What it Means to Have STUDENT-Athletes

http://sports.chronicleblogs.com/200...all-americans/

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Give me student-athletes, or at least athletes who try to find the time in their busy lives to be students, and we’ll see where the chips fall when it comes to won-loss record and how far the Blue Devils advance in the Tournament. Give me kids who want to come to Duke as much as they want to play Duke Basketball, even if they’re only stopping by for a year or two.

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This is a great article about Paulus, Duke Basketball, and what it means to be a student-athlete at Duke.

Some around here might not relate as well to the sentiments expressed since I know not everybody graduated from Duke, but this is worth a read nonetheless.

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Originally Posted by BlueintheFace

http://sports.chronicleblogs.com/200...all-americans/



This is a great article about Paulus, Duke Basketball, and what it means to be a student-athlete at Duke.

Some around here might not relate as well to the sentiments expressed since I know not everybody graduated from Duke, but this is worth a read nonetheless.

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Amen, amen, amen. As much as any other poster on these boards, I agonize about losses, too-early exit from tourney, recruiting, whatever, and everything. But this article is a wonderful antidote to the embarrassing idiocy that I and others regularly exhibit. Even K knows that it's just a game.

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Originally Posted by gumbomoop

Amen, amen, amen. As much as any other poster on these boards, I agonize about losses, too-early exit from tourney, recruiting, whatever, and everything. But this article is a wonderful antidote to the embarrassing idiocy that I and others regularly exhibit. Even K knows that it's just a game.

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...and the older you get the more you appreciate the thoughts and sentiments in the column. :)

This is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of writing to come out in the Chronicle in YEARS.

That was a terrific column. Thanks so much for the link. Even though I know college sports (at least the "revenue-generating" ones) have moved far away from the these sentiments, I'd like to think they still exist at Duke, at least some of the time. It's part of the reason I've been a Duke fan for so many years, despite having no formal ties to the university. I love to win championships as much as the next fan, but if it's a trade-off between having a Greg Paulus for four years or not having him - I'll take Greg every time.

I dated the next door neighbor of Chris, Nate, and Mike in Bassett during their freshman year. All three guys were super nice, always hanging out in the commons room, always very down to earth. Shane was also a friendly face around campus during my last few years at Duke. All four guys were key cogs in Final Four and National Championship runs. I prefer the best of both worlds--great guys with the talent to win deep into March. I'd hate to think that we have to make a choice between two options.

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Originally Posted by Edouble

I'd hate to think that we have to make a choice between two options.

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That's obviously the ideal, but we can't always get that lucky.

Great article! It was a reminder of my own experience at Duke when the name of the player in the article might have been Jeff Mullins, Steve Vacendak or any number of other basketball players or football players for that matter.

Bump this article, too good to miss out on.

This is so good I feel like it should be a sticky. I know it could make it crowded up at the top of the list but maybe it could replace the 'Time to Cleanup' sticky.

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Actually, just give me Duke University circa 1989-1992

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Ha ha, that's when some of us were there. And yes, there were kegs every night of the week. On both campuses.

Thanks for bumping. I missed this originally, and that was a FANTASTIC article.

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Originally Posted by hurleyfor3

Ha ha, that's when some of us were there. And yes, there were kegs every night of the week. On both campuses.

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Oh to have been there...if you carried a case of beer into eden's when I was there you might be stopped and have your ID checked

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Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress

Great article! It was a reminder of my own experience at Duke when the name of the player in the article might have been Jeff Mullins, Steve Vacendak or any number of other basketball players or football players for that matter.

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I went to middle school and high school with Vacendak's son. Steve Jr. at Carrington and Northern...

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Originally Posted by jipops

This is so good I feel like it should be a sticky. I know it could make it crowded up at the top of the list but maybe it could replace the 'Time to Cleanup' sticky.

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If we only could actually clean up...

Great article - sort of a wake-up for the whiners, be they occasional or chronic.

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Originally Posted by SupaDave

I went to middle school and high school with Vacendak's son. Steve Jr. at Carrington and Northern...

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Steve, Jr. enrolled at my school for kindergarten when Steve returned to the area. I was saddened to learn recently that Steve Jr. died at age 25 in a bicycle accident in the mountains.

I will confess to feeling a nagging guilt of my college basketball fandom at times, given the corrupting influence big-time athletics can have on the academic and other missions of a modern university, including the mission of upholding and promoting solid values. (I was disheartened and more than a little shocked at Calipari's contract at UofK, and, quite frankly, feel glad to know that I don't know K's total compensation as Duke's coach.) Being a Duke fan, however, let's me believe that the athletics there fundamentally are about celebrating the well-rounded individual and pursuing excellence. The football graduation rates, the stellar reputations of Johnnie, Shane and Grant, the personality and multiple interests of Abby (and Emily!), and Paulus' academic honors, these are important to me because without them I would have a hard time honestly and full-heartedly being able to say, "yes, I am a big-time Duke fan." Which I am.

I recommend this article to every Duke fan. Very eloquently written.

Because its completely true of Paulus especially. I've seen him showing people around campus, hanging out in the loop, and walking around the quad. He always has a smile for the people around him, and certainly seems to have integrated himself as part of the university, not just part of a basketball team

bump