Duke celebrates 2015-16 basketball season at banquet
DURHAM For one final time, the 2015-16 Duke basketball team came together—every single one of them.
That included Derryck Thornton, the freshman point guard who previously announced that he is transferring from the program. Thornton made his way around Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night, exchanging many hugs. He was seated at a round table that included assistant coach Jeff Capel, roommate Brandon Ingram and his mother, Liz. Thornton’s father, Tank, was not in attendance.
Assistant coach Jon Scheyer made a point during his speech to mention Thornton’s strong play in his first start, Nov. 20 against VCU in Madison Square Garden (Scheyer also made a point to rib Grayson Allen for that start coming at his expense after he struggled in the previous game against Kentucky.
"Grayson, I don’t think you had your best stuff that game, is that fair to say?" Scheyer said from the podium as those in attendance laughed.
Ingram, who is the latest Duke one-and-done to head to the NBA Draft after his freshman season, received a special shout out from assistant coach Nate James, who reminisced about Ingram’s 24-point breakout performance against Indiana on Dec. 2.
"I want to say to you, you have greatness inside of you, man," James said during his speech to Ingram. "Greatness comes with a hefty cost. And it doesn’t go on sale. No discounts, no hook-ups. You have to pay the full freight. And I believe you will continue to be courageous and make a commitment to pay the full price. You have the ability to be one of the best, man. I love you and look forward to hearing and seeing great things.
Ingram and Allen were named co-MVPs of the team whose season ended with a loss to Oregon in the Sweet 16. As coach Mike Krzyzewski pointed out, while Duke has won five national titles in the past 25 years—more than any other program—obviously 20 of those seasons ended with a loss.
"When people think of Duke they think of championships and special years—sometimes they don’t equate to a national championship," Krzyzewski said. "We loved this team, and we loved who you became."
Krzyzewski, who had his left knee replaced on April 3rd, was able to walk and move up and down the stairs to the podium without assistance. He is hoping to be cleared to drive next week. Until then, he is dependent on his wife, Mickie, for rides to the office. His recovery has also kept him around the house more than normal.
"I’m doing great, but I’m home a lot," Krzyzewski said as the camera cut to Mickie as she rolled her eyes. "Maybe enough said with that," Krzyzewski said as the audience laughed. "But the guys on the team would love it, because I have to take so many orders, it’s unbelievable."
All four coaches spoke—Scheyer, James, Krzyzewski and Jeff Capel, who most memorably recapped the end of Duke’s stunning win at UNC. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams had the option to call a timeout to draw up a final play with his team down 74-73. But he did not, as chaos ensued, and UNC’s broken play never produced a great scoring opportunity.
"On that last possession, after they got the ball, and they pushed it up—people maybe thought they were going to take a timeout," Capel said as the crowd began to laugh. "We were glad they didn’t take a timeout because our defense was set already."
The only other speaker, per tradition, was the lone senior, Marshall Plumlee. His graduation ends eight years of Plumlee brothers at Duke, and his parents, Perky and Leslie, and oldest brother Miles, were in attendance and recognized on stage by Krzyzewski.
"There is nobody who has loved playing here more than this kid," Krzyzewski said of Marshall. "Nobody. Nobody has improved and become as deep and as proud of a player as this kid.
"We have loved coaching you, son. We have absolutely loved coaching you. I’m proud of you."
Plumlee fought back tears during his speech when thanking the coaches. He became the most emotional, though, when recalling an act of kindness from freshman Justin Robinson.
"We had just lost to Notre Dame, and I had played the worst game of my career," Plumlee said of the ACC tournament loss to the Fighting Irish, which featured Duke blowing a 16-point, second-half lead. "The entire team was counting on me, and I let them down. Feelings-wise, I was probably at my absolute lowest. After the loss, I went back to my room, I grabbed enough food to last me a few days so I wouldn’t have to leave, and I turned on the TV. I wanted to disappear.
"And it was at that moment that Justin Robinson—J-Rob swag—walked into my room. And this son of a gun, for lack of a better word—I had to write son of a gun so I didn’t use the expletive I wanted to use. This son of a gun—I shot him the meanest look. Every part of my body language was saying get the hell out of my room. A blind person could have seen that I didn’t want anyone in the room. But this guy ignored it all and came and sat next to me and watched TV for hours.
"He didn’t want me to be alone," Plumlee said, choking back tears. "He didn’t want me to wallow in my self-pity. He cared enough to not do what I wanted, but to do what I needed."
Plumlee, Thornton and Ingram won’t return for next season, when the Blue Devils will be loaded with talent and likely the preseason No. 1. But Krzyzewski thanked them and the rest of the 2015-16 squad for laying the foundation.
"You carried on the tradition," Krzyzewski said. "You passed the baton, and now you made it possible for next year’s team to hit the ground running. Hit the ground running because of what you’ve done."
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 11:23 PM with the headline "Duke celebrates 2015-16 basketball season at banquet."