Aggie-ny

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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.