DURHAM, N.C. -- The day after Duke was sent home from the NCAA tournament last year -- an opening-game loss to 14-seed Mercer -- was Quinn Cook's birthday.
The Duke guard knew he had no time to waste. He and Rodney Hood, who was drafted by the Utah Jazz last summer, immediately went back into the gym.
"We didn't take a break at all," said Cook, now a senior.
Neither did his head coach. Mike Krzyzewski reunited with Team USA to win the FIBA World Championship gold medal, a break away from his team -- and with this year's top assistant Jeff Capel -- that recharged Krzyzewski's batteries.
"He took last year hard. He took a lot of the blame for not getting to guys. He took it hard last year," Cook said. "But I think Team USA got him back to where he was in game mode, tournament mode, scouting. Usually in the summer and the fall, we're just working out and stuff, he kind of eases his way in, kind of feels it, feels the team.
"But he came back locked in and was ready the first time he and Coach Capel got back."
The 2013-14 Blue Devils didn't end the season the way Krzyzewski wanted. Ever the perfectionist, he decided to change everything after that season. Coach K got his young team into a routine that it still follows, as closely as it can.
He was more involved, more attentive, more present.
Krzyzewski often talks about energy cycles. Sometimes his teams are at low points and sometimes they're feeling good, full of energy. But his own energy has been steady and constant all year.
"I've tried to stay in better shape, too. It may not look it or whatever, but I've tried to do that. I've had energy all year, so I never had a dip. I'm surprised at it, really," Krzyzewski says. "Now, last year I just had a personal thing (the death of his brother) that was tough to get over. It just was difficult to get over.
"I didn't like who I was last year in the second half of the year for my team. So you get motivated by not liking what you did sometimes, or how you look."
Cook didn't like who he'd been, either.
Knowing he would be an upperclassman to a group of fab freshmen, Cook knew he'd have to be better. He worked on his shot, perfecting it, and for much of this season, he was Duke's best 3-point shooter.
Now, Cook is Duke's designated defensive stopper, something that would have been unimaginable as recently as a few months ago. He studied tape of opponents -- like Notre Dame's Jerian Grant and North Carolina's Marcus Paige.
And in the NCAA tourney, Utah's Delon Wright and Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos.
Guys of Cook's size have been a bit easier. But he's guarded taller players, too; Wright is 6-5.
"I just want to be annoying. I'm lower to the ground, so I can kind of get in his legs. I'm always by the ball," Cook said.
"I want them to have their back turned, so it's just like a little bug. You can't hit it, can't get it away, it's just there. That's how I want to play against a Delon Wright or a Jerian Grant, just make them work a lot. It's been working for me and sometimes it hasn't, but I just want to keep getting better each game."
Duke's defense has come a long way this season, and it's been at an elite level in the NCAA tournament, led in part by Cook's lock-down skill. He has been everything Duke needed him to be, but so have the freshmen. It's almost impossible for a group of highly touted 18-year-olds to live up to expectations -- and yet, this group has.
The Blue Devils are only eight-deep in the rotation, but that's been plenty. Krzyzewski, at times, has gone with shorter practices to save their legs.
If there's ever going to be a stage too big for the wide-eyed teenagers, it will be the Final Four in Indianapolis. And yet, Krzyzewski has shielded them from most of it by keeping them to a routine.
The team decided sort of by accident to all grow their hair out, and it remains that way. Krzyzewski told them to avoid making any major changes, and even to avoid the barber -- not for superstitious reasons, though.
"I said, 'Don't be different. Just don't be different. Don't get a new haircut. Don't do stuff that draws attention to you. Be who you are, and love it. Have fun with it. But let's have fun together,'" Krzyzewski said.
Freshman point guard Tyus Jones, whose hair isn't quite as wild as some of his teammates', knew what his coach meant.
"What he says makes sense. A lot of times, guys will try to change their routine and do something a little flashy, whether it be a haircut or something with shoes or something they wear, even something in their game," Jones said. "He just wants us to stick with what we've been doing and what got us to this point."
The Blue Devils are a close-knit group, one whose families are a big part of the team -- and the journey. Jahlil Okafor's father and uncle can be seen wearing elaborately-designed t-shirts while dancing and yelling at games.
Krzyzewski's nine grandchildren made the trip to Houston for last week's regional. They know the Okafors and they know Justise Winslow's mother and Tyus Jones' family, and so on.
Krzyzewski has talked about being in his team's moment. He had his as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Houston. So far removed from the disappointing end to last season and the way he felt about himself then, he felt only joy.
Especially when Cook walked off the court for his curtain call. He hugged his head coach, then went over to the bench and collapsed into sobs on the shoulder of assistant coach Nate James.
"I'm just so thankful and so happy for my guys. Sunday, when you know, that last minute, you know -- there's no better feeling. When Quinn walks off the court, it's the best -- THE best -- feeling. The best," Krzyzewski said, emotion rising in his voice.
"So when you say, you've done this and you've done that, you've won this and you've won that, why do you coach? All right. That's why. There's no more, no greater moment than that. No greater moment."
The Blue Devils faced off against Saturday's opponent, Michigan State, in November, beating the Spartans by 10. MSU has been a few different teams since, and so has Duke.
When asked how Duke could avoid looking ahead to a potential matchup with unbeaten Kentucky on Monday night, Cook didn't hesitate.
"It's easy. Monday night is not promised. Michigan State, we beat them earlier, so I know they're looking for some revenge," Cook said.
"They're a totally different team, and they're playing with an edge. They're playing with a chip on their shoulder. Nobody predicted them to get this far, and they've been proving everybody wrong. It's been fun watching them.
"We're not thinking about Monday night yet because it's not promised. Whoever wins Saturday can get to Monday night."
Cook will have yet another challenge on his hands, taking on hot-shooting Spartans senior Travis Trice.
"(Trice) has been the best player in the tournament, of any team," Krzyzewski said. "Of any team. I don't think there's a kid playing any better than that kid.
"His confidence, it reminds me of when Chris Collins saved our season. It was the year after I was sick and we didn't have a very good team. I just told Chris the last month, 'You can do anything you want, any shot,' because we were going nowhere and he took us to the NCAA tournament. Trice is just out of sight right now, what he's doing. The cockiness, the confidence -- he's a very difficult guy to defend."
But Krzyzewski has faith in his senior Cook.
"By far, he's our best on-ball defender. By far. Part of it is he's got the endurance to do it. He doesn't look it, but he's one of our strongest guys in the weight room," Krzyzewski said. "He gets down in that stance pretty darn well."
