Quote Originally Posted by Devil07 View Post
Not to pinpoint you in particular, but I don't think there's anything wrong with being concerned about this situation. We built our entire offensive and defensive strategies around having Kyrie out there. While I'm sure that we can and will adjust, we are going to have to play a significantly different style of ball if he's out for an extended period of time. Even Coach K said last night that this "changes everything." With the kind of expectations that we have for this team, that's a really big deal. I'm not proclaiming that "it's over" or any such nonsense, but I don't know how Duke fans can't be somewhat concerned.
Very well said. Anyone here that thinks this injury is only a "bump in the road" or some such thing simply does not understand how valuable this kid is/was to us. Kyrie not only had the ability to be a one man fast break; he not only had the ability to create for himself or a teammate if an offensive set was stagnant; he not only was shooting lights out from long range; he not only was creating havoc for every defense that faced him; he not only was our best/quickest perimeter defender... And the list goes on and on and on. This injury absolutely does change everything! Anyone that thinks all this does is bring Duke down to everyone else's level is fooling themselves.

Now, having said all that, am I saying the season is over? Of course not. But don't fool yourself into thinking that everything is still fine and dandy. This injury affects everything this team was planning on doing both offensively and defensively. For one thing we now no longer have the ability to really press like we wanted to on defense. For another thing we are not going to be able to really lock down on the quicker point guards we face.

We'll adjust, but don't kid yourself folks. This is a big, big, deal.

And I just feel sick to my stomach for Kyrie. He was playing absolutely spectacular bball in these early weeks, and he was clearly on track to not only be ACC Freshman of the year, but potentially the NCAA Player of the Year. He was playing well enough for that to be a real possibility!

Get well soon, young man. You have our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.