Is it just me?

[feldspar]

Or is everyone (pundits) seriously overestimating UNC this year? How can you lose your top 7 scorers and make it back to the Final Four (as Grant Wahl is predicting). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be the favorite to win the ACC (as Jimmy Dykes said the last two nights). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be picked as the consensus #4 team in the nation?

Yeah, yeah, I know they're the pundits, but am I not seeing something here? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Carolina finish 3rd in the ACC and get knocked out in the Sweet 16 or even 2nd round of the Big Dance this year.

[Huh?]

WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY Overrated.

Who is going to score for them, Thompson will get them about 15 a game, then who?

Also, did Dykes say the exact same thing Monday and Tuesday? No new thoughts Jimmy?

[Battierfan01]

WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY Overrated.

Who is going to score for them, Thompson will get them about 15 a game, then who?

Also, did Dykes say the exact same thing Monday and Tuesday? No new thoughts Jimmy?

Isn't Jimmy the one who put Duke on his upset radar yesterday?? Maybe this is the same radar he used to predict UNC would win the ACC. :D

[Cameron]

You could also look at this another way and say everyone is underestimating Duke. Extremely. SI doesn't even have us in its Top Ten list. The "experts" have finally "had enough" of Duke losing early in the NCAAs, huh? I'm sure they're reveling in this blind dislike right now. Think the Blue Devils have closed up shop in college basketball.

But, as soon as we start to show the country who we are this season (a legit Final Four contender and possible national champion), the media will be back, groveling for anything Duke. That's how it works. We've seen it before.

If it wasn't, we wouldn't be on ESPN 30 times a year. I don't know why we don't just draw up a contract, ala Notre Dame.

As for Carolina's 2009-10 outfit, it's one of the most overrated teams in recent memory. Although, Kentucky is right there with them.

[NSDukeFan]

Or is everyone (pundits) seriously overestimating UNC this year? How can you lose your top 7 scorers and make it back to the Final Four (as Grant Wahl is predicting). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be the favorite to win the ACC (as Jimmy Dykes said the last two nights). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be picked as the consensus #4 team in the nation?

Yeah, yeah, I know they're the pundits, but am I not seeing something here? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Carolina finish 3rd in the ACC and get knocked out in the Sweet 16 or even 2nd round of the Big Dance this year.

I saw this on ESPN (losing their top 7 scorers) as well. UNC actually lost their top 4 scorers (Tyler, Ty, Wayne, Danny). Deon was fifth, Davis and Zeller next?, Graves in there. I agree they are not the 4th best team in the country right now, but expect them to be contending for the ACC title when all is said and done. I believe there are still a few months until February and March and some very talented freshmen may improve by then.

[Carolina_Blue]

Or is everyone (pundits) seriously overestimating UNC this year? How can you lose your top 7 scorers and make it back to the Final Four (as Grant Wahl is predicting). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be the favorite to win the ACC (as Jimmy Dykes said the last two nights). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be picked as the consensus #4 team in the nation?

Yeah, yeah, I know they're the pundits, but am I not seeing something here? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Carolina finish 3rd in the ACC and get knocked out in the Sweet 16 or even 2nd round of the Big Dance this year.

Probably one of the few times I will agree with people on this post....I do not believe that Carolina is the 4th best team in the nation...it is impossible to replace what was lost with talent and experience even with a roster full of mcdonalds all-americans....I would consider the sweet 16 a successful season...but once again the victory bell is in chapel hill so if we can split the series in basketball I wont complain

[RaineyDevil]

I saw this on ESPN (losing their top 7 scorers) as well. UNC actually lost their top 4 scorers (Tyler, Ty, Wayne, Danny). Deon was fifth, Davis and Zeller next?, Graves in there. I agree they are not the 4th best team in the country right now, but expect them to be contending for the ACC title when all is said and done. I believe there are still a few months until February and March and some very talented freshmen may improve by then.

Very very true. The holes have a few talented freshmen, but ours outshine theirs and ours have the luxury of not wearing a color made for women and children! Go Devils

[jipops]

Around this time of year, it's name and reputation that tends to give you a high ranking. Duke has been seriously over-rated this early in seasons past as well.

I still think UNC will be very tough. Yet they may hit some bumps along the way as they figure out their guard play.

[riverside6]

Also way underrated: Clemson

Too bad there is no Clemson @ UNC game this year, darn unbalanced schedule.

[whereinthehellami]

Good call Feldspar. I think UNC gets stronger as the season goes on and they certainly have the talent but you just don't reload after losing that many players. The last time they went through this Hanny was a freshman and he played way beyond his years. I don't see that player on their team this year. They are talented but just do not have that game changer. Its funny because I've heard alot of pundits say that Duke doesn't have that 1 guy that can win the game for you, which to me is totaly backwards. Its early though.

Now KY is enigmatic to me. They have more NBA talent than anyone else. They've got "ATHLETES" running all over the gym. But its alot of young talent that hasn't ever won anything. Who is the leader? Will they develop any chemistry? Can they consistently hit perimeter shots? Is Cal the most corrupt coach ever (just couldn't help myself)? My head says that KY will be #1 at the end when it counts the most but my heart says that they get bumped out around the sweet 16 and they all go pro slandering and backstabbing each other on their way to the league.

[feldspar]

but expect them to be contending for the ACC title when all is said and done.

I agree, but we all (should) know that contending for the ACC title does not a national powerhouse make.

[feldspar]

Teams I think (from watching VERY LITTLE basketball so far) are legit:

Michigan State - how can you not root for a guy like Tom Izzo?
Kansas - Holy moly they have a butt-load of good players
Washington - They have a deep, deep bench
Duke - Well, duh, of course I'm going to pick them :p, but last night was more than impressive.

Teams I think are overrated:

UNC - What I said above
Texas - This is a team that went 9-7 in conference last year...I'm not seeing a whole lot that is different about this year's team other than Jai Lucas...is he enough to catapult them to the FF? I think not
Kentucky - They have to actually get to a Final Four before I can ever believe they are capable of getting to a Final Four.
Purdue - They're always a bit overrated to start the season. This year they're just extra overrated.

[NSDukeFan]

Teams I think (from watching VERY LITTLE basketball so far) are legit:

Teams I think are overrated:

UNC - What I said above
Texas - This is a team that went 9-7 in conference last year...I'm not seeing a whole lot that is different about this year's team other than Jai Lucas...is he enough to catapult them to the FF? I think not
Kentucky - They have to actually get to a Final Four before I can ever believe they are capable of getting to a Final Four.
Purdue - They're always a bit overrated to start the season. This year they're just extra overrated.

I put UNC and UK in the same category of very talented and inexperienced that may be tough at the end of the year, when their freshmen get some experience.

Texas has one of the top ranked freshmen classes (ranked fifth, just ahead of Georgia Tech) including Avery Bradley, who is supposed to be just a notch below Wall and Favors. That fifth placed ranking doesn't include J'Covan Brown (a top 60 recruit from the year before) and Jai Lucas. So, my impression is Texas has both a lot of young talent, but they do also return most of a pretty solid squad from last year.

Purdue also returns most of a pretty solid squad and their star (Hummel) seems to be healthy after having a bad back last year.

I can see how you can argue all those teams are overrated, but nobody has proven anything yet, and those teams seem to have a lot of talent and will likely be in the mix at the end of the year.

[Greg_Newton]

This is totally fine with me. The fact that Duke has consistently been highly ranked early in the year and proceeded to underperform its seed recently has led to one of the most frustrating knocks on Duke you hear from haters.

And the fact is, all you have to go by is your track record until you prove otherwise. Let UNC have their high ranking and give Duke a lower one - it means zero, and it just means their fans will be more disappointed when they lose and ours will be more thrilled when we win. Plus, it lights a fire under our guys - from hearing them talk, it sounds like they have a chip on their collective shoulder because they're not mentioned with the elite teams.

I personally think we're a top 5 team, but I'm fine with letting the rest of the world think otherwise until we can prove it in March.

[Kedsy]

This is totally fine with me. The fact that Duke has consistently been highly ranked early in the year and proceeded to underperform its seed recently has led to one of the most frustrating knocks on Duke you hear from haters.

Don't worry, it won't last. If we perform well in New York, we'll zoom right from slightly underrated to slightly overrated.

I'm just looking forward to the Duke team continuing to improve (especially once Mason comes back) so we become one of the teams nobody wants to play in March (although having said that, Kentucky will also be one of those teams, and maybe UNC too, although I'm not quite as sold on them because I'm not sold on their guards).

[oldnavy]

Or is everyone (pundits) seriously overestimating UNC this year? How can you lose your top 7 scorers and make it back to the Final Four (as Grant Wahl is predicting). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be the favorite to win the ACC (as Jimmy Dykes said the last two nights). How can you lose your top 7 scorers and be picked as the consensus #4 team in the nation?

Yeah, yeah, I know they're the pundits, but am I not seeing something here? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see Carolina finish 3rd in the ACC and get knocked out in the Sweet 16 or even 2nd round of the Big Dance this year.

It is definately not just you, I said this after the second game they played.

"Too many holes, you can't win with too many holes"!

[BlueintheFace]

Also way underrated: Clemson

Too bad there is no Clemson @ UNC game this year, darn unbalanced schedule.

Are they really? Top 25 team this year and they have not proven anything in the NCAA tournament for decades.

[feldspar]

Are they really? Top 25 team this year and they have not proven anything in the NCAA tournament for decades.

Clemson's MO is to start the season off red-red-RED-HOT and then fizzle once the heart of the ACC schedule hits them.

They've been doing it since the days of Rick Barnes.

[moonpie23]

i've said this before, but, the holes may be overrated in the national picture, but i am appalled at the way a lot of folks on THIS board are seriously UNDERRATING them..


I'm really happy about how duke played last night and you can dissect it to bits about this player and that player.....BUT....they have owned us 7 of the last 9.........

i will repeat.......we need to just STFU until we actually beat them..


don't shoot the messenger

[airowe]

It's not just you, feldspar. I've heard it from many people not wearing Pantone278 glasses.

I've said it many times before the season started, but Roy's system and inability to change that system to fit his personnel will be what ultimately derails this team this season. Without a dominant point guard, the secondary break will fail to create enough points to justify the decision to create more possessions in each game. That system is a low risk, high reward when you have a point guard like Lawson, Felton, or Heinrich. LD2 may pick things up as the season goes on but he is far from dominant.

Their backup point guard, Strickland is more of a 2-guard and Henson is playing out of position at the 3. Funny thing is, he's too thin to play his HS position, PF, and they really don't have anyone else to throw in there. Maybe Zeller, but he's a liability on D.

UNC has a lot of the same pieces, a bunch of two guards (Ginyard, Strickland, McDonald, Graves, Watts) a lot of post guys (Thompson, Davis, Zeller, the Where?s) and a stick figure in Henson who doesn't really fit anywhere on this team.

Sure they'll block a lot of shots and they'll get a lot of rebounds and putbacks, but they don't have the engine to make their car go. I haven't even gotten to their outside shooting, which opened up so much for their inside last year, or their free throw shooting (have you seen Henson shoot them yet?)

This is a very unbalanced and inexperienced team.

The four most important things to me in winning a title are:

Balance, Experience, Go-to guy, and great coaching. I only see one of those things in Chappa Heeya and even that's debateable.

[Duvall]

they have owned us 7 of the last 9.........


I'm all for avoiding judgments based on one week of November basketball, but there's one we do know about this year's UNC team - it isn't the team they've had for the last three years. It's just a different team. Those kids may be talented, but they haven't owned anybody yet.

[jv001]

I think unc will have a sweet sixteen team this year if their guards play as I think they will. Let's face it, hanstravel did not hurt Duke as much as lawson did. Throw in ellington and green from the outside and you had a very good inside- outside attack. I don't see that this year. thompson will be good and davis will probably be good on defense. After that I'm not sold on all their big guys. Just like the jury is still out on our bigs this year. But I like our team much more than the ugly light blue. Another big problem with them is ole roy will have to coach very well this year and I don't think he can pull it off(FF). Matter of fact I look for unc to finish 3rd in the ACC as well. Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but it's just my opiniion. Which does not count for much. Go Duke!

[shoutingncu]

You could also look at this another way and say everyone is underestimating Duke. Extremely. SI doesn't even have us in its Top Ten list. The "experts" have finally "had enough" of Duke losing early in the NCAAs, huh? I'm sure they're reveling in this blind dislike right now. Think the Blue Devils have closed up shop in college basketball.

But, as soon as we start to show the country who we are this season (a legit Final Four contender and possible national champion), the media will be back, groveling for anything Duke. That's how it works. We've seen it before.

If it wasn't, we wouldn't be on ESPN 30 times a year. I don't know why we don't just draw up a contract, ala Notre Dame.

As for Carolina's 2009-10 outfit, it's one of the most overrated teams in recent memory. Although, Kentucky is right there with them.


I'm not sure I agree that Duke is being "punished" because of your recent tournaments with an underestimated ranking. I just think it's hard to estimate the Blue Devils right now, just as it is every November.

I firmly believe that Duke's a Final Four contender this year, but when are you going to show the country that? After potentially beating Connecticut and Gonzaga?

ESPN highlighted important games on the season and the main ones they showed for Duke were all in conference. I know this is just a haters' talking point from a Hole, and most years, our schedule isn't any better, but I just don't think the teams you've beaten keep you under the radar, so much as add to the question marks around your team.

That being said, Carolina is certainly overrated, and should also have started the season hovering near that #10 mark, though recent memory has several teams equally overrated. Wasn't Wake Forest #1 early last season?

[feldspar]

i will repeat.......we need to just STFU until we actually beat them..


don't shoot the messenger

Moonpie makes, as usual, an excellent point. UNC pwns us right now.

[elvis14]

Moonpie makes, as usual, an excellent point. UNC pwns us right now.

Yeah, Moonpie put into words what I'm thinking. As much as I'm excited after our last game, I'm going to try to stay quiet about UNC until we play them and/or they start piling up losses (if that happens).

[feldspar]

I'm not sure I agree that Duke is being "punished" because of your recent tournaments with an underestimated ranking. I just think it's hard to estimate the Blue Devils right now, just as it is every November.

I firmly believe that Duke's a Final Four contender this year, but when are you going to show the country that? After potentially beating Connecticut and Gonzaga?

ESPN highlighted important games on the season and the main ones they showed for Duke were all in conference. I know this is just a haters' talking point from a Hole, and most years, our schedule isn't any better, but I just don't think the teams you've beaten keep you under the radar, so much as add to the question marks around your team.

That being said, Carolina is certainly overrated, and should also have started the season hovering near that #10 mark, though recent memory has several teams equally overrated. Wasn't Wake Forest #1 early last season?

Hmmm...I like this post.

I don't believe Kentucky is "back" just because Calipari is coaching them or they are ranked high or any other number of reasons. I won't believe it until I see it.

I think that's the very same way a lot of people (apparently SI included) feel about Duke, and I don't blame them. Until Duke can prove that, year in and year out, it can contend for the Final Four again, no one is going to have all that much faith in the Blue Devils.