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Duke Looks Armed for Future N.C.A.A. Tournament Runs

Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he would turn down any offer from the Nets and their incoming billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov.Credit...Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

INDIANAPOLIS — One morning in February, Drederick Irving, a bond analyst at Thomson Reuters in New York, awoke to a news report that Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski might leave for the Nets. Irving’s son, Kyrie, widely considered the nation’s best guard prospect, had recently committed to Duke, and now the father wanted to know if Krzyzewski would be there to coach. Irving called while commuting on his train.

“I turned down $5 million to coach the Lakers five years ago,” Krzyzewski told Irving, responding promptly to a voice mail message. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The father believed him; Krzyzewski then said publicly he would tell the Nets and the incoming billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov no if contacted. In the hours before Duke beat Butler, 61-59, for the national title on Monday, reports of the offer resurfaced and were quickly rebutted by Krzyzewski. In the wake of his fourth title and the infusion of talent that will accompany Irving’s arrival on campus this summer, Krzyzewski has reason to stay.

“I’m sure I won’t have to play 40 minutes per game next year,” the starting junior point guard Nolan Smith said of the team’s depth next season. “I’ll have guys to keep me fresher.”

The Blue Devils will have many options on the perimeter when they begin next season, most likely as the nation’s top-ranked team. The ambidextrous Irving, a slippery dribbler and smooth shooter from St. Patrick High in Elizabeth, N.J., will be expected to equal, if not surpass, the production of the graduating senior Jon Scheyer, who scored 15 points in the championship.

“No disrespect to Jon, but Kyrie’s capable of walking onto the court there and impacting not only Duke, but the entire league,” said Dave Telep, a recruiting evaluator for Scout.com. “He’s been a model for how to develop consistently. That won’t change.”

Howard Garfinkel, a founder of the Five-Star basketball camp and a friend of the Duke program, said: “He could be next year’s John Wall in terms of impact. He’s probably a two-and-done kid, but he will explode on the scene.”

Duke’s roster loses three seniors — Scheyer, forward Lance Thomas and center Brian Zoubek — and it also may lose the junior Kyle Singler, the Final Four’s most outstanding player. Singler was noncommittal afterward, saying that he would consult with Krzyzewski.

“He has my best interests at heart,” Singler said.

With or without Singler, Duke returns depth in the frontcourt and backcourt. Forwards Mason and Miles Plumlee played key roles in the defensive rotation and should take on greater roles.

“I will not miss Brian’s elbows in practice,” Mason Plumlee said, referring to Zoubek’s penchant for bruising play underneath. “Then again, maybe I will. Other teams just weren’t willing to go at each other the way we did behind closed doors in practice.”

Meanwhile, guard Andre Dawkins, who enrolled a year early and should have been a senior in high school this season, sped to a fast start in the late fall but then, as he said, “hit cruise control and grew complacent.” His importance fluctuated during the season, but another dip will affect competition for playing time.

“You have to get better playing against national champions every day,” said the freshman forward Ryan Kelly, who still needs to fill out his 6-foot-10, 220-pound frame. “That’s what we are right now.”

Replacements became eligible even as the confetti fell onto the court inside Lucas Oil Stadium. Seth Curry, a prolific shooting guard who transferred from Liberty and sat out this season, already began thinking about his own status. He watched the game in dress clothes.

“When we were on the stage getting our trophies, I just thought my redshirt is finally off,” Curry said. “Let’s go.”

Smith said there was no chance he would declare for the N.B.A. draft.

“Not unless someone says you’ll be No. 1, but John Wall has that locked down,” Smith said of the star Kentucky freshman.

Dawkins pointed to two preseason workout sessions with the on-campus R.O.T.C. that helped congeal this team as a unit. Next year’s freshmen will undergo their own immersion. Among them is Tyler Thornton, a pass-first point guard from northern Virginia who covers ground defensively like a football free safety. Josh Hairston will be expected to step in for Thomas, and a rare junior college transfer at Duke, Carrick Felix, a 6-6, 195-pound small forward at the College of Southern Idaho, could be the class’s X-factor.

Not all targets were hits along the recruiting trail. Harrison Barnes, a business-oriented, board-crashing swingman from Iowa, chose North Carolina. Roscoe Smith went with Connecticut.

“You can’t get every player,” Garfinkel said. “The only one who did that was John Wooden.”

A few days before Christmas, Krzyzewski traveled to Newark to see Irving play in an early-season game. Krzyzewski and his assistant coach Chris Collins sat with Irving’s father and a few family friends in the back row of the bleachers overlooking the court. One asked Krzyzewski what he wanted to do with Irving.

“Honestly, I just want to not mess him up,” Krzyzewski said. “Just let him play.”

Krzyzewski plans to instill a more up-tempo offense for Irving and the others coming in. For Smith, the freshmen and the future cannot arrive quickly enough.

“Back-to-back is the only question we want to answer now,” he said.

An earlier version of this article erroneously reported that Carrick Felix is Duke’s first junior college transfer.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: Smiles At Duke Can Apply To Future. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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