The Blue Devils lost a heart breaker last night as Virginia used a Sean Singletary teardrop with 1 second left in OT to pull off the upset in Charlottesville. In what seems like vintage Duke form, the Blue Devils blew an 8 point lead late in the 2nd Half and couldn't muster any sort of offense in OT to pull it out.
Let me make this clear, Coach K is my messiah and Duke is my religion. I also know that the philosophy employed at the end of the game last night is the same philosophy that has earned Coach K 695 wins at Duke, 10 trips to the Final 4, and 3 National Championships. BUT, this philosophy can backfire and it has many times during his regime. What philosophy? Having a comfortable lead, taking the air out of the ball to kill clock, and in essence limiting your potential for a good shot on offense. During the times of a Grant Hill and a Jason Williams, you could get away with this style because they were able to dribble penetrate at will to either draw fouls or kick it out for open shots at the end of the shot clock. I'm not so sure you can employ this strategy with this particular team. They don't have guards, outside of Gerald Henderson, who can penetrate at will because they lack athleticism. So, what winds up happening is that they start their offense with about 8 seconds to go in the shot clock, Paulus picks up his dribble, Sheyer or Nelson gets forced away from the basket and they wind up settling for a bad shot.
By no means am I attacking Coach K at all. I have benefited immensely from this philosophy since I can remember 7 of the 10 Final 4's and all 3 National Championships not to mention the countless ACC Regular Season and Tournament Titles. This man has been the greatest thing since sliced bread for Duke and the rest of College Basketball but I must admit, it is frustrating to see your team lose a game they had won.
As for the game, I haven't watched the whole thing. I caught the end of the 1st Half and obviously the 2nd Half and OT. From what I saw, I love how they played tonight. Their ball denial and playing of the passing lanes was masterful and their offense had its moments. I really like the fact that they bounced back after UVA came back to tie the game at 49-49 and they went on to make a 10-2 run, which seemingly looked like it would break UVA's back. Listen, what makes Paulus and Sheyer good is that they play smart and with fundamentals but one of their biggest limitations is athleticism and when Duke plays a backcourt of that athleticism and offensive talent, they will struggle. Singletary is one of the best PG's not only in the ACC but in the country and JR Reynolds is one of the most underrated players in America. Both of those guys exploited Duke's lack of quickness and used their strengths to win this game.
I really thought Duke was going to win the game when McRoberts had the one on one on Cain at the end of regulation but he failed to convert close to the basket and I also liked their chances when David McClure, my man crush, made a Battier-esque weak side block with under a minute left in OT but Duke got nothing going on the next possession and then Singletary did his thing. Despite that shot, they still had as good a look as you can ask for when Greg Paulus caught a great baseball pass from McRoberts and just missed a game-winning 3 pointer. For as great the Clemson win was, this one hurts equally as bad but I love the effort and I feel the execution down the stretch will come with time and experience.
Next up for Duke is Florida State at Cameron, which traditionally is a very tough game. However, Duke is traditionally excellent after a loss and with JJ getting his jersey retired, Cameron will be rocking. If Duke can neutralize Al Thorton, they will win comfortably. If they can't, then it will come down the stretch and they will need to execute a little better at the end than last night.
Prediction: Duke 76 FSU 67
Congratulations JJ!
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