and really helpful to me as I sort through what I think about this team. If you look at a the many mock brackets that are being put together by hoop head commentators, Duke regularly ends up as a 1 or a 2 seed. As a long time Duke fan, I think I know what a Duke #1 or #2 looks like and this team doesn't pass that eye test...even though they win. But then I look at all the other teams who could take their spot - and I think, well, they aren't really any better then us, and a lot of them are worse. So it makes sense.

I agree with the posters who say that this team is competing against our memories of great Duke teams/players of the past. But I would also argue that this team is competing against its own potential. We see sparks of greatness from almost all of our players sometimes, only to have them regress/disappear soon thereafter. I think the angst about this team has to due with inconsistency that we are not used to seeing.

that said, we also have talent that allows for a team to have a different hero every night.

Again incredibly useful perspective.