Duke curse - VCU

[Olympic Fan]

Just a heads up ... Miami will take on VCU today at 1:30 p.m. in Puerto Rico. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Not how many people are interested, but the Rams are 2-0. Eric Maynor remains their trigger man.

The 'Canes are also 2-0 and are looking good on the new season. It would be sweet to see them give VCU a first taste of the Duke curse.

[riverside6]

Miami really impressed me yesterday on both ends of the floor. If Frank Haith can keep his backcourt feeding the post, the Canes' could do some damage this year. The "U"'s frontcourt is right there with UNC, Clemson, and NC State as the tops in the ACC.

[duketaylor]

VCU should be pretty good this year with the addition of four frosh from Fla. Maynor only had 6 yesterday in their 73-72 win, but did have 6 assists. Should be a close game today, 1 PM local time. GO RAMS!!

[Wander]

I like Miami as the sleeper in the ACC and think they'll beat VCU.

[Olympic Fan]

Just in: Miami 69, VCU 63

I got to see a lot of it. Miami actually led big much of the second half, but a problem inbounding the ball made it closer than it should have been. The 'Canes had three 5-second calls and an inbounds TO in the last two minutes. They also had a couple of stupid fouls while trying to protect the lead.

But they made their free throws down the stretch and got big games from McClinton and King. VCU never got closer than four points down the stretch.

Interesting commentary at the end, about how Miami's basketball team may be better than the 'Canes football team. Welcome to the club, Miami!

That puts Miami in the finals of the Puerto Rico Tournament ... Arkansas and Providence are in the other semifinal (at least I think ... I watched Arkansas win last night, I think I saw that Providence beat Temple in the other first-round game).

Okay, I just checked -- Providence did beat Temple. That means Arkansas vs. Providence today at 5:30 -- the winner means Miami in the finals on Sunday (the game will be on ESPN2).

While checking, I noticed that Georgia Tech just edged Charlotte (formerly UNC Charlotte) 82-77 in the first round of a tournament in the Virgin Islands. They'll probably get Winthrop tomorrow and should play Notre Dame Sunday.

[Bob Green]

Providence defeated (#18) Arkansas 67-51.

[Turtleboy]

First Mike Cook, now Levance Fields. Pitt has taken a couple of hard hits lately.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

First Mike Cook, now Levance Fields. Pitt has taken a couple of hard hits lately.

Good point. The rest of our foes this season better take note and just mail in their efforts against us. LOL.

[Kathy S]

ESPN is reporting LSU has fired head MBB coach John Brady.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3236726

[wiscodevil]

Barely two years removed from a Final Four appearance but now sporting the worst record in the SEC, LSU has parted ways with head coach John Brady.

[Lotus000]

This is obviously the Duke Curse in action. Just like it wasn't Billy G. at A&M (it was Acie Law IV), it sure wasn't the head coachin' in Cajun Country--it was Big Baby! (well, at least most of it was that lineup...)

[dairedevil]

That was the first thought I had when I read about Brady's firing this a.m.! There are a lot of new people on DBR now. Does anyone still have the list? It's been a while since I've seen it, and the new folks might enjoy the read.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

That was the first thought I had when I read about Brady's firing this a.m.! There are a lot of new people on DBR now. Does anyone still have the list? It's been a while since I've seen it, and the new folks might enjoy the read.

The Curse Strikes Again!! 4/29/2000
Revised August 28, 2003

First noticed at the 1991 Final Four by Julio and his brother the big shot scientist, The Curse has been relentless, and we always ask teams who could beat Duke: is really it worth it? You laugh now, but consider the evidence:

The Duke Curse has struck again! Doug Wrenn of UConn is off the team after a "breach of the peace," and is now off the team. This follows a number of problems UConn has had since winning the championship:
• A drug arrest (El-Amin)
• Hamilton & El-Amin leaving early
• Two car controversies
And then there's Wrenn, who has caused a ton of problems on his own:
• Suspended for the Duke game
• cited by New Haven police for creating a public disturbance
• investigated for swapping boots for tickets (also cleared)
This underscores the dilemma the Duke Curse presents: is it worth it, is it really worth it to beat Duke when you end up paying such a severe price? To recap - and the evidence is getting to be fairly convincing - here's a list of what has happened to people who beat Duke. Doubt at your own peril:
• 1984, Boston College, lost coach Gary Williams soon thereafter to Ohio State. Program revived long enough to beat UNC, then self-destructed and lost Jim O' Brien to...Ohio State.
• 1985, Washington. The next year they played in Durham so riddled with injuries that Detlelf Schrempf had to play point guard. A long decline ensued and their German connection dried up. Decline finally arrested by...Bob Bender
• 1986, Louisville: A long slow descent followed, complete with probation.
• 1987, Indiana: A painful downperiod until 1992 Final Four (where they lost to....Duke). Decline reversed somewhat this year but NCAA struggles continue, losing this year to Pepperdine. Knight also under attack since tournament.
• 1988, Kansas: Probation, lost coach.
• 1989, Seton Hall: slow decline ensued, finally arrested by...Amaker, who very nearly got them into the Final Eight.
• 1990, Vegas. Lost rematch, lost coach, lost most prestige, got Rollie Massimino
• 1991 n/a
• 1992 n/a
• 1993, Cal. Probation, lost coach, big scandal, still recovering.
• 1994, Arkansas: a small probation, faded for several years, just now reviving, but Nolan Richardson is unhappy and muttering about leaving.
• 1995 n/a
• 1996, Eastern Michigan: Lost coach (to Cal), faded from view, not heard from since.
• 1997, Providence: Program peaked, fell, lost coach to UVa
• 1998, Kentucky: Lost players to hardship in '98, draft, transfers at the end of '99, a rash of serious auto related problems, most recently including Desmond Allison's arrest. Tubby Smith is unhappy with the fans and the way they treat his family and is rumored to be looking around.
• 1999, UConn: El-Amin arrested for marijuana possession, , Hamilton left, two car/image problems. Doug Wrenn arrested for alleged shoplifting before the season, suspended twice. El-Amin suffers a critical injury in tournament, team loses to Tennessee in NCAAs. Wrenn kicked off team after a post-season arrest.
• *2000, St. John's: Erick Barkley is being investigated for serious transgressions. Probation is a strong possibility. Agents, "dates," money from rappers reported. Barkley leaves for NBA after sophomore year.
• *2000, Maryland: defeated Duke in Cameron, suffered one of the most embarrassing losses in NCAA tournament history.
• *2000, Stanford: upset by an underachieving UNC program
• *2000, Cincinnati. On the verge of an NCAA championship, their star player breaks a leg on the eve of the tourney. During the tourney (after being eliminated by Tulsa), star freshman DerMarr Johnson announces he's going pro. Nascent dynasty is toast.
• 2000/2001, Florida: lost Mike Miller and Donnell Harvey to the NBA. Had a series of injuries the following season. Knocked out early in tournament two years in a row. Teddy Dupay implicated in gambling scandal, kicked off team.
• 2001 - Duke wins title.
• 2001, UConn flames out in regular season, can't even make the NCAA field.
• 2002, Indiana loses Jared Jeffries to early entry.
• 2003 - Kansas loses head coach Roy Williams to UNC
• 2003 - Former UConn star Khalid El-Amin loses case, ordered to pay $54,000 for beating man.
*Regular season losses

[dairedevil]

Thanks. I had made a copy to show someone at work when it came out, then found it in my coat pocket a season or two later! It could use a little updating, though.

[VaDukie]

VCU falls to UAB 80-77.

[TwoDukeTattoos]

What makes us feel good as Duke fans? When the team who beat you in round one of the previous year's Tourney doesn't even make the Big Dance the next year? Of course. And what makes us feel even better is when that same teams loses (to UAB). And the icing on the cake? Maynor shot only 40% and there were no game-winning shots in the mix.

Of course, It was Mike Davis's (coached Indiana in the victory over Duke during the 2002 tourney) UAB team who beat VCU, however, Mike will get his in the next round when his team faces VaTech (they waxed Morgan St by 32 tonight).

So far so good for Tourney 08. Sort of.

[captmojo]

And the icing on the cake? Maynor shot only 40% and there were no game-winning shots in the mix.

...and no gratuitous facial blood-letting.

[Edouble]

The Duke curse sometimes takes a little while, but Anthony Grant is fired after six seasons and one NCAA appearance at Alabama.

Don't mess with Duke.

[MCFinARL]

The Duke curse sometimes takes a little while, but Anthony Grant is fired after six seasons and one NCAA appearance at Alabama.

Don't mess with Duke.

Arguably this is long enough that attributing it to the Duke curse might, just maybe, be confirmation bias.

[SCMatt33]

The Duke curse sometimes takes a little while, but Anthony Grant is fired after six seasons and one NCAA appearance at Alabama.

Don't mess with Duke.

Really? I would think that if any program shows the extreme selection bias involved in the "Duke Curse," it's VCU. All they've done since then is go to a Final Four, move up from the Colonial to the A-10, and become a mid-major powerhouse, regularly being ranked and getting comfortable at large bids to the tourney. Eric Maynor was able to hang around for 5 years in the NBA and is still playing in Europe, pretty good for a kid who went to VCU before they were a big deal. Anthony Grant had it the worst and all he did was get 6 years of money from an SEC school. I'm sure he'll land on his feet as an assistant or low to mid major head coach. If that's the worst that happened to anyone involved, it's not that bad.