BLEED ROYAL BLUE

The Full Belmonty

2008-03-21T19:55:00.002-05:00

24 hours later and I still haven't caught my breath...Allow me to catch it and sum up this game prior to the West Virginia game...

PS - In Gerald Henderson I trust

BRBI

2008-03-19T19:29:00.002-05:00

College basketball has the RPI. Dickie V has the VBDI (Vitale Bald Dome Index). As for me, I have the BRBI (Bleed Royal Blue Index). For the first time in a number of years, I really believe the committee got it right. Sure, I can gripe with Arizona State not getting in despite beating Arizona twice and having a better overall record in the Pac-10 but let's face it, a 300+ non-conference schedule should land you in the NIT.

As for the Field of 65 (well 64 now, sorry Coppin State), here's a BRBI breakdown of each region:

East (Charlotte)

Should win: North Carolina.

Why? Carolina has the POY in Tyler Hansbrough and they have Ty Lawson back and almost healthy running the point. With Lawson in the lineup, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green become so much more dangerous. Also, it doesn't help that they wouldn't leave the state of North Carolina before heading to San Antonio.

Why Not? One word, defense. Carolina tends to play defense only when they want to play defense (see the last 5 minutes at Cameron). However, if they don't commit themselves on the defensive end, they can be picked off by a number of teams.

Most Vulnerable High Seed: Tennessee

Why? The Volunteers shoot way too many bad shots and like we saw last year against Ohio State, cannot protect leads in crunch time. The Vols best shooter, Chris Lofton, has been up and down all year. Also, if teams beat their pressure, they are a below average half court defensive team.

Also, a trip to San Antonio seems unlikely with the possible road of Butler, Louisville, and UNC (on the road) to get there. Butler knocked off the Vols in the Preseason NIT last year by making Tennessee a half court team. Louisville, to me, is a more talented version of Tennessee and with David Padgett, they are better than the Vols. Finally, if Tennessee can escape those games, UNC will most likely loom. Good luck.

Possible Upsets:

George Mason over Notre Dame: We all know what Mason did two years ago during their miraculous run to the Final 4. Well, a few pieces from that team still exist in Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell. I think Mike Brey has his best team ever in South Bend but GMU won't be easy to deal with.

Butler over Tennessee (2nd Round): Butler is loaded with experience and they make teams play their pace. If they do that to Tennessee, watch out Bruce Pearl!

BRB pick: North Carolina

Midwest (Detroit)

Should win: Kansas

Why? Kansas is the deepest, most talented team in the country (by far). They really don't have a weakness and if they do have one, it's that they are too balanced (if that's possible). Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson are tough to stop down low and if you double in the post, the likes of Chalmers, Rush, Collins, and Robinson will burn you from the outside.

Why Not? Bill Self. Self has done a great job assembling such a great pool of talent in Lawrence but does he have what it takes to get his team to a Final 4? After back to back losses to Bucknell and Bradley in the first round, the Jayhawks bounced back and made it to the Elite 8 only to bow out against UCLA in a practical road game.

Most Vulnerable High Seed: Wisconsin

Why? The Big 10 isn't that good and although they should get past CSF in the first round, they will be severely outclassed athletically in the next round playing either USC or Kansas State. Wisconsin can flat out defend and Bo Ryan does more with less than any coach in America. However, they can't score and I don't see a go-to guy when they need a big basket. The Badger faithful can't rely on too many more Brian Butch bank shots.

Possible Upsets:

Villanova over Clemson: In November, this would not have been an upset. Villanova came into the year over hyped with Scottie Reynolds returning for another season and Corey Stokes coming in as a highly-touted freshman. Nova was the last team in the Tournament field and whether they treat this as a reprieve on their season or continue their inconsistency remains to be seen. Clemson is a squad but let's face it, they have no experience and they struggle hitting free throws. Plus, I get a little weary that so many people are on the Clemson bandwagon.

Kansas State over USC: Two words, Michael Beasley.

BRB pick: Kansas

South (Houston)

Should win: Toss up

This region can go many different ways in my estimation. Memphis can definitely win it but I just don't trust them in a big spot. If they do make it to San Antonio, D. Rose will carry them, not Chris Douglas-Roberts.

Texas, although they are young, is probably the favorite to come out of this bracket for me because they will play their possible Sweet 16/Elite 8 games in Houston.

Stanford & Pittsburgh can't be counted out as well. With Stanford, it begins and ends with Brook Lopez. If the Cardinal get anything out of their perimeter, they are very hard to beat. As for Pitt, they have a mojo about them that could carry them all the way to San Antonio.

Most Vulnerable High Seed: Memphis

Why? Competition, competition, competition. Sure, the Tigers overcame a strong non-conference schedule and only suffered one blemish this season but let's face it, Conference USA is practically a Division II conference. The Tigers are very athletic but they lack the basketball IQ that other teams in this bracket have. If there is a #1 that could go down in the 1st weekend, it's Memphis.

Possible Upsets:

Temple over Michigan State: There are a number of coaches known as motivators even more so than good X's and O's guys, Tom Izzo is one of those guys. However, Temple is red hot after winning the A-10 Tournament and Dionte Christmas is the best scorer you've never heard of. Will Christmas come early for Temple fans?

Mississippi State over Memphis: If the Bulldogs can get by Oregon, which I'm still not sure they can, they have the grit and style of play the frustrate the Tigers and end Memphis' dreams of a title. Jamont Gordon is a versatile swing guard, Ben "Don't call me Tyler" Hansbrough can knock down open shots off the bench, Charles Rhodes is a load down low, and Varnardo is the college version of Dikembe Mutumbo around the basket.

BRB Pick: Texas or Pitt (still undecided)

West (Phoenix)

Should win: UCLA

Why? UCLA is the most experienced team in college basketball coming off of two consecutive Final 4 appearances. The Bruins inability to score has hurt them the last two years but the addition of super frosh Kevin Love should solve that problem once the ball is tipped on Thursday. UCLA has one of the best coaches in the country, has a great tandem of guards with Collison and Westbrook, and they play tenacious defense.

Why not? Injuries to LR Mbah Mutae and Kevin Love could derail UCLA's chances at a third consecutive Final 4. Also, Josh Shipp, who earlier in the year filled in nicely for the departed Aaron Affalo, seems to lack confidence in his jump shot.

Most Vulnerable High Seed: Duke

Why? I know, I know. I hate to say it but the Dukies are what they are. If they hit their 3's, they can cut down the nets and beat anyone in the country. If they shoot it like they did against Clemson, they could get bounced by anyone (maybe not Belmont). Assuming Duke takes down Belmont, they will have to execute at a high level against either West Virginia or Arizona to advance to the next weekend.

Possible Upsets:

Georgia over Xavier: Xavier is a good squad with tremendous guard play, especially at the mid-major level. However, if there is a hotter, more inspired team than Georgia, let me know. Georgia pulled off a miracle nothing short of walking on water by winning 4 games is 3, yes 3 days to receive an automatic bid.

Arizona over Duke: Like Mississippi State, I'm not sure Arizona will get by their first round opponent but if they do, they can give the Devils all they want and more. Jerryd Bayless is the type of penetrating north-south guard that Duke struggles with, Chase Buddinger can flat out shoot, and Jordan Hill will be a load down low, especially for the undersized Blue Devils.

BRB pick: UCLA (over Duke in the Elite 8)

Final 4: UNC v. Kansas/Texas or Pitt v. UCLA

UNC v. Kansas: Although North Carolina has all of the ingredients to win a National Championship, their inability to play consistent defense should plague them against Kansas. Kansas' balance and big monsters down low should be enough to edge the Tar Heels.

Texas or Pitt v. UCLA: It really doesn't matter who I pick from the South bracket because I love UCLA's coach, defense, and winning ora. Although Texas beat UCLA earlier this season, I like UCLA over Texas. As for Pitt, UCLA is a much more talented version of Pitt and their former coach should get his squad through to the championship.

Kansas v. UCLA: I agonized over this pick. I believe these are the two best teams in the country and it would only be fitting for them to battle it out for the national championship. This would be a rematch of the West Regional Final last year but I think Kansas would get some revenge and overwhelm UCLA with their size and strength. I truly believe Ben Howland is the next version of Coach K and like Coach K, he may need to get to a number of Final 4's before actually winning the whole thing. Don't worry Bruin fans, he will get his one of these years, especially with Jru Holiday on the way to LA next year.

Kansas 80
UCLA 76

Hopefully, Duke can do better than I predicted but I just can't see them shooting the ball well 6 consecutive games. There will be a Clemson type shooting game in this tournament and if they can win despite that then they could go far. However, I strongly believe that once that game comes, Duke's season ends in heartbreaking fashion.

We'll see. Merry Madness!

Duke #2 Seed Out West

2008-03-16T21:30:00.002-05:00

I don't want to say I told you so but I did. After Duke's loss to Clemson, I figured Duke would be the weakest #2 seed. The surprising thing about Duke's seeding was the site of the 1st and 2nd Round games. I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Duke would play in Raleigh but the committee switched up and punished Duke and G'Town for conference tournament losses. Instead of Duke going to Raleigh, they go to Washington D.C. and instead of G'Town going to Washington D.C., they go to Raleigh. Although Duke will now have to fly to their games instead of taking a short bus ride, I think this actually works better for Duke because Raleigh would be full of Carolina fans hence making it a road game.

As for the bracket, I'm neither happy nor disappointed because all this bracket reaffirms is what I've said on BRB all year long, Duke can get bounced in the first weekend or they can go to San Antonio and I still stand by that notion. All kidding aside, I think Duke should handle Belmont, even though they do have a great deal of experience. However, a team with 8 McDonald's All-Americans should beat a school named after a racetrack.

So, assuming Duke defeats Belmont, they get a tough matchup either way, playing West Virginia or Arizona. West Virginia has been playing good basketball and Joe Alexander is as versatile as any player in the nation. He can go inside and step outside with the best of them. I believe the last time the Huggy bear has faced Coach K was in the 1998 Great Alaskan Shootout, when Melvin Levitt beat Duke with a dunk at the buzzer, handing the Devils one of their two losses on the year. As for Arizona, they have a great deal of talent and although they probably should've been left out and Arizona State should've gotten in, if they get hot, they will make a run. With Bayless and Buddinger, Duke would struggle to defend those guys but the guy who would beat them, if they beat Duke, is Jordan Hill down low.

If the shots are falling, Duke should advance to Phoenix where they could play the likes of Xavier, Purdue, Baylor. Although Xavier has the type of guard quickness that usually upsets Duke, I would like the Devils in that matchup. Purdue is a solid squad and Matt Painter is a candidate for COY but I believe their inexperience would show against Duke. As for Baylor, what a great story Scott Drew has built down there after that program was left for dead after the Dave Bliss era filled with murder, lies and corruption. Despite the good story, Duke would be favored and should move on to play UCLA.

If Duke gets to the Elite 8 and sees UCLA, this is where the dream should end for the Blue Devils. I believe UCLA has too much championship experience, quick guards, and no answer for the big trees down low. UCLA will defend the hell out of the perimeter and to me, they are a more talented, more experienced Pittsburgh team and we all know how Duke struggled with them.

Much more later on but if you held a gun to my head, I would pick Duke to the Elite 8 and pick UCLA to move onto the Final 4.

Clem-Son of a...

2008-03-15T23:09:00.002-05:00

Just a quick reminder, I will be live blogging the Duke/UNC Part III on Wral tomorrow. Oh wait, Clemson ruined those plans and although UNC was able to escape an upset bid, Duke could not. I never call out Duke's effort but let's face it, this team came out lethargic and slept walked through the first half. They were sloppy with the ball, they took bad shots, and for some reason, continued to double in the post only to give up an open layup.

As I've stated throughout the year, Duke's lucky number is 3 not 7 and today it was very unlucky and led to a defeat. They shot 20% from the 3-point line and missed a number of open looks. Also, in the first half, Duke uncharacteristically gave up a number of open looks to Terrence Oglesby and Cliff Hammonds.

Clemson, who is the absolute worst free throw shooting in Division I basketball, seems to make them against Duke and fouling Cliff Hammonds, who shoots 43%, iced the game from the free throw line, looking like Rick Barry in the process. Congratulations to Clemson on practically winning a home game for them considering every fan in the building was a Clemson fan or a North Carolina fan, who is obviously rooting against Duke.

I would've loved to see Duke/UNC for a third time but if I'm a Carolina fan, I don't like this matchup and really wouldn't have rooted for it. I know Duke is their archrival but UNC matches up much better against Duke than they do against Clemson. I see Clemson exercising some demons again tomorrow and knocking off UNC in a nailbiter.

Getting back to Duke, they shot dreadfully and with Kyle Singler struggling, it will be hard to have a long extended run in the NCAA Tournament. I know it's tough to hear but if they don't hit a great deal of 3's, they can't beat average to good teams, they just can't. If they shoot it like they did against UNC in Chapel Hill, they can cut down the nets. The problem is that Kyle Singler looks exhausted and the only thing worse than his play the last two games is that awful opera singer ESPN sollicited for the ACC Tournament (how dreadful is that??)

Next up for Duke is the NCAA Tournament, either on Thursday or Friday. They will either be one of the last two 2 seeds so expect to go out West and play in UCLA's bracket or to be one of the better 3 seeds. I think Duke's overall body of work, despite a 5-4 record in their last 9, should give them a #2 seed. If I had to guess, I see Duke landing as the #2 out West where they would probably have to go through UCLA in Anaheim to go to the Final 4. Good Luck!

Much, much, much more after the brackets come out...

Georgia Tech - Next Up

2008-03-13T21:41:00.002-05:00

Duke will play Georgia Tech tomorrow night in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament. The Jackets ended the spectacular career of Sean Singletary tonight.

Tech is under .500 this year and they have a few seniors that won't want that to be their last game. Look for a spirited effort for Tech but I see Duke pulling away late in the game.

We'll see...

SINGing His Praise...

2008-03-11T21:54:00.003-05:00

Kyle Singler was named ACC Freshman of the Year today. No surprise here...My man crush enjoyed a stellar rookie campaign and is one of the biggest reasons why Duke has turned a disappointing 22-11 campaign a year ago into a 26-4 spectacular season.

Congrats to Singler and here's to another 3 years at Duke (please...)

Nelson - 1st Team All-ACC

2008-03-10T21:57:00.002-05:00

DeMarcus Nelson earned All-ACC honors today along with Tyler Hansbrough, Tyrese Rice, Sean Singletary, and Jack McClinton. Nelson also made the All-ACC Defensive team...

Greg Paulus earned 3rd team All-ACC honors as did Kyle Singler, as a freshman...

Congrats to those guys

Duke Drops to #7

2008-03-10T17:48:00.003-05:00

Duke drops down to #7 in both polls heading into the ACC Tournament. Inexplicably, Wisconsin has jumped Duke in the ESPN one despite having the same record and Duke spanking the hell out of them in November...

UNC remains #1 and is prime for the #1 seed in the East unless something catastrophic happens like losing on Friday to Wake/FSU and Duke winning the ACC Tourney

POLL

ACC Bracket Set

2008-03-10T05:58:00.002-05:00

Thursdays Games:

Wake/FSU
Miami/NC State
G-Tech/Virginia
Maryland/BC

Fridays Games:

UNC v. Wake/FSU
V-Tech v. Miami/NC State
Duke v. G-Tech/Virginia
Clemson v. Maryland/BC

BRBI: Bleed Royal Blue Index

UNC, Duke, Clemson - stone cold locks, can lose their first round game and still feel comfy

Miami - beat NC State and should be win; lose to NC State and sweat it out

V-Tech - must beat the Miami/NC State winner to get back on the bubble and probably needs to upset UNC to get there after a close loss to Clemson yesterday

Maryland - after a terrible loss to Virginia, at 8-8 in conference and a pathetic 64 RPI, they must advance to the semifinal at least but probably get to the final to be safe

Wake, FSU, Virginia, G-Tech, NC State, BC must win 4 straight and get the automatic bid

Should be fun...

Senior Daze

2008-03-09T01:14:00.002-05:00

Well, DeMarcus Nelson can add his name to that unfortunate list of Seniors who have lost in their last game at Cameron. Nelson has been spectacular this year but tonight, he was dreadful and really let the moment get the best of him.

Before I get into the analysis, I first have to congratulate the Tar Heels on a well-deserved, hard fought ACC Championship. Second, I thought the whole Eve Carson tribute was as classy as it was appropriate.

You can say whatever you want about Duke's poor 1st Half, the play that really turned this game around was the Gerald Henderson missed dunk with Duke up 68-66. Duke would then go the final 5:40 without a basket.

Greg Paulus really kept the Blue Devils in the game in the 1st Half as he continues his hot shooting. Also, Brian Zoubek gave the Blue Devils 10 good minutes but UNC's small lineup forced him out of the game.

A few reasons why UNC was better tonight:

1) They had Tyler Hansbrough and Duke didn't.
2) Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, who were dreadful in Part I, were stellar in the sequel.
3) Roy Williams had the Heels switch off ball screens, which they never do, and that clearly confused Duke and forced them into some tough shots.
4) I believe they left it all out on the floor tonight not only for an ACC title and a #1 but for young Eve Carson.

A few reasons why Duke wasn't good tonight:
1) Poor shooting and ball handling in the 1st Half
2) DeMarcus Nelson let Senior Day get the best of him
3) Duke couldn't keep UNC off the glass

Despite what the experts say, Duke still has a shot at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament if they can win the ACC Tournament and get some help from teams playing the likes of Kansas, UCLA, Tennessee, etc...Most likely, unless they have a Friday exit in the ACC Tournament, they should be a #2 seed and still play in Raleigh in the 1st and 2nd Rounds...

Next up for Duke is the ACC Tournament and as the #2 seed, they will have a bye before playing the 7-10 winner on Friday. The seeding is still yet to be determined...

Senior Day

2008-03-08T10:17:00.003-05:00

I think DeMarcus Nelson would be flattered to be included on a list with the likes of Shane Battier, JJ Redick, and Shelden Williams to name a few Duke greats. However, if I group him in a sentence with those guys after tonight's game, it could be detrimental to Duke's season.

Shane Battier in 2001 and JJ & Shelden in 2004 squared off against Maryland and UNC respectively on their Senior Day and they came away with a big fat "L"

In 2001, Duke and Maryland would meet an unbelievable 4 times and every single game was a classic. However, the one that Duke lost was their Shane Battier's last game in Cameron (that was his last loss at Duke though) in a game where Duke's season looked over when Carlos Boozer broke his foot.

In 2004, Duke had went 14-0 through the first 14 ACC games and along the way, JJ Redick was having a record breaking season. Then, Duke fell to Florida State on the road, which set the stage for JJ, Shelden and Co. to ride off into the sunset and beat a very young but talented North Carolina team. Duke started off hot but it wouldn't last and the rest is history.

Will the 2008 version of Senior Day have the same result? Will DeMarcus Nelson fall into that category or will he go out on top like Wojo in 1998?

We'll see...

VOTE FOR DEMARCUS

2008-03-06T22:52:00.002-05:00

For most of the year, I couldn't have given a damn about the Lowe's Senior Class Award but with very little voting time left, DeMarcus is tied percentage-wise with Tennessee's Chris "I've never hit a 2-point field goal" Lofton. Click the link on the top right of my page to push DeMarcus over the top. It only takes a minute...

Just a game...

2008-03-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

I always root against North Carolina but sometimes I need to take a step back and realize that it's just a game...

Two months ago, a friend and mentor of mine was shot and killed outside of a nightclub and it's been really tough to deal with. So, I feel for this girl's friends and family and I send out my condolensces to her family.

Tragedy at Chapel Hill

In the Zone...

2008-03-05T22:25:00.003-05:00

The Dukies spanked Virginia earlier tonight and they did it by going to a 2-3 zone. Huh? Down 26-25 and Sean Singletary penetrating at will, Coach K went for to the Jimmy B zone and boy, did it pay off. From there, Duke went on an 18-3 run and really never looked back. Virginia made a few small runs but when they needed a big shot, Duke got it from a number of usual suspects, mainly Kyle Singler and DeMarcus Nelson.

The saddest thing about Virginia's season is that Sean Singletary probably only has two games left in his career since they won't be playing in any postseason tournament unless they make a dramatic run in the ACC Tournament. Singletary has electrified crowds around the ACC for four years and it truly is a shame to see him go but let's face it, I'm not losing any sleep over it.

My main concern is the Blue Devils and at 26-3, they have overachieved to this point. To me, Duke's only chance to make the Final 4 and take a shot at the national championship is to land that #1 seed in the East. If that's the case, the mission is clear: beat North Carolina on Saturday night. If they lose, UNC locks up that #1 in the East and Duke is forced to win the ACC Tournament to have a shot at a #1 out West.

Much more on the UNC game later on in the week and my prediction will be on Saturday during my live blog on WRAL. The link is below along with the box score to Duke's victory tonight...

LIVE BLOG LINK

Duke 86 Virginia 70

This column will be syndicated on MVN.com

WRAL Link

2008-03-05T20:28:00.002-05:00

I have signed on to the live blog again with WRAL.com against Mr. Tar Heel. The first matchup was more for bragging rights and I took it easy on UNC. Now, with an ACC Championship on the line, I won't be so nice. Check it out if you stay home and avoid the bar scene on Saturday...

LIVE BLOG LINK

Not So Fast...

2008-03-05T20:06:00.002-05:00

I will not be parting with this site after all. I will write for MVN but I will co-author that blog with another Duke fan. Should be fun, details later but BRB is going nowhere...

Forwarding Address

2008-03-03T22:26:00.002-05:00

Attention BRB readers:

I have moved over to MVN.com to contribute to their mission of the becoming the biggest and best independent sports website around...

The link is below. For all of the websites that have me linked, can you please link this new address? Thank you...

BRB on MVN

BTW, Catch me again on WRAL.com, live blogging against UNC fanatic, Mr. Tar Heel. Should be fun the second time around as well, especially if Duke can pull out a regular season title.

BRB March News

2008-03-02T23:50:00.002-05:00

A few things as the college basketball season moves into high gear:

1) Live Blog II: It looks like Mr. Tar Heel and I will go head-to-head for a second time this year for the Duke/UNC regular season finale. We should be signed on very soon, just a few minor details need to be worked out. More details later in the week. I really appreciate all of the readers and great comments that I received last time and I'm hoping for deja vu.

2) I will be taking over the Duke page on MVN.com (Most Valuable Network). Once I have the final details, I will be writing for MVN, one of the biggest independent sports media website around right now...

More news as it comes but thanks for reading and go Duke!

800

2008-03-01T14:40:00.002-05:00

Coach K has experienced a number of thrilling and improbable victories but this one has to rank up there for the Blue Devil coach. Down 13 with 12 minutes to go and being thoroughly outplayed on the road, it sure appeared that Coach K would have to wait until Wednesday night for the milestone. Then, DeMarcus Nelson and Co. took over by hitting shots, digging in on defense, and more importantly, hitting big free throws down the stretch.

At halftime, I turned to my brother and proclaimed "Duke will win this game" despite a 3-point deficit because State has played so well, hit their shots, and more importantly, didn't miss a free throw not to mention Duke shot miserably. However, unlike the 1st meeting, State kept their foot on the pedal and it looked as if Duke didn't have a prayer especially when guys like Javier Gonzalez went for 15 points above their season average.

There were so many huge plays in this game but none were bigger than DeMarcus' 3-point shot down 84-79 with 2 minutes to go especially since he had the presence of mind to step behind the line and calmly stroke the 3. Then, down the stretch, State, who had been great at the line, on 2 consecutive crucial possessions, hit 1 of 2 from the line leaving a 86-85 score with under a minute to play. Nelson then decided to take over and to be honest, got away with a hook and got fouled. Now, I've killed Nelson all year for his dreadful free throw shooting and even prophecized that it would inevitably burn the Blue Devils but it didn't today.

This was easily Duke's best victory considering how much they had to climb to get back into the game. In December, Duke lost a thriller they had no business losing to Pittsburgh. Today, they won a thriller they had no business winning so I guess the basketball gods even things out, at least for now.

Congratulations to Coach K. He's heard so much praise in the last 28 years but believe it or not, even at 800 wins, this could be his best coaching job. Huh? Think about it. Coach K has been very stubborn the last few years sticking with his game plan and not adjusting to his team and their abilities. This year, he changed his entire philosophy, whether it is the Phoenix spread offense or even throwing in a few 2-3 zones from time to time, Coach K has played to his players strengths and has finally used his bench...

The best win of the season for Duke, on NC State's Senior Day no less. The Devils will play another one of those against Sean Singletary and Virginia. The Cavs compete at home and Duke could be looking forward to UNC but I like Duke to make it 801 for K...

Prediction: Duke 81 UVA 71

Coach K Goes For # 800

2008-03-01T11:53:00.002-05:00

I apologize for not posting after the Tech game but even though Duke won, that game almost put me in a coma.

As for today, Duke heads over to Raleigh to play the schizo NC State team that can beat anyone in the country and also lose to anyone in the country. If NC State can string together two halves this time against Duke, they will pull off the upset because their size presents too many problems down low.

However, Duke should use their pressure to force Javier Gonzalez into turnovers and I like Coach K to get his 800th victory in about 2 hours. More after the game...

Prediction: Duke 71 NC State 65

The Missing Piece?

2008-02-27T20:15:00.003-05:00

Although Duke plays tonight, their greatest victory came earlier in the day when 6'11'' Mason Plumlee committed to Duke and became the first recruit for Duke in the Class of 2009. There has been a great deal of pub about Kenny Boynton and Leslie McDonald but this kid, from everything you read, will provide something that Duke does not have this year and won't have next year, an inside presence...

Welcome to Duke, Mason

MP ARTICLE

Duke #2 in the East (Bracketology)

2008-02-25T17:18:00.002-05:00

Although Shawn Seigel still has Duke as a #1 because of their gaudy RPI, Joe Lunardi has dropped them to a #2 seed. However, he has them as the #2 seed in the East (Charlotte) bracket, which would be a huge break for Duke.

I would much rather a #2 in the East then a #1 in the Midwest or West...

BRACKET

Oh Boy!

2008-02-25T15:01:00.003-05:00

It was clear to me last night watching the Cal/Stanford game that Duke could really use Jamal Boykin. Who? He was one of the guys who didn't play much at Duke and transferred because of a series of family problems coupled with a lack of playing time.

Since joining the Golden Bears mid-season, Boykin has had some really good games and more importantly, is an active body off the bench in the nation's toughest conference. In just 16 games this season, Boykin is the 5th leading scorer on a Cal team that has some studs, mainly Ryan Anderson, Patrick Christopher, and Devon Hardin. Not to mention, he's went for double figure points off the bench in 7 of those 16 games, which is something Duke has severely lacked at their 5-position. Boykin stands the same height as Lance Thomas and with David McClure clearly feeling the effects of his multiple knee injuries, Duke could really use a guy like Boykin to eat up some minutes and even provide an offensive spark, something that Lance Thomas rarely gives you.

The transfers on Jamal Boykin and Eric Boateng were relative footnotes for Duke and its fan base when they happened but with McRoberts bailing for the NBA (or NBDL), Patrick Patterson going to Lexington, and Duke missing out on the Greg Monroe sweepstakes, those transfers seem to a hurt a lot more...

Duke Drops in Rankings

2008-02-25T14:30:00.002-05:00

The mid-week loss to Miami (FL) dropped Duke two spots in both polls, ESPN #6 & AP #7. Tennessee assumes its first #1 ranking in school history and it could be short lived, with a trip to Vanderbilt on the horizon.

Despite huge wins over Duke and Maryland, Miami didn't crack the Top 25 in either poll, still leaving Duke and UNC as the only two representatives of the ACC.

POLL

Weathering The Storm

2008-02-23T17:57:00.002-05:00

When you have a cold, you go to the Benadryl. When you get cut, you go to the bandaid. When you're on a two-game losing streak, you play St. John's. My graduate school alma mater is hardly a big-time program anymore and Duke couldn't have planned the Johnnies trip to Cameron at a better time. Coming off two straight ACC road losses, Duke came home searching for their identity and early on, it looked as if they would struggle through this one as well, falling behind 7-0 to the young Johnnies.

However, Duke's ability to defend coupled with their ability to hit the three pointer, allowed them to coast to a much needed, easy victory. I'll tell you, it was like the bizarro world out there today with Brian Zoubek (yes, this is NOT a typo) taking over and getting a double-double. What were the Vegas odds on Brian Zoubek getting a double-double? Probably the same as David Tyree catching a TD pass as well as the biggest catch in sports history in the Super Bowl. If they get similar efforts from Zoubek, Duke has a good shot to go to the Final 4. Let me see Zou do it against better competition, specifically Georgia Tech later this week.

Greg Paulus had a pretty rough game on a negative note even though he bounced back to hit some threes in the 2nd Half but I must say, I love Nolan Smith at the point right now. Kyle Singler, what else can I say about him? Anyone who reads this blog knows the man love I have for him. Gerald Henderson looked much better with that wrist injury and really sparked the run that pulled Duke away from the Johnnies with 3 consecutive jumpers. Oh, and I would be wrong if I didn't make a public apology to Jon Sheyer. After calling him out after the Wake game, he has really responded. I'm not saying that my blog was bulletin board material but I will take credit for his resurgence anyways just because I can and I want to.

Next up for the Dukies is Georgia Tech at Cameron Indoor on Wednesday night. If Duke can pressure Causey into turnovers, Duke should prevail at home and look towards the big one in Raleigh over the weekend against State. I will provide a prediction later in the week but I certainly like Duke in this one after regaining their stroke against the Red Storm.

Elliot Williams on McDonald's All-American Roster

2008-02-21T10:51:00.002-05:00

Big surprise, the Dukies landed a McDonald's All-American in Elliot Williams and look like they will lock up his friend Leslie McDonald next year, another All-American possibility.

A bigger surprise, however, is that Duke only landed one and he's 6'4''. The last time I checked, I could've sworn that Duke is in dire need of guys taller than 6'8'' and that issue was not addressed with this recruiting class.

McD's Count

UNC (3)
Ohio State (2)
UCLA (2)
Alabama (1)
Virginia (1)
Rutgers (1)
Louisville (1)
Florida State (1)
UCONN (1)
Duke (1)
Nevada (1) Huh?
USC (1)
Oregon (1)
Wake Forest (1)
Arizona (1)
G'Town (1)
G'Tech (1)
Oklahoma (1)

Unofficial Roster

Hurri-ble Defeat

2008-02-21T01:10:00.002-05:00

Heading into Sunday night's game against Wake Forest, Duke had only sustained one freakin loss. Four days later, they have three. Miami jumped out to an uncharacteristic 20 point lead early in the 2nd Half and barely held off the Blue Devils on Wednesday night 96-95.

I only saw one segment of this game (thank god) because I was blocked out of this game because I don't belong to an ACC market. So, I will not pull a Christopher "Maddog" Russo and comment on a game that I didn't see but I will say this: two straight losses don't bother me as much as letting up 96 points and giving up 58% shooting from the field. Duke's defense seems to have abandoned them in the last two games and they better find it fast.

On Saturday, Duke finally returns home and steps out of conference to face my pathetic alma mater, St. John's. If the Dukies lose this game, cancel the season. The Johnnies are as dreadful as they come and although Justin Burrell could hurt them down low, their guard play is much too weak to beat the Devils in Cameron, that's a guarantee.

Prediction: Duke 76 St. John's 61

I don't know what's wrong with this team the last two games but they still have time to get it together, win this conference, and secure that coveted #1 seed. The mission is simple to understand but not so simple in accomplishing: beat GT at home, beat NC State in Raleigh, beat Virginia in Charlottesville, and then knock off the Lawson-led Tar Heels on DeMarcus' Senior Day. That sounds easy enough (notice the sarcasm).

UNHAPPY RECAP

Duke #4 in ESPN Poll

2008-02-18T14:05:00.002-05:00

Duke drops to #4 in the latest ESPN Poll after their loss to Wake Forest. Memphis remains #1 after narrowly escaping an upset at the hands of Mike Davis and his UAB squad. Tennessee moves up to #2, which sets up a battle of #1 & #2 on Saturday night. If Memphis pulls it out, they should enter the tournament 34-0.

POLL

Fa-Teague'd

2008-02-18T12:20:00.002-05:00

The 12 game winning streak is gone. The lofty #2 ranking should be in their rear view mirror. More importantly, for the first time this season, Duke was outplayed, outhustled, and outexecuted by their opponent.

Congratulations to Wake Forest on a terrific victory and to Dino Gaudio for developing a tremendous gameplan to beat the Devils. You know those kids wanted this one badly for Skip Prosser. The Deacons used their quickness to make it a North-South game and not an East-West game. Duke had previously run out to a 22-1 record because they exposed teams that tried to beat them East-West, which usually winds up failing against their tremendous ball pressure. However, on Sunday Night, the Deacs used their speed in the backcourt to constantly penetrate and hit layups or penetrate to open shooters.

All the talk has been how good Kyle Singler has been as a freshman and that he was probably the choice for ACC ROY. However, he was outplayed by two of Wake's freshmen last night, James Johnson and Jeff Teague. Teague penetrated at will and got any shot he wanted and when James Johnson realized that he should live down low and not on the perimeter, he also dominated the undersized Dukies. The two magnificent diaper dandies accounted for 50 of Wake's 86 points in victory.

Getting back to the North-South gameplan. Can you remember one play, just one play, where Wake tried a cross court pass? I really can't. So, the gameplan or blueprint is out there to effectively beat Duke so how will they adjust to this bump in the road? Everyone knows that they have a disadvantage down low but they have done a marvellous job at exploiting that same mismatch on the offensive end with Kyle Singler on the perimeter. However, if you couple the size advantage with quick and athletic guards that continually penetrate, you will beat the Blue Devils or at the very lest, be there at the end of the game.

As for Duke, they played a very sub par game and for the most part, you can give Wake the credit for that but you can't give them credit for Dukes lack of hustle. The one positive out of this game is Nolan Smith and his ability to penetrate at will. His performance last night should not only earn him minutes but he should steal some minutes from Jon Sheyer, who was absolutely dreadful last night. You couldn't have gotten a worse performance from Sheyer: 27 minutes, 0-8 from the field for 0 points and 3 turnovers. It appears for the second consecutive year that Sheyer is starting to hit a wall in February and if he's not shooting well or taking care of the ball, the consistent backcourt has to be Paulus and Smith, with Smith playing the point most of the time.

Gerald Henderson is not the same player he was during the season since he sustained that wrist injury against Carolina. If Duke has any shot of playing deep into March, they need Henderson to be 100%. Another huge problem for Duke is free throw shooting and this will inevitably hurt them down the stretch here. The problem is that the only two guys who have the ability to slash and get fouled are very bad free throw shooters, Nelson and Henderson. I will give Henderson a break because of his wrist but Nelson, for as good as he's been, is absolutely dreadful from the line.

BOX

Overall, it was a disappointing peformance for the Dukies but they have been dodging bullets all year and finally, a bad first half wound up costing them in the long run. Next up for Duke is Miami at Miami on Wednesday night, which should be another tough game. Given Duke's track record and Coach K's ability to motivate after a loss, I like Duke's chances to come out firing on all cyclinders. A-Rod may be in attendance as usual and you know Miami will be rocking when Duke comes to town but I love Duke's chances on Wednesday to bounce back.

Prediction: Duke 85 Miami 78

Spear The Turtle

2008-02-14T15:08:00.003-05:00

Excuse the pun but I have to "sing" the praises of Kyle Singler yet again. I can't remember a freshman, in Duke's history, that has been the go-to guy. I mean everytime that Maryland made a run and Duke needed a basket, this kid steps up with a big play. Singler finished with 26 points but his importance to this team is unquanitfiable.

As for the game, an excellent win for the Dukies, as per usual. I was very pessimistic going into this game but let's face it, I shouldn't have been. This team is a winning basketball team and they have the chops and determination to make a deep run come March. I think if they can lock up the #1 seed in the East, they have a very good chance to make it to the Final 4. After that, all they need to do is hit their shots and they can beat anybody, I repeat, anybody.

Going into the game, I said that if Vasquez went crazy, Duke would lose. I was wrong. I thought that James Gist would have his usual game but Duke did a tremendous job on him. They held Gist and Osby to a combined 22 points.

Oh and to Cliff Tucker who said that he went to Maryland because he wanted to beat Duke and that if Duke offered him a scholarship, he would turn it down and go to a Division II school, how is this stat line? 6 points, 8 rebounds (that's in two games). Don't open your mouth unless you can back it up Cliff.

BOX SCORE

Duke is now 22-1 (10-0 in the ACC) and they seem to rolling toward an ACC Championship. Amazingly, they have only lost one game this year (by 1 point on a fade away 3 in OT on a neutral court) and the best or worst part depending on how you look at it, is that I was in attendance for their only loss. I will make this vow, if Duke goes through the rest of this season undefeated, including cutting down the nets in early April, I will NEVER attend another Duke game as long as I live, I promise.

Next up is Wake Forest, which is having a pretty decent season despite the dark cloud that continually flies over their program since the untimely death of Skip Prosser. Wake is clearly an NCAA Tournament team next year since they are building a nice foundation and are bringing in two big, big-time recruits. Although they are playing decent basketball and usually play well at home, I think Duke's ball denial and pressure should be too much for their inexperienced backccourt. One thing though, watch out for freshman James Johnson, who is having a spectacular year very much under the radar.

Prediction: Duke 91 Wake Forest 79

Fearing The Turtle

2008-02-13T18:15:00.003-05:00

For the first time this season, I am very pessimistic about Duke's chances to beat Maryland later on tonight. Duke is due to lose a game, Maryland is never phased by Cameron, and they have good enough guards that they can capitalize on Duke's defense focusing on Maryland's interior. Gist and Osby will get theres but if Vasquez goes off, Duke is coming away with a loss.

Not feeling good about this game at all...Prove me wrong Dukies, prove me wrong!

Hoosier Daddy Now?

2008-02-13T14:26:00.003-05:00

Let's hope that IU Coach Kelvin Sampson subscribed to the T-Mobile free long distance, nights and weekends plan or else he has a heck of a phone bill to pay. For the 2nd time, Sampson is under fire with NCAA allegations and this time, it may and should cost him his job at Indiana. This is a proud, traditional institution and ever since he's arrived in Bloomington, he has cast a dark cloud of the Hoosier program.

After allegations came out about Sampson at Oklahoma, Indiana still stood by Sampson and allowed him to hold his job. Now, he does the same thing at Indiana and it shouldn't be accepted anymore. Some people are saying that Indiana should get a postseason ban but why hurt these poor kids or deprive the college basketball fans of an NCAA tournament with Eric Gordon?

The solutions is clear and simple for Indiana University: Kelvin Sampson should be fired immediately...

Some people get on me about not being a real Duke fan because I don't really hate North Carolina. I dislike Carolina, I root against them but how can I not respect them? They have consistently done things the right way, they have produced world class athletes, and most of all, you never hear anything about them regarding NCAA violations.

IU needs to say it loud and say it proud: Fire Kelvin Sampson, Fire Kelvin Sampson, Fire Kelvin Sampson...

BRB Mid-Year ACC Awards

2008-02-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

The ACC season is halfway over so let's have a little fun and project the BRB ACC Awards...

ACC Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough (UNC) - Even in a loss to Duke, Hansbrough distinguished himself as the best player in the conference. With 24 points, 13 rebounds per game, he leads the ACC in both categories.

1st-Team All-ACC:

G Sean Singletary (UVA): He clearly is the most explosive guard in the conference but he just doesn't have enough help around him to win games. Without JR Reynolds, it's been tough for Singletary but his numbers are still very, very good.

G Tyrese Rice (BC): Duke fans saw it first hand on Saturday that this kid, even though he takes a ton of bad shots, can flat out play. However, much like Singletary, the supporting cast is not good enough for Rice and BC to be a major player in the ACC. They really miss Jared Dudley's leadership and presence on the floor.

G DeMarcus Nelson (Duke): He is enjoying his best season by far in Durham and is showing a great ability to attack the rim, play defense, and most of all, lead a young basketball team to a 21-1 record. He has his deficiencies, mainly free throw shooting, but his scoring, leadership, along with his incredible defense game in and game out against the opponents best perimeter player earns him a spot on this team.

F James Gist (Maryland): Gist is one of the most underrated big men in the country and will make a pro team next year, mark my word. He, along with Osby, provide the Terps with a formidable 1-2 punch down low.

ACC Coach of the Year: Coach K (Duke) - K narrowly beats out Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest and Seth Greenberg because K, for the first time in a long time, has adapted to his personnel and is running a system that suits the undersized, big-hearted Blue Devils. His willingness to go to this bench, play an up tempo and even go to a zone has really helped this talented group of munckins excel this year, especially in the ACC.

ACC Best Player No One Knows Anything About: AD Vassallo (VA Tech) - The Hokies were stripped of practically their whole team this year whether it was to graduation or transfers and yet, they sit in 5th place in the ACC, playing 7 freshmen. Why? Look at the development of Vassallo. Not only can he shoot the ball but he has enough strength to take it to the rack and finish. In ACC play, he is 6th in scoring and the 5 guys ahead of him are on my All-ACC team. He, along with the criminal Deron Washington, have kept the Hokies in it.

ACC Rookie of the Year: Kyle Singler (Duke) - Beats out James Johnson of Wake Forest and JJ Hickson of NC State marginally. Why? Well, for one thing, I am in love with him so that might have created a little selection bias but for another thing, he has carried to this team to a number of key victories early in his career. Plus, Hickson, although he is supremely talented, has really hurt the chemistry of that State team. Brandon Costner has entered the witness protection program since Hickson arrived in Raleigh.

Duke Remains #2 in Both Polls

2008-02-11T16:32:00.000-05:00

With wins over UNC and BC, Duke remained #2 in both the ESPN & AP Polls. Obviously, Memphis, behind HUGE wins against SMU and UCF, remained #1. I hope you all picked up on a hint of sarcasm there.

POLL

BC-Ya!

2008-02-09T16:14:00.001-05:00

Granted it wasn't easy or vintage but Duke escaped with a much needed W against BC this afternoon. Whether it was a hangover from the UNC game or the fact that they traditionally struggle on early afternoon regular season games, the Dukies came out uninspired, let BC dictate the pace, and that coupled with a ton of missed shots, led to BC leading at the half.

BC continued to take punch after punch and repeatedly got back up and punched back and they did this for most of the game. When the Eagles came back to take the lead in the 2nd Half, I started to get a little nervous but my man crush came through once again. Kyle Singler hit big shot after big shot, culminating with his huge three out of the corner to make it 66-65 and Duke never looked back. Singler finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds and those numbers don't even speak to how important he was in this game. In addition, he continues to show his toughness when he stepped in and had some words with Spears after Spears tried a Steven Segal-esque choke hold on Gerald Henderson. What else can I say except I love this kid and if he stays four years, he will have a special Duke career, up there with the likes of Battier, Redick, and Hurley (not Laetneer, no one will ever top what he did).

DeMarcus had 23 points but let's face it, I would hold my breath if he was at the foul line late in the game. He, along with Lance Thomas, is dreadful from the line and these missed free throws could cost them come tournament time like they did for the 2002 team. Overall, coming off of a great UNC win and Maryland on the horizon, you can't blame Duke for coming out with very little intensity but the main thing is that they won and they continue to move one step closer to that prized #1 seed in Charlotte, which would be huge for their Final 4 chances.

A few other points:

1) I love Greg Paulus, I do but can he stop slapping the floor? I became a Duke fan based on Bobby Hurley doing that but when he did, not only did they not score, the other seemed to never get a shot off. When Paulus does it, not only does the other team score but it usually turns out to be an open look by the guy he is guarding!

2) Is Lance Thomas turning a corner? He was spectacular against UNC and today, he was excellent collecting 6 points, 5 rebounds (all offensive), and 1 block.

3) Brian Zoubek returned today, albeit 2 minutes. When Zoubek went down, I wrote a post saying that it would hurt Duke immensely because they needed all the size they could get. Some people then wrote to me and said I was nuts and I came back with a rebuttal insisting that it would. I don't normally say this but I WAS WRONG, I WAS DEAD WRONG!

4) Big game tomorrow on ACC Sunday night hoops. If Clemson can beat UNC, that would give Duke a 3 game lead over UNC, Clemson, and Maryland (which would really be 4 with wins over each and Duke having the tie break).

Next up is Maryland on Wednesday night at Cameron. If there is a team that never gets phased by Cameron Indoor, it's Maryland. Watch out! Prediction coming later in the week...

Thanks again to all of the positive comments on the live blog and to everyone else who didn't comment but read it. I really appreciate it...

The Brady Crunch

2008-02-09T16:06:00.000-05:00

As per request, I will weigh in on the firing of John "I never comb my hair" Brady from LSU. How does a man who is only two years removed from a Final 4 appearance (the huge win over Duke in the Sweet 16) get fired from a football-first school? In addition, this guy did lose Tyrus Thomas after only one season and lost Big Baby Davis a year early (a guy who is contributing on the best team in the NBA right now).

I've passively followed LSU and Brady ever since they ended Duke's season in 2006 and I know exactly where this is coming from: money, money, money. After Brady led the Tigers to the Final 4, he practically held the university hostage for more money and threatened to go elsewhere if the trustees didn't comply. They gave in but it never sat well in Baton Rouge. When you're a winner, you can do whatever you want and piss anyone off that you want (ala Belichek with the Patriots) but when you start losing, you become a prime target and hence bye bye (see Charlie Weis if Notre Dame continues to struggle).

Swann Song?

2008-02-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, here's some bad news for Florida State. Not only are they 3-6 within the conference but now they have lost guard Isiah Swann for the season with a torn ACL. Excuse the pun but what a bad break for the Seminoles who would've struggled to make the NCAA Tournament with Swann and pretty much have no chance without him...

Devils Continue HEELing Process

2008-02-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

Marquette, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, NC State, Florida State, and North Carolina. What do they have in common? All of these teams have been victims of the revenge tour that unofficially began when Eric Maynor and VCU broke Duke's heart last year in the 1st Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Duke went into a hostile environment in Chapel Hill and came out victorious, mainly because of their ability to hit the 3 and hit a lot of them (13 to be exact). Greg Paulus, over the past month, is finally starting to show why Duke coveted him so much out of Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, NY. He's doing just about everything for this team: he's hitting 3's, he's penetrating, he's playing adequate defense, and most of all, he's a great leader for this young basketball team.

Before the 2005-2006 season, JJ Redick proclaimed that Greg Paulus would be the "Next Hated Duke Player" Through his first two seasons, Redick was only half correct because he was the most hated but it was amongst the Duke fans. He was horrible last year whether it was turnovers or the inability to defend. Then, in the off season, it comes out that he was playing on a broken foot the whole year. This year, he's been fantastic. He's cut down his turnovers and he is lights out from 3-point range.

The most impressive thing about last night's victory over the Heels was the balanced scoring, with 6 players in double figures.

BOX SCORE

Although you can point to Paulus, Henderson, or Sheyer for the MVP of this game, I will actually go with Lance Thomas. Yes, that isn't a typo, Lance Thomas. Outside of maybe his game against Air Force early last year, this was the best game I've ever seen Lance Thomas play. At times, it seemed as if he was omnipresent. He scored 10 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and made two blocks (including one fantastic one from behind that stopped a dunk). At 6'8'', 210, Thomas is hardly a post presence (at least in terms of your traditional Brand, Boozer, Williams type) but if Duke gets those numbers from the 5 spot consistently then they will be virtually impossible to beat.

Kyle Singler, my man crush, was spectacular again last night and had a lot to do with Duke's offense last night because he was able to pull the UNC big guys away from the basket and drive them to the hole. His ability to consistently hit the 3-pointer makes him one of the most versatile PF's not only in the ACC but in the nation.

Duke's defense, as usual, played a huge part in this game, forcing 20 turnovers. Carolina fans will downgrade this win because Ty Lawson was out but Duke should still be commended for this win. Sure, Lawson may have made a difference but Duke is playing at an exceptional level right now and no matter who you are, you have to bring your A game to beat them.

This game against UNC has turned be into a believer. Maybe, it's still some of the awe I feel from my Giants shocking the world and winning the Super Bowl but for the first time this year, I feel as if Duke can go to the Final 4. Why not? If they hit their shots, which is certainly hard for 6 straight games, they can beat anybody, anywhere. They are so versatile. Many people emphasize the mismatches they have defensively down low but face it, on the offensive end, they present the same type of mismatches with Kyle Singler stepping out and either hitting 3's or putting the ball on the floor and pulling opposing big guys away from the basket.

I was a little surprised that Gerald Henderson wasn't booed more than he was last night. In fact, I thought that crowd really let the Heels down because without Lawson, they needed that extra spark and they didn't get it from the Dean Dome. They started out electric but there were times in the 2nd Half when I could hear the shoes screaching on the gym floor, which is not a good sign for a good college basketball atmosphere.

BTW, I don't know if anyone saw the Roy Williams press conference but what was with him repeating over and over "It just shows how bad of a coach I am" Roy, take it easy, you're the quickest to 500 wins in NCAA history so just take it easy and get that vertigo checked out.

Overall, I am very pleased with this W and Duke has now positioned itself perfectly for a #1 seed. At 8-0 in the ACC, they need to keep up their tenancious defense and outright win this league so they can get the easiest path to the Final 4, the #1 in the Charlotte region.

Next up is BC at Cameron on Saturday afternoon. Watch out for this game! I know BC isn't the BC of old with Jared Dudley, Craig Smith, and the convict Sean Williams but this is a trap game. Duke usually doesn't give into the trap game atmosphere but they traditionally struggle on regular season, afternoon games so let's take care of business and pull out a W.

Prediction: Duke 92 BC 74

Duke/UNC Prediction

2008-02-05T22:50:00.000-05:00

Since I've been wrapped up in this WRAL stuff, I haven't been able to write up a formal prediction for the game for the site but I will have one on WRAL by tonight and again, make sure you guys chime in with comments during the game. I don't want to get bombarded with UNC/Anti-Duke fans killing every word I say...

Good news, in the first 3 hours, we got over 1,100 views so keep it coming and again, I appreciate you guys reading and letting me put my crazy, insane man love I have for Duke into words...

HERE'S THE LINK AGAIN

GO DUKE!

WRAL Link

2008-02-05T00:25:00.000-05:00

BRB Readers,

Enclosed is the link for the live blog on WRAL. By tomorrow night, it should be in real-time and should be live. From what I believe, anyone who is registered on WRAL, can respond to our comments during the game. So, sign up ASAP!!!

WRAL Live Blog Link

-BRB

Coach K & Bobby Knight

2008-02-04T23:35:00.000-05:00

Bobby Knight, the all-time wins leader in NCAA Men's history, has resigned from Texas Tech tonight and has likely coached his last game. He finished his amazing coaching career with 902 wins...

As of Monday, Coach K has 794 wins. Since 1996 (when Coach K returned from back surgery), he has averaged an astounding 28.7 wins per season. He is 108 wins shy so if he held on that average, he should do it in 4 years --when incoming freshman Eliot Williams will be a Senior. If Coach K coaches until he's 70 (9 more years), he has a shot at over 1,000 wins!!! That would be ridiculous...

I hope it happens and I hope win #795 comes at the hands of North Carolina on Wednesday...

Duke #2 in ESPN Poll

2008-02-04T13:26:00.001-05:00

Duke will head into Chapel Hill on Wednesday with their highest ranking in 2 years...They jumped one spot because of the Kansas loss to K-State earlier in the week. UNC, after a hard-fought, OT win moved up to #3.

Heading into this game, the storyline figures to be Gerald Henderson and how he will respond to a hostile crowd but on Sunday, we got another headline: Will Ty Lawson play? He twisted his ankle when he got caught up in a loose ball scrum with FSU's Ryan Reid, who is like Deron Washington with a mask, with how reckless he plays. If Lawson doesn't play, advantage Duke because then they should be able to force Quentin Thomas, a 3rd string PG, and Marcus Ginyard into turnovers...

Much more on this game later on...

POLL

Anything Can Happen...

2008-02-04T12:47:00.000-05:00

in sports...It's a cliche in the NFL that "any given Sunday" any team can beat a given team on a single day. Last night, clearly indicates why professional football and college basketball are clearly the best sports in the country because of the single elimination nature of their playoff system.

My football Giants shocked the world last night and beat the mighty, undefeated Patriots but let's face it, if the NFL Championship was determined in a 7-game series format, the Patriots probably would've won 4 games to 1. However, in a one game setting, any team can lose to another. That's why I am so opposed to standardized tests carrying so much weight in a student's future because anyone, no matter how great you are, can have a bad day.

The Giants upset of the mighty Patriots brought back some good and bad feelings surrounding the Duke program.

The Good: Heading into the 1991 Final 4, Duke was an immense underdog against the undefeated UNLV Runnin' Rebels, despite having been to 4 straight Final 4's and 5 Final 4's in the previous 6 years. But, did you blame the oddsmakers? UNLV stormed through the 1991 season, never being challenged, and to top it all off, they were the defending champions who happened to beat the same Duke team by 30 in the final. The odds were against the Blue Devils but after 40 great minutes and a few lucky bounces, the Blue Devils shocked the world 79-77. There is no doubt that if this were a series, UNLV would've advanced but in single elimination tournaments, anything can happen...

The Bad: 1999 Championship game...Duke was an amazing 37-1 heading into the title game against UCONN and the one loss was in late November on a dunk by Melvin Levitt of Cincinnati at the buzzer in the Great Alaskan Shootout. Throughout the year, it appeared that this Duke team was the most unbeatable of the K era. They had everything on this team: Elton Brand (National POY), Shane Battier (National Defensive POY and eventual National POY), Chris Carrawell (2000 ACC POY), Trajan Langdon (2-time All-American), William Avery (one of the quickest guards in the game), and get this, Corey Maggette (now a prominent NBA talent) off the bench. However, on that given day, UCONN played their best game, Duke played their worst game, and in the end, you had a crushing 77-74 loss ending with Langdon dribbling the ball off of his foot. It was a bitter pill to swallow. However, we all know that Duke would've won a 7-game series.

That's why I love college basketball and that's why I love football...

Let me soak up this win by the football Giants, regroup, and then make a huge push back towards Duke where this week will be busy for me. Remember, WRAL.com on Wednesday, with an extensive preview sometime tomorrow...

Canes Placed in Full Nelson

2008-02-03T01:50:00.000-05:00

This game, especially in the first half, can be described in one word: chippy. It seems as if these mediocre ACC teams have the same philosophy when they play Duke: play dirty, try to get under their skin, and most of all, take it out on Greg Paulus. Well, you know what, it looks like those teams are 0-3 (meaning VA Tech, NC State, and now the latest victim, Miami).

I'm really getting sick of the way these teams are playing Duke. There's a difference between using your physicality to your advantage and out right being dirty and reckless. Whether it was McClinton's elbow to the ribs of Henderson, the shot Paulus took the nose, or the shot DeMarcus took underneath the eye, Miami tried to play dirty in order to win but in what's been the case now 95% of the time this year, Duke rose to the occassion and grinded out a W.

Despite the chippiness, Duke's worst enemy in the 1st Half was the referrees who continually called fouls, stopped the clock, and halted any ryhtym the Blue Devils could create using their spread offense. Some of the calls, both ways, in this game were absolutely mind boggling and the ones that went against Duke, really cost them in the 1st Half. If Miami was any type of squad, they would've been able to open up a healthy margin against the Devils but instead, Miami trailed by 7 at Half, which was a bad sign. It was a bad sign indeed since Duke shot miserably from the line (10-21) and couldn't make a basket inside the 3-point line.

Greg Paulus, just like on Thursday night against NC State, was spectacular running the offense and most of all, hitting 3 after 3 in the 1st Half. DeMarcus Nelson, who was saddled with 2 early fouls in the 1st Half, had 19 of his 21 points in the 2nd Half and more importanly, held McClinton to 6 points below his season average of 16. He played lights out defense, much like he has all year long. I'm not ready to put him in the discussion for National POY like Brent Mussberger is but I think he strongly deserves consideration for ACC POY and 1st-team All-ACC. In addition, he should be mentioned as National Defensive POY with his efforts this year, always against the other team's best perimeter player.

Taylor King and David McClure gave Duke some good minutes as well off the bench, especially since it seemed Lance Thomas picked up his 4th foul during the national anthem.

Overall, a great win for Duke. They looked lethargic at times, looked inspired at others but it doesn't matter how you get a W in this league, it just matters that you do. Now, Duke is 7-0 in the league heading into the North Carolina game in Chapel Hill.

No prediction right now. As mentioned earlier in the week, I will be on WRAL.com (live before, during, and after the game) blogging on a minute by minute basis as the play unfolds. Please be sure to catch me on Tuesday night as I will give a little preview as well. I look forward to all of you who read BRB and beyond to look for me on Wednesday. It should be a thriller and although I feel UNC may have the edge at home, I will be rooting like hell for my Blue Devils!

Final details on WRAL will be provided in the coming days before Wednesday's main event...

JJ Read

2008-02-02T15:36:00.000-05:00

JJ Redick rarely plays for the Orlando Magic, depsite being their lottery pick a year ago. In fact, it looks like, by all reports, he is requesting a trade but the Magic have declined.

Despite this lack of playing time, JJ reassures everyone in this article below that he is a good player but an even better guy...

NICE READ

Green Day

2008-01-31T23:16:00.000-05:00

What did I say in my preview? I didn't like the fact that the Crazies would be wearing green. No, not because I'm a staunch conservative who isn't sympathetic towards the environment but because I don't like messing with a good thing.

Down 9 at halftime, I felt much less confident that they would pull this game out than I did the Maryland game on Sunday night. For the first time since the Pittsburgh game, Duke allowed the opponent to dictate the pace of the game and to State's credit, they exploited their mismatches down low with Hickson and Costner.

The entire halftime consisted of me thinking of ways to blast the Crazies for going with the green and screwing with the tradition, mystique, and ora of Cameron. However, to my delight, most of the Crazies agreed with me and tossed away the green and sported either an under shirt or even no shirt for some. I'm not sure if the team noticed this or not but whatever it was, Duke came out like gangbusters in the 2nd Half.

Greg Paulus, the most maligned Duke player since Jeff Capel, has enjoyed a very good season to this point and saved his best performance of the year (and possibly his career) for tonight. Paulus was spectacular. He was sinking threes, running fast breaks, making no look passes, and yes, playing tremendous defense (no that isn't a misprint).

Paulus' energy spread like the black plague across the entire Blue Devil team in the 2nd Half. Couple that with State's inability to keep its composure and you have the recipe for a win. Even though the final score was 92-72, anyone who watched this game in its entirety knows that it was a tale of two halves but fortunately for Duke, they won the 2nd Half to the tune of 11 points better than NC State in the 1st Half.

A few miscellaneous things: 1) Who the hell was that guy in the DeMarcus Nelson/Dahntay Jones graphic at first? I don't even think that guy is a Duke student. 2) I know Courtney Fells had a rough game but how about that man block on Lance Thomas? I've never seen a block like that in my life.

Overall, a great come from behind win for the Dukies. They cannot keep making a habit of getting down big at the half or they will get burnt one of these days. Also, mark down March 1st down on your calendar. Duke will go to Raleigh to play NC State on what should be their Senior Day so watch out for a revenge game. Speaking of revenge games, Duke can cross off yet another off the list of teams they wanted to pay back for last year's futility.

Next up is Miami at Cameron on Saturday afternoon. Be careful about these games in the afternoon off of a short turnaround. I know it's good practice for the NCAA Tournament, especially since Duke usually plays that early 2nd Round game but if they aren't careful, Miami can come up and bite them. Jack McClinton, the Siena transfer, is a flat out stud who has a shot at being a 1st-team All-ACC player. Miami is coming off a loss to Wake Forest so you know they are going to come out and give a solid effort. With that said, I will make my prediction now because of the short turnaround.

Prediction: Duke 94 Miami 79

Beastley

2008-01-30T23:05:00.000-05:00

I had a feeling that either Memphis or Kansas had a chance to go down tonight and you know what, one did: Kansas. The Jayhawks, my pick to win the national championship, were completely outplayed and dominated at the hands of Michael Beasley, Bill Walker, and K-State.

What else can you say about Beasley? This guy is a man amongst boys and you want to know how good he is? It looks like the Miami Heat are intentionally trying to tank their season in order to get him in uniform to form a Wade-Beasley duo that could flourish for years to come.

Beasley had 25 points, yet he didn't have a field goal the first 11 minutes of the game and he went an outstanding 4-4 from 3-point range. This guy is hands down the best player in the country and if he takes this Kansas State team to the tournament, with absolutely no guard play whatsover, he must be the front runner for National POY. I don't want to hear about Kevin Love or Chris Douglas-Roberts or Eric Gordon, all of their teams are tournament teams with or without them. This Kansas State team is not even a postseason team without Beasley (no NCAA, no NIT, no 3rd tournament that they are introducing, nothing).

With Kansas falling from the ranks of the unbeaten, the mission is this for Duke: beat NC State and Miami at home this week (which they absolutely should even though I'm a little weary about the Crazies wearing all green tomorrow night) and they will be the AP/ESPN #2 going into Chapel Hill on Wednesday night.

NC State Missing the Point

2008-01-29T23:51:00.000-05:00

Going into the 2007-08 college basketball season, the question surrounding the ACC was: who would be the 2nd best team in the ACC? Obviously, North Carolina, returning Lawson and Ellington to go with Psycho T, were the odds on favorites to win the ACC.

However, the battle for preseason #2, seemed like a tough one, especially considering my choices seemed to be Duke or NC State. Duke was coming its worst season since the 1996 campaign, which coincidentally ended the same way, a first round exit at the hands of a mid-major with an undersized, speedy point guard (1996-Eastern Michigan-Earl Boykins, 2007-VCU-Eric Maynor). The Blue Devils finished a mediocre 8-8 in the ACC, earned a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and to boot, lost their best low-post presence, albeit the very underwhelming Josh McRoberts. In addition, Duke swung and missed in the Patrick Patterson sweepstakes, leaving Duke with a Kate Moss frontcourt - very thin with little muscle.

On the flipside, the Wolfpack were coming off a season that started off mediocre but ended with NC State playing great ball, making a last stitch effort in the ACC Tournament only to come up a few minutes short in the title game, and then a very productive NIT. Take that into consideration, along with JJ Hickson, a McDonald's All-American, coming to Raleigh and you had the recipe for a very good team. One problem? They lost Engin Atsur to graduation. Atsur missed a third of the season last year and the Wolfpack were pitiful and clueless without him. When he returned, he proved to be the perfect compliment to an incredible array of young post players, specifically Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner, who some believe may be in the witness protection program this year because he's been an absolute no-show.

The absence of Atsur left me skeptical on how good this team would really be. However, I never thought in a million years that they would've limped out to a 13-6 record with horrible losses to New Orleans (no, not the Chris Paul-led Hornets), Eastern Carolina, and at home to Georgia Tech, which was desperate for a win at that point in the season. I mean they do have good wins against Villanova (on a BS last second foul call), Davidson (an impressive mid-major squad led by Stephon "Don't call me Dell" Curry) and Big East up and comers Cincy and Seton Hall.

Many people believe Duke will dominate this game. I do not. I believe they will win because they can take advantage of State's lack of ball handling ability and do the usual, force turnovers and turn it into easy points. However, if State can consistently get the ball down low, watch out. They have a number of gifted post players including the freshman JJ Hickson who is a physical specimen that Duke could only dream of having in their front court this year. I think Duke's pressure defense, ability to play the passing lanes, and of course, the home crowd will get them a W but it should be hard fought and not decided until late in the game.

Prediction: Duke 80 NC State 76

BRB Breaking News...

2008-01-29T17:13:00.000-05:00

Although it is still tentative in nature, it looks like BRB will be live blogging on WRAL.com for the Duke/North Carolina game on Wednesday, February 6th.

The details are still not perfected but I, along with a writer for a UNC blog, will collaborate to produce a live, confrontational blog to get the perspective of both the Blue Devil fan (BRB) and the Carolina fan (Mr. Tar Heel's Blog) while the action unfolds!

Details will come shortly but I hope all of you will tune in...

WRAL.com
Listen to the live Internet feed (good talk shows, just had DeMarcus Nelson on).

Duke a #1 Seed in Bracketology

2008-01-28T18:04:00.001-05:00

After a year absence, Duke has earned its way back to a #1 seed in the latest version of bracketology.

TAKE A LOOK

Don't look now but if the Devils and Tar Heels continue their success this season, they will share the Raleigh 1st & 2nd Round region. Why should you care? Well, if 2005 is any indication, the crowd tends to be very hostile towards Duke because the majority of fans are Carolina fans and root heavily against Duke.

In 2005, after UNC breezed through their first two opponents, Carolina fans stuck around and almost single-handedly willed Lawrence Roberts and an inferior Mississippi State team to victory. You thought last night's Maryland crowd was hostile, go back to the tape and watch that game...

Hostile Crowds

2008-01-28T16:00:00.000-05:00

As the great Stewie Griffin once proclaimed after making a girl cry "See, this is why no one respects the WNBA"

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS...

This is why Pat Summitt shouldn't be considered the NCAA All-Time leader in wins. There should be an NCAA Men's record and an NCAA Women's record because it's apples and oranges. In the women's game, since there is very little television exposure except for the big-time programs, all of the good recruits go to Tennessee, UCONN, UNC, Duke, LSU etc...In the women's game, you can keep a star like Candace Parker four years and win championships. In the men's game, players equivalent to Candace Parker are the LeBron James' and Dwight Howard's of the world who never step foot on campus or Greg Oden's and Kevin Durant's who only come to college because of the one year rule and then bolt...To me, Bobby Knight is the all-time wins leader.

As for the article, you have to be kidding me. Summitt is considering ending the Duke series because the fans are mean to the players. Have you ever heard Coach K say something like that when the Maryland crowds chanted "JJ drinks his own pee", "JJ, I f***** your sister" (who happened to be 12 at the time" or "No Means No" when Shelden Williams shot free throws (referring to the allegation that Williams might have been involved in a gang rape, which eventually was found to be highly inaccurate). Did Jim Calhoun go crazy when the Villanova fans in the Wachovia Center collectively chanted "Where's my laptop?" when Marcus Williams touched the ball? No, because it's part of the road atmosphere. If Summitt doesn't want to hear those chants then she shouldn't recruit a player who plead guilty to shoplifting from a Walmart. I mean it's absolutely disgraceful to complain about this...Stop acting like a mother and see it for what it is, a hostile road atmosphere. That's not disgraceful, it's a clever student body trying to give their team every edge to win the game.

You want disgraceful? How about at last year's Duke-Tenn game in Knoxville, Men's bball coach Bruce Pearl jumping up and down topless, painted orange only to place attention on himself, which he so desperately craves. That's why he did that, not for Summitt and the Women's program, and that's why he wears that crazy Orange blazer because with bums like Pearl or Bruce Weber, it's all about them and not about the kids and that's the true disgrace in college basketball.

There's no one that hates Maryland and their fans more than me but some of the things they do are funny and clever and even the Duke players have a chuckle or two about some of the things they do (see flyers of Jon Sheyer's weird faces) or see on College Humor, a Duke fan holding up a "Redickulous" sign only for a Maryland fan to cleverly innovate and hold up a sign next to it that says "...ly GAY" spelling out "Redickulous-ly GAY." That's clever stuff and that is one of the things that makes me love college basketball more than any other sport.

Suck it up Pat...it's part of the game

Duke #3 in AP & ESPN Poll

2008-01-28T14:38:00.000-05:00

Road wins against VA Tech & Maryland coupled with a Tennessee loss to Kentucky allowed Duke to move up one spot in the AP poll. Since Memphis and Kansas continued to roll, Duke could not move up in the ESPN.

RANKINGS

Nelson, Devils Cancel The Osby Show

2008-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:00

20 minutes finished, Duke down by 9 at halftime (1st time they trailed at the half and also the largest deficit of the season), hostile crowd, yet I've never been so confident that Duke would be there at the end.

Maryland, especially against Duke, is very well-coached and always have a game plan that exposes the biggest Devil weakness. In most of the 1st Half, the Terps executed brilliantly when Duke doubled one big man, that big guy passed out of it to a wide open big underneath basket. Last year in College Park, Duke trailed 29-9 early on and it was a Mount Everest uphill battle after that. This year, I felt that if they could withstand that big first punch from Maryland, they could win the game. They did and they won because of it. I've always looked at a Duke game on the road as a heavyweight bout. If the Devils can withstand the big uppercut or take one and get up off the mat, they should prevail because their skill level and effort is always sustained over a full 40 minutes.

The biggest sequence of the game, to me, involved Lance Thomas in the beginning of the 2nd Half. The Terps got the ball first and immediately called Osby's number again but a combo of Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas forced a travelling violation. Then, on the other end, Duke went into Lance Thomas and got a tough basket in the lane, which seemed like a temporary halt of the Maryland momentum. At that point, the DeMarcus Nelson show began and it was a pleasure to watch. For the first time in his Duke career, he took over a game and refused to let the Blue Devils lose. Whether it was steals, drives to the basket, hitting free throws and even a late 3 pointer that extended a Duke lead, Nelson was fantastic. He finished with a career high 27 points but his point total was immensely dwarfed in comparison to his defense and leadership on the court last night.

The other story in this game was Gerald Henderson. He makes that medium-range jumper look so easy that it hurts every time I see him bury another one. With Eliot Williams coming to Duke next year, Henderson may jump to the NBA and almost certainly be a Top 20 pick. If that happens, Duke will take another step back because they are winning because their wings, Nelson and Henderson, are athletic enough to somewhat make up for a lack of size down low. Nelson, unfortunately, is done after this year no matter what but hopefully Henderson values a chance at a Duke degree and he really doesn't need the money with his father being a former NBA player.

Anyway, this was a tremendous win for the Dukies and they on rolling along with this revenge tour. Can they keep it going against a struggling NC State team on Thursday? I hope so. I will have a prediction later on in the week...

BTW, in case you're wondering, Cliff Tucker wanted to back up his words so much, he raised his level of play to the tune of 4 points and 3 rebounds. Good job Cliff!!!!!!!!!Keep it up...

Cliffhanger

2008-01-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

The following are statements by Maryland's Cliff Tucker...

“I can’t stand Duke. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to come here so I can beat Duke, I already got North Carolina. Duke is next. I cannot stand Duke. I tell people all the time, if they gave me a scholarship and that was my only Division I scholarship, I’d go Division II or something like that. I would never, ever go there. I don’t know what it is, I can’t stand Duke.”

Harsh words from someone who is averaging 17 minutes a game, 4 points per game, and only 2 rebounds...

Will he elevate his game to back up his words? We will know in a few hours...

Duke: Your mission is clear, keep the revenge tour going...

Are You Kidding?

2008-01-25T12:48:00.000-05:00

Seth Greenberg on Duke's play...

"They were a little frisky," Greenberg said.
Though the Hokies didn't back down from Duke's hands-on play, they did let it affect their play, and "that's the difference between playing hard and competing,"

Seth, give me a break. Your program is an absolute disgrace and you need to deal with it. Developing a culture of punks is no way to build a program, especially in the ACC. You can say whatever you want about Carolina but I do respect their program because they do it most of the time with class.

SETH, THIS IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PROGRAM YOU'VE BUILT

Hokie Dokie

2008-01-24T23:25:00.000-05:00

A very solid win overall for the Dukies tonight. I was in and out during the first half tonight but I loved the balance and up until the end of the game, the poise they showed when it was completely obvious that Seth Greenberg's game plan was to play dirty and out of control.

Deron Washington, as indicated in the previous post during the game, is lucky he wasn't arrested for his behavior tonight. He continues to disgrace this Virginia Tech program and instead of leaving his mark on the program like Zabien Dowdell, he will be nothing more than a black mark on this schools reputation up there with the Vick brothers. The funny thing is that Washington isn't even the biggest punk on this team? Jeff Allen, their second leading scorer, is currently serving a two-game suspension for bumping an official.

Enough with the negatives and focusing on a disgraceful human being like Deron Washington. I thought Duke played very well tonight and to me, this was the most balanced effort offensively all year long.

BOX SCORE

Nine players played 6+ minutes, eight players played 14+
4 players scored in double figures
No player scored more than 16 (Singler) and no player scored less than 4 (McClure)

To me, there were two stories in this game for Duke:

1) Kyle Singler: How freakin' good is this guy? I will go as far as to say if he stays four years, I will have a full blown man crush on him, even more so than I had for JJ because remember, JJ was a good shooter in his frosh year but he was repulsive with all of the back-ne and he didn't have a very good overall game. Singler played 30 minutes, had 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks and yet it felt as if his impact was even greater than that. He is so versatile and when he pops out and hits the 3, he is virtually unstoppable.

2) The 5 Spot: I said in a post earlier this week that Duke needed to get more point production from their 5 spot even if it were only 10 points combined. Tonight, they went for 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 blocks. I will take that contribution every single night.

Side note: The last two games, Lance Thomas has looked pretty good. Hopefully, he can keep it up.

Next up is Maryland in College Park on Sunday night. I must be honest with you, I don't have a good feeling for this game. Sure, you can say how can you fear a team that's lost to Ohio and American AT HOME?? You want to know how? Maryland gets up to play highly ranked teams, especially Duke. Take a look at what they did to UNC last weekend...

No prediction until later in the weekend...

Put Deron Washington in Prison

2008-01-24T20:40:00.001-05:00

My first ever mid-game post...Deron Washington is completely out of control. After he kicked Lee Melchionni in the face two years ago, I thought he was a punk. After tonight, I think he's just plain crazy and Seth Greenberg needs to get him together before he hurts someone out there...

7 minutes left in the game. Kyle Singler, each and every second that passes by, makes me believe that he is the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Much more after the game...

VA Tech Tonight (7PM, ESPN)

2008-01-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

Road wins in the ACC are usually scarce, the Hokies will not be afraid of the Devils one bit, and Seth Greenberg always has a great gameplan against the Dukies...With that said, a Hokie win should be tough to come by.

The Hokies beat Duke at Duke last year but let's face it, Duke wasn't Duke last year. In fact, their greatest weakness was defending athletic guards off the dribble last year. The problem for the Hokies this year is that they don't have Zabien Dowdell, a 1st-Team All-ACC performer and Jamont Gordon. This is a team that plays 7 freshmen and only has four upperclassmen to lean on. Even though if you think about it, Duke only has 3 upperclassmen that play minutes in Paulus, Nelson, and McClure.

The inexperienced Hokies should surcome to Duke's pressure and I see the Devils pulling away late.

Let's hope a 'W' in Blacksburg will be easier than this one...

I CAN WATCH THIS ALL DAY LONG!!!!

Duke #3 in ESPN Poll

2008-01-21T13:03:00.000-05:00

Overrated? Yes, I believe so but they have taken care of business and won the games they were supposed to win in order to get this lofty ranking. Can they keep it going this week with road games at VA Tech and Maryland?

ESPN POLL

Eye of the Tiger

2008-01-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delayed post but I had to TiVo the game and I didn't get a chance to watch it until yesterday. What can you say? This was a very important win for the Dukies especially with North Carolina going down earlier in the day, which I will certainly touch on a little bit later. I know you're supposed to win at home and Duke has absolutely owned Clemson over the past 13 years but this is a very important win. After the heartbreaking loss to Pitt before Christmas, it meant a ton for Duke to go out and beat a team that is much more physical than they are.

Duke got absolutely man handled on the boards but their defense more than made up for it by creating 21 turnovers and converting a number of those into easy baskets on the offensive end. DeMarcus Nelson was fabulous and led the team with 24 points and let's hope his back is alright after it appeared that he tweaked it at the end of the game.

Gerald Henderson continues to amaze me with his athleticism and NBA ready medium range jump shot. As a Duke fan, that jumper has to scare you to death because that is already NBA ready. Let's hope he realizes that there will be an abundance of talent in this years draft and he comes back for another season. I didn't comment on this when the news broke a few weeks ago but I love the fact that Singler has already said he will be back next year at Duke. Singler and Henderson are in an arduous battle to win over my heart as my favorite Dukie. I am leaning towards Singler because he is much more like me in terms of diving on the floor and not being afraid of getting hurt.

I can't end this without mentioning Nolan Smith. He played tremendous, especially in the 1st Half. The drive he had coast to coast that ended in a monster dunk is something that he brings to the table that Paulus cannot.

Also, even though the numbers don't show it, I thought Lance Thomas played a pretty solid game. He only had 2 points but he was much more active down low than he has been. Still, Duke desperately needs more than 2 points from their 5 spot if they are going to compete at the highest level. If Duke can get 8 points and 10 rebounds a game out of Thomas, McClure, and Zoubek on a consistent basis, this team would be very tough to beat.

With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing Taylor King playing a few minutes down low. Let me explain. I know he can't handle the traditional post presence down low but if you played him at that spot for a few minutes a game, I think it would help. On the offensive end, King could keep the opponents center on the perimeter and open up the lanes even more for dribble penetration.

One final note: What is Oliver Purnell doing? He burnt his 2nd to last timeout with 12 minutes left in the game and the game was tied! By the time Duke started to pull away, he couldn't stop the momentum.

Next up is Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Thursday night. The Hokies will be without Jeff Allen who bumped an official and is serving a two-game suspension. VA Tech always plays Duke very well at home and like my brother said "they will have the kid responsible for that massacre on the campus last year in a Duke uniform to pump them up" Now, I seriously doubt that considering how horrific that event truly was but you know that place will be packed and ready to go. If Duke keeps Washington in check and limit Vasiello's 3-point attempts, they should be able to win this conference road game with relative ease.

Prediction: Duke 87 VA Tech 73

McRoberts Stock

2008-01-19T12:57:00.001-05:00

In the immortal words of CNBC's Jim Cramer, Josh McRoberts stock right now is "the house of pain" and you should "SELL, SELL, SELL!!!"

Take a look at this excerpt below and you'll realize just how bad it's gotten for one of the biggest busts in Duke history...

NBA teams studying the event, perhaps no one did as much damage to his reputation as Josh McRoberts.
His body language blurted, "Why do I have to be here?" on Tuesday and Thursday night, one more in a string of performances that have left people in the NBA and D-League asking: Does the rookie out of Duke want to play basketball anymore?
McRoberts, a 6-foot-10 forward with impressive passing skills, needs to get over where he thought his basketball career would be and make the best of where it is. He was one of the top-five high school players in the nation, a freshman at Duke whom some executives believed would've been a first-round pick had he left school after one season. After a disappointing sophomore season, McRoberts turned pro and dropped to Portland with the 37th pick of the second round.
McRoberts, a cheerleader for the Northwest Division's first-place Portland Trail Blazers, treated his assignment to Idaho like a deployment to Baghdad. Despite playing just three games this season, McRoberts resisted the chance to work on his game in Idaho. To go scoreless Tuesday night in 31 minutes and come back with 2 of 10 shooting that included more airballs and mindless basketball insulted his teammates, coaches and a slew of scouts.
Most believe his two-year guaranteed contract was more a product of his childhood friendship with Greg Oden, than a testament of his talent.
"He'd better figure out fast that Oden will make some new friends," one D-League coach said.
When a player with a guaranteed contract comes down, he's an immediate target for players trying to make a name for themselves. They'll challenge him. On a nightly basis, McRoberts is getting humiliated in the D-League. "If you take away the name, the contract, the school, and just judge him on what you're seeing: He looked like the worst player in the building," one Western Conference personnel director said.
Said an Eastern Conference scout, who had watched him regularly at Duke, "If he keeps this up, he will be out of the league in two years. (McRoberts) better wake up before it's too late for him. It's a shame because he has some talent."

Wowwww...No one was more excited about McRoberts coming to Duke than I was but let's face it, even though Duke needs his size, I am so glad he's not on this team anymore. His body language was always terrible and he constantly was yelling at his teammates. He's the type of guy that I usually characterize as a guy who's standing on 3rd base but for some reason thinks he got there by hitting a triple.

McRoberts needs to get it together or one of two things will happen: (1) He'll be a college dropout with no future in basketball or (2) if he's lucky, he'll need to get a passport to go play overseas...

Get it together Josh...

Clemson Preview

2008-01-17T12:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday, January 19
6:00PM
ESPN
Clemson Tigers (14-3) v. Duke (14-1)

Clemson (ranked #23 in the latest ESPN poll) will be one of Duke's toughest tests to date. Last year, Clemson lost to Duke in heartbreaking, controversial fashion in one of the most bizarre sequences I've ever seen. Up 66-61 with 10 seconds left, Duke had the game locked up. They let up what seemed to be a meaningless layup to make it 66-63. Then, the McRoberts factor kicked in. He threw the ball away, right to Vernon Hamilton, and he sunk a cold-blooded 3-pointer to tie the game and stun the Cameron faithful.

Since the clock operator was as stunned as we were that McRoberts threw the ball away recklessly, he was slow to start the clock. Then, inexplicably, the officials put 4.4 seconds back on the clock even though when Hamilton caught the pass there was 5.0 seconds left. The rest is history...Inbounds to Sheyer, Sheyer hits McClure in stride and McClure lays it in at the buzzer.

Clemson missed the tournament last year after starting 17-0. That game may have kept the Tigers out of the NCAA Tournament. So, Clemson will be ready to go to exact some revenge on the Dukies for a loss that shouldn't have been a loss.

Like Pittsburgh, Clemson has a strength that is Duke's biggest weakness: the low post. Trevor Booker and James Mays are as good as it gets down in the low post and you can bet that Clemson's game plan will be to expose Duke's lack of size and rebounding down low.

Duke has outrebounded its first two ACC opponents, Virginia and FSU, but they were both teams that were also undersized. Clemson should have the rebounding edge so it will be imperative for the Duke guards to crash the boards. The good thing about Clemson is that although their greatest strength is in the post, they have a good trio of guards: KC Rivers, freshman Terrence Oglesby, and Cliff Hammonds, all of which can hit the 3 if you pack in the defense down low.

Clemson comes into the game 14-3 with two of the losses to North Carolina (at the buzzer in OT) and previously unbeaten Ole Miss by 3 points. The Charlotte loss after the UNC game is quite troubling since it was at home but overall this has a number of good wins: @Miss St, @Depaul, a 30 point blowout @ Alabama, and two straight ACC wins against FSU (in a 2OT thriller) and a blowout at the hands of the listless Wolfpack of NC State.

Duke is coming off a tremendous, gut-check win against Florida State but even in the win, there were a number of disturbing trends that need to be halted before Saturday. 20 Turnovers in comparison to only 10 assists as a team, in 20 combined minutes, David McClure and Lance Thomas accounted for 0 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 Turnovers, and 7-27 from 3-point range.

The game plan for Duke is simple: Rebound, Rebound, Rebound and Push, Push, Push...If they do that effectively, they can spread the floor and shoot a ton of three pointers. Why? Let's face it: Duke's half-court offense is absolutely dreadful. They don't have any guys that can create their own shots with the exception of Gerald Henderson. I think Henderson realizes this and he tends to force too many shots because of this. I would like to see Duke use a few more pick and pops using Singler because Kyle has shown the ability to hit the big 3.

Quick Sidebar: Duke is starting to remind me of the Villanova team from a few years ago. Go with 4 guards, crash the boards, spread the floor, and allow your perimeter to dictate the course of the game. Now, Villanova's 4 guards were excellent, with 3 of them: Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, and Allen "Carl Krauser permanently blinded me" Ray being able to get their own shot at will. Still, the mentality looks to be the same. Anything you get out of the 5-spot is gravy and hope that your perimeter can go crazy and rebound just enough to win...

To me, this is the toughest game Duke has played this year. I know it's at home but this is against an experienced team, with a short memory from last year, and a very mature front court. Pitt was relatively inexperienced in the front court and they ate Duke up in the 2nd Half so Duke will need to channel some toughness...

Prediction: Duke 81 Clemson 79

Good Recruiting Read

2008-01-17T12:17:00.000-05:00

I have had a number of posts indicating that Duke will not be able to compete with UNC for the foreseeable future because the Devils have missed out on Greg Monroe and Patrick Patterson in back-to-back years.

Al Featherstone is telling me and everyone else that echoes my tone to shut up in this article

Let's hope he is right...

STATE-ment Win

2008-01-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

Simply put, this was a great win for Duke tonight. Last year, this team would've folded like bad hand in poker but this year, I am seeing an increased level of toughness both mentally and physically.

Box Score

First Half: The Jon Sheyer show. Sheyer was a man child over a 5 minute stretch that allowed Duke to make a 16-0 run. He hit everything: 3's in transition, 3's from the corner, inside and a foul, and a brilliant fade away and a foul at the end of the 1st Half. It was clearly his greatest performance as a Blue Devil, even better than the performance last year against Miami. He, along with Taylor King, are instant offense off the bench and really add another dimension to Duke's half court and full court offense.

Second Half: Last year, FSU rawed back from 17 down to upset the Blue Devils at Cameron. With about 7 minutes left in this game, it looked like deja vu. The Seminoles, led by Jason "Richie" Rich, started spreading the floor and attacking off the dribble at will and Duke had absolutely no answer. This run culminated with a lay-in by Rich making it 55-54 and it appeared as if Duke's problems on the road from a year ago were not behind them in the least. However, down 55-54, and having absolutely no continuity whatsoever in the half court, Sheyer and Singler worked a pick and pop and Kyle Singler hit the biggest shot of the game to make it 57-55.

Quick sidebar: I personally love Singler. He had the courage to take the big 3 to force OT against Pitt, he single-handedly won the Marquette game for them in Maui and when Duke needed him the most tonight, he had the courage to hit the big shot. Also, can we call Rip Hamilton and ask him where he gets his masks? Let's get Singler one of those before he becomes completely undatable. The season is only 15 games old and he now has 3 large gashes on his face that will certainly scar as well as a yellowish left side of his face. Singler really gives them that toughness mentally and physically that McRoberts could never muster in his two meager seasons as a Dukie.

After the Singler huge shot, it was the Greg Paulus show. Amazing, considering Paulus was so unbelievably dreadful up until this point that the FSU fans frequently chanted "We want Paulus" while he was on the bench. Well, BRB has one thing to say to those fans: be careful what you wish for. Paulus had a series of winning plays in the final minutes of this game. First, he came up with a steal and a layup. Then, as the shot clock was winding down, he penetrated to the hoop and hit a big layup and then on the defensive again, he stripped the masked man on FSU and then literally took two punches to the head (one intentional) to preserve the win.

I can't stress this enough but this was a gut check for Duke and they answered the bell. I know FSU is severely undermanned in the front court right now but to win in that setting, a place where even the most dominant Duke teams of old have failed, is a huge accomplishment and really sends this team back home on a high note to play a very strong Clemson squad.

Player of the Game: Jon Sheyer, although he wasn't a really big factor in the 2nd Half, he earned his stripes with an amazing 1st Half off the bench.

Play of the Game: Kyle Singler's 3 after Duke went down 55-54.

Bonehead Coaching Move of the Day: Clearly, when Leonard Hamilton called a timeout after Singler hit that 3 point shot. It made absolutely no sense, it killed the FSU momentum, and left them with only one timeout.

Next up is Clemson at Cameron Indoor on Saturday. I will post a preview later in the week with a prediction...

Feel Good Nolan Smith Read

2008-01-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3196773&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1

ESPN has a great article up about Nolan Smith, Johnny Dawkins, and Nolan's late father

Capel-ble?

2008-01-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

Since the college basketball season started way back in November, we've constantly heard about the impact freshmen. All of the attention has been placed on Michael Beasley of K-State, OJ Mayo at USC, and Eric Gordon at Indiana. You've also heard muh ado about Donte Green, Kyle Singler, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, and even Patrick Patterson.

However, after watching all of these freshmen, I believe the freshman who has had the biggest impact on his team has been Blake Griffin of Oklahoma. I know, I know...Michael Beasley and Eric Gordon have been spectacular but Beasley won't be enough to overcome suspect guard play to get his team into the NCAA Tournament and Gordon has made Indiana a really good team but without him, they are still a tournament team. Without Blake Griffin, this Oklahoma team is not a tournament team.

He averages 15 points, 9 rebounds for former Dukie Jeff Capel but his contribution in terms of intangibles that don't show up on the stat line are immeasurable. That's why Oklahoma's blowout loss at Kansas on Monday night was not the worst loss of the night. Early on in that game, Griffin went up for a rebound and came down on his knee and did not return. It has since been revealed that Griffin has a sprained MCL and will be out a month. This is a tremendous blow to a team that I believe would've made the NCAA Tournament despite a bad loss to Stephen F. Austin.

Can Capel and Oklahoma weather the storm before he comes back? I don't think so because their other star, Longar Longar, will now be double and triple teamed in Griffin's absence and in what should be a one and done year for Griffin, his talents will not be displayed on the collegiate's grandest of stages, the NCAA Tournament.

As for Capel, just a quick sidebar, but he is turning out to be a pretty successful young coach. He comes from a pedigree of coaches. Remember, his dad was the long-time successful coach at Old Dominion. Capel built VCU into a successful program and recruited Eric Maynor (remember him?) and now he looks like he's rebuilding the OU program, one that needed to be rebuilt from the bottom up when Kelvin Sampson left it in shambels. However, this Griffin injury is a major setback to his team this year...

We, as Duke fans, all remember Capel for his 45 foot prayer against UNC at the buzzer in 1995 but I think we need to start recognizing him as a pretty decent up and coming coach...

Revenge Game

2008-01-16T11:41:00.000-05:00

Remember this?

I know we all do...

Before the game, you figured there was no way Florida State would beat Duke that day. Too much was working against them. Duke was coming off of a loss and traditionally, they bounce back quite well, FSU had never beaten Duke at Cameron in their history, and oh yeah, Duke was retiring JJ Redick's jersey that day. All of which, apparently didn't rattle the Seminoles and they came in and beat Duke. Afterwards, they celebrated like classless individuals and were taunting the crazies.

The questions arises 11 months later: Can Duke exact some revenge from last year? I think they have a really good shot. A few things have changed since last year's game. First, the poster boy for Dukes mediocrity last year, Josh McRoberts, is long gone and is currently in Potatoe country playing in the D-league. Second, the Duke killer, Al Thorton, is currently on the LA Clippers. I held off my prediction for this game because I didn't know enough about FSU but here is what I know...

FSU is 12-5 and their biggest wins are: Florida at home, Minnesota at home, and G Tech at home, all of which, aren't exactly resume builders for March so this Duke game is very important for them. They have some terrible losses as well: Cleveland State at home and South Florida at home. The other losses were at Butler (good loss), at Providence, which isn't terrible, and a 2OT loss to Clemson on the road a few nights ago. In fact, they had that Clemson game won until Trevor Booker hit a bank 3 at the buzzer to force OT.

They have very balanced scoring with 5 guys averaging in double figures. They, like Duke, have strong guard play with Rich, Swann, and leading scorer, Toney Douglas. They, like Duke, don't seem to have much size. The tallest guy in their rotation is 6'9'', which is a good thing for Duke.

Duke has lost 2 of the last 3 to FSU and the only win was a controversial 97-96 OT thriller when Alexander Johnson fouled out with 10 minutes left even though he really shouldn't have. FSU's athleticism has always given Duke problems, even when Duke was the much superior team. In 2002, FSU absolutely stunned an undefeated, defending national champion team at home. This was a landmark win for the FSU program and really foreshadowed the eventual demise of Duke that year, exposing Jason Williams' free throw shooting. The following year, they upset a less talented Duke team (JJ frosh year) and in 2006, they upset #1 Duke and National POY JJ Redick, a game that ended with Coach K pulling his starters off the court prior to the buzzer due to safety concerns.

So, although I think Duke is better than they were last year and FSU is weaker (how can you not be without Thorton?) than they were last year, Leonard Hamilton always has them ready to play Duke and they are never intimidated by the tradition and ora of the program. Also, even though it's two months into the year already, this is duke's first real road game. How will they respond? I think Duke pulls it out in the final minutes and gets a measure of revenge in a place they never seem to win at anymore...

Prediction: Duke 84 FSU 81

Duke #5 ESPN, #7 AP

2008-01-15T00:50:00.000-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings

Is Duke really a Top 5 team? Watching the Cornell and Temple games would indicate no but pinpoint a team that is better outside the Top 4. I know Pitt beat Duke at the buzzer but they are a much different team now then they were on December 20th without Levance Fields of Dreams and Mike Cook. G'Town just got spanked by Pitt and Roy Hibbert is vastly overrated, Washington State looked unimpressive against UCLA, Tennessee plays an exciting brand of basketball but are they ready to be a consistent Top 10 program yet, A&M has played a Cupcake schedule, Indiana has a great player in Eric Gordon but they got spanked by Xavier in their only real test, Michigan State is solid but can I really take a team seriously that lost to Grand Valley State in the preseason, Butler is a solid mid-major but they can't even beat Wright State let alone anyone in the ACC (excluding Maryland last year), etc...I know it's still early but there isn't a team that has a better resume than Duke outside of the Top 4 in terms on big wins (Illinois, Marquette, Wisconsin) in addition to terrific talent on the perimeter.

A Cut Above The Rest

2008-01-14T14:44:00.000-05:00

We are now two months into the college basketball season. Although we just started conference play, it's become clear to me that there are only four teams who can legitimately cut down the nets come March. This is not to say all of these teams will be in the Final 4 on the first weekend of April but I would be surprised if one of these four are NOT cutting down the nets this year.

1. North Carolina: As much as it pains me to say this, North Carolina has all of the ingredients to win a championship. They have a PG who can penetrate at will, good outside shooting with Ellington and Green and a dominate low-post presence who refuses to lose in Tyler Hansbrough. This team still has questions about their consistency on defense but their defense against NC State was flawless. I think this team is a lock to make it to the final weekend but I do believe the absence of Bobby Frasor, a consistent backup PG, will hurt them and keep them from winning it all.

2. Memphis: I know you can be a plant and get into Memphis and the Tigers aren't the smartest team in the nation but they are certainly the most athletic. Derrick Rose is a one and done PG who is supremely talented and will be a Top 3 pick this year in the NBA Draft. Chris Douglas Roberts is an excellent scorer and a combination of athletes on the wing and in the post will make Memphis virtually impossible to beat. Although Houston is much improved, there will be an investigation if Memphis doesn't run through the weak CUSA perfect. The only shot at a blemish before the NCAA Tournament is a late February meeting with Tennessee, who I believe has the chops, defensive intensity, and the scoring to beat the Tigers. However, the game is in Memphis so it will be a tall order for the Volunteers. With all that said, I think they will get picked off in the tournament if they go into it undefeated for two reasons: pressure and untested late in the year.

3. Kansas: To me, there isn't a weakness on this team. They don't shoot it from the outside as well as you would like so a good team could zone them and give them trouble. However, their inside game with Arthur and Jackson is supreme and their guard play is tremendous. Brandon Rush will only get better as well when he continues to recover from a knee injury. I don't like Bill Self in a big spot but as of today, January 14th, I believe the Jayhawks will cut down the nets in April because of their superior depth, experience, and inside play.

4. UCLA: UCLA sort of dropped out of the national spotlight when Texas went into Cali and shocked the Bruins. But, let's face it, the Bruins weren't healthy then and they still aren't at 100% but make no mistake, they have the defense and experience to finally cut down the nets this year. I love Howland as a coach, he's a flat out winner and he gets maximum effort from his team year in and year out. The two-headed monster of Collison and Westbrook is as good as it gets at the point, Josh Shipp has replaced Aaron Affalo seemlessly as the go-to guy and the X-factor this year will be Kevin Love, who has shown the ability to hit the 3. If Love can bring the big guys of UNC, Memphis, and Kansas out to the top consistently, UCLA can definitely get penetration and score. One question will need to be answered come tournament time: Do the Bruins have enough scoring to win? They didn't the past two years but Corey Brewer is in the NBA though...

I Hate Hockey Even More Now...

2008-01-14T13:24:00.000-05:00

What a day for me yesterday. First, I see the Colts go down to the undermanned Chargers, which i was rooting for heavily after the Colts disgraced not only football but sports in general in the regular season finale when they literally handed the Titans a playoff spot.

Then, my G-Men, go into Big D and beat the arrogance right out of the Cowboys and sent Tony Romo back to Cabo with Jessica Simpson. At this point, I am Cloud 9 as a sports fan. My Giants, who I practically wrote off after Week 2 admittedly, pulled off the impossible. So, what can possibly top off my night? Seeing the Dukies play their ACC opener at Cameron.

Change of plans. I go to throw FSN on to watch the game with my girl and I what do I get? Freakin' NHL Hockey, Islanders v. Who Cares and of course, I don't have these 10 FSN pay-per-view channels and in turn, I can't watch the game to top off my great sports day. That was the bad news. The good news is that Duke handled UVA from the opening tip and according to the press conferences and the articles, it looks like Duke played one of their most complete games all year. Good thing because watching the last two games, I felt as if I was going to slip into a coma watching this team. So, I can't comment on the game with my usual twist today but head over to dukereport.com or DBR to get extensive coverage. Also, check out this Duke Blue Planet site, it's pretty cool.

Next up is FSU in Tallahassee, which is always a tough game and a place Duke usually falls. Al Thorton has moved onto bigger and better things but Toney Douglas and company will be tough, especially after losing a buzzer beater, 2OT game to Clemson last night. No prediction because I don't know enough about FSU this year. If they have added adequate help down low to replace Thorton, they have a good chance to win. If not, Duke should win the game based on better perimeter play.

Size DOES Matter

2008-01-10T09:26:00.000-05:00

I will certainly take it but Duke is looking more vulnerable each and every game. With both Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek out, Duke looked like a talented high school team playing a group of grown men. AND, let's not kid ourselves about this win, this isn't exactly the Temple of old with Cheney at the helm and players like Eddie Jones, Marty Collins, and Pepe Sanchez at their disposal. Temple came into this game at 6-6 from a lousy conference, albeit an up and coming conference with the emergence of Dayton, Rhode Island, and Xavier (all in the Top 25). Pretty amazing since the ACC has only 3 teams in the Top 25 (UNC, Duke, Clemson) and Clemson has lost two consecutive games including a stunner at home against Charlotte.

For all of those people who ignored the Zoubek injury and pretty much laughed at me when I said it would cost this team games won't be laughing when Duke falls to mediocre ACC competition in the next few weeks. Lance Thomas, who missed the game with a resp infection, has been battling a variety of injuries all year and who knows what Duke will get from him for the remainder of the year. David McClure, who was a nice player and for most of last year, was Duke's most consistent performer just isn't the same player after yet another off-season knee injury. Even if he didnt have the surgery, he is still only listed at 6'8'' and provides absolutely no offense. After that, where do you go? Duke's front court is thinner than Ally McBeal and no one seems to get it. Duke has one plan and one plan only: jack up threes, run and spread the floor, and overplay passing lanes. If that plan works, they can take down just about anybody in the country (with the exception of Memphis and Kansas). I leave out UNC, only for the reason, that even when one program is up and the other is down, the games are usually competitive because the juices are flowing at even the lesser of the teams seems to play outside of their bodies. However, when Plan 1 or Plan A or Plan Alpha fails, then it inevitably means Duke fails because they have no way else to beat you, even if you are a mediocre team. You can get by the Albanys and Cornells of the world not hitting on your Plan A but if you think you're beating Virginia and FSU let alone UNC and Clemson without Plan A, you have another thing coming.

This only leads me into a topic that pretty much only I continually touch on and is pretty much ignored across the board in Duke Nation: transfers. How is Eric Boateng on Duke looking right now? He's a productive player on ASU who is only getting better. I watched ASU v. OSU the other day and he showed some really nice moves. How is Jamal Boykin doing right now? He went for 16 and 10 in his 2nd game at Cal. Now, I know there were some family issues there but if he was playing minutes prior to that, you have to think he would've stuck around. Coach K going to an unusally short bench each and every year seems to be biting Duke in the ass. We're not talking about projects either. Boykin is a former California POY and Boateng, even though he hadn't started playing bball until he was 15, was a McDonald's All-American. Just think about that "incredible" class Duke had coming in for JJ and Shelden's Senior season that was supposed to lead to championship after championship. Only one player exists on the team right now! Paulus. McRoberts bounced to the NBA after an unspectacular two year stint, Boateng transferred, Boykin transferred, and Pocius, who never plays anyways, is out for the season.

This isn't the first time transfers have hurt Duke: Michael Thompson ring a bell? I still stand by the notion that Duke would've won the 2004 National Championship if Thompson didn't transfer because he would've been more than adequate enough big man to play Okafur for 2 minutes up 8 points.

As you can see, I am very down as a Duke fan right now because I want the ability to win championships. I am not stubborn enough nor stupid enough to believe they should win it each and every year because that's impossible but let's be honest, it's nice to go into the season knowing you have a chance. That's all you can ask for. I don't like that everything needs to break right just for Duke to be a second weekend team. I want Duke to be a final weekend team and that will not be the case this year nor will it be next year either. Missing out on Greg Monroe and just adding guards won't solve any problems at Duke and unless Lance Thomas or Brian Zoubek transform their games, it will be another quick exit for Duke next year. Instead of extending scholarships to Marty Pocius who will never ever play, lets extend one to a 4 star big guy. You don't need to always have 5 star big guys you know. Look at Dejuan Blair for example. He wasn't heralded as the best player at his position but take a shot on size, please. Without it, you can have all the amazing guard play you want, you will always hit a ceiling and that ceiling is nowhere near a championship.

Next up is Virginia on Sunday, at home. I think Duke is better than Virginia and I think Virginia is clearly a shell of the team they were last year. However, they have the chops to go into Cameron and beat Duke like they did earlier this year when they beat Arizona at Arizona. If Thomas comes back and plays substantial minutes, I like Duke to pull it out. If they have to play small like they did last night, Virginia and Sean Singletary has a 50/50 shot of coming out of their with a big road ACC victory.

Prediction: Duke 85 UVA 79 (You didn't think I was going to predict Duke losing did you?)

Specification

2008-01-09T10:27:00.000-05:00

Let me clear some things up. I, by NO means, consider Brian Zoubek the next Lou Alcindor but I really do think this injury will affect Duke negatively. Although he has a reputation as a stiff, he's a live body off the bench and without Josh and losing out on Patterson, Duke needs as many of those as possible. I mean Duke doesn't even have that walk-on they usually have like Patrick Johnson who can spell a big man for a few minutes. They are much too small and the only team that had the personnel to expose this problem, Pittsburgh, beat them.

Duke has a number of nice wins under their belt but they haven't faced the likes of the BIG teams that can abuse them down low and get whatever big guys they have in foul trouble. Not to mention, this injury will force Singler to play a lot more down low than all Duke fans would like and this could cause him to break down by the end of the year.

Losing Zoubek doesn't hurt Duke production wise and if their jump shots aren't falling, you could have 10 Zoubeks and they still wouldn't win, I agree. However, if Thomas and McClure, who still can't jump, get in foul trouble, than the rest of the team will have to compensate and play out of position.

We will see...

Big Trouble

2008-01-08T16:19:00.001-05:00

DBR is reporting that Brian Zoubek has broken his foot again. According to what you hear, it looks like the same injury and it took him 2 months to return from the first injury. I think the NCAA Tournament is the next time you will see him or possibly next year. That's a huge break, pardon the pun, for Duke and for a team that is already thin in the post, it could really affect their seeding in the tournament because beating the likes of UNC or Clemson will be tough...

Losing Marty Pocius didn't hurt as much because of Duke's depth at the guard slot but although he's not a huge contributor, this will cost Duke some games this year...

Very tough...BTW, I didn't see the Cornell game because I went out to watch the Giant game and didn't get home in time and my TIVO is broken. Even though I don't like what I read, I'm not going to go crazy because they had a 17 day layoff.

Next up is Temple on Wednesday in Philly. The game should be a little closer than last year but Duke's athleticism and depth at the guard should be too much but hey, I was the guy that predicted a 45 point victory over Cornell

McUgly

2007-12-27T00:45:00.000-05:00

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!

The Nightmare Before Christmas

2007-12-26T13:21:00.000-05:00

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

Pitt Stop @ MSG

2007-12-19T23:35:00.000-05:00

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

APathetic

2007-11-26T14:05:00.000-05:00

I guess the AP didn't have access to a television over Thanksgiving break. Duke is ranked #13, which is astounding considering they are 6-0 and they won one of the most prestigious preseason tourneys in the Maui Invitational. Okay, so the AP wasn't that impressed with Duke. Fine, they have very little size and they can't rebound but HOW THE HELL IS MARQUETTE RANKED #11 AFTER LOSING TO DUKE??? I can't take these writers seriously anymore...

ESPN has it right, Duke is #7. I'm not sure they are that good but it's deserving after the Marquette win...

Maui Final, The Colonels, and More...

2007-11-26T12:29:00.000-05:00

I went MIA after the Marquette game on Wednesday because of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, etc...and I apologize. The Marquette game was one of the best games I had seen in the early parts of this college basketball season (until yesterday, when NC State and Nova went down to the wire and Nova lost on a terrible foul call and Kansas and Arizona going to OT). Kyle Singler was spectacular and has already lived up to the billing and more. He took that game over at the end and his takeover was culminated with two clutch free throws to seal the victory. I thought the unsung hero was Lance Thomas who clearly played his best game as a Dukie. He was active offensively and defensively. I feel really good for him considering his freshman campaign was an arduous struggle. Last year, Duke would've lost that kind of game but this year, they won because of better experience, more athleticism, and more willing options (McRoberts never wanted the ball in a big spot).

As for the Eastern Kentucky game, I didn't see a minute of the game because I don't have FSNS even though I thought I did. From what I read, it doesn't look like I missed much except a shooting barrage by Taylor King who went for 27 points in only 21 minutes. I think that really speaks to the depth of this year's team when a guy like King who played a combined 3 minutes against Illinois and Marquette in Maui can come out and spark the team to a blowout victory.

One thing I need to mention and I know I always harp on this but it really bothers me: Can we get Marty Pocius some playing time? Like my brother says, he must have slept with one of Coach K's daughters or something because he gets no love from K, even in garbage time. A guy with his offensive potential needs to get a few minutes a game. Yesterday, he only got 3 minutes, which equals the minutes that walk-on Jordan Davidson received. Poor Marty! He probably should've transferred.

Next up is Wisconsin and although they lost their two best perimeter players to graduation, they will be a load down low for the Dukies. This team will lose games this year, that's a fact. I think when they do, it will be because of a lack of rebounding and low-post defense. Wisconsin, with Brian Butch, is certainly a team that can expose this lack of size. Plus, their defensive system could shut down Duke's perimeter scoring, which would severely impair their chances of winning. However, because I'm a homer and I have a good feeling about this team, I believe Duke will pull it out in Cameron Indoor.

Prediction: Duke 68 Wisconsin 60

Twilight Zone

2007-11-21T11:37:00.000-05:00

The game had the makings of a Maalox masher especially when Illinois jumped out to an early 14-8 lead. However, although many feel that Coach K's overconsumed with coaching the USA team and that's why he's missed out on building relationships with the likes of Patrick Patterson and Greg Monroe, you can see the positives already this season from having such a wide variety of talented assistant coaches on his USA team bench. Greg Paulus, Jon Sheyer, and Nolan Smith aren't even close to Steve Nash so Duke can't transition all of the Phoenix Suns offense into their system but I love the space they are creating on the break and that backdoor cut they used twice against Princeton (I've seen Nash and Marion hook up on that exact same play many times).

More importantly than Duke's offense, Coach K had the Devils go to a 2-3 zone (see Jim Boeheim) and wouldn't you know, it worked and it worked well. In fact, BRB believes that the transition into the zone for about 5 possessions was the turning point of the entire game.

Gerald Henderson was absolutely incredible last night and he showed every bit of what we thought we were getting last year when he arrived in Durham. He shot the ball well from outside, his pull up mid-range jumper is smoother than Barry White was with the ladies, and that jam he had off the Sheyer pass was insane, very Grant Hill-esque. In fact, that dunk actually went as the #1 top play on Sportscenter.

DeMarcus Nelson was spectacular last night and he was the go-to guy early when Duke was trailing and when Illinois cut the Duke lead to 3, Nelson hit a jumper off the front rim and in and Duke never looked back. Nelson looks much faster this season than last and with the strength the Navy Seal upper body, he will be a tremendous asset in his final year at Duke.

Kyle Singler didn't have a great game points wise but I am falling in love with this guy's game quickly. He's extremely versatile, can go inside and out, and I love the fact that he stood face to face with that thug Frazier last night and didn't back down. Duke really needs that type of toughness if they are going to compete at the highest level.

I'm sure Coach K and Jon Sheyer took a ton of happiness beating the cry baby that is Bruce Weber. Bruce, do me a favor, don't snub K in the postgame because you're mad he got Sheyer. IF YOU CAN'T KEEP A LOCAL KID IN ILLINOIS WHEN YOUR BROTHER IS HIS HIGH SCHOOL COACH, YOU NEED TO LOOK NO FURTHER THAN YOURSELF AND NOT BLAME OTHERS...

This was a really good win for the Dukies but it will get harder and fast with Marquette in the Maui Championship tonight. This is a rematch of last year's CBE Classic where Dominic James absolutely dismantled the Duke man-to-man defense. I look to see Duke employ even more zone tonight and I expect Duke to use their better athleticism this year to shut Marquette down this year and get some revenge for last year.

Prediction Duke 86 Marquette 79

Eye of the Tiger

2007-11-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

Forget about soaking up the sun and some of the Duke players working on some much-needed tans (see Kyle Singler). The Devils came out like gangbusters and jumped out to a 31-4 lead and pretty much cruised after that. Kyle Singler was clearly the best player on the court with 21 points but let's face it, this wasn't your circa 1996 Princeton team. Let's see how Duke fairs against a much stronger opponent tonight when they face the Illini of Illinois, which is clearly a game that if Coach K is in position to do it, he will run up the score because he almost hates Bruce Weber as much as Weber hates him (see Jon Sheyer recruiting battle). The ideal situation is that Duke wins and Sheyer goes for 25+ to rub it in but I will take any win I can and in any which way possible.

Prediction: Duke 94 Illinois 79

Aggie-ny

2007-11-13T10:25:00.000-05:00

In the first half, it was quick and painless. In the second half, it was slow and painful even for Duke fans to watch. Duke spanked New Mexico State in the first half behind their new and improved razzle dazzle fast break, spread offense, of which they have taken a few sets from the Phoenix Suns offense. The Devils looked great offensively in the first half even though you could already see their major weakness exposed early on: the low post; whether it's scoring, rebounding, or defending, they will have trouble with any physical, low post team once the ACC season begins or even before, when they face Pitt at the Garden.

The second half might as well have been a bottle of Nyquil because it put me to sleep. Why? Because Duke, as per usual, went back to playing a slow tempo and taking the air out of the ball with 8 minutes left in the game. Since they can't rebound, they are one-and-done on the offensive end and they begin to look like an average team. If they want to stay in the Top 10, they need to keep up this frantic pace, keep running bodies in and out, play pressure defense, and increase the number of possession because there will be a ton of one and done possessions.

A few things were highlighted last night:

1) It's no myth, size matters. Duke will be able to get away with it against a minor major or a mid major like New Mexico State but once they start playing the big boys, it's going to have to be all hands on deck in terms of rebounding and defending in the post. It's tough when your best rebounder is a 6'3'' guard.
2) Taylor King has range but also has NO CONSCIENCE!! I mean towards the end of the game he wasn't even looking at the basket...
3) McRoberts or no McRoberts this team will be better this year because of one word: depth

Player of the Game: Jon Sheyer, 22 points

Next up: Nov 19th, Duke travels a looooong way to the Maui Invitational and they will play Princeton in the opener. If they beat Princeton, they will play the winner of Arizona State/Illinois.

Prediction: Duke 90 Princeton 56

CATastrophic

2007-11-08T12:50:00.000-05:00

Don't laugh but Kentucky got blown out at home by Gardner Webb, sounds more like a british author than a basketball school. This, coupled with Ohio State losing to Findley and Michigan State losing to Grand Valley State, really makes you wonder about the parity in college basketball when low D-I or high D-II schools can go into historic buildings against historic programs and win. That's why these games against Shaw, Barton, and NC Central are so scary because if you god forbid lose, you're a laughing stock. Duke will not lose to NC Central but don't laugh at the likes of Ohio State, Mich St and Kentucky because karma is a bitch and will come back to bite you. For example, no one was happier and rubbed it in the face of UCONN fans more when George Mason shocked them in the Elite 8 two years ago. What happened? Duke lost in similar heartbreak fashion to another team from the Colonial, VCU.

As for the games so far, I have a huge bone to pick with Inside Access this year. I pay my $9.95 a month specifically for these untelevised games in the beginning of the year. However, for the games, I've either been in class or it was my birthday, so I figured I'd just watch them on archive. IA has not archived these games so I haven't seen a minute of the season yet. If anyone knows what's going on about that, let me know. With that said, anytime you score 134 points in a 40 minute game, you have to feel good as a fan. I don't care if Duke plays Chaminade High School and does that, it's still impressive. The thing I love about what I hear so far about this team is that K is insisting that he will run all scholarship guys out there and finally, finally use his depth! If you think about it, Duke doesn't have the best backcourt in the country but it certainly has the deepest in terms on guys who play 1-3. Kyle Singler looks to be the real deal and should be solid at the 4. So, it all goes back to the question we all had once Josh McRoberts decided to ride the end of the bench in Portland for pay instead of returning to Duke: What will the Devils get from the 5? From pictures and what I read, Lance Thomas looks to be more defined and built in the upper body. Only time will tell I guess but if this IA thing doesn't get corrected, Monday night will be our first look at this team against Reggie Theus-less New Mexico State and PG Elijah Ingram (remember him? The guy who got kicked out of St. John's for solliciting a prostitute with his buddy, then was accused of raping her only to be quickly acquitted because he taped the consensual acts on his cell phone, nonetheless, the Johnnies got rid of him) on Monday night (ESPN2, 7PM)

Williams to Duke

2007-11-01T16:56:00.000-05:00

Elliot Williams committed to Duke last night, a much needed pickup after Duke fell short in the Greg Monroe sweepstakes. It looks like Williams and Cykz are the only two from the Class of 2008, which signals a few things. One, Duke will be forced to develop Zoubek and Thomas not only this year but next year and two, the up and down style will continue to land tons of talented guards. I'm excited about Williams but for now, I'm focused on this year's team and its immense potential.

I still haven't watched the Blue/White yet on Inside Access but once I do, I will have a post on what I saw. Plus, if anyone has IA, check out Duke tonight against Shaw in an exhibition at Cameron. If they lose, cancel the season...

Duke #11 in ESPN Preseason Poll

2007-10-26T10:56:00.000-05:00

Wow! I thought based off the way last year ended that Duke would land somewhere in the late teens, early 20's. I think this may be a little high for a team that still has some serious questions marks. They should be relying on a freshman to carry the scoring load and more importantly, they are the oreo cookie team; hard/strong on the outside but soft in the middle. If Thomas and/or Zoubek play up to their high school billing than this team is a Top 10 team. If not, expect more peaks than valleys again this year.

Season starts tomorrow, coincidently on my birthday: Blue/White Scrimmage @7PM (Watch on Inside Access).

The Monroe Doctrine

2007-10-23T13:52:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying that I am really excited and enthuised about this year. However, I was last year as well and in Duke terms, it was an utter disaster filled with heartbreak after heartbreak. I am really looking forward to seeing Duke push the ball and finally, finally, finally, use their depth, which K swears he will finally do. I love the idea of Duke playing small ball, similar to Nova a few years ago. If they do this, there will be games where they shoot lights out and look like a big time squad and games where they will shoot badly and get completely exposed in the post. However, if they get hot from outside, I can envision a deep postseason run.

Again, although I am excited about this year, what may be lost in translation is that Duke lost out on their biggest target for next year, Greg Monroe. He chose to attend G'Town last week, which was stunning to me because all I've been reading over the last year is that it was between Duke and hometown LSU. That's a huge steal for John Thompson and the Hoyas even if it may be for only one year. Now, where does Duke go here? They received a commitment from the Ckyz but the only other guy on their radar is Eliot Williams, who is a shooting guard. So, the idea that Duke will play small ball for this year only could be a stretch. Duke has now lost out on Patterson and Monroe and couple that with losing Boateng and Boykin to transfer and you have a team where your best low post player is 6'3'' Demarcus Nelson. Ouch! I will reserve my judgment for now since I need to see how Thomas and Zoubek develop this year but I have to admit, I am worried about Duke in the post this year and at least, next year...

Blue/White Scrimmage on Saturday - can't wait, BRB is back and is geared up for another season. Let's hope this year goes better than the inaugural season last year...

When Will This Year End?

2007-09-27T23:24:00.000-05:00

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaack! After nearly two months off, I am compelled to get this going again. Why today? Well, as most of you know, I root for 3 teams: Duke (obviously), the New York Football Giants, and the New York Mets. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, laugh it up, I know. Los Mets are in the process of completing one of the biggest choke jobs not just in the history of baseball but in sports history. Although they aren't officially done yet, let's get this out in the open right now: They are done, they are roadkill, they are finished. See you in '08 without Willie Randolph. FYI: Funeral services will on Friday @ 7PM, Saturday @1PM, and Sunday @1PM (pretty much everyone can attend except the Phillies, something about getting ready for the playoffs). This recent Mets debacle has made me realize what a heartbreaking sports year it's been for me. Let's take a nauseating look at this...

Let's start with the Giants 06-07 campaign. Easily the most talented team on both offense and defense in the NFC, the GGGGG-Men came out like gangbusters and dashed to a 6-2 record. After that, this talent friendly team turned into a mash unit, absolutely collapsed to the point where they blew a 21-0 4th Quarter lead to the lousy Titans. Somehow, on a wing and prayer, they managed to squeak into the playoffs, only to get bounced unceremoniously by the Eagles in the first round on a field goal as time expired.

Then, Los Mets have lost games where they have 3 run, 4 run, and even 5 run leads culminating tonight with a 3-0 loss at the hands of who else, the Cardinals again. Again, they are done.

Then, I look at Duke from last year and they also started out 18-3 only to win only 4 of their last 12 including 4 losses in a row culminating with a heartbreaking loss at the hands of VCU (enrollment:54) in the first round. I can't take much more of this. I desperately need Duke to have a great year. Do I think they will win the NCAA Tournament? No, but I can't watch another debacle like last year. Sure, they won two thirds of their games last year, which is a banner season for most schools but it was the way they lost their games that didn't sit well. Outside of one or two, they all came down to the wire and hurt immensely in the end.

This is an open letter to you Greg Paulus, Jon Sheyer, Gerald Henderson, etc...Please have a good year where I don't have to experience anymore heartache. Pleaseeeeeeee.

On a lighter note, Duke got a pretty big recruit today, Olek Cyzk or something. From what I've read, he's very athletic but very raw as well. I'm sure the Polish connection kicked in there. I'm happy but let's face it, there's only one guy we want here and that's Greg Monroe. If they snatch him away from LSU then maybe I'll start getting aroused by this recruiting class. Until then, good pick up but he seems like a role player. Also, Elliot Williams would be a good pickup if they can get him but I'm a little weary of him. He wasn't a big-time recruit last year and then he had a couple of really good tourneys and then he became a big-time prospect.

Just about 30 days until the season begins with the Blue/White Scrimmage. I can't wait but if more suffering and pain is in store from the 2007-08 version of the Devils then I can wait...

Maui Bracket

2007-08-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

The Maui bracket is officially out and I must say Duke, like Marquette, have the most favorable paths to the championship game. Duke will play Princeton in the opener and let's face it, if they don't get past the Tigers, you think they were a laughing stock last year, just wait and see if they lose the opener to Princeton. In years past, Princeton has always been a tough out but let's be real here, Gus Johnson isn't doing the game and this isn't the Pete Carrill team that upset UCLA 43-41 in 1996.

Marquette will play Chaminade in the opener and unless this game involves Ralph Sampson, this will be a blowout. To me, there are five teams in this tourney that can legitimately win it: Duke, Illinois, Ok State, LSU, and Marquette. Ok State will play LSU in the opener so one of those two will, at best, finish in 5th place. Illinois could have their hands full with Herb Sendek, former Dukie Eric Boateng and company from Arizona State but they should move on to play Duke in the semifinal.

I would love to see Duke v. Illinois, given the feud Weber and K have been having since the Jon Sheyer recruiting battle. Bruce, stop crying, you sound like Kermit the frog, you couldn't even recruit a guy who was coached by your brother in high school, you took Bill Self's players to the title game not your own so shut up. I would love K and Duke to smack him around and call him Susie for a while.

LSU and Ok State is a toss up considering both teams lost big contributors in Big Baby for LSU and JamesOn Curry and Mario Boggans for Ok State. I will give the edge to LSU because of their athleticism. Either way, I think Marquette's superior guard play will be enough to land them in the finals against Duke.

If so, this would be a rematch of last years preseason tourney championship in Kansas City that Marquette won when Dominic James took over the last 5 minutes. My prediction is Duke prevails because of, get this, their superior depth. When's the last time I was able to say that? Last year, James abused the lack of speed that Paulus and Sheyer have but this time around, Nolan Smith will be the guy to stop James and lead them to a title.

Skip

2007-07-27T07:51:00.000-05:00

After my post about Duke v. Pitt two weeks ago, I decided to take an unofficial vacation from BRB until the season started to approach but the news of Skip Prosser's sudden and tragic death has forced me to write a post.

Although Wake has been down the past two seasons, the death of Prosser is a huge blow for Wake Forest, the ACC, and college basketball. Having only seen Prosser a few times a year (usually against Duke), I never could tell if he was a good guy or not but I could always tell that he was a good college basketball coach. Having read articles all day, I must say, college basketball lost one of the good guys. To me, losing anyone is too soon but especially in Prosser's case. At 56, he appeared to show no signs of letting up and he seemed determined to build Wake Forest back up into an ACC and national powerhouse. He was on the right track after landing two big-time recruits only two weeks ago.

Many will speculate whether or not these young prospects will attend Wake now after this sudden tragedy but I won't be one of them, at least not now. Today is about honoring a fallen coach and exceptional foe on the courts. My prayers are with his entire family as they get through this arduous ordeal.

PITT-stop @ MSG

2007-07-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

It's been confirmed, Duke will play Pittsburgh at Madison Square Garden on December 20th. These two teams were on a collision course in the NCAA Tournament last season but VCU and Eric Maynor spoiled the potential matchup. If they would've met last season, I think the first team to 40 would've won the game. This year, I'm not so sure. Pitt has lost their front line to graduation but still have a tremendously physical back court that should give the Duke guards fits. Duke, outside of the recently fallen Brian Zoubek, also will feature a tremendous back court with a very uncertain front line. This matchup, between two programs built on hard-nose defense, could be a classic. You can bet that I will be in the stands to take every little bit in.

Zuo Have To Be Kidding

2007-07-11T13:45:00.000-05:00

Brian Zoubek broke his foot in a pickup game and is out 8-10 weeks after successful surgery. Good News/Bad News situation...
Good News: It's July 11th, not November
Bad News: According to what you read, he was making tremendous strides to be the go-to player in the post next year. He's reportedly up to 266 lbs from 250 lbs last season.

Let's hope for a speedy recovery

Dumb Non-Rule

2007-07-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

I wholeheartedly believe that college basketball is the greatest sport in this country because of its purity. However, there is something so "impure" about the refusal of schools to let an incoming student out of a letter of intent when a coach switches programs. This happens a lot in college basketball and is highlighted in the Michael Beasley situation. Michael Beasley, arguably the best prospect in this years incoming freshman class, committed to the Huggy Bear at K-State. Although he is widely considered a one and done player no matter where he attends college, I still feel for the kid.

We all know the situation. The Huggy Bear left Manhattan in order to coach his alma mater, who he spurned years prior to stay at Cincy. Although you don't have to like the move, it is totally understandable. However, when Beasley went to get out of his letter of intent, Kansas State refused so now Beasley has two options: suck it up and play for a coach, Frank Martin, who was banned from high school bball in Florida or do a year in prep school until he can enter the 2008 NBA Draft. Beasley appears to be poised to take the high road and go to K-State.

When asked why they wouldn't let Beasley out of the letter of intent, they stated that the school had spent a great deal of money on recruiting resources. That's BS and everyone knows it. They didn't want to let Beasley go because a player of his stature could help generate interest and revenue in K-State bball and/or risk the possibility of him going elsewhere.

This is ludicrous. Over the course of the recruiting process, a kid/family buys into the coach more than the school. So now Beasley is stuck between a rock and a hard place. And look, I'm not trying to single out K-State because this happens everywhere. However, it didn't happen at Duke in 2004.

After the 2003 season, Duke was primed to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament and most likely contend for the national title. They were returning Senior PG Chris Duhon, Junior SG Daniel Ewing, both upperclassmen as well as an array of talented, seasoned sophomores in JJ Redick, Shelden Williams, Shavlik Randolph, and Sean Dockery. They also had signed the best recruiting class in the country, which was headlined by the best high school prospect not named LeBron James in Luol Deng. But what is forgotten is that Kris Humphries, another big-time PF, was on his way to Duke. However, Humphries had issues with possible playing time so he wanted out of his letter of intent. So here Duke was...on the cusp of contending for a title, no coaching change imminent and what did they do? They let the kid out of his letter of intent because they didn't want the kid to be there against his will. Didn't Duke put a ton of money into recruiting Humphries? So, why can they let him out of a letter of intent but K-State can't when there is a valid reason to do so?

I will always contend that Duke would've won the NCAA Title in 2004 with Humphries at Duke. He was the piece missing from a team that made the Final 4 that year and lost to the eventual national champion, UCONN 79-78.

There should be a rule in place where the school has to let the kid out of the letter of intent. However, he can't pick up and follow that coach to the other school either unless he pays the ultimate price, sitting out a year and transferring. It just doesn't seem fair...

BRB Draft Grades

2007-07-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

Atlanta Hawks (B): Atlanta, with the 3rd overall pick, went with the "safe" pick Al Horford. To be honest, I don't know how safe this pick actually was. Sure, he was an accomplished collegiate player but we all know, especially Duke fans, that not all great collegiate players become great NBA players. To me, Horford is an undersized PF at the NBA level and the bully mentality that he used in college will be non-existant at the next level when his strength is neutralized. Outside of a few jump shots in the title game this year, I have never seen Horford hit the jumper with any type of consistency. If you're going on the best player on the board and you're ignoring the fact that you already have 18 PF's on the team, you have to take a guy with a much brighter upside and that would've been Brandon Wright. I love that the Hawks didn't reach and take Mike Conley at #3 because that would've been way too high. I think that decision looks even better when you add in that Atlanta got the most NBA ready PG in the draft in Acie Law. Sure, there are issues with Law's ability to be a "true" PG but one thing is for sure, he won't shy away from the big moments at the end of the game and when you're a perennial loser like the Hawks, you need a guy like that. I could be wrong about Horford. He could become a Carlos Boozer type player but I just don't see it right now. With Shelden Williams and Marvin Williams there, it just doesn't make any sense. If you're not crazy about Wright, take Yi and trade him to a team that desperately wanted him like the Warriors. Just think what the Hawks could look like if they pulled off a Yi for Jason Richardson deal: Acie Law, Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson, Marvin Williams, Shelden Williams with Josh Childress off the bench. I like the Johnson-Richardson 1-2 punch.

Boston Celtics (C): Anytime you get a guy with the talent of Ray Allen, you can't go wrong and they did dump the Wally contract as well which is a good thing. However, Allen provides the Celtics with a temporary stop gap and I'm not sure if there are enough balls on the court for the trio of Allen, Pierce, and Jefferson. Plus, the combo of Brandon Wright and Al Jefferson had the possibility of being a frontline for the ages. I like the selection of Gabe Pruitt in the 2nd Round. He has the chance to be a productive PG at the next level but Glen Davis is a very shady pick. For one thing, will he ever lay off the Krispy Kremes? Second, he quit on his team this year when they were losing. Third, did you read that piece in ESPN the Magazine? The guy is constantly suicidal. Terrible pick especially when you have McRoberts, lottery pick talent, waiting in the wings.

Charlotte Bobcats (F-): After the 8th pick in the draft, it seemed as if the Bobcats would do no worse than a C but then they traded away potential for Jason Richardson. JRich is a solid player but he's a now player with a hefty contract and to be frank, this team is not a now team and as currently constituted, it isn't a later team either. Richardson will help ease the blow when they lose Gerald Wallace to free agency. But how can you get rid of Brandon Wright after a guy with his upside slipped to #8 in the draft? It just doesn't make much sense. Jared Dudley at #22 is a stretch even though he will add some toughness and heart to that team. Michael Jordan needs to realize that success on the court does not necessarily breed success in the front office.

Chicago Bulls (C): I know I am in the minority here but Noah just isn't a lottery pick. He's a cockier version of Anderson Varejo. He does provide a load of intangibles and he'll work his ass off but when you have the kind of talent on the board that this draft did, Noah should've been an after thought. Why do the Bulls need more interior defense? They have Ben Wallace and a promising prospect in Tyrus Thomas. Spencer Hawes would've been a much better pick because he could've provided the Bulls with what they need the most, a low post guy who can score. Aaron Gray, if he works hard enough, could be a decent backup center in the Association but let's be real, he won't sniff the court. Jameson Curry is a gamble the Bulls could afford to take with such a late 2nd Round pick but make no mistake, this guy has trouble written all over him. He seems to have controlled the drug thing but is he coachable and will he play defense? Doubtful.

Cleveland Cavaliers (INC): No picks in the draft but a word of advice: if you have to sell your soul to get Billups, do it!

Dallas Mavs (C+): No first round picks but Fazekas is a decent pick in the 2nd Round despite having a piano on his back at all times. However, I don't see why they needed another slow footed white guy who can shoot. Don't they have the best one of all? I won't comment on the Euro guy, I've never heard of him but Reyshawn Terry will give them some defensive help if he decides to try ever now and then. My prediction is this team will undergo some serious changes in the offseason because I think the Warriors may have permanantly damaged their psyche.

Denver Nuggets (INC): No picks, totally worth it to get Iverson. The question is: will the dynamic duo of Anthony/Iverson ever gel where they can contend? Not when the Spurs and Suns still have those rosters they can't.

Detroit Pistons (B): I've never seen Rodney Stuckey play but I've been reading nothing but great stuff on this guy all year long. Then why did he go to Eastern Washington? Rumor has it that he couldn't even spell SAT let alone do well on them. The Pistons only care about his basketball IQ. Affalo is a nice safe pick for the Pistons and I think a good one because he has a similar-type game to Hamilton and will be able to give him a much needed blow every now and again. If it weren't for Corey Brewer the last few years, he may have been a late lottery pick.

Golden State Warriors (A): I won't give them an A+ because I really did like JRich on this team but in order to get a guy like Brandon Wright, you can't give up Adonyl Foyle. I love the Wright trade and he'll be great as the undersized, underbulked #5 in that run and gun system. If Baron Davis can stay healthy a whole year, this team could be dangerous again. I love Bellinelli at #18. From what I've read, he's the Italian version of Ray Allen. If so, he fits nicely into that system. Stephane Lasme is also a nice selection in the 2nd Round. Didn't he have 9 blocks one game this year? Love the Warriors, so much so that I will purchase the NBA package next year to watch them.

Houston Rockets (B+): If Jeff Van Gundy was still the coach, I wouldn't like the Brooks pick. With Adelman in Texas, Brooks fits in nicely with his run and gun approach. Landry may have been a little high at 31 but he's a blue-collared guy that carried Purdue this year. Jury is still out on Newley and whether he wants to play in the NBA and give up his cozy gig in Aussie land.

Indiana Pacers (C): Who the hell is Stanko Barac? Supposedly he's an assassin from outside and could be a good player but I have some serious questions about a guy who is 7' 2'' and can't score within the 3-point line in Europe. Bottom line is that they didn't make themselves better for next year and they will most likely get rid of Jermaine O'Neal.

LA Clippers (B): I've loved Al Thorton his whole career at FSU. He's an absolute freak who should contribute right away. Maybe Crittendon would have been the better pick since they have an aging Cassell and a one-legged Shaun Livingston but it never hurts to take the best overall player on the board. Jared Jordan? He's a feel good story but when a guy gets shut down by Siena twice in one week, he's not a legit pro prospect and a reason to get rid of Daniel Ewing.

LA Lakers (D): Crittendon has the potential to be good and if he lives up to his potential, he'll be a steal at #19. Problem is that you took Jordan Farmer in the 1st Round last year and Crittendon is miles away from being a finished product. With an angry Kobe Bryant, this pick won't improve them in the immediate future. McRoberts seemed to fit their system nicely at #19 as he is a PF who can pass the ball and be unselfish, which is ideal for the triangle and a ballhog like Kobe. The Chinese PG and Gasol's brother are lightyears away from contributing.

Memphis Grizzlies (C+): I think Mike Conley has the potential to be a good PG but #4 is a bit high. Sure, there most pressing need was PG but this team is still miles away from competing so why not take the best player on the board?

Miami Heat (B): They only had one pick and swapped with Philly to get Daqean Cook from Ohio State. With most of their players receiving AARP invitations, it never hurts to get a young, athletic SG with a load of potential. He could be the shooting answer as early as next season with the departure of Jason Kapono who got a ridiculously large contract from the Raptors.

Milwaukee Bucks (A-): They got Yi at #6, which was their guy. He has incredible upside but his camp doesn't want him in the middle of nowhere with a very limited Chinese population. Even if he doesn't play a game for the Bucks, it was a good move picking him up because there are plenty of teams that will give up plenty to take a chance on this guy. At worst, he's nice trade bait. Ramon Sessions at #56 could be a steal considering many thought he had first round talent. I really like what I saw from him in the NCAA Tourney when Fazekas was his usually no show.

Minnesota Timberwolves (B+): I think Corey Brewer is a steal at #7. That's how good I think he is. At worst, he's one of the best defenders in the league for years to come. However, over the course of last year, I really liked him emergence on the offensive end. Some compare him to Stacy Augman but I think he'll be closer to Scottie Pippen. Yeah, I went there. Chris Richard is a decent pick in the 2nd Round. He could be similar to what Millsap was this year for Utah. Problem is that KG will be on the decline before the likes of Foye and Brewer hit their max potential. Kevin McHale needs to be fired.

New Jersey Nets (B+): Sean Williams will be a dominant low post defender for years to come, mark my word. I'm just not sure if it will be in the NBA or the California Penal League. This guy has all types of issues but if he can get it together, watch out. To me, he's got the potential to be a mix between Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace. Hopefully, he gets his act together. But let's be honest, even a Sean Williams with a crack addition is better than Jason Collins in the middle.

New Orleans Hornets (B-): Whenever you get a guy with the talent of a Julian Wright, you can have a grade out of a B. Also, I am usually a proponent of taking the best guy on the board but not in this case. This team desperately needed a SG in the worst way and Nick Young would've fit like a glove in that system. The one thing lacking from Wright's game is shooting ability.

NY Knicks (A-): Say whatever you want about Isiah but he knows how to draft so even though I have questions about Wilson Chandler and Demetrious Nichols, I'm sure they will work out. To me, the Randolph deal is a no-brainer and I just don't understand how people can say this a bad deal. Does he have a huge contract? Sure, he does but the difference between this contract and the other 50 bad contracts the Knicks have is that he's still young and in his prime. The combo of Curry and Randolph could be an absolute force in the weak Eastern Conference and plust, they get rid of a cancer in Steve Francis. Bravo Isiah, Bravo!

Orlando Magic (G?): I can't give out a grade to the Magic. Their offseason has sucked ass and this clown from Europe is an unknown. Billy Donovan may have been on to something by ditching this team prematurely.

Philadelphia 76ers (B+): Thaddeus Young is a potential pick. He has Top 5 talent but will he ever put it together? If he does, he'll make people forget about Iverson. I don't know much about Jason Smith except that he's more of a pick and pop center than a low-post scorer. Derrick Byars is absolute steal at #42. I'm almost inclined to call the D.A. to report such a thievery. He's an athletic swingman that can make an immediate impact. Herbert Hill? Best guess is that he'll be an assistant coach at Providence before he makes a big-time impact at the next level.

Phoenix Suns (C-):Alando Tucker was a very good collegiate player but he's not a Phoenix player at all. He can jump out of the gym but he can't hit the broad side of a barn with his jumper. I just don't understand this pick and I really don't understand why this team keeps selling off their picks. They need a backup PG (see Marcus Banks sucks) and Aaron Brooks or even Taurean Green makes more sense than Tucker. Strawberry fits the mold of a Raja Bell with his defensive intensity but he can't shoot it like Raja.

Portland Trailblazers (A++): Greg Oden, need I say more? He's a cahmpionship-level player on and off the court. He immediately makes Portland a contender. In addition to Oden, they got two foreign PG's that have enormous talent but aren't ready yet and then they get Josh McRoberts to fall in their laps. This is a perfect fit for McRoberts because he made his reputation and played his best when playing opposite of Oden in AAU ball. Taurean Green gives them a solid, winning backup for years to come. Sure, it hurts to give up a guy like Randolph for a guy like Channing Frye who is softer than Charmin but he was a cancer and could've dwarfed the progress of their franchise big guys, Oden and Aldridge.

Sacramento Kings (C+): I'm not sure what direction this team is actually going in. Their best player should be in Creedmore and Mike Bibby is rapidly declining and losing trade value. Hawes is a west coast guy and he has a load of potential. Reggie Theus will have his hands full this season.

San Antonio (A): This team always earns an A in my draft book. Their track record is just way too good. Splitter won't be around to make an immediate impact but the Spurs are set and can afford to take such a gamble. Marcus Williams is an enormous talent but just doesn't seem like he's all there. In any other organization, I say he falls into bad habits and doesn't become anything. However, with the Spurs, who knows. I've seen the Spurs win with Stephen Jackson in 2003.

Seattle Supersonics (A): Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, two of the best collegiate players last year, in one draft. Need I say more? Sure, Ray Allen hurts but this team is building for the future and they are moving in the right direction.

Toronto Raptors (G?): Same as Orlando except I like the Raptors future prospects. I have no idea what this guy from Greece is about but Manu Ginoboli was selected in the same postion so who knows. On a side note, Jason Kapono for 4 years/24 mill, are you kidding? What Brian Cardinal wasn't available?

Utah Jazz (B): Utah needed a shooter last year in the draft and missed out on JJ and took Ronnie Brewer instead. This year, they got the best shooter in the draft in Almond. Don't know why he went to Rice but from what you hear, he has a chance to be special. Never heard of the Euro guy they selected...

Washington Wizards (B-): Nick Young will give them yet another talented scorer but I think the pick would've been better suited going to a big guy. However, they took the best player on the board and you can't fault them for that.

You Must Be Joshin'

2007-06-29T08:30:00.000-05:00

Lay off the chocolate cake! That was the message pretty much every NBA team sent to Josh McRoberts last night. McRoberts, who was regarded as a definite lottery pick a season ago, dropped to #37 and the Portland Trailblazers. Good news is that he will be reunited with AAU teammate Greg Oden and he will join one of the best up and coming NBA teams. Bad news is that there is no guaranteed contract and there already is a log jam for playing time for Josh with LeMarcus Aldridge and now Channing Frye accompanying Oden in the paint.

Many people on television, including Judas himself, Jay Bilas, say McRoberts miscalculated before entering the draft. Yes, I believe he picked the wrong year but everyone in their right mind, including K, saw him as a mid-to-late first rounder. A guy who is 6' 10'' and can pass and dribble like a guard, doesn't drop to the 2nd Round too often. I think Portland took a flyer on McRoberts because Oden, according to his blog, has a little man crush on Josh and loves sitting poolside eating baked treats that Josh's mom makes for them.

A few things absolutely killed McRoberts: 1) the body fat test in Orlando where he had a whopping 13% body fat. For you or I, that is a fairly healthy lifestyle but for a professional athlete, that's pretty pathetic and speaks to a lack of dedication. Problem is that the proof is in the pudding. Sure, he's a little fat boy in NBA terms but he averaged37 minutes per game in the ACC after having back surgery last summer 2) Duke's very public down season last year killed McRoberts because he seemed to be the posterboy for all of their frustration and 3) this draft was too deep especially at his position.

I feel bad for Josh but it's time to move on as Duke fans and look forward to the upcoming season. From what I read, Brian Zoubek is primed to be a force in the paint next year. Let's hope so. If not, we could be starring another 22-11 season in the face.

BRB's Need To Know List For The Draft

2007-06-19T12:42:00.000-05:00

I usually like to make predictions on the draft and whether a pick will turn out to be good or a bust this time of year. Sometimes I am 100% correct. Sometimes I really drop the ball (see me saying Dwyane Wade and Carlos Boozer would struggle in the NBA). Despite my shortcomings, without further ado, here is what you need to know about this years draft:

1. Anyone who thinks Kevin Durant has a shot at the #1 pick is crazy, Oden will be #1 and go down as one of the best defensive centers of all-time when all is said and done.

2. Despite having a log jam at the 4 position, the Atlanta Hawks would be asanine if they don't pick Brandon Wright. That kid has perennial all-star written all over him and could be a player that could turn that franchise around in a few years.

3. Brandon Wright will be a better player than Al Horford. To me, Horford could end up like so many great Duke players of the early 90's and that means having an average career after being highly-tauted after being on great collegiate teams --> see Christian Laettner.

4. Mike Conley Jr. is the best PG in the draft. However, he is nowhere good enough to be going in the Top 5 especially in this draft.

5. Joakim Noah will be a great role player in the NBA. Key word is "role". You can't take a role player in the Top 5 or 6. Not when talent like Yi, Corey Brewer, Spencer Hawes would still be on the board.

6. If Josh McRoberts lands on a half-court team, he might as well be dead and buried. Give him fast breaks or give him death.

7. Thaddeus Young is the steal of the draft if he's taken outside of the lottery. My buddy and I saw him at the Jordan Classic and the consensus between the both of us was that he was better than Durant. Their freshman years proved us wrong for the time being but Young has the talent and ability of a Top 5 pick.

8. If Sean Williams is on the board at #27, Detroit will grab him up because four straight losses due to LeBron penetration made the Pistons realize how important Ben Wallace was to their team and they need a big-time defensive presence.

9. Even though he lacks athleticism, if Jared Dudley is around at #25, the Jazz need to grab him. He fits their mold perfectly and he would fit in nicely off the bench especially with Kirilenko on the trading block after drastically underachieving this season.

10. A few words on the careers of the possible lottery picks:
Greg Oden: moment he steps on the floor, he's 1st-team All-Defense, whether or not he develops offensively is another story.
Kevin Durant: will have his spectacular moments early on but won't dazzle until he puts on added muscle, his lack of strength will force him to take a ton of fade away jumpers.
Brandon Wright: in any other draft, he could be #1, the Hawks shouldn't have sobbed when they got the #3 pick because if they pick the best player available, which is Wright, they'll have a stud for years to come.
Al Horford: undecided about Horford, could either be a Boozer-type or on the flipside, could end up like Marcus Fizer or Mike Sweetney.
Yi: I've only watched one abridged workout but I love his talent. Could be as good as Gasol...
Joakim Noah: The JJ Redick of this year, overhyped, overachieving college career will land him in the lottery where he doesn't belong...prominent role player on a good team, useless on a bad team.
Mike Conley Jr: Must get drafted by the right team, he is suited for run and gun type of offense, a half court offense does him no good and the defense will dare him to sink jumpers all day long until he can, could be as good as TJ Ford but is more like an Avery Johnson.
Spencer Hawes: very, very skilled big man who underachieved in Washington's system. Given the right system, he'll be a solid pro. However, if he gets stuck in the middle of a run and gun system like he did in college, he won't fit in and get to utilize his skill set.
Corey Brewer: easily the most complete player in the draft, can do it on the offensive end and more importantly, on the defensive end. At the worst, he's Stacy Augmon, another defensive minded, long width guy on a national championship team that was stacked. At best, he could be Scottie Pippen. He's that talented.
Acie Law: reminds me of Chauncey Billups because of his ability to hit the clutch shot in college. He was the Mr. Big Shot of college bball last year. I think he enjoys a successful career anywhere he goes but not an all-star.
Julian Wright: supremely talented but the "tinman" of college bball - no heart whatsoever. He only turned it on when he wanted to in college and I see him taking the same approach in the pros.
Nick Young: what is good about Young is that he has a mid-range game, something that lacks in bball these days. I didn't see him much since he's on the West Coast but no one can deny his talent.
Al Thorton: a superfreak athlete who really made himself into a great player in college. One thing that bothers you is that despite his enormous talent, he never pushed Florida St. off the bubble and into the tourney. A guy like that can put teams on his back and he seemingly only did it against Duke and one game against a very bad Miami team when he scored 45.
Jeff Green: very versatile in college, did everything correct and played the game the way it was supposed to be played. I think he'll be a good pro but I tend to be tentative on guys who are "system" guys and at G'Town, the system exposed all of his strengths and minimized weaknesses.

Only time will tell how these guys perform at the next level but one thing is for sure, I'll be right on some and wrong on others. The question is: who will those guys be? Wait and see...

Maui

2007-06-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

I just took a look at the rest of the Maui Invitational field and I must say, the Devils will be tested early on. I've seen the field much stronger in the past but there are some interesting story lines if Duke plays some of these teams:

Arizona State: Duke should handle State but remember, Herb Sendek used to get his NC State teams in good position to knock off the Dukies. Also, Eric Boateng, the Duke transfer, will be eligible to play in this game. Wouldn't it be a slap in the face if he got the best of the Dukies?

Marquette: Dominic James should be back after faltering in the NBA Pre-Draft camps. This would set up a rematch from last year where James looked more like LeBron James rather than Dominic when he single-handily dismantled the Blue Devils.

LSU: No Big Baby, No Tyrus Thomas but it would be nice to take out the team that ended the storied careers of JJ Redick and Shelden Williams. Plus, I can't stand John Brady, comb your hair!

Illinois: This would be the matchup that would intrigue me the most. We all know the public feud that Bruce Weber has with K over the commercials and more importantly, the Jon Sheyer saga. How about Jon hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the win and fades away and lands in the Illini bench? Now that would be sweet. Stop crying Bruce! If you lose a recruit from Illinois who goes to the high school that YOUR brother coaches then it's your own damn fault.

I know one thing for sure...I'll be glued to the television Nov 19-21 to watch this. Duke's depth on the perimeter could propel them to the title but it won't be easy.

Billy The Kidder's First Magic Trick

2007-06-05T14:55:00.000-05:00

Billy Donovan's first "magic" act as the Orlando coach was his very own disappearing act. In what can only be classified as a bizarre turn of events, Billy has changed his mind and wants out of Orlando. Wow! Either two things happened to cause this drastic change of heart: one, he realized Orlando is still years away from competing for a championship or two, it actually got to him to leave the Gators and to break his word to the kids he so passionately recruited. It looks like the Magic organization believes it's the first reason because they seem to be asking for Billy to accept a 5-year ban from the NBA to get out of his contract without further legal action. This would stabilize his recruiting situation but certainly cripple his plans of conquering the NBA like he has conquered college basketball in recent years. It will be interesting to see how this pans out...

On the flip side, Anthony Grant, who must have ran around the VCU campus naked a few times after Donovan bailed because he was going to a big-time basketball program after only 1 year as a head coach, albeit a very successful one (not so successful for the Dukies). Now, he's stuck at VCU for another year with Eric Maynor returning for his Junior season. However, the chances of duplicating their success from a year ago is slim considering the Colonial on its best day is a two-bid conference.

More on this soap opera as it unfolds...

Taken For Granted?

2007-05-31T22:40:00.000-05:00

According to Katz, Anthony Grant is the likely successor to Billy the Kid at Florida. Name sound familiar? Yes, Duke fans it's the same guy who coached VCU this year and ended your season in brutal heartbreak. Florida fans should consider themselves lucky to get such a hot young coach but they probably will curse Donovan instead...

Billy The Kid-der

2007-05-31T21:56:00.000-05:00

I said it, my brother said it, Watson said it, and you know what, it came true. We all knew Billy Donovan wasn't seriously staying at Florida. Once Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Taurean Green said bye bye so did Billy. Losing out on the much documented Patrick Patterson sweepstakes couldn't have helped. However, he lost out on Patrick because Patterson knew better than to believe his sordid lies. How can Billy ever look Jai Lucas in the face again after lying to him point blank?

Orlando was the perfect NBA home for Donovan. He doesn't have to move his family from the state of Florida where he just built a Catholic School that his son attends. The money didn't hurt either. According to ESPN (see I document my sources), it's a 6 year/$36 million deal. He inherits a pretty decent team, at least by Eastern Conference standards. Dwight Howard is an absolute stud, Darko has some promise, and if Grant Hill spurns retirement and is healthy next year, they could be decent. Although we are JJ lovers not JJ haters here at BRB, Orlando may have reached last year taking him in the lottery next year. Even with that, he has the ability to be a good pro if one, he plays, and two, Howard establishes himself in the post, draws doubles, and kicks to JJ. One thing that hurts them immensely is the absence of a 1st Round pick this year. Detroit gets pick #15 (probably from the Darko trade), which leaves the Magic with only two second round picks.

Will Billy succeed in the NBA? I'm not sure. Sure, he is coming off of two national championships in a row but let's not forget, only two years ago, Billy was called a cheat by Mike Montgomery and was considered a classic underachiever as a coach. He seemed to always get the big recruit whether it was Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams, Donnell Harvey, James White, David Lee, or Matt Walsh but yet it seemed as if he was getting bounced by the likes of Manhattan every year in the NCAA Tournament. He caught lightning in a bottle with a recruiting class that although they were talented, their greatest asset was their chemistry on and off the court.

If you go according to history, you can't like his chances. Outside of Larry Brown, college coaches never seem to enjoy success once they arrive in the NBA and remember, Brown had already been in the NBA before coaching UCLA and Kansas. Donovan's mentor, Rick Pitino, crashed and burned in the pros a few times. Their full-court, team-oriented pressure doesn't translate to a league full of lazy one-on-one players.

To me, although there is talent in Orlando, until they sign a big-time wing player to go along with Howard, they won't step into the elite of the East and compete with Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Miami. If they had their pick this year, nbadraft.net has the #15 pick as Javaris Critteton from Georgia Tech who has the potential to be a big-time PG.

Whether or not Billy makes it in the pros, one thing remains: he lied to his incoming recruits, they bought it hook, line, and sinker and now they are coughing up their respective lunches because of it. I guess money means more in this day and age than the possibility of crippling a young man's future...

Kobe

2007-05-31T12:32:00.000-05:00

There is very little debate who is the most talented player in the NBA. The discussion usually begins and ends with Kobe Bryant. However, there is no one in the NBA or possibly all of sports that I dislike more. I'll admit I am a bit biased here considering I love Shaq and I love Coach K.

First, I find it ridiculous that pro-Duke blogs talk about Kobe as if he was a Dukie at one point in his life. Kobe wasn't even close to going to Duke. It was only after the fact that Kobe indicated that he would've loved to play for Duke if he went to college. AND, I may be in the minority here but I am so glad that this guy didn't step foot on Duke's campus and that is saying a lot since he would've arrived in 1996 when Duke was still struggling.

Let's get this straight, I think he is the most talented player in the league and I respect that talent. That's all I respect about this guy. I won't even get into his personal life because that is none of my business and only he and that girl know exactly what happened that night. But, this guy rats out Shaq to the police, basically cries Shaq off of his team because he's so conceded that he believed he could win without him, tries to steal Coach K from Duke, commits some of the dirtiest flagrant fouls in the NBA and then cries when Raja Bell throws him down, at no point has he made any of his teammates better, and now he goes on the radio demands a trade, claims he had nothing to do with Shaq leaving LA, claims management hasn't given him enough talent to work with and has since demanded a trade, rescinded that demand, demanded a trade again, and again has rescinded that demand. I am so sick of this guy it's not even funny.

I vowed a few months ago that I would be much more objective but I just can't stand this guy. He's not the only one around sports but he is the only one of those guys somehow linked to Duke. To all those who link Kobe to Duke, stop! You are embarrassing Duke. Duke is a program built on character, teamwork, and integrity. Duke is not a program that revolves around snitching on other teammates, pointing fingers and cheap fouls. Let's reaffirm our association with the Elton Brands, Luol Dengs, and Shane Battiers of the world who exemplify what is stands for to be a Blue Devil.

No Rush

2007-05-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

When Brandon Rush dropped out of the NBA Draft, I figured he had learned from his brothers mistakes but it looks like that wasnt the case. Andy Katz is reporting that Rush tore his ACL in a pickup game and that caused the withdrawal. It's pretty sad for college basketball that the only way you can get your superstar back is a serious knee injury. If Rush comes back to 100%, Kansas will have a shot at the title.

I read an article that Isiah Thomas is strongly considering drafting Josh McRoberts. I don't think that's a good fit. There is already a log jam at the 4 with the Knicks with Channing Frye, David Lee, and Renaldo Balkman. Even though he may be a risk, I think the Knicks should take a flyer on BC's Sean Williams. If he can keep his head on straight, he's got the potential to be a big-time shot blocker something they so desperately need since Eddy Curry only plays on the offensive end.