Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski believes Brandon Ingram is "going to be very special"

LAS VEGAS >> The smile formed on Mike Krzyzewski’s face. The expression conveyed the same satisfaction a proud father feels about an accomplished son.

This subject, however, involved Lakers rookie forward Brandon Ingram and how he left a lasting impression during his lone season at Duke.

“I love that kid,” said Krzyzewski, both the coach for the Blue Devils and the U.S. men’s Olympic team. “He’s going to be very special.”

So special that Krzyzewski mentioned the 18-year-old Ingram played with the U.S. Men’s select team at an early age just like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson. So special that Krzyzewski believes Ingram’s success as the ACC’s freshman player of the year will translate into the NBA. So special that Krzyzewski dismissed conces on how Ingram will handle a more physical NBA with his listed 6-foot-9, 190-pound frame.

“He’s strong minded,” Krzyzewski said. “And he’s stronger physically than people would think.”

Krzyzewski’s affection for Ingram has pointed toward another quality, though. Ingram revealed that quality when he leaed about Krzyzewski’s promising prediction about his future.

“It gives me motivation. I like compliments,” Ingram said. “But if you settle right now and not be the player you’re supposed to be, it’s going to get real ugly.”

Ingram did not paint a pretty picture when he failed to crack double figures last year against Kentucky, VCU and Georgetown. Krzyzewski then moved out of the starting lineup.

In what Krzyzewski considered a tuing point, Ingram then scored 24 points against Indiana in an early December game. When senior forward Amile Jefferson suffered a season-ending foot injury in December, Ingram assumed both a larger scoring and defensive role. Ingram listened to Krzyzewski’s season-long advice “just to be himself and to be instinctive.”

“Playing one year under Coach K feels like three years,” Ingram said. “I leaed so much from him.”

Those lessons included how to elevate his teammates, maintaining his competitiveness and becoming more vocal. Yet, Krzyzewski downplayed his role in mentoring Ingram. Instead, Krzyzewski credited Ingram’s teammates, including Jefferson, Grayson Allen and Matt Jones. Krzyzewski then circled back to Ingram, calling him a “no-maintenance, great guy.”

“He grew in every way,” Krzyzewski said. “He’s going to get so much better. He loves the process. He loves the game.”

Ingram showed the passion for his craft on Tuesday in numerous ways.

He wasted little time in Tuesday’s scrimmage at UNLV matching up against Durant, a player who has both collected four NBA scoring titles and elicited comparisons because of his lean dimensions as a rookie in 2007. Ingram had an extended shooting contest with Lakers second-year D’Angelo Russell, a competition Ingram insisted he won three out of five times. And Ingram may as well have held a microscope when he analyzed his Summer League stint.

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“I could have played better. My shot wasn’t falling a little bit,” said Ingram, who averaged 12.2 points on a 41.2 percent clip and four rebounds through five games. “That could have affected me. Moving on, I could lea from it. I just have to get better in all aspects.”

The Lakers anticipate Ingram will improve quickly, perhaps just as fast as when he experienced his mini slump at Duke.

“Every game, he started to figure out his spots and his aggression,” Russell said. “Playing every game, he’s going to figure out where he can pick and choose his spots from and on defense with what he can get away with. It’s all new, though. I expect him to get it very soon.”

So soon that Russell hardly envisioned Ingram mirroring his summer-league hiccups in the regular season.

“Last year, I struggled more than he did,” said Russell, whose rookie summer-league stint entailed averaging 11.8 points on 37.7 percent shooting, 3.5 tuovers and 3.2 assists. “This year, he played way better than I did. He just didn’t make shots.”

And if Ingram continues to miss shots? Regardless, Ingram will still lean on his support system, including Krzyzewski.

“Coming into this league, I’m going to battle a lot of adversity,” Ingram said. “It helps me when I was younger, just battling mental toughness and now coming up and battling through criticism. I know I haven’t arrived yet.”

All of which explains why Krzyzewski believed Ingram soon will.

“I’d take him all the time,” Krzyzewski said of Ingram. “He’s going to be really good.”