Originally Posted by
roywhite
As great as that team was (and it was indeed great and a joy to watch) the documentary reminds us just how dangerous the NCAA Tournament single-loss format is.
In some way, the format worked in our favor in 1991 as we beat UNLV, yet could we have beaten them in a best of 7 or even best of 3?
And then in 1992, without Laettner's last shot of a perfect shooting day, we would have lost to a KY team that probably couldn't handle Duke in a longer series, but nearly won that day.
I think the danger of the one-and-done format may lead to the fear-mongering that appears on this board quite often. When Duke doesn't play as well as we as fans (or the players and coaches) would hope, or, gasp, loses a game, many find all the reasons this team could not be successful in the tournament. In a one-and-done format, where Duke is normally a very high seed, there is a high statistical probability that Duke will not match its seed every year, in terms of how far the team advances. This is scary and though this team has had a fabulous season, by just about any possible measure, there have been a lot of close games, and if Duke advances far this year, they are unlikely to steamroll many (or any) teams. There is certainly a possibility of Duke getting beat in an early round, if a close game goes wrong. The flip-side of course is that this Duke team has won a lot of close games, beaten a lot of very good teams and can beat anyone on a given day. This is what makes the tournament so exciting/ nerve wracking.
Originally Posted by
stixof96
here is what you are missing about the kentucky game in 1992.....when kentucky scored with under 3 seconds left and took the lead, Coach K called a time out.......when the players got to the bench, the FIRST thing Coach K told them was.......WE ARE GOING TO WIN THIS GAME !!!!.......and everybody on that team believed it 100% because they had complete confidence in their will to win......i don't know if the team would believe that today....as far as UNLV went....after Duke beat them , they were done for...Duke could have beaten them 10 times in a row....Duke leveled castle in the desert....after that game , UNLV was more scared of bobby hurley than they were of a rattlesnake...and hurley knew it too.....he would have loved to beat that ast again.......LOL !!!!!!!!!!!1
I bet the 1992 team would be jealous of the UNC and State comeback wins this Duke team had this year. I doubt very much this team lacks belief in their ability or will to win. I doubt very much that Duke team would have beaten the 1991 UNLV team 10 times in a row. I expect with a 1-0 lead, that series would still likely have gone 7-3 UNLV. I doubt very much that team was scared of Bobby Hurley, just as the Fab Five certainly weren't, even after he beat them a few times.
Originally Posted by
roywhite
I certainly appreciate the win over Kentucky; I was actually at the game in Philadelphia and enjoy seeing and reading about it...well aware of the account of Coach K in the huddle.
As to the present day, we've seen some remarkable finishes from this group of players, from Maui to Chapel Hill being down by 10 with 2:30 left, to being down by 20 against the Wolfpack with 11+ minutes to go.
These players too have demonstrated a remarkable will to win, and I'm certain their coach has communicated in a similar fashion to them.
In some ways, the comebacks this year have been more remarkable, because we don't have a Laettner, Hurley, or Hill. Let's give this team some credit.
I agree this team deserves a lot of credit for an outstanding season and think you would have to rank Rivers ahead of Laettner, Hurley and Hill after their freshmen years, though their championships obviously occurred when they had more experience.
“Those two kids, they’re champions,” Krzyzewski said of his senior leaders. “They’re trying to teach the other kids how to become that, and it’s a long road to become that.”