All Things Duke

National Champs

2010-04-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

To my shame, I have not updated this blog for the entire 2009-2010 season.

And wouldn't you know?

Duke wins the National Title!

It's a little late now for me to say anything of import about the season, but let me say this:

The Big Three were tremendous all year. Duke's defense was stellar all year, allowing them the offense the ubiquitous ten minute scoring drought, and still allowing the team to win. But the key to the title this year was - and I can't believe I'm saying this - Brian Zoubek.

Those of us who remember Brian when he came to the team in 2006 know him as the kid who couldn't even stand still without traveling, requiring Josh McRoberts to play the five - possibly hastening his departure and lowering his draft stock, and as unfortunate in the injury department.

But he didn't complain, and he MUST have been paying attention in practice, because halfway through the season this year, Brian became a man. He learned to use his body to bring down rebounds and challenge shots. He even all but eliminated his traveling violations and worked in a few offensive moves, allowing him to average double-digits in points over a portion of the late season.

Come tournament time, Zoub, Thomas and the Plumlees took care of the glass and made any shot in the paint a less-than-sure bet for opposing teams.

The Big Three took care of the ball, and found a way to score just enough. But without Zoubek's turnaround it would not have been enough.

Congratulations to the Blue Devils.

Go Duke!

2009-2010 Schedule

2009-08-26T10:38:00.000-07:00

The ACC has released the men's basketball schedule for each of its teams. Duke's schedule tips off against UNC-Greensboro in Durham on November 13. Duke then hosts the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off over November 16 and 17, with Coastal Carolina, Elon, and Charlotte also competing in Durham. Duke is the number one seed in the tournament, with UCONN, LSU, and Arizona State rounding out the top four seeds of the 16-team competition.

Other preseason opponents include Radford, St. John's, Gardner-Webb, Long Beach State, and Pennsylvania, all coming to Cameron Indoor Stadium, while Duke will travel to Wisconsin and meet Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden on December 19.

The ACC season begins on January 3 versus Clemson in Durham. Duke's home-and-home matchups include Clemson, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Maryland, and of course, North Carolina. Duke travels to Chapel Hill on February 10, and hosts the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor on March 6 to close out the regular season.

Interspersed in their conference schedule, Duke will travel to Chicago and Washington, D.C. to face Iowa State and Georgetown respectively, and will host Tulsa as their last non-conference opponent of the season.

The Mile

2009-08-26T10:17:00.001-07:00

The boys had their annual mile run today. Chris Collins tweeted that everyone came back in under six minutes, and Kyle Singler won the race at 5:02.

Summer 2009

2009-05-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Good Lord, but if there ain't a ton to talk about.

First of all, the bad news. Gerald Henderson is officially gone. He has signed with an agent, and that, as they say, is that. Currently, there are a few mock drafts that have Gerald being taken as high as 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks. (On a side note, I was surprised earlier this year to find out that Milwaukee still had an NBA franchise.)

This disturbs me as a fan of Gerald Henderson because he had just come into his own this year, only beginning to realize his potential and to act with confidence and swagger in mid-January. If Gerald went another year under the Duke coaching staff, he could solidify his game and leadership and walk out as a potential top five pick.

But it disturbs me more as a fan of Duke basketball, given that an improved Gerald Henderson and a seasoned supporting cast returning next year, could easily have given Duke another ACC Championsip, and perhaps a trip to the Final Four.

What Duke loses in Gerald Henderson, is someone who can create points. Duke will, it seems, always rely heavily on the long-ball. But stretches of 0-12 behind the arc are more easily weathered when you have a dribble-drive penetrator who can finish. Gerald was that guy. Now, who does Duke turn to? Or do they have an incoming freshman who can do the job?

We'll take a look at the remaining Blue Devils for 2009 in upcoming posts.

Final Week

2009-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

Earlier in the season, amidst the expected rash of wins, Duke's continued lack of a single go-to athletic scorer bothered me quite a bit. There was much talk among sports analysts that this is a Final Four caliber team.

I begged to differ. I didn't think that being as balanced as they were would allow them to penetrate past the Sweet 16.

There were two conditions that needed to be met as I saw it: Gerald Henderson had to realize and become confident in the superstar that he could be. And Elliot Williams needed to start playing significant minutes.

Well, finally, both have happened. Gerald started turning it on January, and Elliot worked his tail off to get ready for when his chance finally came. And he's been contributing in a serious way ever since he got the starting nod against St. John's.

Not only does Williams have the potential to be an even more explosive athlete than Henderson, he is displaying tenacity on the defensive end that used to be displayed by all Duke players. Duke has been playing smart defense, but not intense defense. And Williams, thankfully, brings that intensity to the floor.

That's not to say that Williams does not have his drawbacks. He makes lots of freshman mistakes, but he is just a tick away from creating his shots at will, like Gerald has finally realized he can do.

So the pieces that were missing are in place, and the wins have been coming. Quality wins against Wake Forest and Maryland have allowed the Duke faithful to breathe a little easier as the end of the season approaches. Of their four straight victories (including at St. John's and tonight's victory at Virginia Tech), the win against Maryland was probably the most encouraging - the entire game (in Maryland) was close, and Duke found a way to win. The Wake Forest game was good in the end, but it, as well as the Virginia Tech game tonight, followed a nauseating pattern that has plagued Duke since their loss at home to North Carolina: get up big on turnovers and shot creation early, then squander that lead as the opposition makes adjustments to the pressure and begins to play smarter defense. In the most recent cases, Duke has held on to victory, but what is disturbing is Duke's reluctance to make adjustments to exploit new weaknesses and maintain their lead. Duke even benefited from a couple of seriously questionable calls in the final minute and and a half of tonight's game - and that's something we really don't want going into the final week of play.

All that being said, the pieces are in place, and Duke has won four in a row and remain a single game behind North Carolina in the ACC standings. Wins against Florida State and UNC in Chapel Hill will be difficult, but Duke has an intensity now that could push them over the top. We just need to see that intensity turn to strategic dissection of their opponents in the latter part of the contests. And, as a believer, I believe that we will.

Go Duke!

2008-11-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

Duke is used to 30 point victories in the early part of the season. By the end of their season opener against Presbyterian on Monday, Duke tacked on another, 80-49, but the game was far from a resounding success in the eyes of the Duke coaches, players, and knowledgeable fans.

Duke struggled to open up a big lead in the first half before Greg Paulus came in and provided a spark. After the game, players talked about not being on the same page. Then in the second half, Duke failed to run the plays that Coach K called three out of four trips down the court. This is something that even young Duke teams haven't struggled with significantly in the early going for a long time.

This may come as a mild hit to the psyches of fans who have been getting their hopes up hearing about how Duke now has the experience they've lacked for the past two years, the athleticism to replace and exceed Demarcus Nelson's in Nolan Smith, Elliot Williams, and Gerald Henderson, and a surprisingly effective big man in freshman Miles Plumlee. However, in the opener, while the athleticism was evident in plays like Elliot Williams' 360 degree dunk, Miles Plumlee was largely ineffectual and the experience, while providing spark from time to time, did not supply the leadership needed to give Duke consistency throughout the game.

But it's a mild hit at most. It's very, very early, and the Duke coaching staff has some time to build the hustle and consistency back into the team from top to bottom. If they do, then as we hope, Duke could remain a legitimate top 10 contender all year.

Already in their second game against Georgia-Southern, Duke is playing more cohesively. Czyz and Pocius are both seeing some action, and the usual suspects are in double digit figures.

We'll have an early look on freshman production after the game on Sunday.

Go Duke!

Final Exhibition

2008-11-05T17:59:00.001-08:00

Well, the final exhibition game for the Blue Devils ended at 95-42 for Duke. Just a quick post on this, as I just found that Michael Crichton died and am a bit stunned.

Lenoir-Rhyne

2008-11-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

Check that. Five minutes later, and with the addition of David McClure, Duke finds themselves up by 20.

Threes aren't falling super-often, reminding us that college basketball has a new 3-pt line distance this year. The long ball is so important for Duke, it will be interesting to see if the new distance affects them at all.

Lenoir-Rhyne

2008-11-05T16:16:00.000-08:00

In the early going, Duke is playing poorly against Lenoir-Rhyne. It's tied at 13, and Coach K is pissed, saying that the boys are not ready to play. They're bending at the waist to pick up balls instead of diving on the floor, something Greg Paulus is hopefully going to remedy as he gets brought in.

What I don't need on my birthday, is Duke not playing their hardest.

Go Duke.

No Way to Win

2008-11-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

It is ironic that the first post of the 2008-2009 season should largely not be about Duke, but the news of the moment is the first-in-history unanimous selection of the North Carolina Tar Heels as the preseason number one team in the AP, Coaches, and ACC polls.

No doubt, North Carolina is an incredible college basketball team. You have four or five guys who could have gone in the first round of last year's NBA draft, and they're all back for another year, a la the Florida Gators. Err...well...not exactly. See, the Gators WON the title the first time through and returned to win it AGAIN.

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, got embarrassed by Kansas in the semifinals last year, due not to Kansas' overwhelming talent, but to the fact that North Carolina came out flat. They came out flat in one of the most important games in any of their careers. They're so good, they almost made up for it, but it wasn't good enough.

And so, this year is a dream year for a Duke fan. People want to make the argument that North Carolina is not only great but also has new incentive this year since they got their collective ass handed to them last year. You call it incentive. I'll call it crushing pressure. North Carolina's preseason is 33 games long, and the only game of their regular season is the NCAA final, and they're not even guaranteed to get there. Imagine playing 30 plus exhibition games, hoping that you'll be let into the regular season. Granted, they don't have to win each exhibition game, but every one that they do win will be no reason to celebrate. And every loss (and I'm predicting at least one, likely coming in the first three weeks) casts more doubt on their ability to make it to the Final, and win it.

That kind of pressure is going to suck the joy out of their year. Well, it'll suck whatever joy they pretend is still available, anyway. Because even if they meet their goal of a National Championship this year, they miss what their ultimate goal was: to realize their potential. They have ALREADY FAILED to do that, in handing Kansas the title last year, so there is no way for them to ultimately succeed in 2009.

The Tar Heels are already failures. Failures. This year is about staying only Failures and not becoming Absolute Failures. Can even the great Tyler "Beaker" Hansbrough keep his intensity up knowing that he has to generate an undefeated season just to remain a failure? He may. But then, as a Duke fan, so what? Even he does, he's succeeded only in keeping the Tar Heels and Roy Williams from winning the Greatest Choke In Sports History title.

And that's fine.

2 v 3

2008-02-04T14:54:00.000-08:00

On February 6th, not only will we see the best rivalry in sports renewed, but it will be a match up of the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the country.

Duke and North Carolina hold the two and three spots in both the coaches and AP polls. The only thing that could make this any better is if they were both undefeated and ranked one and two. This game is going to be epic.

Duke has played a somewhat more difficult ACC schedule than UNC so far, and they have come through without a loss, whereas UNC, the pre-season favorite for ACC dominance, has already dropped a game to one of Duke's victims.

This in no way means that Duke is favored going into enemy territory on Wednesday, but they are certainly in better position to compete with a fantastic Tar Heels team than they were last year. Particularly with a defense that actually becomes more suffocating as the game wears on.

UNC will see the best defense they've faced this year, and they will be trying to still an offense that has shown that it can post strong numbers - without a dominant big man.

Duke will see the best defensive big man they've seen this year in Hansbrough, and an offense that can simply light it up.

Prediction: Duke 81 UNC 78

GO DUKE!!!!

Duke v UNC, Round 1

2008-02-03T07:10:00.000-08:00

February 6th is fast approaching, the date of Duke's first matchup with the Tar Heels. By the time they meet, they will likely be the number two and three teams in the country, assuming Carolina beats Florida State today.

In any case, they will be one and two in the ACC, Duke with no losses and UNC with probably only one. Fairly equal records, on the surface, but are they really?

Duke's 7-0 includes wins against the 3rd, 4th, and 5th teams in the ACC. Carolina has beaten number four Clemson, but lost to number five Maryland, and the rest of their wins have come against bottom-of-the-barrel ACC teams.

Of course, none of that really matters when these two teams meet. Regardless of the rest of the season, they always seem to make a passionate contest out of their head-to-head matchups.

Go Duke

2008-01-24T22:18:00.001-08:00

Duke completed a route of Virginia Tech tonight, and finally proved something to me: Duke can weather a storm.

I should have been convinced of that by now, but Duke had a whole string of poor second halves to begin the season, winning several games, seemingly, only because of fantastic starts.

But over the past few games the boys in blue have figured out how to keep scoring while their defense remains suffocating.

Duke is still without a go-to big man, and will remain so, even after the return of Zoubek. But they have figured out how to mitigate that weakness, at least against teams who themselves do not have a dominant inside presence.

Are they the third best team in the country? That's a tough call, but they have about as much claim to that position as anyone else does right now.

Kansas and Memphis are pretty clearly number 1 and 2. The problem is, Memphis plays such a weak conference schedule, that there's no way for them to lose here on out, all but guaranteeing that the number one slot will be occupied by the Tigers for the rest of the season. Kansas is going to play a lot of great Big 12 teams and almost has to drop one. Will it be Baylor? Texas? K-State? Whose to say?

My question is: does Duke have to lose a game from here on out? The most obvious answer is yes, and to North Carolina. But UNC is playing terrible defense right now, allowing over 80 points to Miami, Georgia Tech, UNC-Ashville, and Clemson. Duke's defense has only gotten better throughout the season. If Duke can score in the high 70's against UNC, we're looking at a potential upset in Chapel Hill.

If that happens, and Duke can handle Maryland, Georgia Tech, and NC State, the they have the chance at a number one ranking by virtue of a strong schedule. We'll see.

Not that it matters. What matters is the tournament, and the way Duke is playing right now, it looks like they can expect at least a 2 or a 3 seed, hopefully giving them the chance to advance deep.

Go Duke

Duke vs Shaw

2007-11-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Some quick notes on the individual performances in Duke's 134-55 trouncing of Shaw:

The two high scorers were Kyle Singler and Demarcus Nelson.
Singler went 10-11 from the field, King 4-11.
The only player not to score double digits was Jordan Davidson, who did knock down two.

Point Guard watch: Greg Paulus played 22 minutes to Nolan Smith's 16. Paulus scored 10 points, going 3-7 from the field and 2-2 from the foul line. All four of his misses were from 3 point territory. Nolan Smith put in 11, but did it going 3-4 from the field, and 5-10 from the line, taking no 3pt shots. Each had a single steal. Similar assist numbers for both. Paulus out-rebounded Smith 5 to 2. And last, but certainly not least, Paulus turned the ball over three times, while Smith had no turnovers at all.

Round one is pretty much a draw, but I'd keep an eye on those turnover numbers. We could see a freshman starting point guard by mid-season.

Zoubek and King both pulled in 9 rebounds. Zoubek managed to go 5-6 from the field but had a team-high 4 turnovers. How many were travels, I do not know, but I would imagine a few of them.

Tonight is Barton College.

Go Duke.

Preseason Rankings

2007-10-30T20:11:00.000-07:00

Much was made last year about how Duke's exit from the top 25 poll was the first time in an eon for the Blue Devils. It happened near the end of the season, but Duke still garnered a decent seed in the tournament, only to be ousted in the first round. They return nearly all of their players except Josh McRoberts and brought in a top-10 recruiting class. However, they're still decidedly weak in the low post.

What does this all add up to for the preseason poll? My guess would have been somewhere around 20. I'm no expert, just a fan, but Duke's going to be good this year. The addition of Kyle Singler, Taylor King, and Nolan Smith further strengthen their perennially strong perimeter game as well as adding a much-needed on-ball defender in Smith. But does that make them one of the top teams in the land?

Apparently it does, because they're ranked 11th.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see that the program has the respect it deserves, but as a fan, I like to see them underrated at this point in the season. 11 puts them on everyone's radar - as if they weren't all ready - and if there are some struggles early, you can bet we'll hear about how Duke doesn't belong in the top 25 at all.

What I think is fun for Duke fans is that North Carolina is the top team in the country. Well-deserved for certain, but I think being the underdog in their potential three or four matchups during the coming year (granted a Tournament matchup would likely require both teams reaching the Final Four - which is almost too good to hope for) gives the Blue Devils the advantage; nothing to lose and all that jazz.

The ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll breaks down like this:

1. North Carolina (10) 0-0 739
2. UCLA (12) 0-0 734
3. Memphis (8) 0-0 731
4. Kansas (1) 0-0 669
5. Georgetown 0-0 625
6. Louisville 0-0 620
7. Tennessee 0-0 598
8. Michigan State 0-0 503
9. Indiana 0-0 479
10. Washington State 0-0 464
11. Duke 0-0 390
12. Marquette 0-0 381
13. Oregon 0-0 360
14. Gonzaga 0-0 252
14. Texas A&M 0-0 252
16. Texas 0-0 216
17. Arizona 0-0 205
18. USC 0-0 189
19. Arkansas 0-0 173
20. Pittsburgh 0-0 160
21. Stanford 0-0 158
22. Kentucky 0-0 155
23. Southern Illinois 0-0 137
24. North Carolina State 0-0 119
25. Villanova 0-0 111

The ACC is decidely short on teams, with only three. But how awesome is it that NC State gets in there? Sydney Lowe has done a great job putting that program back on the map.

Predictions?

Memphis plays just about no one of consequence during their regular season, so they may go nearly undefeated. Starting out third coupled with no losses will keep them in the top five all year, whether they deserve it or not.

UCLA will have a hell of a time with some of the other five teams from the Pac 10 in the top 25. Their strength of schedule puts them in great position to take over the number one slot when UNC drops one or two games during their ACC schedule this year.

Georgetown is scary. I'm saying Final Four for the Hoyas. Possibly a championship.

The ACC will finish with five teams in the top 25.

Duke will get their first major test on November 27th against an Alondo Tucker-less Wisconsin team. Then it's Pitt in New York on December 20th. More on their schedule soon.

Go Duke.

2007-10-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Duke was in the running for Greg Monroe, 2008's top-ranked recruit, and a big-man to boot, but has lost him to Georgtown. This is disconcerting, as Georgtown was already pretty solid down low, and pulled three other decent big men from the class of 2008, so they're pretty much set for the next couple of seasons.

Duke, however, has sophomores Brian Zoubek and Lance Thomas as their only two big men. Brian, enormous and white, may not be ready to be the go-to guy down low. Lance Thomas, a banger, is sized more as a 3 or a 4, and won't stand up all season to say nothing of the tournament in that role (or rather, he shouldn't, but the kid's got heart, so who knows).

Of the three recruits for this coming season, none fit the traditional five slot. However, there is some indication that hopes of Kyle Singler potentially spending some time at center might be realized. Lance Thomas himself, perhaps a bit optimistically for his own sake, praised Singler's inside ability.

Also noted in this article is Coach K referring to Nolan Smith as the best on-ball defender on the team; as a freshman. This fact, coupled with his solid passing, and lights-out shooting skills, and we may see Greg Paulus leading in different ways than as a full-time point guard this year; particularly in the late minutes of tight games, when Paulus' suspect defense becomes more of a problem.

All in all, Duke is setting up for yet another very strong perimeter team with an unkown (at best) interior game. Should Zoubek surprise us this year, Duke may have a shot at going deep into the tournament. However, without the strong interior, Duke is going to struggle against any team that plays great man to man, on-ball defense, and contests three-pointers throughout the game.

Come on Brian!

Go Duke.

El Solo Capitan

2007-10-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

DeMarcus Nelson has been named Duke's only team captain for the upcoming season. Nelson was one of three captains last year, with Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts, and Greg Paulus returns for his junior season as Nelson enters his final year as a Blue Devil.

At first, it seemed strange that Paulus would be a captain as a sophomore and lose it for his junior year, but the Blue Devils needed a go-to guy last year, someone they knew they could count on in the clutch, and with three captains, there was no single player they could look to. Perhaps going with only one captain will help DeMarcus assume the role of go-to guy.

Also, practice starts October 12. That's just around the corner!

Go Duke.

The Pain and the Paulus

2007-09-29T22:48:00.000-07:00

We all know that Duke struggled last year in the low post, with only Josh McRoberts as their main, go-to guy. This year, assuming Taylor King does not get transformed into more of a physical player over the summer, the Blue Devils are going to be relying on our boy David McClure and Brian "The Walker" Zoubek.

Unfortunately, both of them are experiencing
injury difficulties. While Brian will hopefully be cleared for full-contact drills before practice officially begins, David is a bit further behind in his recovery. I think we'll get an idea of how truly genius the Duke coaching staff is if Brian Zoubek manages to move his feet AND dribble the ball at the same time this year, a task that proved nearly impossible for the Great White Giant last year.

I'm also including a link to a story about Greg Paulus and his brother and his coaches and his roommate, and well, lots and lots and lots of other stuff. This has got to be one of the longest stories I've ever read about a single player, and yet it says virtually nothing after the first three or four paragraphs. Amusing, anyway.

Go Duke.

Duke lands first commitment

2007-09-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Coach K landed his first 08-09 commitment from Reno power forward Olek Czyz. Czyz is a 6'7" power forward with tenacious defensive tendencies and the potential for strong, physical low post offensive play. Duke is still in the running for two top 20 recruits for the 08-09 season, to go with Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, and Taylor King coming in for the upcoming season.

Keeping up with Josh (9/29)

2007-09-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Circumstances being what they are, I am a bit behind the times when it comes to breaking news. So, a person, could understand how shocked and dismayed I was to hear of Greg Oden's season-ending surgery, albeit 5 weeks after it was announced.

I like Greg, and I hope for him, personally, that this isn't a career-impacter in a negative way. What frustrates me the most, though, is the impact this will have on Josh McRoberts in Portland. Josh was a great fit, as long as there was a dominant big man for him to play with. Now, it's up in the air as to whether he'll find a groove that will allow him to stay with Portland until Oden returns.

Here's hoping.

Keeping up with Josh

2007-08-10T00:49:00.000-07:00

The NBA summer league schedule has come and gone, and Portland finished 2-3. Josh McRoberts played a little over 19 minutes a game and had relatively unspectacular statistical success, averaging 4.2 points, 1.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game over the five game stretch. While his points were not spectacular, his assist average and rebound average were good enough for 2nd and 5th on the team respectively, and this with playing fewer minutes than many of the guys out producing him. He also had three blocks in the five games, good for third on the team.

Also of note is Josh's work with Seeds of Peace, a non-profit, non-political organization dedicated to empowering young leaders from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence. There are some photos of Josh working with Seeds of Peace at their NBA day, here.

Reblogging is so unhip...

2007-07-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

...but whatever. It's easy sometimes. Here's a nice writeup of the incoming freshmen.

Of note, toward the bottom, Nolan Smith, who may play point or shooting guard next year, lost his father in 1996. His father, Derek Smith, was only 34.

Injury Madness?

2007-07-15T07:42:00.001-07:00

What the heck is going on? It seems like every player on the Blue Devils roster is getting injured. Just the other day, Brian Zoubek had surgery on an ankle injured during a pick up game, and now DeMarcus Nelson has sustained a wrist injury in PanAm Game tryouts. Oh, yeah, and Marty Pocius had surgery recently as well.

Granted, Marty and Brian are expected to be fine by the start of practice in the fall, but still.

We'll be waiting to hear about Nelson

Go Duke.

BlazerMadness?

2007-07-04T07:50:00.000-07:00

Granted, this is supposed to be a blog about Duke, but seeing Josh go to a Portland team that we once loved so much only to see them become the JailBlazer TrailGangsters but is now on the rebound, is a thrill.

I don't think Josh could have done better in the draft. He may have wanted to go earlier, but if Josh is going to excel, he's going to do it in a place where he doesn't have to be the number one guy in the middle. After Portland took Greg Oden, the Blazers became a perfect fit for Josh's game, and the fact that Greg and Josh are old friends is a bonus, too. In fact, Greg Oden has been keeping a blog and mentions Josh a few times.

Just don't expect perfect grammar - he only went to one year of college.

First Look '07

2007-07-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Blue Devils put on a lot of camps during the summer, and they allowed the campers to sit back the other night and enjoy watching next year's squad scrimmage. Some of the local media were invited. Here's a quick look at what one reporter saw.

Duke Tops ACC; 8th in Nation

2007-06-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Duke Blue Devils have, in their three recruits Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, and Taylor King, the 8th-ranked recruiting class in the nation and the number one incoming class in the ACC.

The ACC is ranked 5th in the nation for incoming talent. The national top 30 recruiting classes can be found here.

Of note, with the addition of Jai Lucas to their roster, Florida is not only the two-time defending national champion, they are also ranked number one for incoming players. That, together with the bizarre turn of events that has Billy Donovan staying, and Florida remains an interesting team for the coming season.

Duke Football

2007-05-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Duke University is a national contender in nearly every sport it plays. The single exception appears to be football. While I knew this was the case, I was not entirely sure just how unsuccessful the program has been in the last few years, so I did some quick research this morning instead of doing what I'm being paid to do.

Since hiring Ted Roof in December of 2003, the Blue Devils have gone 3-31. What's even more depressing for Duke is that the wins have come in decreasing numbers as the years have progressed. In Roof's first year, they won two games, followed by a single win a in 2005, and last year's record was a tough 0-12. Granted, since the conference expanded, the strength of the football competition has gotten much better, but Duke should at least be keeping pace and winning one or two games. Fortunately for Roof, there is a floor to the number of games you can win, and he's standing on it. Things can't get much worse.

That being said, Duke did announce the signing of current-junior Montel Harris, a 5'9", 198 lb running back from Florida. Montel is a martial arts expert and averaged over 10 yards per carry in high school.

Unfortunately, even with this addition, Duke is looking at what appears to be one of their toughest schedules in years. If the strength of other ACC teams holds constant, Duke's conference schedule is as tough as ever and their non-conference schedule's one weak opponent is Connecticut in the first week. After that, Duke has to play Navy and, gulp, Notre Dame.

To add insult to injury, not only does Tar Heel football own Blue Devil football, UNC will also have Greg Paulus' brother, Mike Paulus at quarterback. Though there was early speculation that Mike might look elsewhere after the UNC coaching staff changes, it looks like he'll be throwing for the Tar Heels in August.

Ouch.

Good luck Duke Blue Devil Football. We'll be keeping an eye on you.

Go Duke.

Kentucky it is...

2007-05-23T07:33:00.001-07:00

Patrick Patterson officially signed with Kentucky a week ago. For a moment, I was disappointed, and then I realized: Duke's going to be tough next year. I don't know why I've had such a tempered view of how good they could be. Kyle Singer, Taylor King, and Nolan Smith to augment the phenomenal Gerald Henderson,David McClure, Lance Thomas, Demarcus Nelson and Greg Paulus. Oh, and despite his freshman year performance, the Blue Devil coaching staff is very up on Brian Zoubek's potential. Chris Collins referenced Aaron Gray as a big man who was terribly awkward as a freshman but developed into a supreme low-post player in his junior and senior seasons.

And I've got to say I'm a HUGE David McClure fan. Old school Duke, that kid is. As well as Marty Pocius. Marty just needs to spend the summer with Coach Wojo and learn to play some D. With his spark off the bench AND not being a defensive liability, Duke becomes seriously deep from top to bottom.

Go Duke

D-Day

2007-05-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we're here. Patrick Patterson announces today what school he has decided to sign with. He has waited until virtually the last possible moment to decide, and we'll all find out later this afternoon.

Jai Lucas, the other top unsigned recruit, signed with Florida a couple of days ago and much has been made of how Lucas wants to play with Patterson, if not the other way around. While Duke made the cut to the final three schools, Kentucky being the third, essentially no one is giving the Blue Devils a chance at landing Patterson.

Here at Dukemadness we like to be hopeful, yet realistic. To be honest, we've grown tired of the recruiting saga, and while we're holding out hope for Patterson to give the Blue Devils a much-needed inside presence next year, we're mainly happy to not have to chase down false leads as to his decision as we have been doing for the last 3 months.

Without Patterson, the feisty but short Lance Thomas and the tall but gangly and travel-prone (and let's face it, white; perhaps the whitest since Shawn Bradley) Brian Zoubek are the best the Devils have for pulling down boards and posting up. Unless, of course, Coach K decides to change Taylor King's game to a more traditional four. And that probably won't happen, nor, probably, should it.

So, Patrick, if you're not going to pick Duke (and please, please do) then will you at least go to Kentucky? Florida has had their run. It's been a good one. And if you head down there, intent on an education and therefore likely staying for more than a single season, Florida just may be in the hunt for another national title in a couple of years, and that's just boring.

Go Duke.

Great Danes to visit Duke

2007-05-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

It's been a nice vacation from Dukemadness these past weeks. It's not that the love has ceased to flow, it's that the Patterson has ceased to make a decision. It's been hilarious watching daily news reports come out for three weeks, all trying to disquise the same statement: "Dude still hasn't made up his mind, and we have no idea what he's thinking." Well, as of today, Dude still hasn't made up his mind, and nobody, probably not even Patrick himself, knows what he's thinking.

Duke is still in the mix, and Coach K visited Patrick's house a couple of days ago, but with Gillespie (who I love) in Kentucky and Billy Donovan staying in Florida, hopes for the Blue Devil Faithful is not at it's all-time high point for landing the power forward.

****PREDICTION UPDATE****

With Josh McRoberts expected to sign with agent Arn Tellum in the near future, my earlier prediction that slipping to the late-second or third round of the draft (which I still believe will happen) could result in his returning to the Blue Devils for another season, is now defunct.

Finally, it was announcedthat the Albany Great Danes will most likely be making an early preseason trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium to play the Blue Devils, as a reward for their second strong NCAA Tournament showing in as many years. I mention this because I have a special place in my heart for the America East ever since I took the University of Stony Brook to three tournaments and two Sweet 16's in a row in College Hoops 2K6. Big ups Albany. Perhaps one day, it will be the Seawolves.

Go Duke

Recruiting Wars

2007-04-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

The major ticket holders in the Patrick Patterson lottery are still Duke, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, and Wake Forest. Though there has been much speculation that Patrick would narrow his choices down to three by now, there has been no further official update.

Interesting occurrences of late: Florida won the title, and will likely lose much, if not all, of their starting five. Does Florida rebuild or reload? Patterson is a big key to the answer. Kentucky has lost their coach and Patterson has definitively stated that Minnesota, to whom Tubby Smith went, is not recruiting him. However, Patterson apparently has a place in his heart for Kentucky, and if Billy Donovan leaves his Gators for the Wildcats, Patterson could figure in huge to Donovan's attempt to get Kentucky to the Final Four.

As far as Duke is concerned, with McRoberts gone, they need Patterson even more. Even though Patterson stands only 6'8" in his socks, he has a wingspan of 7'1" and can jump out of the building. He has his share of weaknesses but he is definitely strong where Duke needs strength: defense, rebounding, and athleticism.

Here's hoping.

Go Duke.

Patrick Patterson still considering Duke.

2007-03-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

Many believed PF recruit Patrick Patterson was going to narrow his list of prospective schools from six down to three shortly after the McDonald's All-American Game. However, he's taking a bit more time to talk with his family and consider his options before he makes his decision. In an interview on Thursday, Patterson indicated that Kentucky was still an option because of their history and their academics, and that he will not necessarily eliminate them just because Tubby Smith went to Minnesota.

And, thankfully, Duke continues to be in the mix.

Go Duke.

Love to UCLA. Thank God.

2007-03-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

No, I don't mean I'm sending love out to the Final Four participant UCLA bruins, although much luck to them against Florida and the Screaming Banchee. Rather, I am praising the Lord in Heaven that the national player of the year, Kevin Love, is going to UCLA and not Duke. I didn't think it would be possible for a young man to earn the name "jackass" from me as quickly as he did, but it only took half of this article for him to manage it.

I don't know why, but for some reason, Love brings Ryan Leaf to mind. Would that he have the same career in college as Leaf did as a pro.

McRoberts Moves On

2007-03-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's official. Josh McRoberts is leaving for the NBA. As a sophomore, McRoberts was the only player in the nation to average at least 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 3.5 assists. He is expected to be an early to middle first round draft pick.

You'd figure that any team that loses a first-round NBA draft pick would need to worry about filling his shoes, and to be sure, Duke will need someone to step up and fill his starting PF/C role. The questions is: will it be that difficult?

Many prognosticators are predicting that Duke is going to suffer again next year, with nobody to play the four or five except for Zoubek the Traveling Wilbury.

Granted, Duke is not sitting pretty when it comes to effective big men, but there are four big reasons why things are not that bad, either

ONE - Taylor King - He's a 6 foot 7 inch, 215 lb, possibly still growing SF/PF whose strength is his mid-range game and could stand to work on his low post scoring, but does have the potential to develop that part of his game, and has the coaching staff to help him do just that.

TWO - Lance Thomas - Contrary to popular speculation, Lance Thomas says he has no intention of transferring to Seton Hall, Kentucky, or any other school so many seem to think he's going to. The 6 foot 9 inch, 200 lb PF needs to work on his defensive presence, but he loves the game and can step it up, here.

THREE - Patrick Patterson - Duke is still in the running for signing Patrick Patterson, a 6 foot 8 inch, 228 lb power forward, who is definitely the current strongest option to play the four or the five for Duke, but is unfortunately no guarantee to come to Duke. He is planning to make his announcement sometime in early April.

FOUR - Kyle Singler - One of the top recruits in the nation, Singler's height misleads one to believe he may be a natural low post player. However, his strengths, like King's, are found closer to the perimeter. He is, nevertheless, called by many "the most complete player in the class," and is not beyond hope of developing into a threat in the paint. If not, he becomes a fourth ridiculously capable long-range shooter to play with Paulus, Scheyer, and King.

Duke doesn't have an iron-clad five. But between these four guys and a hopefully improved Brian Zoubek, Duke should be in better position to make the Sweet 16 next year, especially with a coach who is about the best in the country at designing a system that highlights his team's strengths and hides their weaknesses.

Go Duke

The Season is Dead. Long live the Season.

2007-03-21T09:48:00.000-07:00

I have been an emotional wreck since Duke's season-ending loss to VCU in the first round of the tournament. It was a fairly even matchup and VCU was not a bad team, so it's not that big of an upset this year, even though historically, it is significant.

Actually, I was only an emotional wreck for the first day. Since then, I have been trying to compile some stats for a blog post that I hope will be upcoming in the near future.

What has brought me out of my funk is the future. We will be keeping our eye on Josh McRoberts and his possible move to the NBA, but even without him, next year should be fun year.

Of the returning players, I am most excited about Greg Paulus. Granted, turnovers are still a major issue, but he is becoming a go-to scorer. He finished the year extremely accurate from behind the arc which is a nice addition to the on-again off-again heat of Jon Scheyer from deep. And now that he's broken through his sophomore slump, expect Paulus to come out strong his Junior season.

Gerald Henderson is also going to be a huge returning player. His athletic ability is at the elite level, and he's only going to become more refined with coaching. He's already a shut-down defender, and can be an all-around scorer if he gets aggressive, which is something he began doing down the stretch.

If Pocius gets some defensive coaching, he could be HUGE coming off the bench. He's already shown himself to be a consistent scorer from deep. Unfortunately, he's also a defensive liability.

DeMarcus Nelson will be the lone senior for the squad next year, and he looks to be good for 14 points a game. However, something's going to need to change for him to be the leader of the team. He's consistent, but not as aggressive as a gifted veteran should be. He's also woefully deficient at the free-throw line, which is unfortunate, because he can drive and get sent to the lane often.

Brian Zoubek. We love you Brian, but please put some extra time in the gym with the coaches this summer and figure out how to move with the ball at the college level. The number of travels this year had to be approaching a national record, and you only averaged 7.3 minutes per game.

David McClure, one of my favorite guys on the team for his hustle will still be valuable for his fire and rebounding ability. He was third on the team in rebounds, second in blocks, and tied for second in steals, while averaging fifth in minutes per game, well behind fourth. However, he was good for at least four fouls in 20 minutes of game play as well, so there's a weakness to work on.

Lance Thomas is someone who stayed quiet for most of the season. He had some moments, but overall, remained a non-standout, consistent contributor. A starter on many squads, with the new extreme talent coming in next year for the Blue Devils, Thomas may continue to be a roll player for Duke.

And speaking of the new talent, get ready to hear a lot about Kyle Singler, Taylor King, and Nolan Smith in coming posts. With Paulus, Scheyer, Henderson, Nelson and possibly McRoberts next year, these three give Duke the potential to be a top ten team once again, allowing those of us who love them through thick and thin, to once more be on the thick side.

Go Duke

March Madness 2007

2007-03-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

I meant to try to get my Duke seed prediction up before they came out on Sunday, but I was too late. If I had not been, I was going to say Duke would end up anywhere from 7 to 9, but that since their schedule was so difficult and the pollsters are biased toward Duke (if "biased" is what you call recognizing the most consistent team in the last 12 years and their possibly-best-of-all-time coach for what they are) they would most likely get the 7 seed.

Turns out they were 6th.

Great.

Up first is Viginia Commonwealth. VCU looks to have a strong guard and a tenacious pressure defense which causes a lot of turnovers. These are two of Duke's weaknesses. Duke doesn't defend prolific guards effectively (even when they are communicatin on defense) and Paulus and McRoberts have suffered from multiple turnovers

However, Duke has had a bit of time to rest up and get a few things figured out, so I anticipate limited turnovers and a decent amount of points off of a burned, over-pursuing defense. 72-64 Duke.

Go Duke

Scoring Consistent, Defense Not

2007-03-11T08:26:00.000-07:00

Duke's last three losses have seen them give up 85.3 points per game to their opponents. Compare this with an points against average under 60 for most of the season and it is not a surprise that Duke hasn't come out on top. So what's the difference?

According to Coach K, it comes down to communication. "You have to talk on defense. In the last two weeks we’re not communicating on defense. So guys are playing individually, instead of collectively. The most important for team man-to-man defense is communication, coordinated with effort. Effort is coordinated as a result of having talked. If you don’t talk very well you’re looking around. You’re not concentrating on what you’re doing."

Which indicates something that does not bode well for the Blue Devils: the pressure has gotten to them. Duke has always played as a tight team. Supportive, intense, communicative. What has kept them in games, in which they routinely score in the upper-60s and lower-70s is their defense, which is built on communication. If the communication isn't there, there is something wrong with the team dynamics.

Coach K might be up against one of his toughtest challenges yet, trying to play psychologist for a team that is beating themselves. I sure hope this is not the case, that there is division in the ranks, but it wouldn't be the first time it's happened in college basketball. Just the first time at Duke.

Go Duke

Not Great. But not bad.

2007-03-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

A lot was made about how huge the upset was yesterday when NC State beat Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament. I made the argument that it's not that big of an upset this year since Duke is in a rebuilding year and is weak compared to other teams in the last ten years.

But what also needs to be mentioned is that NC State is not that bad of a team. Their overall record in the ACC was not that great, but they are healthy now, and playing with some decent senior leadership. And, as evidenced by tonights "huge" upset over Virginia 79-71, they are capable of winning in crunch time. NC State came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to spank the Cavalier's right out of the tourney.

It'd be nice to see State make a run at this thing so that Duke can at least say they lost to the eventual champions.

Shut up

2007-03-08T18:24:00.001-08:00

I don't want to hear it, so just shut up. Big deal. So Duke is out of the ACC tournament in the first round. This is not that big of a deal. Give me a break with all the unbelievable upset crap. If this NC State team beat last year's Duke team it would be an upset. But this Duke team is not that good and they're not playing good for even them right now in particular, so it is not that unexpected. Everybody just needs to cool down.

I've heard enough of the Duke has won 23 of 24 ACC Tournament games. Well, duh. It's only possible to get one loss per tournament. If you win a championship or two you're going to have a great tournament record.

So shut up. Duke's not a dominant team. Are you just now getting that? The rest of us knew it from the beginning, and we love them anyway. We love the fact that you all hate Duke, because the best program in the country for the last 25 years and possibly the best program over a 10-year period in HISTORY is bound to be hated. Thank you for confirming the fact that we are the best. Of all time.

Sit down. Shut up. And be thankful that you're not getting your ass handed to you by Duke this year. Because you will again soon.

Go Duke. Go Duke. Go Duke!!!

****Addendum****

As soon as I hit publish last night on this post, I thought, "Hmm...perhaps I should address the UCLA issue. Nah...I'll worry about it if anyone actually reads this." Well, awesomely enough, three people have, and three people have brought up UCLA.

UCLA is, of course, the one team that can lay claim to being as dominant or more than the Duke Blue Devils over a 10 year period. In fact, UCLA can lay claim to being the most dominant team over a 10 year period out of ANY team in ANY of the major sports.

I readily concede that Duke most likely comes in second place in this category. I would only ask that one considers the level of athleticism that is present and spread across so many teams makes domination that much more difficult now than it was then. And Duke plays in, arguably, a consistently stronger conference than UCLA did in the late 60's and 70's, making their regular season that much more exhausting and winning 7 of 9 conference championships that much more impressive.

Clearly, Duke has not had the success in the National Tournament that UCLA did, but then, no one ever will again, with the talent pool so widely diversified in modern times.

Go Duke.

First half notes

2007-03-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

Early, Duke wasted a steal with a subsequent turnover which resulted in a long-range two.

An early ally-oop to McRoberts off the weave from DeMarcus.

McRoberts gets called for charge early, and, predictably, complains that it's "bullsh**." Followed up by another offensive fouls.

At the 15:53 mark, McRoberts gets called for his second foul. Unbelievably, he complains about it all the way to the bench.

At around 10:10, Paulus and Scheyer combine for back to back threes to go up 4. Scheyer drains his second a couple miutes later.

DeMarcus continues the foul and turnover fiesta on the next time down the floor to help State tie the game.

At 6:21 Duke picks up their umpteenth foul.

At 4:03, Pocius drains his second three pointer, shortly after Scheyer racks up his third. One of the keys for Duke if they want to win is for the hot and cold Scheyer to have an on game and for someone else on the bench to pick up for Gerald Henderson's absence. So far, Jon and Pocius are coming through.

At 1:23, Tim Denison exclaims, "Did you just see that?" This in response to Martinas Pocius splitting three defenders to score with one second left on the shot clock.

11 first half turnovers for Duke. That's a lot.

At the half: Duke leads 34-29.

Surprises Early

2007-03-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Surprises ruled the first half of the first day of the ACC Tournament with Florida State beating Clemson, and Miami cooling off the ridiculously hot Maryland Terrapins.

Duke looks to stem this tide tonight against NC State.

Go Duke

Florida State Advances

2007-03-08T11:43:00.001-08:00

Florida State eeked out a tight one against Clemson, 67-66 in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The Seminoles move on to play North Carolina tomorrow.

Florida State Advances

2007-03-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

Florida State eeked out a tight one against Clemson, 67-66 in the first round of the ACC Tournament.

The

Championship Week Rankings

2007-03-06T21:04:00.000-08:00

The Top-25 polls came out yesterday, and both have Duke at 21. I'm a bit surprised. Two bad showings in one week, granted against two very good teams, I thought they might be flirting with leaving at least one of the polls. Glad they didn't though. It should be noted, however, that anywhere between 2 and 20 votes separate teams of different ranks, but Duke is 73 points behind Maryland at 20th. Here's the USA Today/ESPN poll. Go Duke.

1. Ohio St.
2. Kansas
3. UCLA
4. Wisconsin
5. Memphis
6. Florida
7. Texas A&M
8. North Carolina
9. Georgetown
10. Nevada
11. Pittsburgh
12. Washington St.
13. Southern Ill.
14. Texas
15. Louisville
16. Notre Dame
17. Butler
18. Oregon
19. Marquette
20. Maryland
21. Duke
22. Winthrop
23. BYU
24. Virginia
25. UNLV

One reason

2007-03-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

This is one of a few reasons that I don't absolutely hate UNC like a good Duke fan should: their coach is a class act, and their program is, too. Great quick recap of the most recent fallout from the Elbow.

My favorite quote (from Coach Williams):

"I know Gerald Henderson and his family and I think he's a wonderful kid and I don't think there was any intention. I do believe the officials made the correct call, but at the same time I don't believe Gerald is a bad youngster, and I don't believe it was anything intentional or premeditated. I wish everyone would allow us to move on.

Well said, Coach.

And, uh, Go Duke.

Celebrations with a dose of realism

2007-03-05T21:09:00.000-08:00

The All-ACC team announcements were made Monday, and it's nice to see a few Blue Devils got mentioned. Josh McRoberts ended up with second team honors to go with his All-Defensive team award, while Jon Scheyer made it to the All Freshman squad. Damarcus Nelson ended up with honorable mentions in both the All-ACC team voting as well as the All-Defensive team.

Now, the sad, though not wholly unexpected part for Duke fans: In every category a Duke player was honored, they were the last, or nearly so, in votes. Josh McRoberts made second team as the fifth member with a total of 159 points, trailing the leader of second-team vote getters, J.R. Reynolds of Virginia by 73 votes and Zabian Dowdell, the fifth member of the first team by 143 points. Nowhere in the ballpark.

Jon Scheyer earned the last spot on the Freshman team with 54 points, beating Thaddeus Young by 12 points for that spot.

Look, the awards are cause for celebration. This team is a far cry from previous Duke teams, but the boys are our boys. We love them. It's been a tough season, and I'm happy that there were strong enough solo performances to be recognized alongside some really strong players, in the strongest conference top to bottom in the country.

Go Duke!

Duke draws NC State

2007-03-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

Things could be better for the Blue Devils. Their path the ACC Tournament Finals all but guarantees that they would have to face two teams with prolific guards. Virginia in round two and either Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech in round three. Duke has struggled all year against teams with strong guard play, and now, with their entire defense looking suspect, is not the time to take another hit on their Achilles heel.

Oh, would that Duke had finished 5th. Or heck, even twelfth. Then a first round win would have them playing the abysmal and jackass-ridden Boston College in the second round. Boston College sucks. They should be thanking their lucky stars they stumbled in at fourth in the conference and aren't having to battle it out in the trenches in the first round. They've lost four of their last five, and six of their last eleven ACC matchups. In the six conference wins they have managed since January 16th, four of them were over the teams in the bottom four in the ACC, with only one quality win against Virginia Tech.

They're horrible right now. Dudley is a scrapper, but the entire lot is a bunch of whining babies. Seriously, I've never seen a team get away with more out and out crying to the officials. Constant nagging, constant whining. Sean Marshall is the worst. I've seen him applaud a missed free throw by an opponent, mock refs behind their backs when reprimanded, and leave the free throw line between shots to go complain to an official. One of the biggest jackasses in college basketball.

But getting back to the point, Duke's first match is against the NC State Wolfpack. Duke beat up Sidney Lowe's new team earlier in the season, and while Duke has struggled lately, the Pack is not in any better shape. They've lost six of their last eight, all but one of them by 15 points or more. What's more, they don't have superstar guards, so Duke figures to be a decent favorite here. However, Duke's low post defense has not been what it once was in the last two games, so who knows.

Keep the faith.

Go Duke

2007 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament

2007-03-05T10:25:00.000-08:00

The ACC bracket is set. Duke hits NC State first, then moves on to Virginia. If they're fortunate enough to make it into and out of the match with Virginia, they'll face Virginia Tech or Georgia Tech, assuming Wake Forest continues to be Wake Forest.

Printable Tournament Bracket

A Whole Season in Forty Minutes

2007-03-05T04:57:00.000-08:00

For Duke, yesterday's game versus North Carolina was a microcosm of sorts of the 2007 ACC season.

Right out of the gates, Duke found themselves down on sloppy play. Carolina went on a quick run, and it was a couple of minutes in before Duke righted the ship and stopped the bleeding. Even so, while holding their deficit steady, the sloppy play continued, and Josh McRoberts finished the first half with six turnovers, eventually allowing UNC to put together another run to go up 13 before the half, a lead which Duke barely cut down to nine in the final seconds.

Coming back from halftime, Duke went on a little run, cutting the lead to two, a la Boston College through St. John's, before coming face to face once again with North Carolina's superb depth, and crumbling at crunch time.

As a Duke fan, this season has been a tough one. Dropping the first two, winning five in a row, losing four in a row, winning three before crumbling at crunch time and falling all the way to seventh in the ACC to finish the season. I don't think any Duke fan can grumble too much over a loss to a much deeper and better overall North Carolina team. What does sting, however, is the black eye Duke is going to receive from the fallout of the final seconds of the game.

With under twenty seconds to go and down by twelve, Gerald Henderson went up strong to block a Tyler Hansbrough shot and cracked him in the face with an elbow.

Watching the tape, you can see Henderson go up strong for the block and then turn when the ball gets stripped early, putting his elbow at grill-level for a collision with Hansbrough. If one felt that the tape is somewhat inconclusive, then you look at Henderson's record as a player. He's not dirty. He's just not the type of guy who would lose it like that.

Now, granted, I'm pretty sure that he was going up to deny Hansbrough in a powerful way. North Carolina was looking to pile on in the final seconds. Hansbrough wasn't looking to dump it outside and run down the clock. He was looking to add insult to injury.

And that's fine. That's what teams do in rivalry games. Likewise, however, losing teams fight to the death in rivalry games and one cannot expect a pile-on dunk as Hansbrough was preparing to throw down to go uncontested. And contest it, Gerald Henderson was prepared to do.

Pat Forde shows his colors as a Duke-hater when he lets the basic laws of physics take backseat to his fortune-telling, stating for a "fact" that Gerald Henderson went up to foul Hansbrough hard. Not to punch him but to foul him hard and thus, the ejection was deserved. Last I checked, Patty-me-boy, you have to go up strong and get equal momentum behind a block to have any chance of success. Henderson went up hard because Hansbrough was going up hard. There is no way to tell if Henderson was looking to stop the dunk with a foul or a block. Given Henderson's record, it's just as likely he was looking to salvage a little dignity with a strong block.

Either way, this moment will be replayed from now till the end of time whenever these two teams meet, and I'm sure the intent will be debated for just as long. In any case, it's a black eye for the Blue Devil image in the eyes of anyone who doesn't stand behind them. Unfortunately, as much as I love and respect Coach K, I think his post-game comments may have made things worse. After the game, Coach K insinuated that if Hansbrough hadn't been in the game it wouldn't have happened.

Ouch. Mike. Please. I know you are competitive, and I know the pile-on hurts. But this is how it works. That comment makes you sound one step ahead of Isaiah Thomas. So what that Williams left some of his starters in? You've just got to take this one on the chin. As soon as Hansbrough took it in the nose, this became a battle of image. While attacking Williams for leaving starters in would have been totally legit before the mishap, afterwards you've just got to suck it up and keep your mouth shut.

We'll see if the loss of Henderson for one game will inspire, or deflate this ragged Duke team. After all, this is a team that wins on grit and determination, not refined talent. Their success in the ACC and NCAA tournaments depend largely, therefore, on how they respond to this kick they have given themselves in their own teeth.

Let the Madness Begin

2007-03-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

I love Duke Basketball. I love Duke Basketball so much, that I - by association - love all Duke sports.

I even read updates on Girl's Lacrosse.

So I thought I'd spend some time collecting and writing articles about the greatest university (for athletics) in the world, and maybe, just maybe, generate a bit more mojo to get the boys into the Sweet 16 and the ladies a National Championship.

Go Duke!