The hooting and hollering that took place in Durham earlier this month wasn’t audible in Chapel Hill. Even Coach K and his brood are bound by the laws of physics.

But make no mistake—when the Duke Blue Devils returned to campus met by a hero’s welcome, the reverberation was not only felt up and down Tobacco Road, but throughout the entire ACC.

2009 was supposed to be a stepping-stone year for a realistic championship run in 2010 by the Dukies. Instead, Coach K went mad scientist and hit the fast-forward button, much to the chagrin of the Atlantic Coast Conference and rival North Carolina.