There was a time when Duke basketball was synonymous with man-to-man defense. A time when Mike Krzyzewski’s veteran-laden team would slap the floor at Cameron Indoor Stadium to signal they were about to turn up the heat on defense.
But the 2017-18 Blue Devils have been far from a defensive juggernaut, as the young Duke team struggled to pick up man-to-man concepts during the season, causing Krzyzewski to switch to a 2-3 zone.
While the switch to the zone has taken Duke into the top 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency, it hasn’t exactly brought back memories of Duke defenses from championships past.
So naturally, when all five players slapped the floor while dropping into their zone during No. 2 Duke’s Sweet 16 win over No. 11 Syracuse on Friday, Twitter had a field day.
Duke, don't u dare disrespect the villains that came before u and slap the floor while playing this wack ass zone defense
— Zacuña (@goin_Greene) March 24, 2018
My nephew went to Duke basketball camp. I asked him and YES they teach the kids to slap the floor. God I hate Duke.
— Clue Heywood (@ClueHeywood) March 24, 2018
duke just had the nerve to slap the floor playing a damn zone. you gotta be kidding me.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) March 24, 2018
Duke slaps the floor in the 2-3 zone, which is like Old Duke and New Duke colliding.
— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) March 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/itschris216/status/977376173385834496
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/977377458499522561
If y’all aren’t gonna punish duke for paying players then you gotta do it for slapping the floor while playing zone @NCAA
— Diet Hobie Brown (@JoshHelaku) March 24, 2018
Ouch.
