During last season championship run many of the Duke players grew from winning. This season, Captain Marshall Plumlee hopes to show the newcomers the Duke way and the work that it takes to make a champion. I recently caught up to the third of three Plumlees to wear a Duke uniform during the Coach K Academy. Here is what he had to say about the following subjects -What has your summer been like to date coming off a National Championship?
It's been awesome. It's wonderful to be around the Duke program coming off a championship but it's exciting to get back to work. Now we know what it takes to win, we'll just try to implement that into success this summer.
You will be a leader of this seasons team and a captain. What can you share with the incoming freshman that will help their transition at Duke?
I think the captains need to set an example through our work ethic and show them how we handle every day things as a Duke Basketball player. If we show them that we are going to get better every day, we can expect the same from them. That's what other guys did for us and it is only natural that we will now do the same.
This season will be different. Gone are some stalwarts but at the same time, you have a chance to build something new. How excited are you to have that opportunity?
It's exciting. Duke Basketball is always exciting. We've got so many people who are hungry for more. We have guys like Amile, Matt and Grayson and they all want to win as much as ever and there is a good possibility with the freshman we have coming in.
When will the team get their National Championship Rings?
We'll get our rings this Fall. We just have to take the lessons learned and apply them to this season for continued success.
You most recently chose to go down a military path where you will enter West Point after graduation. How did that come about and what does it do for you as a person?
It helps me be more disciplined and a better leader on and off the floor. I'm proud of the military experiences I have had and look forward for more to come. It helps me as a basketball player and a person. I've always had interest in the military and it started my junior year of high school when I played for the USA team in Germany. General Robert Brown who actually played for Coach K at West Point spoke to my passions and wanting to be something more than myself. I attribute heading down this road in part to him, Coach K and Pat Thompson, our former Director of Basketball Operations here.
What would be the ideal situation for Marshall Plumlee five years from now?
To be a special player in the NBA who is also in the Army reserves.
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