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CameronBornAndBred
05-19-2010, 01:28 PM
Thought this was pretty neat...from Josh Hairston.



Hairston comes from the D.C. area and he's good friends with former Terp Greivis Vasquez. When talking about his trip to the Comcast Center for this year's Duke-Maryland game Hairston let a secret slip (about four minutes in) about the ACC Player of the Year. (http://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/audio/7628912/)
"He talks about Duke all the time, how much he loves Coach K, the staff and the program itself."


http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/7630077/

CLT Devil
05-19-2010, 05:26 PM
Love him or hate him, in my book General Greivis will go down as one of my all-time favorite rivals. He had that panache, machismo that I liked to watch. I don't think he ever really overdid it to the point of being obnoxious, more the way he played to the fans. His banter with the Crazies was always mutual. He was always very honest...except when he said he 'owned Cameron' or something like that and then we beat them by 40. Few players could will their team to a win like he could...I liked him in a strange way.

Doesn't hurt that he admires our program and Coach...would you ever hear that out of a Tarhole? I think not.

Hariston sounds great in this interview, great speaker and has a great sense of humor. Also, coming in knowing his role might be similar to what Lance did, whic was basically do what it takes for the team to win, even if in is limited to playing all-out D, rebounding, screening and not being a focal point of the offense. Looks like we have another solid individual in the Duke Family. Welcome to Duke, Joshua!

Tom B.
05-19-2010, 05:42 PM
Love him or hate him, in my book General Greivis will go down as one of my all-time favorite rivals. He had that panache, machismo that I liked to watch. I don't think he ever really overdid it to the point of being obnoxious, more the way he played to the fans. His banter with the Crazies was always mutual. He was always very honest...except when he said he 'owned Cameron' or something like that and then we beat them by 40. Few players could will their team to a win like he could...I liked him in a strange way.

Doesn't hurt that he admires our program and Coach...would you ever hear that out of a Tarhole? I think not.




I was at that game where we beat the Terps by 40 (41, actually) after Greivis had said that Cameron was "my house." That was the game where the Crazies chanted "Nuestra casa" at him for much of the second half. It was beautiful.

To Greivis' credit, he took the loss -- and the taunting -- in stride and basically owned up to the fact that he and the Terps got punked. My feelings towards him mirror the feelings that I had towards Julius Hodge -- I found him annoying and off-puttingly cocky at first, but he grew on me to the point that I realized, "Yeah, this dude's all right" and ultimately was sad to see him graduate and leave the conference. The ACC will be a less colorful and entertaining place now that he's gone.

superdave
05-19-2010, 05:48 PM
My feelings towards him mirror the feelings that I had towards Julius Hodge -- I found him annoying and off-puttingly cocky at first, but he grew on me to the point that I realized, "Yeah, this dude's all right" and ultimately was sad to see him graduate and leave the conference. The ACC will be a less colorful and entertaining place now that he's gone.

I think Hodge is a great comparison. Both were ACC POY.

Greg_Newton
05-19-2010, 06:40 PM
I've kind of come to love this guy. From when he acknowledged the crazies in defeat in his last game at Duke, to his heartful and appreciate post-game interview after the upset at their place (not to mention his ridiculous performance and clinching shot), and now this, it's pretty clear how much respect and appreciation he has for Duke.

IMO, he did college basketball the right way. I'd give him an ovation if he ever wanted to return to Cameron.

Sgt. Dingleberry
05-19-2010, 07:08 PM
I hated Greivis at first, but the more I watched him the more I loved him...

Sorry to see him go and he was nothing but a pleasure to watch.

airowe
05-19-2010, 07:11 PM
Everybody loves Duke. Its just a matter of circumstance as to when we let it show.

Olympic Fan
05-19-2010, 07:29 PM
In contrast to the Maryland fans and to a bevy of recent UNC players, it's interesting that Maryland's best players have come away from the "rivalry" with a liking for Coach K and an admiration for Duke.

The Vasquez comments are just the most recent example. I know that Juan Dixon, who was the star of the Terps when the rivalry was at its hottest, talked about his admiration for K and even came to Duke for an off-season all-star game that was otherwise made up of almost all Duke players.

roywhite
05-19-2010, 07:38 PM
In contrast to the Maryland fans and to a bevy of recent UNC players, it's interesting that Maryland's best players have come away from the "rivalry" with a liking for Coach K and an admiration for Duke.

The Vasquez comments are just the most recent example. I know that Juan Dixon, who was the star of the Terps when the rivalry was at its hottest, talked about his admiration for K and even came to Duke for an off-season all-star game that was otherwise made up of almost all Duke players.

One (of many) things I admire about Coach K is the practice he has of speaking directly to some opposing players after a game, especially to those that have played particularly well. The respect that Coach K has for certain players is obvious, and it is often returned.

Dev11
05-20-2010, 09:06 AM
I posted a while back that I went to a Montrose game in December to Josh play, but I may have neglected to add that Greivis was there. The atmosphere around him when he walks into Montrose has that feeling of the a hero returning from war, everbody stops to say hi and he's hugging all of his former teachers and high-fiving little kids.

When Greivis saw me and my friend there wearing Duke jerseys, he made a point of walking by and telling us this same thing, how much he loved Duke and loved Coach K. Same wording as this interview. It's certainly genuine, and no matter how much I despise the dude when he's wearing that awful gold jersey, I can't help but at least acknowledge his respect for our program, particularly when everybody within a 50 mile radius of his campus probably tells him all the time how awesome it was that he beat Duke in his senior game.

calvindog
05-20-2010, 11:23 AM
I can't say that I hated him while watching him play. The kid had a lot of guts and was fantastic on the court. He leaves Maryland with a big hole to fill.

Tom B.
05-20-2010, 11:44 AM
One (of many) things I admire about Coach K is the practice he has of speaking directly to some opposing players after a game, especially to those that have played particularly well. The respect that Coach K has for certain players is obvious, and it is often returned.




Reminds me of one of my favorite Coach K moments, which occurred right after the game against UVa in Cameron in February of 1992. That was the game in which Bobby Hurley return to the lineup after missing several games with a stress fracture in his foot. Between that and the general hype surrounding Duke over that whole season as it chased a second consecutive title, there wasn't a whole lot of attention being paid to UVa. Just another in the long list of opponents that would try, unsuccessfully, to beat Duke that year.

Right after the game ended, Coach K walked over to the scorer's table and picked up the microphone to address the crowd. The band had started playing the alma mater and Coach K actually asked them to stop because he had an announcement that he wanted everybody to hear. He said that coming into the game, Bryant Stith needed 10 points to break UVa's career scoring record, and "we tried to play pretty good defense on him, but he scored 17," so he was now UVa's all-time leading scorer. Coach K then presented Stith with the game ball in recognition of his achievement.

I thought it was a very classy gesture to recognize an opponent's milestone like that, especially given that no one would have noticed if he hadn't.

DevilHorns
05-21-2010, 12:08 AM
Short list of ACC non-Duke players that I have liked in recent years (and gave us a fair amount of trouble):

Julius Hodge
Greivis Vasquez
Jarrett Jack

gep
05-21-2010, 12:34 AM
Short list of ACC non-Duke players that I have liked in recent years (and gave us a fair amount of trouble):

Julius Hodge
Greivis Vasquez
Jarrett Jack

For me, I also like all 3, but I would add Juan Dixon to that list...:)

DukeSean
05-21-2010, 01:39 AM
For me, I also like all 3, but I would add Juan Dixon to that list...:)

Pretty sure I will never add Steve Blake to that list.

Lord Ash
05-21-2010, 07:12 AM
I echo most of the posters here... always liked GV. He played with a real fire, and while at times that fire was seen by some as arrogance, I always just saw it as a deep love of the game, and of the spirit of competition therein. He always seemed to appreciate the game and the competition, and I thought that was really evident in his rapport with the Crazies... he got it, you know?

I always loved Juan Dixon. I HAVE to ask; doesn't ANYONE have a copy of that photo of him from the Duke charity game where he was wearing a Duke uniform?! I've been looking for it for YEARS AND YEARS, but NO one seems to have it. It was pretty surreal to see!

Oh, and you can keep Steve Blake and his Johnny-Rocket-Loving-Self. "All these reasons bring me happiness." Steve, your ESSAY brings me happiness, every time I read it.

moonpie23
05-21-2010, 08:40 AM
i like Greivis.....one thing i thought was awesome was how he handled the whole "cameron, yea, that's my house" thing and after the beatdown, he took his medicine, gave props to K and the program....


you never had to wonder if greivis was "up" for the game...

good luck general !!!


oh...ps....juan dixon and farmer blake? not so much...

DukeSean
05-22-2010, 01:15 AM
Oh, and you can keep Steve Blake and his Johnny-Rocket-Loving-Self. "All these reasons bring me happiness." Steve, your ESSAY brings me happiness, every time I read it.

You gotta help me out on this essay thing - you got a link? I would be dying to read it.

DukieBoy
05-22-2010, 01:57 AM
I sat in my dorm room watching Vasquez's bury every shot to end the game against us just shaking my head.

Normally, I'd be upset.

But something about Vasquez makes me like him. Maybe because he genuinely loves the game and plays hard for 40 minutes. I don't know, but I wasn't a bit mad to see him win on senior night.

mgtr
05-22-2010, 02:42 AM
Short list of ACC non-Duke players that I have liked in recent years (and gave us a fair amount of trouble):

Julius Hodge
Greivis Vasquez
Jarrett Jack

So, where are they now? I know that Vasquez is waiting to be drfafter, but what about the other two?

Lord Ash
05-22-2010, 02:43 AM
You gotta help me out on this essay thing - you got a link? I would be dying to read it.

Steve Blake's Ode to Johnny Rockets - where all these reasons bring him happiness. (http://web.archive.org/web/20021213114039/www.wam.umd.edu/~blakes/project1.html)

I believe it is in Jumbos sig... one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

DukeSean
05-22-2010, 09:42 AM
Steve Blake's Ode to Johnny Rockets - where all these reasons bring him happiness. (http://web.archive.org/web/20021213114039/www.wam.umd.edu/~blakes/project1.html)

I believe it is in Jumbos sig... one of the greatest things I've ever seen.

I was skeptical at first. After all, how could a guy like Steve Blake write an essay that could bring so much happiness to its readers? I was mistaken.

The red background and black text make the design just as good as any other's. It is a great essay because it is the only one of its kind. I have yet to read another essay like it. The essay takes us back to the 2000's and reminds us how much fun UMD students had learning to write English back then. All these reasons brought me happiness, too.

miramar
05-22-2010, 09:50 AM
While Greivis came off as obnoxious early in his career, I think he was just starved for attention.

At first I couldn't stand him, but he won me over his sophomore year. During the Maryland game at Cameron, my daughter was in the front row of the student section as always. As he was bringing the ball up, she shouted in Spanish to let him know that he should lose the soul patch. She saw him smile so she knew he heard it, but then he calmly drained a jumper and he winked at her as he got back on defense.

When she told me about it after the game, I figured he was my kind of guy.

Fortunately, the Crazies had him figured out by his junior year, so instead of yelling at him they completely ignored him, even though he had tried to get under everybody's skin by making the comment that Cameron was his house. On TV they even showed a picture from the pre-game warmups, where Greivis was on the floor doing stretching exercises right near the Crazies, with one of the assistants between him and the fans in case anything happened. Instead, the Crazies (my daughter included) were just talking and looking the other way, and I think as a result Greivis came out and played a horrible game. The only time the Crazies acknowledged him was at the end, when instead of "our house" they started to chant "nuestra casa." Nice touch!

No matter what, I can't begrudge his POY award, and I think the "Adios, amigo" article in the Chronicle was well deserved:

http://dukechronicle.com/article/adios-amigo

All I can say now is Buena suerte!

DevilHorns
05-22-2010, 03:24 PM
So, where are they now? I know that Vasquez is waiting to be drfafter, but what about the other two?
Jack is on the Raptors, gets some PT I think.

Hodge was shot in some bizarro incident if I recall correctly, he's playing some pro-ball somewhere (not NBA)

Greg_Newton
05-22-2010, 06:02 PM
I sat in my dorm room watching Vasquez's bury every shot to end the game against us just shaking my head.

Normally, I'd be upset.

But something about Vasquez makes me like him. Maybe because he genuinely loves the game and plays hard for 40 minutes. I don't know, but I wasn't a bit mad to see him win on senior night.

Seriously. When someone starts making plays like that against your team, you just have to sit back and appreciate what you're watching. I still don't understand how he had that kind of touch on the ball given how he released it... it's like he just willed it in. I wish I could find video of his post-game interview, it was pretty neat. You could tell how much respect he had for Duke.

PS - check out Zoubek's reaction in the aerial replay - think he wants to win much? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA_qoFMFITA&feature=related