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wojcol
04-06-2007, 08:59 PM
I just saw this on a free board at another site I hope its ok to link it.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/news_view.php?art_id=696

Cameron
04-06-2007, 10:46 PM
Thanks, wojcol, that was very interesting. I love the how the coaches say JJ surprised them beyond their wildest imaginations when he became the ACCs all-time leading scorer. I don't think anyone ever thought he'd end his career in Durham the way he did. He was a special, special player. Pretty much one in a million.

How great is Duke Basketball? Damn I love it.

JasonEvans
04-06-2007, 11:11 PM
Some nice info, but didn't that whole thing (except for Wojo talking about Paulus) seem strangely stilted? It felt like canned answers from a PR hack, not a candid conversation with the coaches. All the rattling off of Duke's success statitics adn the such seemed unlike a geniuine conversation.

I dunno-- considering it was a sit-down interview with Duke coaches it felt more like a PR release.

-Jason "still, any nugget of info in the off-season is a welcome nugget" Evans

terrih
04-06-2007, 11:14 PM
I too thought it seemed a little canned. I was hoping for a bit more when it was advertised. Oh well, like you said, every little bit... And that is just the first 1/2. Another 10 answers to follow.

watzone
04-07-2007, 12:10 AM
Jason, this was sort of a PR thing. Assistants Wojo and Collins wanted to set the record straight on rumors and misperceptions ... even concerns. They decided to answer 20 questions for a few internet sites, mine being one of them.

The answers are detailed and some questions are better than others. Still, there is a ton of info in the answers. For instance, Paulus broken foot and Lance transfer rumors.

Anyhow, the questions were sent to the staff -- there was no actual sit down interview. The premium members of the Blue Devil Nation asked the questions in the link below. They are different from the other link.

Some sites decided to keep the Q & A to premium and others thought the public should see. I am of the latter camp.

That said, here are the first ten of my sites q's...

Collins and Wojo answer questions for the Blue Devil Nation (http://myblogdevils.eponym.com/blog)

dukie8
04-07-2007, 12:27 AM
Jason, this was sort of a PR thing. Assistants Wojo and Collins wanted to set the record straight on rumors and misperceptions ... even concerns. They decided to answer 20 questions for a few internet sites, mine being one of them.

The answers are detailed and some questions are better than others. Still, there is a ton of info in the answers. For instance, Paulus broken foot and Lance transfer rumors.

Anyhow, the questions were sent to the staff -- there was no actual sit down interview. The premium members of the Blue Devil Nation asked the questions in the link below. They are different from the other link.

Some sites decided to keep the Q & A to premium and others thought the public should see. I am of the latter camp.

That said, here are the first ten of my sites q's...

Collins and Wojo answer questions for the Blue Devil Nation (http://myblogdevils.eponym.com/blog)

thanks for the link to your q&a. those answers seem more natual than the first batch. i did, however, find the the injury part bizarre. first, they claimed that the reason why marty didn't play more in games (despite often looking great when he was in) was because he had some mysterious ankle injury that caused him to miss a practice here or there (what d1 athlete doesn't miss part of a practice at some point?). for some reason, i just can't imagine matta keeping oden on the bench for most of the season because he missed some practice and his wrist wasn't 100%. it's not like he was limping or a disaster when he went it so this explanation makes no sense -- particularly when the offense was so anemic by year end and, when marty was in there, it seemed like he was the only guy making something happen on that end of the floor.

second, i'm not an md, but i have a very hard time believing that paulus's foot was broken the entire season and he was medically cleared to play. they just pass it off like "yeah, he had a jammed finger and had some surgery last week to fix it up." was it a stress fracture? was it a clean break (i highly doubt it)? a broken foot isn't exactly something that you keep under wraps. moreover, i never saw him wrapping it, holding it or icing it. if he really did have a broken foot and medical cleared him to play, don't you think that some attention would have been paid to it by the trainers? lastly, if it really was broken, then what was the surgery? the whole thing is very bizarre.

Jumbo
04-07-2007, 12:47 AM
thanks for the link to your q&a. those answers seem more natual than the first batch. i did, however, find the the injury part bizarre. first, they claimed that the reason why marty didn't play more in games (despite often looking great when he was in) was because he had some mysterious ankle injury that caused him to miss a practice here or there (what d1 athlete doesn't miss part of a practice at some point?). for some reason, i just can't imagine matta keeping oden on the bench for most of the season because he missed some practice and his wrist wasn't 100%. it's not like he was limping or a disaster when he went it so this explanation makes no sense -- particularly when the offense was so anemic by year end and, when marty was in there, it seemed like he was the only guy making something happen on that end of the floor.

second, i'm not an md, but i have a very hard time believing that paulus's foot was broken the entire season and he was medically cleared to play. they just pass it off like "yeah, he had a jammed finger and had some surgery last week to fix it up." was it a stress fracture? was it a clean break (i highly doubt it)? a broken foot isn't exactly something that you keep under wraps. moreover, i never saw him wrapping it, holding it or icing it. if he really did have a broken foot and medical cleared him to play, don't you think that some attention would have been paid to it by the trainers? lastly, if it really was broken, then what was the surgery? the whole thing is very bizarre.

I'm not sure why either situation seems strange to you. Both players underwent surgery (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=835303)after the season ended.

thomas
04-07-2007, 05:23 AM
I heard Coach K speak at a camp several years ago, and he shared with us that Duke's philosophy has been and will be to not publicize or at times even disclose players' injuries. Doing so would provide to the opponents how to better prepare for us, and besides, it's seen as an excuse.

So, some of our players playing hurt, and we not knowing the full story, is consistent with that.

Carolina, on the other hand, has always listed players as "doubtful" for the next game, as some sort of deception in my opinion. I recall Kenny Smith once recovering from unlikely to play to scoring 40+/- points one game, despite a "broken arm". And i don't think their doctors are better than ours...

dukie8
04-07-2007, 07:54 AM
I'm not sure why either situation seems strange to you. Both players underwent surgery (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22724&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=835303)after the season ended.

you don't find it strange that the coaches now claim that paulus played the whole season on a broken foot? i've had a hairline fracture in my foot and it's not something that you just grind your teeth and play through. moreover, you don't find it odd that the coaches claim that they didn't play marty more because he had some type of ankle injury that did not appear to hinder him when he played but then claim that paulus had a broken foot the whole season and had no problem throwing him out there for close to 40 minutes a game? i do.

i also find it strange that paulus underwent surgery for a broken foot. i'm not an md but surgery is NOT the standard treatment for a broken foot. a little more explanation would have been nice. it's kind of sad that the coaches throw out these bizarre statements and most of the people on here just nod and accept them like they make perfect sense.

devildownunder
04-07-2007, 09:42 AM
I asked this back in December and I still think it's relevant, if Paulus foot was broken all year then why was his jumpshot easily the most improved part of his game and the most consistent strength in his game from day 1 this year? That just doesn't make sense.

Jumbo
04-07-2007, 12:20 PM
you don't find it strange that the coaches now claim that paulus played the whole season on a broken foot? i've had a hairline fracture in my foot and it's not something that you just grind your teeth and play through. moreover, you don't find it odd that the coaches claim that they didn't play marty more because he had some type of ankle injury that did not appear to hinder him when he played but then claim that paulus had a broken foot the whole season and had no problem throwing him out there for close to 40 minutes a game? i do.

i also find it strange that paulus underwent surgery for a broken foot. i'm not an md but surgery is NOT the standard treatment for a broken foot. a little more explanation would have been nice. it's kind of sad that the coaches throw out these bizarre statements and most of the people on here just nod and accept them like they make perfect sense.

No, I don't think it's strange at all. Duke's been hiding injuries forever. Wasn't everyone shocked when Paulus needed surgery on his wrist last year? Meanwhile, I'd been telling you all year that a) I thought Paulus' foot wasn't fully healed and b) that Marty had a "messed up" ankle. As I recall, you dismissed both notions. Well, seeing as they dragged both players in for surgery as soon as the season ended, it sure seems like both played through significant injuries. Then again, maybe they were fake surgeries, just to throw everyone off.

Jumbo
04-07-2007, 12:23 PM
I asked this back in December and I still think it's relevant, if Paulus foot was broken all year then why was his jumpshot easily the most improved part of his game and the most consistent strength in his game from day 1 this year? That just doesn't make sense.

I'm certainly not a doctor, but there are different kind of breaks, with different degrees of severity. Maybe Greg's injury was something he felt when moving laterally, but not jumping. Maybe it bothered him after action, but not during action. Maybe it was none of the above. If I recall correctly, Paulus' foot problem was the aggravation of a pre-existing injury. I have no idea what parts of his game it affected more than others, but it's certainly possible that he might have had more difficult dribbling past defenders than shooting jumpers.

willywoody
04-07-2007, 12:28 PM
paulus could have never fully healed from the original fracture which i imagine was pinned at the first surgery. they may have just removed the pin in the second surgery and told him to stay off it for 8 weeks. purely conjecture on my part. as to playing with a fracture and showing improvement during the year it may have to do with figuring out a way to locally deaden the pain, an orthotic insole to protect the fracture, and lots of xrays to monitor the fracture weekly or so. i guess it could be done that way but i'm no orthopedist.

mgtr
04-07-2007, 02:40 PM
Folks, regardless of the canned nature of the replies, I am very glad to have all this info, and take them at their words. They dealt effectively with some questions I had, and I am optimistic that Greg and Marty will recover fully and be better next season.

jma4life
04-07-2007, 02:56 PM
Guys, are you really questioning these injuries. Do you think the staff told Marty and Greg to get surgery at the end of the season for the hell of it. As jumbo said, we don't necessarily no how these injuries affected the players during the season but that does not change the fact that they clearly did have injuries.

zingit
04-07-2007, 02:59 PM
Greg's improvement in his jump shot may have had more to do with his wrist finally being healed than anything else. He had a broken wrist his freshman year, it was repaired and healed, and he came back with a better shot. His GoDuke page (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22727&SPID=1845&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=186183&Q_SEASON=2006) says that he is "a much better shooter than his freshman statistics indicate." I remember when I saw that at the beginning of the year I didn't really like the way they said that because it just sounded so defensive, but now I see that it's just the plain truth.

So maybe jump-shooting was something he was able to do all along and we just didn't get to see it his freshman year. I guess we can add him along with DeMarc and Dave to the "If only they were healthy in 2006!" list. Anyway, I admire his toughness. I'm so glad that my favorite player is on the road to recovery, and I hope he stays healthy!

dukie8
04-07-2007, 04:15 PM
Guys, are you really questioning these injuries. Do you think the staff told Marty and Greg to get surgery at the end of the season for the hell of it. As jumbo said, we don't necessarily no how these injuries affected the players during the season but that does not change the fact that they clearly did have injuries.

yes. it may be shocking but not everyone takes what the coaches say at face value. first, they tell you that paulus played on a broken foot and had to have surgery on it (no mention of what kind of break it was or what kind of surgery it was). i still would like someone with more medical expertise than all of us weigh in on someone playing basketball with a broken foot. we all know that paulus played pretty much every minute of every game the last 2 months of the season (except when he was in foul trouble). then, on the other hand, the coaches stated that marty, despite looking great when he actually played (eg, unc, nc st or vcu) barely played this year because he was nursing an ankle injury. so paulus has a broken foot and played 35+ minutes a game but marty's injury was so severe that he missed a couple of practices and therefore the coaches decided to barely play him the entire season despite the fact that he probably gave the team more offense than anyone else the last month of the year, injury and all. yes, that makes a lot of sense.

Jumbo
04-07-2007, 04:39 PM
yes. it may be shocking but not everyone takes what the coaches say at face value. first, they tell you that paulus played on a broken foot and had to have surgery on it (no mention of what kind of break it was or what kind of surgery it was). i still would like someone with more medical expertise than all of us weigh in on someone playing basketball with a broken foot. we all know that paulus played pretty much every minute of every game the last 2 months of the season (except when he was in foul trouble). then, on the other hand, the coaches stated that marty, despite looking great when he actually played (eg, unc, nc st or vcu) barely played this year because he was nursing an ankle injury. so paulus has a broken foot and played 35+ minutes a game but marty's injury was so severe that he missed a couple of practices and therefore the coaches decided to barely play him the entire season despite the fact that he probably gave the team more offense than anyone else the last month of the year, injury and all. yes, that makes a lot of sense.

Dude, give it up. I know your whole schtick is questioning everything, but this is absurd. When I told you that Marty's ankle injury was bad during the year, you rejected that notion. Guess what? It was. It will probably take him longer to recover from his surgery than Greg from his. As even you have stated, there are many kinds of breaks. Whatever was wrong with Greg's foot was not as bad as Marty's ankle. Let it go, already. You're just being silly.

dukie8
04-07-2007, 05:05 PM
Dude, give it up. I know your whole schtick is questioning everything, but this is absurd. When I told you that Marty's ankle injury was bad during the year, you rejected that notion. Guess what? It was. It will probably take him longer to recover from his surgery than Greg from his. As even you have stated, there are many kinds of breaks. Whatever was wrong with Greg's foot was not as bad as Marty's ankle. Let it go, already. You're just being silly.

i know your whole schtick is to defend everything about the coaches no matter how outlandish. i apologize if i don't have blind faith in what the coaches say -- no matter how farfetched it is. so now, despite admittedly not knowing anything about either injury, you are making predictions about which surgery will take longer to recover from? why doesn't someone with a medical background pipe up and talk about the reality of playing with a broken foot?

Jumbo
04-07-2007, 05:15 PM
i know your whole schtick is to defend everything about the coaches no matter how outlandish. i apologize if i don't have blind faith in what the coaches say -- no matter how farfetched it is. so now, despite admittedly not knowing anything about either injury, you are making predictions about which surgery will take longer to recover from? why doesn't someone with a medical background pipe up and talk about the reality of playing with a broken foot?

I'm tired of reminding you of the countless times I've critcized the coaches at Duke in 10-plus years at DBR. You've been hear a few months. Your facts are rarely correct, including on that issue.

I'm not defending "everything about the coaches." I know for a fact that both players had surgery. So, unless Duke has some really unethical doctors who enjoy operating on body parts that aren't injured, I think I'll just go ahead and trust the fact that both players were, indeed, hurt.
Secondly, I've said I don't know much about Paulus' injury, other than the fact that he aggravated a pre-existing injury. I do know for a fact, though, that Pocius had pretty serious ankle surgery, and that his recovery time is expected to last longer than Paulus'. Just accept it.

Finally, for the fifth time, you keep talking about "playing with a broken foot" as if all broken feet are the same. Here's Coach K's quote about Paulus' preseason injury:
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the injury to the foot of point guard Greg Paulus is, "an aggravation to a pre-existing injury. You can ask our doctor what that means. There was a break there a long time ago and it healed, and it has been aggravated again."

It seems kind of reasonable to think, then, that Greg returned at a point when the pain was somewhat manageable and/or at a point where he wouldn't cause longer-term damage, but that after the season, he still required some sort of a long term fix. There are different kind of breaks, and apparently he was able to play on this one.

Or the doctors, players and coaches are all liars, Paulus really is in the witness protection program (the surgery is just a cover) and aliens are hiding under the floor at Cameron.

At this point, it seems like you're just trying to rile people up for the sake of it. Stop. Now.

Zeke
04-07-2007, 10:25 PM
A good taping job, maybe with a brace, plus an injection of a long acting novocain can hide a lot of things. Good medicine? That is a good question, but it's done.

watzone
04-08-2007, 04:45 PM
I appreciate the DBR linking the Q and A with the staff. Unfotunately, my server decided the day before Easter was the time for maintenance, thus the link was down from 9:30 EST to this morning. It is back up, so follow this link and look for part II sometime on Monday.

Questions & Answers From Assistants at the Blue Devil Nation (http://myblogdevils.eponym.com/blog/_archives/2007/4/8/2866302.html)

Since I contribute here, I am sure giving the link is okay.

billy
04-08-2007, 06:09 PM
As a sports medicine orthopedist (with minimal to no information as to Paulus' specific injury), the most likely nature of Paulus foot injury is an old base of the 5th metatarsal fracture (Jones fracture) that was either unrecognized or treated previously nonsurgically and felt to have healed. (Some fractures can "heal" with non-bony tissue at the fracture site, that tissue being "fibrous", hence their description as a fibrous non-union. Fibrous non-unions typically have no discomfort associated with them and could explain his ability to play with his pre-existing injury.) He then likely reinjured the partially healed fracture (I believe it was described during the season as a reaggravation of an existing injury) and was fitted with custom orthotics. After allowing a few weeks to "heal", he returned to play in essentially the same state as before the injury. The non-union was then treated at the season's end with surgery.

As to whether these injuries are typically treated surgically or not, every Duke player I'm aware of with a metatarsal fracture has been treated surgically; most non-collegiate or professional athletes are treated without. Of course, the degree of the break and other factors can weigh in to the decision.

mgtr
04-08-2007, 07:46 PM
It is great to have a professional opinion on this vs. a lot of guesses by the rest of us. Sounds very promising for next season.

greybeard
04-08-2007, 08:57 PM
If you have an injury that is problematic over time, you probably can find ways of working with and around them, and your ability to do so improves over time. I thought that the place where Paulus's injury showed up most was his passing and handling traps. Shooting you prepare yourself for and you can detect better how the foot is reacting going into the shot, and decide not to shoot, at least sometimes, when it feels, for lack of a better description, out of whack. You learn to shoot off the other foot, and come into a shoot and through it avoiding the pressure points you need to.

Things are much less within your control when passing, especially on the move and when really pressured, especially for a guy like Paulus who was so good at creating out of such challenges; he was born for that and welcomed those opportunities only found himself unable to get it done. Had real difficulty accepting that limitation in himself, or so it seemed, and teams really tried to exploit it.

Paulus's foot seemed to pose much greater obstacle, especially during the first half of the season. He seemed much more stable on his feet towards the end of the season. His brilliance in his body (they're all brilliant in their bodies) seemed to come through and he seemed to find ways to make it all work for him.

The guy showed enormous courage, imo, not for enduring the discomfort, the humiliation/disappointment in not being able to do the things he knew himself capable of and going out their and competing nevertheless.

I'm not doubting that the foot was broken all year. In fact, as rudra and The Flash, I've been saying it all year.

wojcol
04-08-2007, 09:31 PM
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Jumbo
04-08-2007, 10:53 PM
If you have an injury that is problematic over time, you probably can find ways of working with and around them, and your ability to do so improves over time. I thought that the place where Paulus's injury showed up most was his passing and handling traps. Shooting you prepare yourself for and you can detect better how the foot is reacting going into the shot, and decide not to shoot, at least sometimes, when it feels, for lack of a better description, out of whack. You learn to shoot off the other foot, and come into a shoot and through it avoiding the pressure points you need to.

Things are much less within your control when passing, especially on the move and when really pressured, especially for a guy like Paulus who was so good at creating out of such challenges; he was born for that and welcomed those opportunities only found himself unable to get it done. Had real difficulty accepting that limitation in himself, or so it seemed, and teams really tried to exploit it.

Paulus's foot seemed to pose much greater obstacle, especially during the first half of the season. He seemed much more stable on his feet towards the end of the season. His brilliance in his body (they're all brilliant in their bodies) seemed to come through and he seemed to find ways to make it all work for him.

The guy showed enormous courage, imo, not for enduring the discomfort, the humiliation/disappointment in not being able to do the things he knew himself capable of and going out their and competing nevertheless.

I'm not doubting that the foot was broken all year. In fact, as rudra and The Flash, I've been saying it all year.

Aha! I knew you were Rudra! Why'd you switch names? Interesting analysis, btw.

Wander
04-08-2007, 11:14 PM
His brilliance in his body (they're all brilliant in their bodies) seemed to come through


This sentence is kind of creepy. Anyway, I think Paulus' injury affected him during the first half of the season. I guess that's arguable but I thought it was pretty clear. I think saying too much more though is crossing the line from "reasonable explanations" into "making excuses." Paulus is by far my favorite player in college basketball by the way and I really respect how he improved his game and played through the injury.

greybeard
04-09-2007, 01:15 AM
When I first signed on, I had trouble getting names accepted that I'd be familiar with. I chose the sanskrit name of a yoga/meditation teacher, a young guy, who really impacted me a number of years ago. Although he has long since given up using his sanskrit name, thought I'm stop using it when they change format. The Flash was a name from long, long ago, great irony to it, I'm afraid, and then had trouble signing on one time so resigned up using my current name, which fits me well. Rudra was a master of what was easy, which is to not say not requiring effort. It was an honor to use his name, as it is to have my perspectives, writing approach recognized by you. Thanks Jumbo.

I'd say right again, Wander, but I am not sure that brilliance is an overstatement in these circumstances. If a guy like Paulus can compete and prevail on this level, and he can, without overpowering speed or strength, than there is, imo, a brilliance in utilizing the laws of physics, the reading of momentum, the creation of illusion, and the ability to play with different styles that one can take for granted but to me shows incredible skill/art.

I am not found of separating those qualities from what people like to call athleticism, but I understand the meaning. I think many terrific athletetes are brilliant in the way I see in Paulus, Tommy Amakar was one who came to mind for me, J Will but his body and with the ball abilities eclipsed that brilliance. Paulus will dance with forceful defenders, until they try to dance with them, then will become the fullback and blow by them once they are on their toes; he will play the full back with dancing defenders, etc. He will, when healthy, welcome the double team knowing just when to blow through the two guys, or get rid of it, and play defense with the ability to read not just the guy with the ball but others and project the probabilities. Might be projection on my part but I don't think so. The guy is brilliant in his body. I think many guys playing at the high one-A level are, but I think that Paulus has a little more than most. When Duke played G-town his freshman year I had very up front seats and he impressed the heck out of me.

Yeah, Wander, you are right; probably there is a better more toned down word. I like it that you appreciate the guy too.

Wander
04-09-2007, 01:24 AM
I'm mostly just screwing around with ya. I pretty much agree with what you're saying.

greybeard
04-09-2007, 11:51 AM
I'm mostly just screwing around with ya. I pretty much agree with what you're saying.

got, spanked for being mean to somebody, if you know what I mean, so it's going to be an oh so sweet me because I enjoy the give and take here and don't have a clue what is good or not. Sorry, it makes me want to gag too.

devildownunder
04-09-2007, 12:15 PM
As a sports medicine orthopedist (with minimal to no information as to Paulus' specific injury), the most likely nature of Paulus foot injury is an old base of the 5th metatarsal fracture (Jones fracture) that was either unrecognized or treated previously nonsurgically and felt to have healed. (Some fractures can "heal" with non-bony tissue at the fracture site, that tissue being "fibrous", hence their description as a fibrous non-union. Fibrous non-unions typically have no discomfort associated with them and could explain his ability to play with his pre-existing injury.) He then likely reinjured the partially healed fracture (I believe it was described during the season as a reaggravation of an existing injury) and was fitted with custom orthotics. After allowing a few weeks to "heal", he returned to play in essentially the same state as before the injury. The non-union was then treated at the season's end with surgery.
As to whether these injuries are typically treated surgically or not, every Duke player I'm aware of with a metatarsal fracture has been treated surgically; most non-collegiate or professional athletes are treated without. Of course, the degree of the break and other factors can weigh in to the decision.

Yeah, see, it's that bit in bold that's the underlying theme of this whole thread. I don't think people are really all that worried about whether these guys actually had surgery. The real question is, was paulus's performance this year hindered by an injury, or was this just the 100 percent healthy best-o-greg that we saw this year and, therefore, can more or less expect to see again next season?

If the scenario that you described is what actually happened, that's not good news for us.

Thank you for contributing your medical expertise.

billy
04-09-2007, 12:44 PM
You're welcome for the (unsolicited?) take on his foot.

Unfortunately the analysis ends there without further info on his specific situation. My personal opinion is that the injury limited him mainly in maintaining the level of conditioning he had gained over the summer and limited his play in obvious ways (shooting, passing, ballhandling) secondary to just not being able to play for those weeks. Whether his numbers pre/post "injury" bear that out or not.....

For what its worth, he may have been limiting himself a bit (although it sure didn't seem like it) for fear of re-reaggravating his foot in the mid and late season. Fortunately, that fear should be gone once the bone heals.

unwrinkled ear
04-09-2007, 04:40 PM
I'm tired of reminding you of the countless times I've critcized the coaches at Duke in 10-plus years at DBR. You've been hear a few months. Your facts are rarely correct, including on that issue.

I'm not defending "everything about the coaches." I know for a fact that both players had surgery. So, unless Duke has some really unethical doctors who enjoy operating on body parts that aren't injured, I think I'll just go ahead and trust the fact that both players were, indeed, hurt.
Secondly, I've said I don't know much about Paulus' injury, other than the fact that he aggravated a pre-existing injury. I do know for a fact, though, that Pocius had pretty serious ankle surgery, and that his recovery time is expected to last longer than Paulus'. Just accept it.

Finally, for the fifth time, you keep talking about "playing with a broken foot" as if all broken feet are the same. Here's Coach K's quote about Paulus' preseason injury:
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said the injury to the foot of point guard Greg Paulus is, "an aggravation to a pre-existing injury. You can ask our doctor what that means. There was a break there a long time ago and it healed, and it has been aggravated again."

It seems kind of reasonable to think, then, that Greg returned at a point when the pain was somewhat manageable and/or at a point where he wouldn't cause longer-term damage, but that after the season, he still required some sort of a long term fix. There are different kind of breaks, and apparently he was able to play on this one.

Or the doctors, players and coaches are all liars, Paulus really is in the witness protection program (the surgery is just a cover) and aliens are hiding under the floor at Cameron.

At this point, it seems like you're just trying to rile people up for the sake of it. Stop. Now.

gosh, it seemed to me like dukie8's questions were quite fair. and his thoughts had a lot more common sense than the coaches' answers. sorry you found it necessary to be so defensive jumbo. but "stop. now." seems way too far to go when the guy is just asking some relevant questions. asa moderator, it'd be nice if you didn't attempt to stop dialogue like that.

-jk
04-09-2007, 05:05 PM
gosh, it seemed to me like dukie8's questions were quite fair. and his thoughts had a lot more common sense than the coaches' answers. sorry you found it necessary to be so defensive jumbo. but "stop. now." seems way too far to go when the guy is just asking some relevant questions. asa moderator, it'd be nice if you didn't attempt to stop dialogue like that.

Trust me, it's not just Jumbo. Dukie8 has been riding the edge for a while.

-jk

Jumbo
04-09-2007, 05:15 PM
gosh, it seemed to me like dukie8's questions were quite fair. and his thoughts had a lot more common sense than the coaches' answers. sorry you found it necessary to be so defensive jumbo. but "stop. now." seems way too far to go when the guy is just asking some relevant questions. asa moderator, it'd be nice if you didn't attempt to stop dialogue like that.

Well, others disagree, including the bulk of the moderators. And I had a lovely private discussion with Dukie8, and we came to a fine resolution of the matter. So, if you don't understand what was wrong with what Dukie8 was saying, I'm sorry. But Dukie8 certainly seems to now.

Richard Berg
04-09-2007, 05:43 PM
marty's injury was so severe that he missed a couple of practices and therefore the coaches decided to barely play him the entire season despite the fact that he probably gave the team more offense than anyone else the last month of the year, injury and all. yes, that makes a lot of sense.
In February, Marty discussed his injury extensively with Matthew Laurance. Despite its severity, he was reluctant to even bring it up -- no doubt part of the Duke culture of keeping injury information close to their chest -- and didn't want to make any excuses for his play thus far. As we saw in March, no excuses are necessary.

We should be proud of Marty for his tenacity. Why you would turn it into something negative is beyond me. You also seem to selectively ignore information, in order to make it seem like some sort of conspiracy. (gosh knows how many times I've had to remind people of that interview)

Clipsfan
04-09-2007, 07:56 PM
Aha! I knew you were Rudra! Why'd you switch names? Interesting analysis, btw.

I think the post where he said "You guys are killing me!" was a confirmation that he is Rudra :)

watzone
04-10-2007, 01:38 AM
Here is part II of the question and answer session with Wojo and Collins. I hope you enjoy -

Second Q and A session with Assistant Coaches (http://myblogdevils.eponym.com/blog)