When Austin Rivers and the Blue Devils practiced last Sunday and Monday in preparation for their exhibition tour to China and Dubai next month, the 6-5 freshman guard heard instructions in a new way.

"The first two practices were real rough," Rivers said. "They were yelling at me, getting on me, telling me things I never knew before. But that's why I chose Duke. I felt like they wouldn't cheat me of that. A lot of colleges I could have gone to maybe would have said nothing or let me get away with it because of who I was. Coach K knows what the hell he's talking about.

"College is a whole different level,” Rivers said.  “Getting back on defense. Running the court more. With my jumping ability and my scoring ability, they want me to run the floor more. If I get the rebound, go. If somebody else gets the rebound, look for me. Just remembering little stuff like that."

He's also finding out how important on-court communication with teammates will be.

"Learning to talk more," Rivers said. "In high school you don't talk much on help defense. But Duke, like all colleges, if you want to play good defense, you have to talk."