ESPN/USA Today Poll

[DukieBoy]

The poll was just released. Duke is fifth, behind UNC, who was unanimous number 1, UCONN, Louisville, and UCLA. This could set up an early top five showdown if UCLA and Duke make it to the 2k Classic. Also, Purdue is ranked 10th, which could be another top ten showdown between the two

[CameronBornAndBred]

Seems like a reasonable spot for us, a little higher than I expected. Good to see Davidson start the year in the top 20, hopefully they move up some before our game. The national pollsters give more love to Miami than the ACC pollsters did, interesting to see them in at 16. And it looks like Clemson will have to prove themselves this year to get their spot..I think their meltdowns in years past have kept the voters wary.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I know preseason poll means nada but Pitt at No. 6 is surprising with Fields hurt again.

[Wander]

It's now official, Miami is the most overrated team in the country.

[BlueDster]

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings


Wow, that's higher than I was expecting. I guess the emergence of Plumlee as an inside presence has impressed.

[roywhite]

http://sports-ak.espn.go.com/ncb/rankings


Wow, that's higher than I was expecting. I guess the emergence of Plumlee as an inside presence has impressed.

Perhaps, but I wonder if those voting in the poll know that, or just how up to date the coaches are with other programs around the country before the season starts. Preseason polls are not very meaningful.

[hurleyfor3]

This seems like the shallowest pool of talent in college basketball in years, rivaling 2000 for shallowest ever. The top 25 seems like it should go

1. unc
2. ucon
3. someone else but not us
4. someone else but not us
5-25. A bunch of random good programs in no particular order which includes us

[Huh?]

Nice hiking stats Hurley

[BlueintheFace]

This seems like the shallowest pool of talent in college basketball in years, rivaling 2000 for shallowest ever. The top 25 seems like it should go

1. unc
2. ucon
3. someone else but not us
4. someone else but not us
5-25. A bunch of random good programs in no particular order which includes us

Which is very good news for Carolina and consequently, not so good news for us.

On the brighter side, it could mean that Carolina has little chance for real improvement all season due to lack of equal competition, while we steadily grow better all season and can peak in March. Here's hoping...

[Huh?]

Which is very good news for Carolina and consequently, not so good news for us.

On the brighter side, it could mean that Carolina has little chance for real improvement all season due to lack of equal competition, while we steadily grow better all season and can peak in March. Here's hoping...

Louisville is real tough, getting rid of Caracter and getting Samuels should be big for them. UCLA???? I don't know, they lost their 2 best players and Mbah Amoute is gone too. I hate UCONN. I like Duke's chances, just get us to the Final Four and ANYTHING can happen!!!

[Diddy]

I thought we would be in the 5-15 range, with 15 being extremely low end.

Preseason, I thought somewhere in the 7-12 range would be more accurate.

I think an above poster hit the nail on the head. Miles Plumlee. He is not a game changer. We all know that. We all also know that he doesn't have to be a game changer. All we need from the low post is mediocrity. His early play, as well as play that has been witnessed and written about by knowledgable, unbiased journalists, is evidence that we have improved at the position. We now have three-four guys who can log serious minutes in the low post. Three in particular who can spend the majority of their time on the blocks, and really help the team. Miles took what was potentially a below average post rotation and moved into a potentially above average to average post rotation. With our 1-4 positions being so good, we don't need much else.

Also, I think the Nolan starting at the pg influenced some votes, and thinking. Not so much because no one beleives in Greg, but because it serves as notice that K is tinkering and thinking outside the box. It also moves Duke back to their pressure D roots. With K's whole attention focused on Duke again, that must scare some other coaches.

And, with the ACC being 1 superpower (UNC), one near superpower (Duke) and the 10 other guys, I think the ACC coaches built us up. It behooves them to get Duke and UNC as far up as possible, because then those potential likely losses (and all those other teams see UNC-Duke as probable losses) don't hurt so bad come selection Sunday. Losing to a top 5 team doesn't really kill you, and playing such a highly ranked team only helps your SOS.

We are on the very high side of our rankings. At least, I am not sure we are a top 5 team on November 1. But come March, this ranking could be right on.

[hurleyfor3]

Which is very good news for Carolina and consequently, not so good news for us.

On the brighter side, it could mean that Carolina has little chance for real improvement all season due to lack of equal competition, while we steadily grow better all season and can peak in March. Here's hoping...

It also means we should see more NCAA tournament runs from the Davidsons and George Masons of the world, especially if unc and ucon bounce out before the Final Four. It says something that Davison is ranked.

Nice hiking stats Hurley

At the risk of going off topic, I finished off the season last weekend with Wheeler Peak, Nevada (13,065 feet). The Great Basin is surprisingly pleasant this time of year. I'll do more in WNC when i make my annual end-of-the year visit down there, but I consider that hiking "off balance sheet".

[shadowfax336]

Question:
Would somebody explain to me why everybody seems to be assuming that UConn is the second best team in the country or at least top 5? I know Thabeet is a big NBA prospect, but he's still very raw offensively and that pretty much describes the whole team unless they've made a major leap from last year. I mean this is a team that wasn't even ranked in the final coaches poll from last year, specifically because they really struggled to put the ball in the basket against good teams. Its a team that was 0-2 in the post season last year. (Now losing to WVU in the Big East tournament is tough to pick at, but losing to San Diego? C'mon now) Has everybody just decided to forget all of this?

[shadowfax336]

I know preseason poll means nada but Pitt at No. 6 is surprising with Fields hurt again.

Its based on reported enormous improvement from Dejaun Blair and Sam Young. They were both already beasts and word is they've taken it up a level. Pitt probably has the best frontcourt in the country now.

[Jeffrey]

Hi,

Perhaps we should be discussing Notre Dame making the Top 10?

Of all the former Duke Assistants, upon their departure, who would have sincerely expected Brey to be (the only one) in the Top 10 now?

Best regards,
Jeffrey

[feldspar]

I'm smelling a Duke/Carolina classic 1 vs. 2 matchup on Feb. 11 in CIS.

[houstondukie]

Preseason ranked teams on Duke's schedule:

#1 UNC x2
#4 UCLA (MSG, New York City)
#10 Purdue (away)
#16 Miami (home)
#18 Georgetown (home)
#20 Davidson (home)
#24 Wake Forest x2

#30 Xavier (East Rutherfold, NJ)
#35 Virginia Tech x2
#43 Clemson (away)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Hi,

Perhaps we should be discussing Notre Dame making the Top 10?

Of all the former Duke Assistants, upon their departure, who would have sincerely expected Brey to be (the only one) in the Top 10 now?

Best regards,
Jeffrey

Doesn't surprise me a bit. He's had very good success where he's been. If you can have success with Delaware you are doing something right. Not knocking against the blue hens, but it shows very good coaching when you succeed with less of a talent pool. Now that he has more talent annually, you will hear about him annually.

[Billy Dat]

A little fuel for the fire regarding Uconn. Mike Francesca of NY's WFAN interviewed Jim Calhoun the other day. He talked a lot about his team this year and the topic came up about staying hungry after a lot of success. I have found that Calhoun, like Gary Williams, always finds a way to reference K and Duke. Here's what followed (paraphrased):

Calhoun:
Mike Krzyzewski just had one of the great experiences bringing the United States back a gold medal. You don't think he's fired up to get that Duke team back to where it was?... because it's been a while since Duke's been back, quote, a true national player…you know, and yet you could say that what he's been through this summer, he could live on that…he's not living on that, he's trying to get that Duke team to beat Carolina.

Francesca:
You know I'll say this, and I like Coach K a lot, but that was the lay-up of a lifetime. All you had to do was just get them to somehow buy in that they had to play together, just for 2-3 weeks, not to tick anyone off like Larry did, let's be honest, the talent difference is still stark, as long as they try and are unselfish, they aren't going to lose.

Calhoun:
They guy who actually, and Mike did a great job, but the guy who really put it together was Jerry Colangelo. But getting back to what we were talking about…Mike Krzyzewski, the thing he said to me that I'll never forget after we were fortunate enough to beat him in a great game 77-74, is, "this is only going to make you hungrier".

Classic Calhoun - love the backhanded compliments - but I do think that he and K are pretty good friends but still too competitive to fully lower their guards. K did have Calhoun on "Basketball and Beyond" so the relationship must be pretty good.

You can grab the podcast of that interview through iTunes, for free. He talks a lot about his team and thinks that Thabeet is going to be the dominant player in the country this year...that's he's made a huge leap Maybe that's why they are getting all the respect.

[3rd Dukie]

Perhaps, but I wonder if those voting in the poll know that, or just how up to date the coaches are with other programs around the country before the season starts. Preseason polls are not very meaningful.

That was my immediate question as well.