Hoosier Daddy?

Duke defeated Indiana last night 54-51 in a nail biter at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nothing makes me happier then to beat Indiana after the Hoosiers dished out the worst loss in Blue Devils history (in my opinion) in 2002. The last two seasons, Duke has met Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and for the second consecutive year, they jumped out to a huge lead and then had to hold on for dear life at the end of the game.

A few things jumped out when I watching this game: 1) Greg Paulus couldn't guard my Grandma off the dribble, evidenced by a very mediocre walk-on point guard going by him at will 2) No matter how bad the offense will look this year, they will always have a chance to win the game because of their defense, which right now, looks like some of the best in college basketball 3) The Blue Devils will go at least twice a game where they don't score a field goal for five minutes or more 4) At times, Josh McRoberts will look McNasty and at times, he will look very average 5) David McClure is becoming my favorite Duke player. He's a Rolaids guy off the bench, instant relief, and he always seems to make a positive contribution when he's out there 6) At times, Brian Zoubek will look unstoppable and then at times, like last night, he will look nothing more than a 7 foot stiff 7) Jon Sheyer will be an absolute star at Duke for years to come. In fact, I believe he will be an All-American by his senior year, that's how good he's looked so far.

DeMarcus Nelson was tremendous again scoring 19 points and playing excellent defense all night. However, watching the game, it looked this game would unravel like the Marquette game. Nelson jumped out to score 13 of the first 15 points for the Blue Devils and then he only scored 6 points after that just like in the Marquette game. Why do they go away from him? I understand they have a lot of guys they want to get involved this year but through seven games, there is no doubt that Nelson should be the #1 option on this team. Jon Sheyer chipped in another 10 points and really gives Duke their only legitimate, consistent three-point shooting threat.

Listen, this game was grotesque to watch especially towards the end of the game. I can't remember a Duke team that played a game in the low 50's with an opponent anywhere let alone Cameron Indoor. It was almost like I was watching a Wisconsin/Butler game last night. BUT, it looks like Duke will have to try and win games like this until their offense becomes more in tune. Like I've been saying, it wasn't pretty, in fact, it was downright ugly but a win is a win especially to such a young team. Now, they have one of these signature wins, albeit at home, against a very good school.

It doesn't get any easier for Duke. Next up for the Blue Devils is Georgetown on Saturday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will look to avenge last year's loss at the MCI Center. Look for Greg Paulus to be especially pumped up for this game after he dribbled the ball off his foot on the last play of the game last year. Listen, if Duke was playing in the MCI Center again this year, I would think they didn't have enough to beat Georgetown in such a crazy environment but at Cameron Indoor, anything is possible. Brian Zoubek will have to be much better on Saturday and stay on the floor against Roy Hibbert.

Prediction: Duke 60 Georgetown 59

Go Devils!

Defense, Defense, Defense Suffocates Davidson

Duke defeated Davidson 75-47 on Saturday night in front of a packed house including yours truly. At times, the offense was unwatchable, committing stupid turnovers, not pulling the trigger on the open shots they were getting from the zone, and countless missed layups. Still, Duke was able to erase the laundry list of mistakes by 1) playing suffocating defense and 2) playing Davidson. If the Blue Devils are careless with the ball next week like they were against a lesser opponent like Davidson, they will lose to Indiana and Georgetown next week. However, I don't want to come off too harsh here considering 1) they won by 28 points and 2) this team is still very young, comprised of mostly freshmen and sophomores and their "star" point guard is coming off of a serious foot injury that sidelined him for nearly a month.

Josh McRoberts and Jon Sheyer chipped in 14 points a piece to pace the Blue Devils and Brian Zoubek and Gerald Henderson each reached double-digits with 12 and 10 points respectively. The Blue Devils collectively held Davidson to a dismal 28% shooting from the field and considering they were averaging 85 points a game, holding the team to only 47 points is an excellent feat for this young team.

Next up for Duke is Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge tonight (ESPN, 9:00 P.M.) This should be another early season test for this young team and hopefully the can accept the challenge. If D.J White stays out of foul trouble then Duke will have their hands full down low.

Prediction: I see a back and forth game going down the wire but I think Duke's inside game and the crowd will get them over the top, Duke 69 Indiana 65.

Keep It In Your Pants, Please

Just a quick post here. I will post about Davidson game that I went to tomorrow after I get my pictures back.

According to a few sources, Duke Forward Jamal Boykin will be lost for the remainder of the season due to a severe case of Mono. Are you freakin' kidding me? Keep the players away from these cheerleaders, please! This is now 3 players in the last 6 seasons to get mono in the middle of the season. Dunleavy, Shavlik, and now Boykin. This is getting out of control. Listen, I know Boykin is a reserve and probably wasn't going to get any minutes this season anyways with the Blue Devils having tremendous front court depth but we can't keep having this happen. It's amazing that Duke players can come back from broken feet, arms, legs faster than anyone else because of the great medical resources they have on campus but they can't prevent mono in 3 seperate occurances. Unbelievable!

Office Memo
To: Duke Basketball Players
CC: Coach K, Wojo, Chris Collins, and Johnny D.
From: Bleed Royal Blue
Subject: Keep It In Your Pants, Please

For the duration of the season and hopefully that comes in the first week of April, please keep your pants on no matter how many girls are hanging all over you. Yeah, you guys are great and you probably weren't getting this type of pooh-tang back in your small-town high school but the main objective here is to win. Most of you will play professionally, either in the NBA or internationally, so you have plenty of time to sleep with as many groupies as you want all over the world. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at bleedroyalblue.blogspot.com.

No Cupcakes for Duke

Despite having a young and inexperienced team this year, Coach K did not shy away from scheduling some tough games. Outside of the three cupcakes they played earlier in the year, they won't play a legitimate easy game until December 31st against San Jose State. Just look at the non-conference schedule: Air Force (NCAA Team from last year), Marquette (a legitimate Final 4 Team), Davidson (powerhouse in the Southern Conference), Indiana (easily an NCAA Tournament Team), Georgetown (a Top 10 Team who beat Duke last season), Holy Cross (powerhouse in the Patriot League), George Mason (a Final 4 team from last season), Kent State (powerhouse in the MAC and is only a few years removed from an Elite 8 appearance), Gonzaga (national powerhouse who may be more balanced without Morrison), Temple (even though Cheney's gone, Duke always has trouble with them) and St. John's (granted this isn't the Ron Artest team that took them to overtime at the Garden and then beat them in Cameron the next year but they are much improved and well-coached).

That's just the non-conference schedule! It seems like they play every single good mid-major team along with a number of Top 25 teams. Remember, this is excluding the two games they will play against UNC, Maryland (who just won the Coaches v. Cancer Classic), Georgia Tech (who is the final of the Maui Invitational), and Boston College.

That's a brutal schedule! So, expect them to lose a number of games this year but since they are playing such a tough schedule, the freshmen should develop enormously come tournament time.

Blue Devils Fall to James and Marquette

Last night, Marquette defeated Duke 73-62 in the CBE Championship. Dominic James scored a game high 25 points to lead the Golden Eagles. Listen, we knew they weren't going undefeated this year but the loss still hurts. Dominic James looked like Dwayne Wade (circa 2003) out there and he single-handily dismantled the Blue Devil defense whether it was penetrating to the hoop or stepping out to hit the open jumper. Look, I knew James was a good player. I saw what he did to UCONN last year but I didn't think he was this good.

As for Duke, there are both positives and negatives. First, with the negatives, since the negatives outweighed the positives last night. Greg Paulus looks lost out there and it looks like he's regressed since last year. He's back to playing the matador defense and he's committing entirely way too many turnovers. Last night, he had six turnovers and only 2 assists. That is inexcusable and unacceptable. Every time Duke had a chance to gain some breathing room from Marquette, it seemed like Paulus turned the ball over and it led to a fast break the other way. Look, I'm not getting down on Paulus and I'm not looking for him to be benched but he needs to correct this problem sooner rather than later if the Blue Devils want to have a successful season. Second, the Blue Devils had two stretches during the game where they went scoreless for over five minutes. This is one of the areas that will continue to be a problem for Duke until they find a go-to scorer when they need a bucket (JJ, come back!!!).

In the loss, however, there were some positives. First, Josh McRoberts asserted himself on offense last night for the first time in his career. He demanded the ball so much last night that he began to force shots when they weren't there last night. As a Duke fan, I will deal with that though because we need him to be aggressive. Second, Lance Thomas looks like the real deal and was entirely worth the wait to get him. He's tremendous in the post, he grabs rebounds and last night, showed a lot of fight and toughness. Third, I know he's coming back from a serious knee injury but I want to see David McClure play more. Whenever he's out there, he may not fill up the stat sheet but he always has a positive impact whether it's hustling after a loose ball, drawing a charge, or grabbing an offensive rebound. Finally, DeMarcus Nelson looks awesome this year and if he can stay healthy, he will have a monster year. He scored 11 points in the first 5 minutes of the game and then for some reason, Duke didn't go back to him. Look for that to be a point of emphasis in practice this week leading up to not only the Davidson game but the two huge games next week against Indiana and Georgetown.

Next up for Duke is Davidson on Saturday night at Cameron and I will be there thanks to my amazing and beautiful girlfriend! Look for Duke to be refocused and win by about 18-25 points even though, this is not an automatic W by any means. Davidson has always been well-coached and experienced.

Duke Shoots Down Air Force

Duke defeated Air Force last night 71-56 shooting an astounding 73% from the floor in the first half. DeMarcus Nelson led the Blue Devils with a career high 23 points and to be honest, it seemed like even more. Every time the Falcons made a run in the second half, it was Nelson who stepped up to either hit the big shot, grab an important rebound, or get a crucial steal.

Lance Thomas finished with 15 points but he was one of the main reasons Duke shot out to a double-digit lead early. Lance showed that he can face up to the basket and hit the medium range jumper or put it on the floor and drive to the basket.

Jon Sheyer continues to impress me by contributing 12 points. You can tell that Sheyer has Coach K's utmost confidence as well considering the type of minutes he's playing so early in the season.

Josh McRoberts had a solid all around game with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Sure, I would like to see McRoberts become a little more assertive on the offensive end but it's refreshing to see a Duke big man who not only can but is willing to pass out of the double team. No offense to Shelden but he didn't do that once in his career at Duke.

Finally, Greg Paulus had his best game of the season with 8 points and 6 assists, including two huge 3-point shots. Seeing Paulus hit his open 3-point looks is very refreshing but one alarming thing about Paulus this year is his turnovers. Last night, he had 6 turnovers.

Duke will play Marquette tonight (ESPN2, 10:00 P.M.) for the CBE Championship. I expect the young Blue Devils to struggle with Marquette's elite guard play so Duke will have to take advantage of their size down low to create scoring opportunities and to deny penetration to the basket by Marquette.

Can Duke Ground Air Force?

Duke plays Air Force tonight at 7:00 P.M. on ESPN2 in the CBE Semifinal. If you looked at the bracket at the beginning of the season, as a Duke fan, you would've signed for them to play Air Force over Stanford but I must say, I'm a little nervous. Air Force has recently annihilated two quality opponents, Stanford and Colorado, on the road. I do expect Duke to win this game but I think it will be close down the stretch. Air Force plays a matchup zone, something Duke teams of the past would've exploited like a little Filipino in a sweatshop given their shooting prowess. However, this team, outside of Jon Sheyer, is very mediocre from 3-point range. So, look for Coach K to run a lineup out there of: Sheyer, Nelson, Henderson, Thomas, and McRoberts with Zoubek and McClure getting huge minutes as well. I expect them to keep Sheyer out there as a 3-point threat. Nelson and Henderson should be able to use their athleticism to penetrate that zone and I will look for Thomas, McRoberts and Zoubek to use every inch of their size over the smaller Air Force to their advantage. My prediction: Duke 69 Air Force 59. We will see.

Could Duke Be Better Off Without JJ?

Okay, let's not go popping any crazy pills just yet but this guy from the Chronicle makes some good points. However, let's not forget JJ is the ACC All-Time leading scorer, the NCAA All-Time leader in 3-point field goals and a 2-time National Player of the Year. Also, let's not forget that his 26 point per game last year accounted for over a third of Duke's offense, not too shabby considering the Blue Devils were the 3rd highest scoring team in the NCAA last season. One thing I will take a major exception to from the article is his reference that JJ only going to one Final 4 in his Duke career is "unacceptable." How many teams over the last four years have made it to more than one Final 4? NONE! And, let's be fair, two of the four JJ teams had no business even getting tickets to the Final 4 let alone playing in it.

In 2003, Duke relied on the athleticism of Dahntay Jones and Chris Duhon, who had the most underwhelming season of his Duke career that year in addition to freshmen JJ, who only had a jump shot back then and Shelden "I had two fouls in the national anthem that year" Williams.

In 2005, Duke had to deal with the graduation of Duhon along with Luol Deng bolting to the NBA after only one season in Durham and lost Duhon's replacement, Shaun Livingston, to the pros without ever stepping foot on campus. They had Daniel Ewing playing out of position and had Lee Melchionni starting and playing the 4 on a team that only went 7 deep. The fact that they earned a #1 seed and won the ACC Tournament spoke volumes for how much that team overachieved.

In 2004, Duke had their best chance to win a title with JJ on the squad but they blew an 8-point lead with 2 minutes left to UCONN in the National Semifinal. Now, don't get me wrong, JJ didn't shoot very well in that game but he was mugged on a drive at the end of that game that would've sent him to the free throw line to win them the game.

Finally, last year, they went out unceremoniously in the Sweet 16 but what true Duke fan didn't see that coming last year? Sure, I expected them to go a little further but if you watched them all year, you knew they were a superior athletic team away from going home early and that came in the form of Tyrus Thomas and LSU.

Now, back to the original question: Is Duke better off without JJ? I won't go as far as to say they will be better but I do believe they have an opportunity to exceed the NCAA Tournament performances of the past two Duke teams. Why? Last year, if JJ got shut down, they either lost or needed a ginormous game out of Shelden. This year, if Josh McRoberts gets shut down, Brian Zoubek can carry the load. This year, if DeMarcus Nelson has a cold night, Gerald Henderson will be able to pick him up with his athleticism and driving ability. This year, if Greg Paulus struggles at the point, Jon Sheyer can distribute the ball more than adequately. Also, one thing the last two Duke teams didn't have that this team has is a healthy David McClure. McClure is the kind of guy Duke has missed to shut down the Al Thorton's and Jared Dudley's of the world. If David assumes that role, this team could go very far.

Listen, if I had a choice between JJ or no JJ, I would take JJ every day of the week and twice on Sunday but I do like this team's chances of doing something special. What do you think?

Duke Puts Greensboro in Full "Nelson"

Duke defeated UNC Greensboro tonight 75-48 holding the Spartans to only 8 points over the last 11 minutes of the game. First, I watched the game on ACC Select and it's quite apparent that their latest budget didn't get passed. Look, I'm not complaining since the channel gave me an opportunity to see my Blue Devils live but can I get a get a booth where the announcers have reached puberty?

Second, and more importantly, tonight's game should be a foreshadowing of what we will see from the Blue Devils this year: at times, flashes of brilliance both offensively and defensively and at times, lacadasical and inconsistent. Despite foul trouble for Josh McRoberts, Duke played a tremendous first half whether it was brilliant passing or high defensive intensity but for the first part of the second half, the Blue Devils played uninspired and became complacent, which is very unusual for a Coach K-led team. At one point, the Spartans, who couldn't throw the ball into the Atlantic Ocean in the first half, cut a once seemingly insurmountable lead to 13 but Coach K called a timeout with about 10 minutes left and then the defensive intensity returned to form.

Like the Columbia game, I love the distribution of minutes. Ten Blue Devils played double-digit minutes. When is the last time you've seen that from Duke? Usually, depth is the achilles heel for Duke but with so much inexperience and talent this year, Coach K seems determined to finally use his bench. David McClure was an absolute man amongst boys tonight with 11 points, 9 rebounds and a unfathomable 7 steals and to be honest, it seemed like more. He was all over the place and if he continues to play like this coming back from an awful knee injury, Duke will be much better than most experts think. DeMarcus Nelson also had a tremendous all-around game with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. He, along with McClure, set the defensive tone immediately.

Another positive for the Blue Devils is the contributions they are getting from their four highly-tauted freshmen, specifically Brian Zoubek and Jon Sheyer. Zoubek had a game-high 17 points but I was more impressed with Sheyer and how he ran the team with Greg Paulus seeing limited action because of his nagging foot injury. Overall, I liked the performance from the Blue Devils and one thing is for sure, this team will be fun to watch this year. Next up is Air Force in the CBE Semifinal.

CBE Update

I assumed Duke would play Stanford in the CBE Semifinal in an earlier post but Air Force blew them out by 30 points so Duke will play Air Force on Monday, November 20th (7:00 P.M., ESPN2). Assuming Duke beats them, which isn't a foregone conclusion by any means (remember Air Force was an NCAA Tournament Team last year and took Illinois down to the wire last year), they will face the winner of Marquette/Texas Tech. Even though Marquette v. Duke is the much better game, everyone knows the CBE officials will be praying for a Coach K/Bobby Knight final. Here's a look at the current bracket.

No Worries

Duke fans, such as myself, have become so spoiled in terms of seeing the team play whether it's on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN "The Ocho", or ACC Sunday Night Hoops on FSN. But, this year, two of the first three games are untelevised and that infuriates me. However, no need to worry, go to the ACC Select website and sign up for the 15-day free trial just make sure you cancel it right away. Now, we can see the game against UNC Greensboro tomorrow night. I'm not expecting it to be a classic but watching a 30 point blowout win for Duke is just as enjoyable for me to watch.

A Win is a Win

The Blue Devils defeated Georgia Southern 72-48 last night at Cameron Indoor to advance to the semifinals of the CBE Classic but it was a little closer than most thought, especially in the first half when Georgia Southern clearly outplayed the more talented Blue Devils. If you remember last year, they had a similar game against Drexel in Madison Square Garden. They narrowly escaped with a victory, all of the analysts started doubting them and they responded with a 70-67 win over a very athletic Memphis team. Josh McRoberts and DeMarcus Nelson (named Regional MVP) each contributed a team high 16 points, Gerald Henderson had 13 points and Jon Sheyer continued his excellent play with 11 points. Brian Zoubek only played 8 minutes and didn't score. Coach K addressed this in the press conference and claimed Zoubek didn't play because Georgia Southern liked to play small. Listen, I'm not crazy about the excessive minutes McRoberts, Nelson, and Sheyer played last night but I will chock up McRoberts and Nelson to Coach K's desire to have his veterans out there to weather the storm and Sheyer to the Paulus injury. With such an inexperienced team, they will have these types of games throughout the season. They will exceed expectations when they are picked to lose and they will stumble when the game appears to be a layup. That's just part of the learning curve. Duke will take a break from the CBE Classic to face UNC Greensboro on Thursday at Cameron Indoor. Last year, Duke beat them by 40 points on New Year's Eve.

Catch 22

Coach K announced today that 3 Top 50 players have signed with the program in the early signing period: Nolan Smith, who is from Oak Hill (see Carmelo Anthony) will most likely step in and play the point or will play along side Greg Paulus since Coach K loves having 2 primary ball handlers on the court at the same time. Taylor King is a 6'7'' Small Forward who basically committed to Duke years ago so expect him to be a 4-year player. Finally, Kyle Singler signed with the Blue Devils today and he is ranked as the #4 prospect by rivals.com. Some scouts are comparing his game to that of Dirk Nowitski. If that comparison is even remotely accurate, they will be jumping for joy in Durham the moment he steps on the floor.

I know it's a little early to start thinking about the 2007-08 seasons considering the season just started yesterday but I, like many Duke fans, find themselves square in the middle of a Catch 22. As we all know, Josh McRoberts was within minutes of leaving Duke last year and many consider it an almost certainty that he will bolt to the NBA after this season, especially if he plays at the high level everyone around college basketball expects him to play with the departure of Redick and Williams. If McRoberts plays McNasty this year, he will undoubtedly be a lottery pick in the 2007 NBA Draft but if McRoberts has another pedestrian year, he will probably hang around Duke for another year or two. The dilemma facing us Duke fans is that we desperately need McRoberts to play well this year for this inexperienced Duke team to have any shot at contending but that would, in essence, lead to his premature departure and hurt their chances for next year and beyond, especially with such a high powered recruiting class coming in next year. Best case scenario is that McRoberts has a McNasty year and the cheerleader he's dating gives him a reason to stay.

JJ Who?

Okay, let's not get blasphemous. Duke defeated Columbia 86-43 last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium and although it was against a very inferior opponent, you have to feel good about the way they won the game. No player exceeded 27 minutes, which is obviously a departure away from the last two seasons. Also, you can't help but be impressed with the point disparity throughout the entire team. Brian Zoubek led the Blue Devils with 18 points and 6 rebounds in his first collegiate game while fellow freshmen Lance Thomas and Jon Sheyer both contributed 12 points respectively. In my season preview, I said the entire season would depend immensely on the development of the highly-tauted freshmen class and if Sunday is any indication of how these freshmen will play throughout the entire season, Duke will be a legitimate contender come March. Finally, Greg Paulus came back from his foot injury earlier than originally expected and dished out 7 assists, which is undoubtedly a good sign. Next up is Georgia Southern tomorrow night at Cameron Indoor and although they aren't the 1990 UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Duke needs to take them seriously since they put up a 116 spot on UC Davis last night. Look for Duke to win comfortably tomorrow and face Stanford in the CBE Semifinal on November 20th.

Season Preview

Last year, Duke came into the season with such high expectations and righfully so. They had the Rupp Award Winner from the year before, JJ Redick and Shelden Williams, the consensus top defensive player in the nation. However, with all of that pressure and expectations, it made it very hard to enjoy the games last season. If they lost or didn't play well, the media covered it more thoroughly than the War in Iraq.

This season is much different. Although they come into the season as the Preseason #11, no one considers this team a national title contender. How could they? Sure, everyone in the Duke community breathed a huge sign of relief when Josh McRoberts opted to return for another season but look at what they lost: JJ Redick, the best pure shooter in the history of college basketball (I don't even want to hear it Curtis Staples), Shelden Williams, the "Landlord" and they lost role players like Sean Dockery and Lee Melchionni, who even though he absolutely sucked ass last year, still gave them an experienced upperclassman.

So, what they have left over from last year isn't much. They have PG Greg Paulus, who although he led the ACC in assists as a freshman last season, plays matador defense. They have Josh McRoberts, who if he is as good as advertised, will be their best player this year and most prolific option in crunch time. Let's hope he wasn't overhyped by the same guy who overhyped Shavlik Randolph. They have DeMarcus Nelson, who if he stays out of the emergency room this year, will give them leadership and athleticism, something they sorely missed the last two years. They have Martynas Pocius, who according to Rich Majerus has nice calves. Let's hope the commentators have something good to say about his play this year instead of just his legs. They have Jamal Boykin, who in what I saw last year, is a mental case who will throw his body around for you and get loose balls but he won't be a Rolaids guy, instant relief off the bench. On the plus side, they get David McClure back after he redshirted last season with a knee injury. He looks good in preseason and I expect him to give them some solid minutes as well.

However, with that, the season really depends on the development of this highly recruited freshman class. Let me tell you now, Brian Zoubek at 7'1'' is the real deal. I saw him play at the Jordan Classic and he was nasty and then in the Blue/White Scrimmage game he absolutely ate McRoberts for lunch on the boards. Gerald Henderson will need to be exactly what he's been billed to be, an athletic wing man who can shoot, jump to the sky, and defend the other team's best perimeter player. Jon Sheyer will need to be the shooter that they so desperately will need now that JJ is gone. From what I've seen, he looks fairly unathletic but he could be a Chris Collins type down the road. Finally, Lance Thomas, who basically signed with Duke 20 minutes ago leaving Rutgers in the rearview mirror, will be the X factor for this team. People around the Rutgers program were looking at him as the savior to their program but on this Duke team, he will be the 4th option at best and should excel in this role.

My prediction for the season? Well, as Coach K says, don't set artificial numbers as your goals for a season because if you surpass them, you will have the tendency to be complacent. All I want from this team is for them to get better and more cohesive each and every game by using their superior athleticism and inside presence. That's another weird thing about this Duke team. In the past, Duke has been dominated by great guard play and great outside shooting. This team seems to have more an inside presence than good guards and they have amazing athleticism instead of great shooting. Will that be a recipe for success? We'll see starting tomorrow against Columbia.

Credentials

Duke basketball has three types of fans: the ones that only seem to creep out in bunches come March, the ones (both male/female) that want to have JJ Redick's baby, and finally, you have the ones that have been there through the good and the bad. I am, of course, the latter of the three. Sure, Duke has never experienced any type of downturn, except for 1995 when Coach K hurt his back (Duke fans try to block out 1995 like it never happened sort of like what Germans do for the years 1939-1945), but it always seems when Duke loses, they lose in heartbreaking fashion. Sure, I've been there for the good: 3 National Championships (1991, 1992, 2001), 10 Final Fours and an unfathomable eight 30-win seasons. On the contrary, I've been there for the loss to Arkansas in the National Championship Game in 1994 when they blew a 10-point lead with 10 minutes left. I've been there for the last second loss to Kentucky in 1998 in the Elite 8 when they had a 17 point second half lead. I've been there for the shocking loss to UCONN in the National Championship Game in 1999 when Duke was 37-1 entering the game. I've been there for what I call the worst loss in Duke Basketball history when Duke lost to Indiana in the Sweet 16 in 2002 when they had a 17 point second half lead and Jay Williams missed a free throw to tie the game and Boozer got the rebound and missed a point blank layup. I've been there for the loss to UCONN in the National Semifinal in 2004 when Duke had an 8 point lead with 2 minutes to go and lost. Finally, I've been there the last two seasons when Duke has lost in the Sweet 16 to teams that were superior athletically. My point is that whether they win championships or lose in the most gruesome fashion possible, I will continue to root for this team because I do, in fact, bleed royal blue.