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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > March > 22 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USDuke no longer basketball royalty
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington — They got tired (Kyle Singler faded badly at season’s end), and they got sick (Mike Krzyzewski had the flu and DeMarcus Nelson had something), and then the Yankees of college basketball got beat. And it didn’t feel like an upset because it really wasn’t.
The better team won. Not the team with more McDonald’s All-Americans — Duke has eight to West Virginia’s none — but the one with better players. Duke is like the Yankees in that it polarizes the electorate into either hating or loving, but it’s also like the Bronx Bombers in its penchant for signing guys who aren’t half as good as advertised.
Duke was lucky to reach Round 2, needing a late Gerald Henderson swoop to outlast Belmont. The Devils were lucky again to be leading by eight points with 17 minutes to play Saturday. Then they got unlucky. West Virginia realized Duke was, on ability if not reputation, nothing special. West Virginia, the fifth-best team in the Big East, realized it had no business losing to these guys.
And the Mountaineers didn’t. Indeed, they won handily. The team with eight McDonald’s All-Americans managed 14 baskets in the game’s first 38 minutes and got outrebounded 47-27. The better team prevailed.
“The top six or seven teams in the Big East would be on a par with Duke,” said West Virginia’s Joe Alexander, and going on this weekend you’d have to say there was scant difference between Villanova, seeded No. 12 and presumably the last at-large team in the field of 65, and Duke, which was seeded No. 2. (Villanova beat Clemson, which had beaten Duke six days earlier, Friday night.)
“I can’t say [Duke was] a bad rebounding team, but they gave a lot of offensive rebounds,” said the Mountaineers’ Da’Sean Butler. And then: “Coach [Bob Huggins] said it’s easy to offensive-rebound against them.”
Said Alexander: “Playing in the Big East tournament makes every other tournament seem like nothing.”
Such sentiments will fall heavy on the ears of those along Tobacco Road, but the ACC was a one-team league this season. North Carolina is really good. Duke was really well-coached. Everything else was a varying shade of mediocrity. (Which is why Georgia Tech’s failure to break upward will rankle for a long while.)
If you’d put other jerseys on these Blue Devils and handed them to another coach, you’d have had a 22-12 aggregation. Because Krzyzewski is the best in the business — and because the ACC was most forgiving — Duke wound up 28-6. But no team can subsist on guile and aura forever: The Devils were 22-1 on Valentine’s Day, 6-5 thereafter (and two of the six were one-point wins, and two more came against Tech).
“We had a great season,” Krzyzewski said Saturday, and nobody could deny that he’d gotten full value from a team that lacked height and heft. A few minutes earlier, someone had asked Henderson about the rebounding managed by “undersized” West Virginia, and Krzyzewski broke in: “As opposed to the oversized guys we have? Both teams were the same size.”
That has become Duke’s undoing: For all its big-name signees, too many of them are the same size and do the same things. (Sounds like the Hawks under Billy Knight, huh?) Krzyzewski insisted Friday he’s “OK with our recruiting,” but you wonder.
The program that reached the Final Four seven times over nine seasons in the ’80s and ’90s hasn’t been since 2004. This marks the second year running the Devils have been eliminated in the tournament’s first week. Duke won its last national championship in 2001. At the time, the Yankees had just begun their pursuit of a fourth consecutive World Series title. They fell short that autumn and haven’t won the Series since.
The lesson herein: Reputations can endure even after results have begun to wane. Steinbrenner’s men are no longer the gold standard in their sport, and neither are Coach K’s guys. As West Virginia proved, the Dookies are now just … guys.
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By Tech60
March 22, 2008 10:18 PM | Link to this
Coach K is getting his McDonald’s All Americans from the dollar menu.
By Steve
March 22, 2008 10:25 PM | Link to this
Yes, it doesn’t look good for Duke at the moment and yes, the aura is tarnished. However, this team is indeed very young, with only one graduating senior, demarcus nelson. And with the way he played over the last five games I say “good riddance”. Duke will be back next year better than ever. Other teams are going to lose their star players (Indiana-Eric Gordon, USC-OJ Mayo, Kansas State-Michael Beasley, Kansas-just about everybody, Texas-DJ Augustin, Memphis-Derrick Rose, UNC-Lawson, Ellington, and Hansbrough, etc. etc.) while Duke will return Scheyer, Paulus, Henderson, Singler, Nolan Smith, King, Thomas, Pocius, and Zoubek, with dynamic freshman Elliot Williams coming to join them. Yes, rebounding will still be a problem, but with a team that deep and experience they will be able to run other teams into the ground. Duke will be a serious threat to make the final four and possibly to win it all. After that happens the aura will be back, just like that. Every great dynasty has a lull of a year or two. No big deal.
By West Virginia Basketball
March 22, 2008 10:54 PM | Link to this
DUKE SUCKS, their definitely overated,WEST VIRGINIA #1!!!!!!!!!!Their goin all the way!
By Guy
March 22, 2008 11:17 PM | Link to this
Hey “West Virginia Basketball”, your comment shows a true lack of class. “Duke Sucks” because you beat them one time? You are pathetic. I would suggest that you learn how to win with class, but that won’t be necessary, as West Virginia will not have to get used to winning, at least certainly not on the elite level that Duke has been for the past 25 years. And with a low-life coach like Bob Huggins, you can be sure that the majority of your players are not doing well in academics. None of them will make it in the NBA nor will they be viable for good jobs outside of basketball. Your program and your school will NEVER be one the level of Duke Basketball and especially not on the level of Duke University, one of the crown jewels of higher education.
By Hairy Dawg
March 22, 2008 11:50 PM | Link to this
Hey “Guy”, your comment shows a lot of class. Duke got beat. Your cheap shots at West Virginia won’t change it, Guy. Suck it up and take your loss like a man.
(And people wonder why Duke/UNC/Kentucky/Kansas/UCLA/every other snob basketball school is so despised. Yeesh.)
By Vavince22
March 22, 2008 11:56 PM | Link to this
Guy - The same class that you are speaking to West Virginia Basketball about having, you might wanna pick up a gallon or two at your local Department/Grocery Store !!!
By Dukenut
March 23, 2008 12:52 AM | Link to this
Hey, listen, no question WVA played a great game, and we, the Dukies, folded at the end. We did, in fact, suck today on the court….and on Thursday, and against Clemson. I’ve been p** off for hours now, and just starting to get over the game today.
I recognize it’s great when the underdog beats Goliath, and we’ve gotten our asses kicked now in post-season way too many times. ( I can’t wait for duke football to become good and get that feeling). Guy is right in that we are in a “lull” for a few years…the fact is, we have recruited some great players not off the dollar value menu (great line, though). Henderson. Paulus. Wouldn’t it have been great to have Luol Deng on the team…unfortunately, some have been so good, they declared early. Even Duke has been susceptible to early departures.
We will continue to have big man issues next year, and that concerns me. However….win or lose, the program does things right, it graduates its players, with no “crip” majors available at the university, and K is a class act and a great coach….which is why all ya’ll will be rooting for him when he coaches all of our USA team this summer in the Olympics.
For all of those reasons, not just the wins, I’m proud of my school and the hoops team. FYI, most of us Dukies had to take out student loans. We are not snobs…although we’re percieved as rich snobs. Meet the kids…go to a game in Cameron….I think you’ll find us to be not such a bad bunch of folks.
By ArkyTech
March 23, 2008 12:59 AM | Link to this
Agreed, Mark. And somebody needs to tell the ACC officiating crew.
By laura
March 23, 2008 1:03 AM | Link to this
Umm, Guy you might want to check the graduation stats at dook before you name them the “crown jewel” of academics because Miami has better grad rates.
By tubbysrevenge
March 23, 2008 1:42 AM | Link to this
Don’t worry about Bradley. He’s merely covering his tears over the sorry state of UK basketball. Hey Bradley that dagger in the heart by Laettner still bleeding you out after all these years? Seems the venom of your pen still hasn’t eased the pain. I guess UK’s doing so well….ah damn not so much huh? Get help Bradley you and your writing needs it.
By collin
March 23, 2008 2:02 AM | Link to this
Honestly, some of the blame has to fall on the shoulders of Coach K. What do they have? 8 ALL-AMERICANS!
By collin
March 23, 2008 2:02 AM | Link to this
Honestly, some of the blame has to fall on the shoulders of Coach K. What do they have? 8 ALL-AMERICANS!
By collin
March 23, 2008 2:07 AM | Link to this
Honestly, some of the blame has to go on the shoulders of Coach K. What do they have? 8 ALL-AMERICANS! I mean there’s no excuse to lose to a team with apparently much less talent than yours (with the exception of Joe Alexander who pretty much ate duke’s lunch). I think duke’s problem is this 3 point shooting bonanza coach K is trying to institute in the offense. Is that strategy really necessary? With 8 ALL-AMERICANS i think you can have an offense that doesn’t rely on outside shooting such as a belmont for say. Coach K only hurts duke’s tremendous talent advantage by having a stupid offense based on three point shooting which is an exact recipe for going home early in the NCAA tournament. Duke needs to seriously man up and recruit some quicker guards on the perimeter that can drive the ball to the bucket and do something besides shoot 3 pointers.
By Steven
March 23, 2008 2:28 AM | Link to this
For Laura: Hey Dumb A*, that graduation rate takes into account early departures, so of course Duke, with Brand, Maggette, Avery, Deng, McRoberts. Dunleavy, etc. leaving school early for the NBA is going to have a skewed graduation rate. It is clearly not a reflection of the schools academics, fool. Are you seriously trying to argue that Duke is not well within the top 1 percent of schools when it comes to academic rigor? And Duke gives very few academic exceptions for athletes. That is why our football will forever suck. You just need too many players to field a good football team, and Duke is not willing to lower its standards (as just about EVERY other school does) just to win on the field. Know your facts before you spout off with such nonsense.
By Guy
March 23, 2008 2:36 AM | Link to this
laura, Duke’s grad rate is not an accurate assesssment of the school’s commitment to academic excellence, as the early departure of many players for the NBA has hurt Duke more than just about any school, Miami included. If you knew anything about academics at the college level you would know without needing some stupid simplistic grad rate statistics that Duke is elite academically. It’s not even arguable. And to compare Duke unfavorably with Miami shows just how little you understand about statistics and about the reality of higher education and Duke’s lofty place within. Look, I don’t even go to Duke and I never have, but I know that Duke is an incredible school and I would love to have gone there.
By Mark
March 23, 2008 3:04 AM | Link to this
You Duke fans should do a little research before you start ripping on others when they question Duke’s academics. Did you know that most of the Duke players get a big fat pass in order to get into Duke, and the players also take a lot of courses at a local community college—not with Duke students? That is the mystique of Duke, Coach K makes people believe his players are smarter than players at other schools, but it’s absolutely false. K gets breaks for players that the Duke football coaches can’t, and he still can’t get them anywhere in the tourney. Look into it before you call others names—the fact is that Duke has pulled the wool over a lot of people’s eyes and now that it isn’t paying off for them, it looks pretty silly. Belmont? Seriously?
By Danny
March 23, 2008 3:43 AM | Link to this
I just wish people would not fuss about OTHER peoples lifes….what happens, happens, you cant change that by fussing about it….
By Duke athlete parent
March 23, 2008 4:13 AM | Link to this
Duke students are only allowed to transfer in 2 classes - neither of which can be taken at a community college. Therefore, it is not even possible for a basketball player to do as you suggest. (So all the calls for Coach K to recruit JUCO players is not an option). Secondly, my daughter has had 7 of the players in one or more classes while at Duke - they are in class, participate, and do just fine academically - particularly Greg Paulus. My daughter was a top student and highly recruited athlete coming out of high school. However, attempting to combine Duke’s academics and athletics has been exhausting. The only “special treatment” she has received has been registering for classes early and that is only because of the required 4 hr/day practice time that eliminates so many classes that are offered. Because of the two years of required courses, it is impossible to take a bunch of “bunny classes” like many of her athlete friends have done at other schools. Academics was a top priority for my daughter in selecting a college so I’m not complaining. However, a kid that isn’t prepared academically would have a fairly miserable experience at Duke.
Lastly, this team did not perform well down the stretch. However, it also didn’t help that many of them were battling the flu this week- including Nelson, Singlar, and Paulus, King, Zoubek, McClure and of course, Coach K. Not saying they would have won, but no one can deny the “tired legs” of the players in the second half. Having had the particularly nasty strain of flu myself this year, I could barely get out of bed for days. (Yes, the athletes have flu shots - just not effective this year. My daughter has had the flu and pneumonia this month and had a flu shot.) It probably doesn’t help that Duke students are required to live on campus in dorms until they are seniors. Sharing restrooms and living in such tight quarters with the general student body, it is not surprising that when the flu sweeps the campus, teams get sick. In the end, no one cares if you are sick or injured. Nonetheless, I commend the kids for their effort under less than perfect circumstances and wish them the best next season. Especially sorry to see such a nice kid as DeMarcus Nelson, who has battled so many injuries, have his career end on such a sour note. Best of luck to the rest of the remaining teams. My brackets aren’t looking so good already.
By CarolinaJacket
March 23, 2008 8:21 AM | Link to this
I am certainly no Duke fan, but it is ludicrous to belittle the institution’s academic standard. That seems to be taking partisanship a bit too far.
By true blue in smyrna
March 23, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
young, young, young. all we lose is Nelson. None of these underclassman will do a Josh McRoberts and bolt for the NBA minor leagues. now it’s recruit,recruit, recruit. shouldn’t be that tough since a couple 7 footers with 4.0 GPA and 2,000+ SAT’s is a very very small group. We just need to keep them from going to Harvard.
By TheJama
March 23, 2008 10:29 AM | Link to this
It makes my day every single time Duke loses!! As an ACC fan I really find pleasure in watching each and every single defeat, especially on the grand stage. Now if Notre Dame and Alabama can keep their losing ways this fall that would be great.
By EastBeasts
March 23, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
Duke is a great academic institution…enough said. ACC is so over-rated though. I seriously doubt Duke could beat any of the top 9 Big East teams. One of them being Syracuse who didn’t even get into the big dance.
Pitt and West Virginia both beat them this year and they’re not even the elite of Big East basketball. Then everyone talks about how good Clemson is because they almost won the ACC tourney and Big East 8th team Villanova easily beats them. I seriously have to wonder about how good NC is now.
O V E R R A T E D ! ! ! !
By jerry
March 23, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this
You S*ck.
By Dave
March 23, 2008 12:07 PM | Link to this
By any standards Duke had a great regular season.That is where the problem lies.Duke teams of old played their best ball in March.Somehow in the recent past that trend has reversed itself.I just don’t see the post season passion anymore.
By Dwayne
March 23, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
There are a couple of points that I want to make. Remember, Patrick Patterson chose U of K over Duke as a final choice. That would have taken care of the softness in the middle. AND, I wish Duke would go more to a 1-3-1, or 2-3 zone with Zoubek in the middle. He played well and I feel that he has potential.
By Tim
March 23, 2008 2:13 PM | Link to this
Is Coach K a good coach? 8 McDonald’s All Americans and a second round exit?
By Donald
March 23, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this
Yes, Coach K is a good coach. Anyone who says otherwise obviously is just a casual observer who knows nothing about basketball and has never played organized basketball. Coach K did a great job of coaxing wins out of a team that obviously lacked a strong post presence. I can see that and I hate Duke and the obvious preferential treatment they receive from the officials every year. People are so quick to criticize coaches when things go wrong. Most of the time it is from people who have no business evaluating anything related to basketball. 8 McDonalds All-Americans do not help you when they all play the same position. You do not win three national championships without being a great coach. There are a lot of great coaches out there that cannot say that.
By low ride
March 23, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this
OK everyone - don’t get excited. Don’t let your mouth get a bad case of the squirts. Duke is a GREAT basketball program. This team was only average at best and overacheived. No way was this team a Final Four group. No center at all. A true freshman that was a small forward ( Singler ) did his best as a center. Demarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson ( both about 6’ 4” ) were continually asked to play what amounts to a power forward. Thomas and the 7’ guy are not ACC calibur. As soon as we get another Elton Brand, Laettner or Sheldon Williams we will be back to the highest levels in the country. Damn people-only John Wooden won the NCAA almost every year and the tournament was only 3 or maybe 4 rounds. Not Dean Smith, Rupp, J. Thompson or Bobby Knight won EVERY year. The bad ACC conf. talk will die when UNC goes to the final four.
By Reggie
March 23, 2008 3:58 PM | Link to this
Why is coach K the best in the land with the team he has? Is it 8 McDonalds All Americans? With most other coaches (GT) it’s the coach faul, but at Duke it’s the players fault?
By EastBeasts
March 23, 2008 7:48 PM | Link to this
Love how all your hopes rest on one team ACC people. Your conference is becoming more and more a has-been every year.
From top to bottom, best conference this year would have to be the Big East with a close second in the PAC 10. Big 12 and the SEC…
They all are better than the ACC!
I love it!!! Gee, I wonder how much interest will be in Duke/NC match-ups 5 years from now…LOL
By collin
March 23, 2008 9:13 PM | Link to this
I really think the individuals that claim Coach K is the greatest coach alive need to really reconsider. You all complain that despite the fact that they have 8 ALL-AMERICANS they are all the same size and position. Tough s**. Duke recruited these players and they knew each ones height. It is not like they suddenly shrunk once coming to Duke. Also, take VCU, Belmont, and West Virginia. Do any of these teams have towering 7 foot post presences that can score at will in the low block. The answer is no. The players are without a doubt less talented than the duke players and definitely not taller. This is where the fault lies on Coach K’s shoulders. How does a small time program such as Belmont or VCU even compete with duke? Much less beat them. The answer, simply, is the duke program is simply not what it used to be. No one fears duke anymore, belmont was quoted before the game to be excited to be playing duke because they thought the could beat them. Believe it or not dookies, your program hasn’t been the same for the past 2 years, and another year of paulus, scheyer, and the lead-footed crew isn’t going to help if duke wants to return to sweet sixteens, elite eights, and most importantly final fours.
By Eric
March 23, 2008 11:12 PM | Link to this
Steve is an idiot, he’s naming all these great players who have to leave college for Duke to win. Why don’t they play in the local YMCA tournament.
By Keith Dean
March 24, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
I am a huge DUKE fan, and even though I have been upset with my team since Mar. 8 I fail to understand why people view us as “just another team”. unc sucked in ‘02 and it seemed that no one cared. We had a decent season last year, and sure we lost in the 1st rounds of the tournaments, but we had twice as many wins as they did during their rebuilding year in ‘02. We may not be the same team that we were in the early millennium, but if we are so “overrated”, why do teams continue to rush the court when they are lucky to beat us? How about that?
By Bob
March 24, 2008 11:08 AM | Link to this
I like how this “flu” excuse now surfaces after the fact. Outside of the reports on Coach K, there was no mention of this before the loss. There were just reports of having the greatest practices ever, after the Belmont game. If the flu bug was the culprit why did we not see more substitutions to give these guys rest? There are 8 McDonald’s AA’s on the bench. Why were there not more zone defenses to let these guys rest? How long has this team had the flu, 2 or 3 weeks? That is how long it has been since Duke played well.
But when you are feeling comfortable with that realize a few things about your opponent. WVU is also a young team that will only lose Smalligan and Nichols out of those players you saw on Saturday. We are in the first season of transition with a new coach who inherited a team of players that were in a system that is 180 degrees opposite of his style. We were picked to finish 10th in the BE and it was thought that we would be lucky to be in any post season play. We have no McD’s AA’s. We are supposed to be a team that is building for the future, with a top 25 recruiting class coming in next year, making due under adverse circumstances this year.
Sorry, Duke fans can try as hard as they might to take the luster off of this win. So now it was the flu and not WVU that beat the mighty Dukies. Whatever lets you sleep better at night. I just know that I am still smiling.
By heelforceone
March 24, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
I think there’s no doubt Duke had a very good year. 28-6 is a very good year in college basketball. To argue otherwise is foolish.
Duke may or may not be back to the level that they were at in the early 90’s or in the late 90’s - early 2000’s. However, you might want to keep in mind that they dipped once before. (just like we did - UNC was 8-20 in 2002, and won the title in 2005, and might get another one in two weeks.)
They were, cumulatively, worse in 95 and 96 than they were in these past two seasons. We rejoiced at their fall. Yet, they returned to go to 3 more final four’s and another championship in the following 8 years.
That’s not to say that they will again, but the fact is that they’ve been just shy of being much better for several years. With Williams and Redick, they needed one more player to make that a great team. With this team this season, a solid post-player would have clearly made them an even better team.
In other words, they’re not that far off from where they have been in the past. Again, will they get back? That remains to be seen. But the argument that this team “sucks” or this program “sucks” is only made by those who apparently know very little, or are so biased against them that they reject rational thought.
I’d say that it’s likely much of this talk makes more evident the fact that - as much as I hate to say it - Duke HAS been such a great program for so long. If they were not as good as they have been over the last 25 years, we wouldn’t be taking such joy in their early loss in the tournament.
Look at some of the other so-called elite programs who’ve not gotten it done in March. Kentucky hasn’t been to a final four in 10 years now. Indiana and Kansas haven’t won a title in 20 years. UCLA’s last title was 13 years ago. So, Duke has done pretty well compared to other major programs. Even my heels (to date) over the last 10 years - 3 final fours and 1 title each. (Hopefully, that will change soon!)
Sure, it would be great if Duke were to just go away and become NC State (or, Kentucky for that matter.) But I’m not putting any money on it just yet.
By Mark Bradley
March 24, 2008 12:24 PM | Link to this
The issue isn’t Krzyzewski’s coaching: He has proven his worth many times over. The issue is whether Duke signs players who look good on paper — Dale Brown used to call Kentucky’s signees “paper All-Americans” — but less good on the court. Let’s ask this: Of the current Duke players, how many other than Gerald Henderson are apt to play much in the NBA?
By heelforceone
March 24, 2008 12:38 PM | Link to this
sure, but he has never recruited many players that were destined to be that great in the NBA. Very few players from their teams from 86-94 had much of an NBA career (Dawkins and Grant Hill are about it.) And since, they’ve had a few early entries (Brand & Boozer come to mind) that are having success, but not much more. That’s just not been the kind of players he’s recruited over the years (intentional or not). I don’t think measuring the teams by “who will play in the NBA” has much bearing at all.
But for the record, I think Singler will develop into a player who will play in the NBA. How much success he will have remains to be seen, but he’s clearly got some talent. I think time and more strength will make him into an NBA player.
I think there is potential for Nolan Smith as well. More time is needed to know for sure, but he looks like he might have a shot at it as well.
Zoubek has size, and you never know when big men will blossom into something. I think he’s a real longshot, though, unless there’s some dramatic improvement.
By collin
March 24, 2008 1:28 PM | Link to this
I think we can all agree duke has a high level of talent( henderson, smith, singhler, and incoming freshman elliot williams) and some players with not so much (paulus and scheyer). The previous comment stresses that measuring players by “who will make the NBA” is unfair, but the phrase is actually rational. Tell me one national champion( post 2000) that didn’t have at least more than one NBA player. Take Florida last year, 5 definite NBA players (brewer, noah, horford, richards, green, and maybe even humphries) Before that was North Carolina ( may, mccants, felton, and marvin williams) Illinois one year in the final four had dee brown, luther head, and deron williams. The fact of the matter is NBA talent, for the most part, translates into success at the college level. The #1 seeds in the tournament(UCLA, Kansas, Memphis, and North Carolina) ALL have at least more than one NBA player respectively. UCLA has collison, westbrook, Kevin Love, and MBah Moute and Shipp as borderline NBA’ers. Kansas has rush, arthur, collins, and robinson. Memphis, likewise, has rose, dozier, and douglas-roberts. Finally, North Carolina has Hansbrough, lawson, ellington, and green. The formula is simple more NBA players more winning, higher seed, better shot at the title.
By girl duke fan
March 24, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
I thought duke had a pretty good seasont this year, it’s a pretty big improvement since last year. last season they ended with a 22-11 record and the year before that they finished with a 32-4 record. duke basketball isn’t going downhill, we’re just losing our big man chances at rebounding and second chance buckets. don’t blame the game one Coach K. because he is every bit of amazing as a coach. if you want to blame it on anything blame it on three point shooting. now i’m a really big duke fan from west virginia and i think it’s pretty cool on WVU’s part on winning but at the same time i was very disappointed.Being from WV doesn’t make it easier either. i have caught hell at school since the game on saturday and it’s only monday, but that still doesn’t change my opinion on my favorite basketball team. Duke had a rough season, we’re just gonna work harder next year and hopefully make it back to NCAA tournament standards. Best luck to the rest of the teams in the tourney, just wait for next year….
By girl duke fan
March 24, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this
I thought duke had a pretty good seasont this year, it’s a pretty big improvement since last year. last season they ended with a 22-11 record and the year before that they finished with a 32-4 record. duke basketball isn’t going downhill, we’re just losing our big man chances at rebounding and second chance buckets. don’t blame the game one Coach K. because he is every bit of amazing as a coach. if you want to blame it on anything blame it on three point shooting. now i’m a really big duke fan from west virginia and i think it’s pretty cool on WVU’s part on winning but at the same time i was very disappointed.Being from WV doesn’t make it easier either. i have caught hell at school since the game on saturday and it’s only monday, but that still doesn’t change my opinion on my favorite basketball team. Duke had a rough season, we’re just gonna work harder next year and hopefully make it back to NCAA tournament standards. Best luck to the rest of the teams in the tourney, just wait for next year….
By Anthony
March 24, 2008 5:46 PM | Link to this
I don’t think the Big East is that much better in the ACC. People say they are deep, but with 16 teams, I would hope so. They aren’t dominating the tournament either. Georgetown (probably the BE’s best team) fell to Davidson, and Uconn lost to San Diego.
By Jon
March 24, 2008 8:35 PM | Link to this
the players also take a lot of courses at a local community college
Pure fantasy.
By Jon
March 24, 2008 8:46 PM | Link to this
Pitt and West Virginia both beat them this year and they’re not even the elite of Big East basketball.
Pitt won the Big East tournament this year. If they’re not “elite” in the conference, then by your “logic,” the rest of the conference must be pretty mediocre.
Duke beat UNC (handily) at UNC this year. I’d like to see WVU, or any Big East team, pull that off.
By Babsie
March 25, 2008 12:07 AM | Link to this
Why don’t all you Duke fans congratulate the Mountaineers for a GREAT game! They played hard, no doubt about it!
By collin
March 25, 2008 12:27 AM | Link to this
jon, i’d like to remind u that: (1. North Carolina had no lawson. (2. The win meant nothing, it didn’t affect their seeding in the ACC tournament and wasn’t exactly a precursor to success in the NCAA tournament. (3. Look where UNC is in the tournament and where DUKE is. Now think about what went wrong and how much a downhill ur program is going to suffer in the coming years. (4. My next point, DUKE is NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL x 2. Prestigious program eventually will turn to ruin. It will be slow and u won’t notice it at first but soon enough you’ll get my point.
(5. Duke isn’t getting the big men they need in the near future(7footer Greg Monroe chose Georgetown over Duke) (6. I guess with paulus and scheyer it’s going to be fail one year try again, fail again 2nd year try again, hope 3rd times the charm because that three point jacking defenseless duo is going to really have to grow a few inches and get 2 x quicker and faster if duke hopes to have any shot at a national championship in the next 2 years.
By robin
March 25, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this
The real issue here is coaching. Yes K is a great coach, we all know what he has accomplished in the past, but this is about the current times. Adjusments are the problem, or lack of. Supposedly he has learned some zone defense from Syracuse. Where was that in the tournament? His team got beat off the dribble, and consistantly out rebounded. Sadly he was out coached by Huggins and this pains me because Im a die hard Dukie. Also he reverted back to his old ways with his bench. The program has slipped into mediocrity. It could change and yes there is talent for next year, but he have to get production out of a big man. Thats where coaching comes in. Not to make matters worse i have little confidence in his 2 assistance to his left. They are just yes men. We need a refreshing face on the bench to offer ideas that are not necessarily from Ks system.
By Nate
March 29, 2008 10:13 PM | Link to this
Give me a break. Duke had wins over your prized big east Marquette. They also beat North Carolina at UNC. They obviously finished the year lousy but that does not deny that they had a terrific season and were ranked as high as No. 2 this year. You’re an idiot, go back to watching Georgia Tech try to tackle everyone on their way to the basket.
By norm
March 30, 2008 12:43 AM | Link to this
What does the duke program have to do to get back, to the final four??