Looks like ESPN Classic is showing "great" semifinal games today. Duke/UNLV 1991 is on today at noon.
Sadly... Duke/UConnvitcs 2004 is on at 4pm.
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Looks like ESPN Classic is showing "great" semifinal games today. Duke/UNLV 1991 is on today at noon.
Sadly... Duke/UConnvitcs 2004 is on at 4pm.
The painful Duke-Uconn 04' game is on a few hours later on classic too. I'm just going to watch the last minute so I can get in a good cry and yell at the refs.
I'm going to be a masochist today and record then watch that 2004 UCONN game. That was probably the hardest Duke loss I've ever had to take and I've never seen a replay of the game til today.
I can't believe I'm going to make myself watch it but I'm going to...
I think I may do the same. It's scary to think that game was four years ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Classof06
I completely forgot how after the game K kept giving the signal for them to calm down and play it off like it was no big deal... nice try coach.
Same here. I recorded that game, as I do all televised Duke games, but was so sad with the outcome of Chris' final game in a Blue Devil uniform that I decided it wasn't worth keeping (and that is something that I rarely do; I have a library of game tapes and like to have every one). Like the '06 LSU game (my biggest heart break game of all-time), I swore to myself that I would never again watch the '04 UConn game. My cousin has a copy of the game at his house, but I have never felt the urge to watch it.Quote:
I can't believe I'm going to make myself watch it but I'm going to...
Well, I am going to today. When I saw that it was listed, I thought of it as an opportunity to watch my favorite Devil of all-time again, even in a loss. Chris personified exactly what it meant to wear the Duke name and uphold the school's mythic tradition. He bled Blue. Quite honestly, I'm desperate for the days of Duhon, and I just want to watch him on the big stage, the Final Four, once again.
I will never forget the fact that a friend of mine had to tell me that Chris' 30 foot shot at the buzzer didn't tie the game for us. I'm sure I knew it hadn't, as I was already crying after we had went down by four, but, after it fell through, I quickly clapped my hands and shouted, "He did it, he did it!" Ball game. Worst moment of reality I've ever had.
There is a little perspective to be gained from re-watching the UNLV game.
1. Coach K played 9 players in the first half and 8 players in the 2nd half. 2 of the 3 bench players from the second half would later transfer and be POY in a different conference. Coach K does use his bench (even in big games), and transfers happen, but sometimes it is best for the players and the team can work through it.
2. Pete Gaudet is about the same height as coach K. In other words, our big man coach was not a big man.
3. Coach K played a little bit of 2-3 zone in both halves. So it is nothing new for Duke.
I can't bring myself to re-watch the 2004 UCon game, but if someone wants to explain that maybe we didn't get totally robbed by the refs, I'd be willing to read it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwarz
Even without watching the replay yet, I can say that while the refs certainly didn't help, they weren't the reason Duke lost. It was a closely called game for all 40 minutes and even Okafor spent much of the game in foul trouble, so it's not like it was just Duke.
As a side note, does anyone think Duke might've won this game if they still had Michael Thompson and his 5 fouls? To me, Thompson's transfer was something I remember thinking about as the fouls began to rack up over the course of the game.
Watching the first part of this game, I had forgotten how many shots we missed and how slow we started. Very painful. And we haven't even gotten ot the really painful part... the 2nd half foulfest on us.
The classic Duhon floater...
Also, another note to add about the game, this looked like the beginning of something HUGE for Shav Randolf. He was all over the place in the first half of that contest, including a sick, sick spin dribble-drive in the key for a lay in.
We're up 36-26 with under two in the first... :( This is why you don't re-watch.
This game feels so much more painful since we haven't been back to the Final Four. The bragging rights are nice, but it's the excitement of the Final Four that I miss the most.
^^100 percent agreed.
JJ just hit a triple from the right corner to put us up 59-50... Boy, I would love to go back and picture myself at that exact moment in time.
But, then again, I like to live in despair a lot.
From my memory, Shav was the best big man in the game. Okafor just got all of the calls down the stretch that negated anyone who was outplaying him. I call it being "Hansbroughed" out of the tourney.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cameron
Shav also picked up his 4th with about 15 minutes to play, which really locked him down the rest of the way... However, while we certainly got away with our fair share of calls in the first half, I would agree that UConn benefited far more as the game wore on.Quote:
From my memory, Shav was the best big man in the game. Okafor just got all of the calls down the stretch that negated anyone who was outplaying him. I call it being "Hansbroughed" out of the tourney.
Oh well, I guess. Like another poster stated, though, it's scary to think it will have been five years since our last Final Four come next March.
Quick note:
If JJ hits that triple try from the left wing, at the six minute mark, which would have been his second three in a matter of 30 seconds, we go up 71-62 and win the ball game. UConn was already in a bit of an offensive slump stretch, and I think that would have demoralized them completely. A point of no return type of shot.
What could have been.
Deng's shot selection was pretty miserable in the last few minutes...
Please tell me how JJ was not hacked at on the drive in the final seconds? Good God.
I can't believe I watched this again. What a joke.
Sometimes you have to just wallow in the pain. That game was more miserable than I remember it being.
But consider the bright side. My wife's a State fan. She always watches until the bitter end because suffering through a miserable defeat is the essense of being a State fan. She takes pride in it.
Just saw the thread, and unfortunately (or not) I missed the rebroadcast. I remember staring in absolute astonishment at Shav's 5th foul. Hands straight up, trying to hold his ground as Okafor bumps him, and then he gets called for the foul.
Unbelieveable.
My biggest complaint about the officiating is that the game everyone wanted to see was Shav/Shel vs. Okafor. What we saw instead was Shav/Shel vs. UConn's 2nd string, and Okafor vs. Duke's 2nd string/Shav & Shel with 4 fouls. No one wanted to see that game.
I can certainly see the argument that we wouldn't have led at halftime had Okafor played his normal minutes, but I would have rather had the opportunity to play that one on the court instead of in my head.
Maybe its good I didn't see the game today. Would have p***ed me off all over again. Just writing this has me going...