The Duke-Michigan State game was a complete disaster for the brothers Plumlee. Their mental errors were egregious and they were physically dominated by a tough Michigan State interior. I lost all of my optimism for the Plumlees at the end of the Michigan State game. It took a long time for me to reach the realization that the Plumlees will never play up to their potential while they wear a Duke uniform. After the MSU game I decided to temper my expectations and appreciate the Plumlees for what they are: players with copious amounts of potential, who show flashes of brilliance, but can’t put it all together. I know what the Plumlees bring the table and decided to enjoy watching them play, rather than focusing on unrealistic expectations. But, like a crazy ex-girlfriend you can’t stay away from, the Plumlees have given me a reignited and unrealistic hope in them.
Category Archives: Duke
Hope!
Why #903 is Truly Historic
Let me start by offering congratulations to Mike Krzyzewski for win #903. Duke has been one of the top basketball programs in the country for three decades and Blue Devil fans everywhere have one man to thank for that. I may not agree with the people who think he’s a great man of integrity and class, but he can flat out coach college basketball. There is no denying that. While he’s had a plethora of talent in his 36 years at the helm, his teams win consistently because they are disciplined and play intelligent basketball. He’s figured out a formula for success in college basketball and executed and evolved it almost flawlessly for his entire career.
Are some records truly untouchable? These records certainly seem that way:
- Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak
- Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive game streak
- Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 career points
- Pete Maravich’s 44.2pts/game college scoring average
- Wilt Chamberlin’s 50.4pts/game in the 1951/52 NBA season
What are some others that you think will never be broken?
As a Carolina fan, I was of course saddened when Bobby Knight passed Coach Smith for first place all time in division 1 wins. What dissapointed me the most, however, was knowing that Coach K was also inevitably going to jump ahead of Coach Smith, and would eventually surge to number one on the list. That’s just the nature of sports, I suppose. Yet, seeing Krzyzewski get win #903 got me wondering. Is it possible that no one will be able to top him? After putting together such a long career of sustained success, will anyone be able to match that in today’s game? Is this one of those records that will go down as “unbreakable”?
I decided to do a comparison of the big name coaches around the country to see how likely it is that anyone will be able to pass Coach K in the coming years. Continue reading
That was Ugly
(Amigos- my take on Coach K’s 903rd win for Grantland can be found here. Below is Marc’s. Thanks for reading. -Shane)
Thanks Mike, Now I can be crotchety in peace.
With sixteen minutes and twenty-seconds remaining in the second half Andre Dawkins buried a three pointer over a Michigan State Defender. It was the beginning of a 17-1 Duke span where the Blue Devils started to run away with the game. I felt content as I knew that Coach K was about to waltz into the history books against a gritty opponent. I should have known better. Michigan State clawed back into the game with nine minutes remaining as the Duke offense went into “stall-ball,” and the shots stopped falling. In the end Duke’s lead was too large for Michigan State to overcome and the Blue Devils pulled out a toughly fought victory. Congratulations to Coach K for becoming the winningest Coach in college basketball!
On the Brink
"Get your licks in now. In thirty years I'll be the champ."
To begin, Sports Illustrated has a wonderful gallery of Mike Krzyzewski pictures located here. Anyone who has paid attention to the sports world this year has noticed an increased amount of attention placed on Coach K this year. Why? Coach K is about to be the winningest coach in college basketball history. His next victory, #903, will put him above his old coach Bob Knight. This record may never be defeated because 903 is a huge number and Coach K has numerous years of coaching ahead of him. He will continue to win 25-35 games a year and the number will only grow larger as time passes. His career has been nothing short of remarkable. Early struggles almost sent him into coaching obscurity, but Duke stuck with Coach K and has been wonderfully rewarded.
UNC, Duke Sweep Men’s Soccer Conference Awards
The ACC announced today the winners of the 2011 individual and All-Conference awards. The Tar Heels and the Blue Devils swept the individual awards and were both heavily represented on the All-Conference teams. UNC led all teams with 8 players receiving recognition (4 First team, 1 Second team, 3 Freshman team). Maryland was second with 6 players and Duke followed up with 5.
2011 ACC Individual Awards
Offensive POY: Andrew Wenger - Duke
Offensive Player of the Year:
Andrew Wenger – Duke
Andrew Wenger was the ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season as a Sophomore, but switched to forward for his Junior season. It has paid off for the Blue Devils as Wenger is the first player to ever earn both Defensive and Offensive POY awards. Continue reading
Basketball Recruiting Update
With the early signing period beginning tomorrow (November 9 – 16), it seems like a good time to give an update on the status of recruiting by UNC and Duke.
North Carolina
| Potential 2012 UNC Basketball Roster | ||||
| Name | Ht. | Wt. | Pos. | Yr. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Paige | 6-0 | 155 | PG | FR |
| Kendall Marshall | 6-4 | 195 | PG | JR |
| Dexter Strickland | 6-3 | 180 | PG/SG | SR |
| Luke Davis | 6-0 | 172 | PG/SG | JR |
| Leslie McDonald | 6-5 | 210 | SG | SR |
| P.J. Hairston | 6-5.5 | 220 | SG/SF | SO |
| Reggie Bullock | 6-7 | 205 | SG/SF | JR |
| Harrison Barnes | 6-8 | 215 | SF | JR |
| J.P. Tokoto | 6-6 | 190 | SF | FR |
| James Michael McAdoo | 6-9 | 220 | SF/PF | SO |
| Brice Johnson | 6-9 | 200 | PF | FR |
| Desmond Hubert | 6-9.5 | 205 | PF | SO |
| Jackson Simmons | 6-7 | 205 | PF | SO |
| John Henson | 6-11 | 220 | PF/C | SR |
| Joel James | 6-10 | 260 | C | FR |
This isn’t the typical Roy Williams recruiting class with one or more 5 star players, but that’s no reason to ignore it. There is plenty of top-level talent and it has the potential to be a very important one for the future of the program.
Carolina currently has 12 scholarship players on the roster. Justin Watts and Tyler Zeller will exhaust their eligibility after this season and Stilman White will be taking 2 years off for his Mormon mission. Excluding any potential early exits to the NBA, that brings the scholarship count to 9 for next year, making 4 guaranteed scholarships available.
The Heels have put together a balanced class with size and athleticism to bolster an already deep roster. Continue reading
Not Our Rivals
In his post yesterday, Nate touched upon the fact that UNC looks at NC State like an older brother looking at a little brother. NC State is jealous of their older brother and wants to beat him in every competition possible. At the moment, NC State only beats UNC at graduating farmers and engineers, but not much else. Nate also wrote briefly of how the relationship between Duke and Maryland is similar to the relationship between UNC and NC State. I wouldn’t state that Maryland envies Duke in everything they do (even though they should), but Maryland really, really wants to beat Duke every time they play basketball. Maryland fans go absolutely insane every time they play Duke. While Duke fans assume an aloofness while dismissing the Terrapins by yelling things at them like “Not our Rivals.”
The past 11 years have provided for some amazing contests between the two schools and also some extremely low points from Maryland fans. We’ve been entertained by the likeness of Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Chris Wilcox, Greivis Vasquez and many others. Steve Blake haunts my dreams like no other player because he had the ability to eternally frustrate Jason Williams. Steve Blake to Jason Williams is like Tyronn Lue to Allen Iverson. A vastly inferior player getting under the skin of a supremely skilled player and just interrupting him constantly. Somehow, someway, the fellow who penned this amazing piece about a “restaurant that brings people happiness” was able to disrupt one of the best players I’ve ever seen. Continue reading
Catching Up on Duke/UNC Fall Sports
Hey gang, wanted to check in this morning with a quick update on some of the fall sports reaching their climax in the Triangle.
Women’s Soccer
As you all could probably tell, I’ve become pretty obsessed with women’s soccer this year, which I never imagined would be so much fun to watch. In that department, UNC suffered its FIRST EVER LOSS in the ACC tournament last weekend, losing in the quarterfinals to Florida State. That’s a bit of a deceiving word formulation, because UNC has actually lost three times previously on penalty kicks, but still, it’s the first regulation loss for the team that’s won 18 of 21 ACC tournaments. UNC also set a new program low with five losses on the season, and they’ll need an at-large bid to even make the tournament. Strange stuff for one of the best teams in college history.
The Dukies, on the other hand, are in prime form. Ranked third in the country, they’ll face Wake Forest in the ACC semis tomorrow in Cary (I’ll be there at 5:30). Duke won just its second ACC regular season title a week ago, and are vying for their first ACC tournament championship. After that, they’ll attempt to make just the second Final Four in school history, and win the first championship. Their lone ACC loss this year came to Carolina, when they were missing freshman standout Kelly Cobb and conceded the deciding goal with two minutes remaining.
Exhibitions against Little People
As college basketball teams get ready to start the season they take the court in exhibition games against feebler opponents. These opponents are generally small schools who will get paid well for the game. Players on the teams are talented but not nearly as good as the big schools. They specifically lack height. On the basketball court you often see exhibition teams sending out teams of little people when compared to bigger schools. You feel bad for the exhibition teams who trot out their 6’8″ centers against the seven footers of bigger schools. I’d compare it to watching your buddy approach a super hot girl at a bar to try and get her number. You know it’s a mistake, you’ll know he’ll be met with catastrophic failure, but you root for him because he’s the eternal underdog. As he walks across the bar you see he’s nervous, he even knows he’s going to fail, but he’s accompanied by a desperate sort of confidence. He has nothing to lose. If he tries and fails then life continues as normal, but if he tries and succeeds then he has achieved greatness.
Duke takes its first Erwin Cup lead! (Sorta)
With last night’s 1-0 win over N.C. State, the Duke women’s soccer team won the regular season ACC championship (only the second in program history, and the first since 1994) and earned four points for the Devils in the Erwin Cup.
Technically, that gives Duke a 6.5-4.5 lead, as you see on the scoreboard to your right.
Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize is that the ACC field hockey season has come to an end, and the UNC women are champions. So…when those points go up, UNC will be back in the lead, 7.5-6.5.
But until William fixes the score…GO DEVILS!
Edit: I’ve fixed the scoreboard. GO HEELS! – William
The game in Raleigh was great last night. State smartly played a very defensive game, double- and triple-teaming Kelly Cobb up front and basically taking her out of the game. Continue reading