We need to develop like our team last year developed, and give them an opportunity to do that. We can't play for the national championship every practice or every game, and we can't play to be perfect every game. What we need to do is give them a chance to grow in a system, and then, by the time you are in a position to (play for a title), be ready for it.''
