Rammed!

Duke did make a deal with the devil when they won that Clemson game at the buzzer? Ever since that game, the Dukies have lost 3 games at the buzzer and another in OT. Last night had to be the worst though. Eric Maynor hit a jumper with 1.8 seconds left to seal the Blue Devils fate and end their rollercoaster season.

To me, this was the worst loss I've endured as a Duke fan since the 2004 National Semifinal game against UCONN when the Devils blew an 8-point lead with 2 minutes left in the game. However, at least then, there was only one game left in the college basketball season. Now, with Duke losing on the first day of the tournament, an event that is like Christmas for me, has lost most of its juice and it justs hurts to watch.

Let's face it though, if Duke was Superman then VCU was their kryptonite. They had the recipe to beat Duke: quick, athletic guards who could press. I know they beat my team but that team was the best mid-major I've seen all year. Sure, they were like any other mid-major with a lack of size in the middle but their guards were all major conference-type guards. They were skilled, they played defense, and they hit 3's. They were a championship team from that pesky Colonial and they showed it on Thursday night.

Now, to the complaining portion of the post, which always comes from me. Let's face it, if those officials call the game the way it's usually called, Duke wins that game. The officials let VCU hit and grab Duke and then after the whistle, let them take cheap shots after the whistle. The only one with any type of balls was Paulus who went right back at Maynor and then Maynor gave an elbow to Paulus' throat, which if a Duke player did that, the national media would be looking for a suspension. Then, Sheyer is bleeding from his eye and the entire VCU bench is laughing their asses off. With that said, Duke just ran into a team that had strengths could expose their weaknesses.

Greg Paulus, despite 5 turnovers, was tremendous scoring a career high 25 points. Josh McRoberts had the best game of his Duke career, which may have ended on Thursday night. I believe he will bounce to the NBA even though I think it would be wise for him to get another year to develop his outside shot and develop some sort of efficient post moves.

So, the season is over. It hurts just watching the games now but Duke will be back, as soon as next year. If Singler, King, and Smith are as good as advertised, they will be in the Top 5 next year. If Patrick Patterson picks Duke, they will get that low post presence that they so lacked this year.

However, there are some question marks going into next season. As of now, these are the players you can count on having back:
Greg Paulus
Jon Sheyer
DeMarcus Nelson
Gerald Henderson
David McClure

Now, I understand that more than that will come back but those are the definites. Here are the question marks:

Josh McRoberts: Will he jump to the NBA. Some around the program say he's already gone. Can Coach K convince him he needs another year? Will he stay because the draft will be loaded this year?

Lance Thomas: Rumors have been all over the place that Lance isn't happy at Duke and even though he denies it, I'm not sure I believe him. Ever since he was basically benched against Gonzaga in front of his hometown, I think he started having his doubts about his place at Duke. He could go to Rutgers and they would welcome him with open arms. I think he has the chance to an excellent player at Duke. Go back to the tape against Air Force. He was tremendous. He hit jump shots, he finished around the basket and he was on his way to becoming a star.

Brian Zoubek: Zoubek struggled all year with grasping the concept of man-to-man defense. Despite dominating McRoberts in the Blue-White scrimmage, Zoubek never showed how dominate we all thought he could be. He was called for traveling before he even got the ball sometimes. If McRoberts makes the jump and/or Patrick Patterson doesn't arrive in Durham, I expect him to hang around. If both stay, Zoubek will most likely transfer.

Martynas Pocius: He's a personal favorite of mine so this would hurt if he goes but let's face it, he is much too talented to be sitting at the end of the bench collecting dust. Sure, his minutes increased at the end of the year but with nothing but perimeter recruits coming in, he can't expect to his playing time increase. Pretty much every mid-major program in the nation would love to have him.

Season recap later this week...