MBB: Duke 61, Butler 59 - 2010 NCAA Champs!!!

[DevilDawg]

induce a heart attack, but it didn't work. i am too wired to even sleep!

[JamminJoe]

Just an incredible season. Just think back to how we all felt when Wall committed to Kentucky. Did anyone think that Scheyer could be the point of national championship team esp after the Villanova game last year. Go Duke!!!

[DevilDawg]

But the clock doesn't start until the ball is touched.



Possibly, but in the first situation, the 5 good shots they get will win the game. In the second situation, the 20 good shots just send it to overtime, where they have to hit more good shots to win the game. We need to know their odds in OT to correctly handicap this strategy. As they hadn't led by more than 2, I'm inclined to hit the free throw as opposed to giving them 20 good shots multiplied by whatever percentage they would have at winning in OT.

That said, I'm glad we're arguing a moot point here. I'm inclined to go with whatever K decides, win or lose. This year's been perhaps his greatest coaching job I've had the good fortune to witness.

With championship #4 concluded, is now the time to be questioning tactics?

[MarkD83]

Congratulations. Great coaching job by Coach K, probably his best. Have some negative, cranky things to say but I'll hold my tongue because the main point I want to make on your board is congrats from a Carolina fan.

Go Tarheels! Looking forward to some great Carolina - Duke battles in the future, as early as 2011 with the last two champions battling it out. Hoping for a Carolina-Duke battle in the NCAA tournament, some day....

This is very gracious of you. Thanks for the kudos.

[Duke Mom]

So close...TOO close!

My cheeks are still bright red, chest still pounding, palms still red from clapping, throat still sore from yelling, and breathing ceased when Hayward released that last shot which came so close to going in ... so count me among the many here who are thinking cardiologist (or a stiff drink!).

I heard that the excitement in Cameron was unbelievable, kids rushed the court at the end, and now the bonfires on West Campus are crackling with joy!

So glad our boys prevailed! What a fantastic team, experience and talent all working together. Took so much hard work to get here.

This game, as Dick Vitale said, will go down in history as a true "classic." And as Coach Knight said tonight, Duke is a "beacon" for others in college basketball to follow. Truly...student-athletes. So proud!

Congratulations Blue Devils. Tonight...Kings of the World!

[TampaDuke]

With championship #4 concluded, is now the time to be questioning tactics?

Just commenting on prior posts. As I stated, I'm at ease going with whatever K decides in that situation.

[TampaDuke]

Still the rebound was a favorable one. It could have went off to one of the sidelines and been in an awkward position for a player to grasp it and pass to a racing shooter. I definitely hear the argument of worst case scenarios. Thats what makes this so difficult for me to comprehend. But after watching the press conference, Butler's coach was not expecting this strategy and neither were the players. Element of surprise may have some play in this as well.

I appreciate both sides of the argument as well. Whatever the arguments, it worked! Can't argue with that.

[Devil07]

YES!!!!

Wow, I honestly just can't say enough right now about how happy I am. The VCU loss was my senior year and I remember how awful that feeling was. To see how far those guys have come just makes me smile. I'm so proud of the guys and honestly, I cannot imagine a better way for it to end than for Zoubs to come up huge. He represents to me the journey this entire team has taken. I'm just so happy right now. Let's Go Duke!! National Champs Baby!!!!

[Troublemaker]

All I can say is that I prayed and made promises at certain points in the second half and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Great game.

National Champs, baby.

[superdave]

Cant sleep. I'm emotionally spent. This was one to remember. I'll rewatch later this week and might still get wound up.

I cant believe we never got on a run. I cant believe everything seemed to bounce Butler's way! That was by the skin of our teeth.

Super "Kyle shut down GH" Dave

[cptnflash]

Just an incredible season. Just think back to how we all felt when Wall committed to Kentucky. Did anyone think that Scheyer could be the point of national championship team esp after the Villanova game last year. Go Duke!!!

Thank God Wall went to Kentucky. No way we're here right now if he had come to Duke. We needed everyone we had, an none of the guys we lost or missed out on.

[Relics]

As much as I hope this win sets off the biggest, most alarmingly unathletic pundit-over-pundit Len Elmore's Player Index with matching highlighter matter-antimatter reaction in recent history (exhale), I'm all about keeping things positive:

How about Duke's Big 12?

[oregano1234]

Taking it all in over the last 2 hours and reading everyone's post, I smile even more just thinking how many people doubted Duke the whole year.

How this team took the expectations that goes with the name Duke, even though they were called "unathletic" and analyzed to death about their deficiencies, yet they came together as a team, humbled themselves and accepted their roles and played awesome TEAM basketball.

I'm so very proud of this Duke team. Way to finish Seniors and Way to go Duke, National Champions!!! Proving all the haters wrong!!!

[gumbomoop]

Who really was thinking back in November that this was a championship team.

Well, not me, or at least not quite. However, there were just a few Loony Optimists who argued that Duke was legitimately preseason top 10, and could make a deep run in NCAAT. That was a minority viewpoint, but it was part of the vigorous preseason debate in several threads. I could prove it, if challenged.

But if we fast-forward to March 1, 2010, both davekay1971 and I - thinking good karma vibes all the way - did suggest that this would be the way season ended. For proof, check out the "Duke-UVa Post-Game" thread, post #s 56 and 57.

I'm telling you, good karma vibes.

[BD80]

Agree...I do not understand why Zoubek purposedly missed it. Had he made it the worst that could happened would have been an overtime game. Also Butler had no time outs left.

Could someone with more basketball acumen than me, explain the strategy in missing the free throw

Especially because Howard threw his shoulder into that pick to get Hayward clear of Kyle.

But the clock doesn't start until the ball is touched. ...

... I'm inclined to go with whatever K decides, win or lose. This year's been perhaps his greatest coaching job I've had the good fortune to witness.

I agree with the call. Two advantages:

One, it will surprise Butler, and they would not be as likely to be ready or prepared to get off a good shot. Since they are a well coached team, they would be ready to run an end to end inbound play, even without a timeout. By missing, Butler is not set up to run anything they have prepared.

Two, the clock starts as soon as the rebound is touched. This is not likely to be the player they want to take the shot, and the rebounder is going to be facing away from the direction the ball needs to travel. With an inbound pass, the clock starts when a player receives the pass which could be much farther down court and with the player moving toward the goal.

With just 3 seconds left, I think our odds of winning went up considerably by burning extra fractions of seconds with the missed free throw and by avoiding a set play, even compared to the alternative, where the only downside was overtime.

The tactic can only be performed by a REALLY smart player. Can you imagine if Brian had reflexively gone for the rebound and fouled?

[bjornolf]

How much credit does Seth Curry deserve for helping the team prepare? Reminds me a little of when we had Dahntay Jones in a similar position after he transferred. I'm sure both were HUGE.

[Kewlswim]

Enough said. I am sooooooooooooo happy.

GO DUKE!

[MarkD83]

Duke Blue Devils 2010 National Champs! Love how that sounds. Loved the big plays by Kyle, Jon, Lance and Z.

I know this isn't the hater thread but I thought this post by Ken Pom on his blog about one of many e-mails he got in Feb and March on how Duke failed the eye test.

The problem with the eye test is that there is no "eye" in team. Sportswriters these days are so enamored by great players that they forget that bball is a team game.

Congratulations to a great Duke TEAM!!!!!

[BD80]

If the ACC has bee so far down recently compared to other conferences such as the Big East, why have 5 of the last 10 champs come from the ACC?

[hc5duke]

saw this on espn and had to take a screenshot:



lowest 3 fg percentages all came against us.