Everywhere I go these days, including my favorite breakfast place, the Broken Egg, I hear the same question … what is wrong with the Dukies? It's like Duke has fallen off the basketball map.

Face reality my friends; the Blue Devils are 13-3 right now. That's pretty impressive considering the team lost the offensive firepower of J. J. Redick and the rebounding/inside play of Shelden Williams. How big is it to lose Redick and Williams? J. J. was the ACC's all-time leading scorer while Williams was a top-five pick in the NBA draft!

When you lose a tandem like that, you are going to hurt on the offensive side. The bottom line is Duke has scored 80 or more points just once all season, 86 in the opener against Columbia. You're talking about a program that usually averaged scoring in the 80s; in fact, Duke is putting up under 70 points a game, something that last happened in a full season in 1981-82.

Duke has posted a pretty good record and survived because of their brilliant leader, Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. He has been able to get the most out of his people, especially on the defensive side. If you can get kids to play with intensity and emotion, with rhythm defensively while competing as a unit, you have a chance to get to the winner's circle.

The Blue Devils held Air Force, a top 15 team, to 56 points. Duke limited Gonzaga to 54, Georgetown to 52 and Indiana to 51, escaping those two games with close Ws. Opponents have been in the 50s and 60s on a consistent basis. Coach K's club is in the top 10 in scoring defense, yielding just 55.7 per contest.

The dilemma is where skills are involved. You can coach and coach until you are blue in the face, but the situation comes down to the talent level of your players. Right now they lack offensive efficiency and firepower. They don't have a dominant scorer, which has always been a part of their past.

Anyone who thinks Duke has fallen is wacky. Their resume has quality wins and this is still a tough opponent for ACC foes. It's just a different look for Blue Devils basketball. I know the team is 0-2 in league play for its worst conference start since 1996.

If people are going to jump on them, they had better do it now. The recruiting class coming in next season includes 6-8 Kyle Singler, 6-7 Taylor King and 6-4 Nolan Smith. Couple them with Josh McRoberts, DeMarcus Nelson, Greg Paulus, Jon Scheyer, Lance Thomas … you get my point. Duke will put the kind of points on the board next season that will make the Cameron Crazies jump for joy.

The coaching staff is getting the most out of its talent. Miami, Wake Forest and NC State are the next three opponents before a showdown against Clemson. Trust me, Duke will be heard from as the season goes forward.

Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in December 1979. Send him a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.