HOUSTON -- Duke Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said the assumption normally comes up when he's guiding that group of all-NBA, all-everything stars also known as the U.S. national team to gold medals. But it also comes up in reference to the Blue Devils' freshman starters.

Just to be clear, no one is comparing Duke to the national team. But thanks to the Blue Devils' trio of freshman starters and their seamless transition to college basketball, it seems like all Krzyzewski had to do was roll a ball out on the floor and let them play.

It's as wrong when said about USA Basketball as it is when talking about Duke, which is back in the Final Four for the first time since winning the 2010 national title.

"Obviously, you just don't roll the ball out," Krzyzewski said. "There's a certain level of learning that every freshman goes through. These guys have talent, but they also have a willingness to learn. And they've really learned."

Some recent learning came in the round of 64 of the NCAA tournament, when Duke was up 19 against the Robert Morris Colonials and Jahlil Okafor tried to get a little too fancy with a reverse dunk, missing it. Krzyzewski yanked his star center, emphasizing the need to stay focused even in a lopsided game. The Colonials used that miss to rally and cut the deficit to eight before Duke pulled away for an 85-56 win.

But in most cases, the growing pains of Okafor and fellow freshmen Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow didn't come from the glare of a public mistake. They came in a huddle during a timeout, a small moment in a shootaround, a break in watching film, or a teaching moment in practice.

Duke assistant coach Nate James said casual observers might be infatuated by the 11 double-doubles and 66.8 shooting percentage Okafor has posted and figure he's been consistent. But solid numbers didn't always mean he was reaching his potential.

"You look at the stat sheet and you're like, OK, he has a double-double 18 and 12 or something like that, but we look at the film and say look, you should have had 25 and 20," James said. "You get knocked back by that when you're a young kid because you think you had this amazing game, but, no, we expect more. So I think everyone kind of had a moment like that."

One of Okafor's moments came when Krzyzewski pulled him aside during the shootaround before Duke played San Diego State in the round of 32. Krzyzewski prepared a reel of clips of Okafor playing at a high level against North Carolina and St. John's, and told him he needed to play with that level of emotion.

Okafor responded by slicing through the Aztecs' vaunted defense for 26 points -- a basket shy of his season high.

"Obviously Coach K has been through pretty much everything when dealing with collegiate athletes," Okafor said. "He kept me steady the entire season, and we have another week, and he's going to keep me steady."

Winslow arguably has the most diversified skill set of anyone on the team. But he was a little too used to only playing hard when he wanted to during practice in high school.

It was a habit he reverted to after shoulder and rib injuries slowed his progress during a four-game stretch in January. Winslow, who averages 12.5 points, managed just 3.0 points per game against Miami, Louisville, Pittsburgh and St. John's.

Krzyzewski stressed to Winslow that his preparation in practice would reflect how well he played in games.

"Guys can always get better at their skill and their skill work, but what the coaches helped me out with the best -- it's mental preparation," Winslow said. "I battled a lot of injuries this season, attacking that mentally, just trying to be more consistent, staying emotionally engaged, day-in, day-out being a better practice player."

Early in the season, Jones had a problem with talking. He didn't do enough of it, especially for a Duke point guard. It was the fastest way for Jones to get reprimanded.

His lack of communicating was part of the reason he had so much trouble defending ball screens. Jones admitted he was initially hesitant as a freshman trying to tell upperclassmen where to be on offense. He soon figured out it was better to yell at them than to have Krzyzewski yelling at him.

"He doesn't sugarcoat anything; if you make a mistake that pisses him off he's going to let you know that," Jones said. "A lot of coaches, I think, will let certain players get away with certain things, but he hasn't been that way with myself or anybody on this team."

Krzyzewski called this freshman class, including reserve guard Grayson Allen, "one of the most unique" in his 35 seasons at Duke because of their unselfishness and willingness to be coached. That's why their main growing pains have been simply thinking beyond what they previously achieved.

"Sometimes players put limits on themselves based on their previous limits," Krzyzewski said. "In other words, this is how much I used to score, and once you get there, 'OK, I've done a good job.' A lot of it is psychological limits that people put on themselves. What you try to do -- it's not so much challenge them, it's showing them that you can do more."