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"You saw a little inconsistency in his game," Bennett acknowledged. "You'd see good stretches, and then you see inconsistencies. When he re- ally started practicing regularly, certainly his game stepped up like any redshirt — but his is even more significant." "I was shaking some of the rust off early in the season, but once I got into the flow and rhythm of the game all of that stuff came with it," Brogdon added. "It was like a package deal. When I got in the flow and felt comfortable out on the court I started to adapt my skills better. "Everything meshed at the beginning of ACC play. I had the confidence to go out there and play my game, and that happened against FSU. I was confident just in being back on the court and just believing that I could do the stuff I used to do and be better at it." Bennett credits Dr. Anderson, strength and con- ditioning coach Mike Curtis, and trainer Ethan Saliba for their efforts in getting him ready for the season and supporting him through the long reha- bilitation process. "I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Anderson," Ben- nett said. "He did my foot surgery when I played for the Charlotte Hornets. He is one of the best foot surgeons and has worked with a number of famous athletes, including ACC guys. He did an unbeliev- able job with that surgery. It was a significant sur- gery for what Brogdon had. "This was a long process a long rehab. What the stuff [Mike and Ethan] did to get Malcolm back and his diligence were absolutely incredible. It's one of those injuries that's a little bit dicey, and you don't know how they're going to recover. For some guys it's ended careers." Brogdon attributes his speedy recovery and much of what he's accomplished to his offseason working with Curtis. "I think he's the key to my success," Brogdon said. "He got my body ready; he got my foot right along with Ethan's help. Coach Curtis actually trained me for a while in terms of on the court stuff. We worked on my handles and my specifics, and a lot of the credit goes to him and the type of work he put in with me during the offseason." It wasn't just the physical aspects of the game that Brogdon worked on. "Watching my film, watching players play while I was sitting out and then looking to the future, I knew what I needed to work on," Brogdon ex- plained. "I learned how to think about the game in a different way after watching film, and watching Coach Bennett coach for a year really changed the way I thought about the game." Brogdon led the team in scoring (12.7 points per game), steals (1.1 thefts per contest) and free throw shooting (87.5 percent), plus he finished second in rebounding (5.4 boards per game) and third in three-point accuracy (37.0 percent). He was the only ACC player to score double-digit points in all 18 regular-season league games. "Brogdon's a first-team All-ACC player," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after he poured in a career-high 23 points in Virginia's 72-63 vic- tory over the Devils in the championship game of the ACC Tournament. "He's steady, kind of unflap- pable and strong mentally, and obviously strong physically." Despite his foot injury, Brogdon had a humble sureness of himself and his team. However, even he could not have predicted the season the Cavaliers enjoyed. "I came in with the expectations of being an impact player," Brogdon admitted. "Whatever that meant, scoring, playing the point guard, rebounding or playing good defense. Coming into the season I didn't know if my foot would hold up. There were a lot of uncertainties, but the season has turned out to be a real blessing for me and my team; just re- ally special. "I expect the best from my team and myself, and we've played at a high level. It's surprising in a way, but I also I could see it coming." ◆ i16-17.Malcolm Brogdon.indd 3 4/2/14 9:27 AM