How was Duke last year? This caveman was their go-to guy
WTF HAPPENED TO HIM????
So far this season:
2 Games, 3 Minutes, 0 Points, 0.5 Rebounds
And he's getting paid $480,000. I can do that for half!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Nightmare Before Christmas
64-62, Overtime, Madison Square Garden, Dejuan Blair fouled out with 20 rebounds, what's the one thing you cannot, under any circumstance, allow? A 3-pointer. Once Levance Fields takes that ball and dribbles through his legs a few times with absolutely no urgency, you have to realize he's going for the win there. I did, my brother did, and 25,0000 other fans did and you know what, I think Coach K thought that as well? Why else would he have David McClure, a guy 4 inches taller than Fields, defending Fields? Yet, Fields still gets off a good look, albeit a fade away, and the rest is bitter history for every Duke fan.
Game Breakdown: First of all, I can't stand any of these so-called Duke fans that go to these games at the Garden. They know absolutely nothing about this team, this program, and the University as a whole. When Duke is up by double-digits especially in the 1st Half, please don't rub it in to the opposing fans because more than likely, Duke will at least make it interesting or worse yet, lose the game. I've seen a million times whether on tv or unfortunately, in person. The first ever Duke game I ever went to was in 2003 at the Garden against a beat up, ragged St. John's team with Marcus "Man" Hatten ended in similar heartbreak. Duke had dominated the game throughout but inconsistent shooting kept the game between 12-16 points for most of the 2nd Half. At 71-60 with 2:30 left in the game, Dahntay Jones was called for a non-existant 5th and final foul and all of a sudden the crowd and the tide of the game began to change. The St. John's fans, who before this point, you had a better chance of having a face-to-face with Osama Bin Laden than finding them in the stadium, began to go crazy. My brother, who circa 2001-2004, was the biggest jinx in the world, turned around at 71-63 and screamed out "You can't press Duke, they have too many good ballhandlers" What happened? Duke turned over the ball 4 consecutive possessions, St. John's tied the game up at 71-71 and then after Marcus Hatten absolutely molested Daniel Ewing with 5 seconds left, a molestation that would make Michael Jackson blush might I add, he ran down the floor, missed a layup at the buzzer, but again, a phantom foul call came with no time left. Hatten hit a free throw at the buzzer and Duke was 0-1 with yours truly in attendance. They then went on to win the next 9 I was in attendance for (7 in the Garden, 1 in Continental Airlines Arena, 1 in Cameron) until it was bookended with another tough loss on Thursday night. Imagine that, Duke is 9-2 while I'm in attendance, with the two losses coming by a combined total of 2 points.
How many more double-digit leads blown do I have to rehash? VCU last year, Indiana in 2002, UCONN in 2004 to name a few... The problem with this Pittsburgh game is that it exposed Duke's biggest weakness, rebounding, to the tune of being outrebounded by 17. Blair, who vowed to make the Devils pay for not recruiting him, really stuck it to the K man and his squad with 15 points and 20 rebounds. To me, Duke didn't zone enough. Pittsburgh, outside of Fields, missed all of their 3 point attempts and frankly, weren't even close. That's not to say the Blue Devils were any better. They missed 15 3-point attempts, including Sheyer's desperation heave at the buzzer. Sheyer, who couldn't throw the ball into the Atlantic, actually led the team in rebounds with 12, which also shows this teams immense vulnerability. Greg Paulus, who has had probably his 2 best games as a Duke player in the Garden as a frosh and soph, was dreadful with only 3 points on 2 shots and he had 5 turnovers, including a number of costly ones at the end of the game.
Positives: Gerald Henderson is scary good and when I say scary, I mean scary because his mid-range jumper is NBA ready and I don't want to lose him after only two years. He kept the Dukies in the game, with jumper after jumper and I really thought he had the winner at the end of regulation. Kyle Singler also showed me a lot, considering the pounding he took down low. Even with that, he had 17 points, including a 3-pointer that tied it at 58-58 with 1 minute left in regulation. I still can't believe he missed the tip in at the buzzer though. The positive you take out of this game is that Pitt is a Top 10 program, they were a perfect mismatch for Duke, Duke played Pitt's game in the half court all night, the crowd in the 2nd Half was Pro-Pitt and yet with all that, they still should've and could've won the game on a number of occassions. So, it was a tough loss to swallow but a fade away 3 at the buzzer against a Top 10 team on a neutral court is not exactly a loss to Gardner Webb at home (that's for you Patrick Patterson). I bet you're regretting that decision now. Kentucky can't even beat Houston and it's not like they have Clyde Drexler and the Dream on that team.
Duke will bounce back from this and hopefully gain a little more toughness. I feel bad for the Big Red of Cornell because when Duke comes back to Cameron, they will spank them with no mercy...
Prediction: Duke 104 Cornell 60
Game Breakdown: First of all, I can't stand any of these so-called Duke fans that go to these games at the Garden. They know absolutely nothing about this team, this program, and the University as a whole. When Duke is up by double-digits especially in the 1st Half, please don't rub it in to the opposing fans because more than likely, Duke will at least make it interesting or worse yet, lose the game. I've seen a million times whether on tv or unfortunately, in person. The first ever Duke game I ever went to was in 2003 at the Garden against a beat up, ragged St. John's team with Marcus "Man" Hatten ended in similar heartbreak. Duke had dominated the game throughout but inconsistent shooting kept the game between 12-16 points for most of the 2nd Half. At 71-60 with 2:30 left in the game, Dahntay Jones was called for a non-existant 5th and final foul and all of a sudden the crowd and the tide of the game began to change. The St. John's fans, who before this point, you had a better chance of having a face-to-face with Osama Bin Laden than finding them in the stadium, began to go crazy. My brother, who circa 2001-2004, was the biggest jinx in the world, turned around at 71-63 and screamed out "You can't press Duke, they have too many good ballhandlers" What happened? Duke turned over the ball 4 consecutive possessions, St. John's tied the game up at 71-71 and then after Marcus Hatten absolutely molested Daniel Ewing with 5 seconds left, a molestation that would make Michael Jackson blush might I add, he ran down the floor, missed a layup at the buzzer, but again, a phantom foul call came with no time left. Hatten hit a free throw at the buzzer and Duke was 0-1 with yours truly in attendance. They then went on to win the next 9 I was in attendance for (7 in the Garden, 1 in Continental Airlines Arena, 1 in Cameron) until it was bookended with another tough loss on Thursday night. Imagine that, Duke is 9-2 while I'm in attendance, with the two losses coming by a combined total of 2 points.
How many more double-digit leads blown do I have to rehash? VCU last year, Indiana in 2002, UCONN in 2004 to name a few... The problem with this Pittsburgh game is that it exposed Duke's biggest weakness, rebounding, to the tune of being outrebounded by 17. Blair, who vowed to make the Devils pay for not recruiting him, really stuck it to the K man and his squad with 15 points and 20 rebounds. To me, Duke didn't zone enough. Pittsburgh, outside of Fields, missed all of their 3 point attempts and frankly, weren't even close. That's not to say the Blue Devils were any better. They missed 15 3-point attempts, including Sheyer's desperation heave at the buzzer. Sheyer, who couldn't throw the ball into the Atlantic, actually led the team in rebounds with 12, which also shows this teams immense vulnerability. Greg Paulus, who has had probably his 2 best games as a Duke player in the Garden as a frosh and soph, was dreadful with only 3 points on 2 shots and he had 5 turnovers, including a number of costly ones at the end of the game.
Positives: Gerald Henderson is scary good and when I say scary, I mean scary because his mid-range jumper is NBA ready and I don't want to lose him after only two years. He kept the Dukies in the game, with jumper after jumper and I really thought he had the winner at the end of regulation. Kyle Singler also showed me a lot, considering the pounding he took down low. Even with that, he had 17 points, including a 3-pointer that tied it at 58-58 with 1 minute left in regulation. I still can't believe he missed the tip in at the buzzer though. The positive you take out of this game is that Pitt is a Top 10 program, they were a perfect mismatch for Duke, Duke played Pitt's game in the half court all night, the crowd in the 2nd Half was Pro-Pitt and yet with all that, they still should've and could've won the game on a number of occassions. So, it was a tough loss to swallow but a fade away 3 at the buzzer against a Top 10 team on a neutral court is not exactly a loss to Gardner Webb at home (that's for you Patrick Patterson). I bet you're regretting that decision now. Kentucky can't even beat Houston and it's not like they have Clyde Drexler and the Dream on that team.
Duke will bounce back from this and hopefully gain a little more toughness. I feel bad for the Big Red of Cornell because when Duke comes back to Cameron, they will spank them with no mercy...
Prediction: Duke 104 Cornell 60
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Pitt Stop @ MSG
I've been gone for a while but I'm back for good. I apologize but the last few weeks have been crazy with a capital C baby. Speaking of that, I send out my best wishes to Dukie V recovering from throat surgery. Wow! Talk about being careful what you wish for...Sometimes listening to him makes you think "is there anything lower than mute" but now that Dukie V is out until at least February, I must admit, I'll miss him...Here's to a speedy recovery
I haven't had a post in a while. Let me touch for a little on the games that I missed and finally, move on to the all important Pitt matchup tomorrow, which I will be in attendance for so they better not freakin' lose.
Duke v. Wisconsin: I'll make this short and sweet. If Wisconsin knew what was good for them, before they got back on the Bus to go home, hopefully they bent over and let each and every Blue Devil spank them as each and every Badger called them Daddy. Duke absolutely spanked the Cheeseheads and continued its dominance in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.
Duke v. Davidson: Didn't see the game. I know, I know but I didn't have ESPNU. From what I hear, Greg Paulus really saved Duke at the end after they, in vintage Duke fashion, blew a large lead late and had to hold on. I'm not too worried about this game considering Davidson is an excellent squad and they took UNC down to the wire and were beating UCLA by 18 at one point before falling to the Bruins.
Duke. Michigan: The game started off slowly. It was about 16-14 when I went to make a sandwich. I came back and it was 32-14. Michigan, a team trying to adapt to Beilien's system of backcuts tried to pull the wool over Coach K's eyes and run with Duke. Unless you have Memphis or UNC written on the front of your jersey, running with Duke will be an immense mistake. Michigan will be relevant again with Beilien though but it may take a few years...
Duke v. Albany: 111 points from a team that couldn't throw the ball into the ocean last year, you got to love it. Will Brown is an excellent coach, almost pulled off the upset of the century against UCONN a few years back but in this one, they were clearly overmatched.
So, now we're pretty much up to date here and now we can focus on Pitt at the Garden. This is a battle of two Top 10 teams and really two of the best programs of the last decade or two in the NCAA's. I'm not sure who I favor in this game because of the contrasting styles. Pitt's gameplan will be simple: feed Blair and take advantage of Duke's lack of post depth and rebound well. Also their guards will undoubtedly be physical with the leaner Duke guards. However, Duke's spacing and shooting should present some real problems for the Panthers.
The Keys to the game:
First, Lance Thomas. Will he play or will he not play? That is the question. Duke will need Thomas and if he is absent from the lineup, Brian Zoubek will need to have an out of body experience to keep the Devils in it down low.
Second, will Duke continue their hot shooting? If Duke continues to stroke the 3 with the same type of efficiency, they could run away with this game.
Third, Blair is clearly the best post player they have played as of yet. How will the undersized Blue Devils react to someone of his caliber? Only time will tell...
Prediction: I am loving this team. I love their energy, I love the way they push the ball, I love their confidence, I love their swagger, I love that they took last year personal, and I think they will take one step further to solidifying this program as one of the elites again after a one year absence tomorrow night. Pittsburgh will be tough, Duke will come away with a ton of black and blues but I also think they will come away with a victory. Duke must play this game in the high 70's, 80's or even 90's to win...If they play in the 50' or 60's, it could be a long train ride home for me tomorrow night...
Duke 83 Pitt 75
I haven't had a post in a while. Let me touch for a little on the games that I missed and finally, move on to the all important Pitt matchup tomorrow, which I will be in attendance for so they better not freakin' lose.
Duke v. Wisconsin: I'll make this short and sweet. If Wisconsin knew what was good for them, before they got back on the Bus to go home, hopefully they bent over and let each and every Blue Devil spank them as each and every Badger called them Daddy. Duke absolutely spanked the Cheeseheads and continued its dominance in the ACC/Big Ten challenge.
Duke v. Davidson: Didn't see the game. I know, I know but I didn't have ESPNU. From what I hear, Greg Paulus really saved Duke at the end after they, in vintage Duke fashion, blew a large lead late and had to hold on. I'm not too worried about this game considering Davidson is an excellent squad and they took UNC down to the wire and were beating UCLA by 18 at one point before falling to the Bruins.
Duke. Michigan: The game started off slowly. It was about 16-14 when I went to make a sandwich. I came back and it was 32-14. Michigan, a team trying to adapt to Beilien's system of backcuts tried to pull the wool over Coach K's eyes and run with Duke. Unless you have Memphis or UNC written on the front of your jersey, running with Duke will be an immense mistake. Michigan will be relevant again with Beilien though but it may take a few years...
Duke v. Albany: 111 points from a team that couldn't throw the ball into the ocean last year, you got to love it. Will Brown is an excellent coach, almost pulled off the upset of the century against UCONN a few years back but in this one, they were clearly overmatched.
So, now we're pretty much up to date here and now we can focus on Pitt at the Garden. This is a battle of two Top 10 teams and really two of the best programs of the last decade or two in the NCAA's. I'm not sure who I favor in this game because of the contrasting styles. Pitt's gameplan will be simple: feed Blair and take advantage of Duke's lack of post depth and rebound well. Also their guards will undoubtedly be physical with the leaner Duke guards. However, Duke's spacing and shooting should present some real problems for the Panthers.
The Keys to the game:
First, Lance Thomas. Will he play or will he not play? That is the question. Duke will need Thomas and if he is absent from the lineup, Brian Zoubek will need to have an out of body experience to keep the Devils in it down low.
Second, will Duke continue their hot shooting? If Duke continues to stroke the 3 with the same type of efficiency, they could run away with this game.
Third, Blair is clearly the best post player they have played as of yet. How will the undersized Blue Devils react to someone of his caliber? Only time will tell...
Prediction: I am loving this team. I love their energy, I love the way they push the ball, I love their confidence, I love their swagger, I love that they took last year personal, and I think they will take one step further to solidifying this program as one of the elites again after a one year absence tomorrow night. Pittsburgh will be tough, Duke will come away with a ton of black and blues but I also think they will come away with a victory. Duke must play this game in the high 70's, 80's or even 90's to win...If they play in the 50' or 60's, it could be a long train ride home for me tomorrow night...
Duke 83 Pitt 75
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