Duke v. WVU Final 4 -- Did anyone notice . . .

[trinity92]

we completely roughed up Joe Mazzulla at every opportunity, especially Lance Thomas who slammed the kid to the floor at least once? I know Mazzulla initiated contact with Kyle early in the game to cut his head, but I swear there was a hit out on that kid as payback for his floor slapping stunt in 2008.

Anybody else notice what I did?

[moonpie23]

i'm not sure how you think this could possibly have happened...


duke is alarmingly UN-athletic.......how could they hang with the tough WVU team.....??


my replay shows us clearly being out run/jumped/pushed/shoved/posted...





http://ui32.gamespot.com/479/702headbanginstick_2.gif

[DevilDan]

i'm not sure how you think this could possibly have happened...


duke is alarmingly UN-athletic.......how could they hang with the tough WVU team.....??


my replay shows us clearly being out run/jumped/pushed/shoved/posted...

http://ui32.gamespot.com/479/702headbanginstick_2.gif


I am in the MOONPIE stable ... for, after all (as was offered on the eve of the game by one of the Hoop Experts, saluting the Mountaineer athletic edge) ... "I think it's going to be a Long Night for the Blue Devils ..."

And lest we forget, on the Sunday night prior to the Final Four weekend, it was the ubiquitous DICKIE V who proclaimed, to the disgust of the other pundits, "THE DUKIES ARE GOING TO WIN THEIR 4TH NATIONAL TITLE FOR COACH K !!! "

haaaaaaaa !

[roywhite]

It wasn't a good night for Joe Mazzula, was it?

I hope his former teammate Joe Alexander got a chance to watch the game also. Alexander followed his 22/11 performance against us with plenty of smack talk. I'm not sure where Alexander might have been when this year's Final Four aired. He could have been with the D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, or he may been back with the Bulls where he averaged 3.6 minutes and 0.5 ppg on 16.7% shooting. Here are the Wiki details on his career so far. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Alexander_%28basketball%29) Hang in there, Joe.

Scoreboard, guys. :)

[m g]

if i remember right, nolan got him for a 5 second violation on either the first or second play of the game. really set the tone

[SMO]

It wasn't a good night for Joe Mazzula, was it?

I hope his former teammate Joe Alexander got a chance to watch the game also. Alexander followed his 22/11 performance against us with plenty of smack talk. I'm not sure where Alexander might have been when this year's Final Four aired. He could have been with the D-League's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, or he may been back with the Bulls where he averaged 3.6 minutes and 0.5 ppg on 16.7% shooting. Here are the Wiki details on his career so far. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Alexander_%28basketball%29) Hang in there, Joe.

Scoreboard, guys. :)

There was a lot of talk after that season how a good Alexander was going to be in the NBA. He was taken 8th overall and hasn't done squat. Duke curse?

[COYS]

I am in the MOONPIE stable ... for, after all (as was offered on the eve of the game by one of the Hoop Experts, saluting the Mountaineer athletic edge) ... "I think it's going to be a Long Night for the Blue Devils ..."

And lest we forget, on the Sunday night prior to the Final Four weekend, it was the ubiquitous DICKIE V who proclaimed, to the disgust of the other pundits, "THE DUKIES ARE GOING TO WIN THEIR 4TH NATIONAL TITLE FOR COACH K !!! "

haaaaaaaa !

I had actually forgotten about all of this smack talk stuff. This is part of what makes 2010 so satisfying. Much of the team that was considered by some of the media and apparently a good number of opponents to be so weak and wimpy won the championship on the back of some of the toughest defense and physical offense you'll ever see. Hard-nosed rebounding, relentless defense, strong screens, endless movement off the ball . . . This team relished the dirty work. Destroying the WVU team that was originally responsible for the "soft" label was just so sweet . . . and oh yeah, they were also supposed to get that other number 1 seed because the Big East was just so much tougher than the ACC.

[Edouble]

I had actually forgotten about all of this smack talk stuff. This is part of what makes 2010 so satisfying. Much of the team that was considered by some of the media and apparently a good number of opponents to be so weak and wimpy won the championship on the back of some of the toughest defense and physical offense you'll ever see. Hard-nosed rebounding, relentless defense, strong screens, endless movement off the ball . . . This team relished the dirty work. Destroying the WVU team that was originally responsible for the "soft" label was just so sweet . . . and oh yeah, they were also supposed to get that other number 1 seed because the Big East was just so much tougher than the ACC.

I know... it still feels so good 5 months later!!!

[AZLA]

we completely roughed up Joe Mazzulla at every opportunity, especially Lance Thomas who slammed the kid to the floor at least once? I know Mazzulla initiated contact with Kyle early in the game to cut his head, but I swear there was a hit out on that kid as payback for his floor slapping stunt in 2008.

Anybody else notice what I did?


"It's a Sicilian message. It means Mazzulla sleeps with the fishes."

(metaphorically speaking of course)

[trinity92]

i'm not sure how you think this could possibly have happened...


duke is alarmingly UN-athletic.......how could they hang with the tough WVU team.....??


my replay shows us clearly being out run/jumped/pushed/shoved/posted...

http://ui32.gamespot.com/479/702headbanginstick_2.gif

Thank you Moonpie, for the most incomprehensible reply possible :confused:

Is this something we're not supposed to discuss? Because nobody is coming out and saying the words-- there was some sort of discussion of how to handle that cocky bas****

Sleeps with the fishes, indeed :cool:

[Scorp4me]

It's only now that I noticed that little animated gif was rocking out...I thought he was banging his head against the wall. Which I thought fit well.

To respond to the original post I don't remember hearing much about that after the game and Lord knows if there was something to throw at Duke they would have done it. So no, I don't think he was handled harshly. I also think you have to look really deep in that game to find that with so many other positives that came from that whipping.

I'm not implying you're reaching, just as someone else mentioned. Even 5 months later I suppose everyone is still loving it and trying to find every little angle from the run.

[DukieInKansas]

Thank you Moonpie, for the most incomprehensible reply possible :confused:

Is this something we're not supposed to discuss? Because nobody is coming out and saying the words-- there was some sort of discussion of how to handle that cocky bas****

Sleeps with the fishes, indeed :cool:

There probably should have been a sarcasm smilie for Moonpie's post. Everyone knows the team was alarmingly unathletic. The team was also soft and shouldn't have gotten the #1 seed over WVU. Therefore, there is no way anyone on the team could put a player from WVU on the floor. :rolleyes:

[Greg_Newton]

To respond to the original post I don't remember hearing much about that after the game and Lord knows if there was something to throw at Duke they would have done it. So no, I don't think he was handled harshly

Eh, I don't think anyone from WVU would have had the gall to complain about Duke being too mean/physical after that whupping. They thought of themselves as the "tough guys", so I don't think they would have whined about us pushing them around afterwards. Way too much pride to admit being bullied by "sissy Duke"!

I think the most likely scenario is that our seniors have known who he was ever since he eliminated from the tournament years ago, and had been waiting for their payback day ever since. The coaches may have brought his words up before the game, but I doubt they even needed to. I'm sure there was no explicit order to knock him down, but you can be darn sure our guys were going to let him know who they were.

Man, WHAT A SEASON! :cool:

[sandinmyshoes]

Coach is from Chicago, so maybe our guys were just dealing out a bit of the "Chicago way" as explained by Sean Connery in the Untouchables.

[AZLA]

To be honest, I think Coach K has his guys so in tune that he doesn't have to really say anything about it. It's probably so obvious to them that it goes unspoken. They're like a tightknit family... that no one goes against.

In fact here's an article excerpt of Scheyer on the subject before the last go around with WVU:

While Scheyer admits that losing the game - or any game, for that matter - tends to stick with a player, anything Mazzulla might have done or said doesn't particularly stick with him.

"I definitely remember the game. You do remember parts of what people say,'' Scheyer said Friday. "For us, we're really not using that as a payback-type thing. For us, of course we want to beat a team that knocked us out two years ago. Who wouldn't? That's our approach."

"But [comments] don't bother me. You know, people are going to say what they say. For the most part, I think our team is not paying too much attention to the things they said afterwards.''

Coach K appears in the doorway softly clearing his throat and nodding, while pretending to scratch his nose.

"But, yah Mazzulla is a good player and we respect him. I'm Sorry, I got to go tape a weapon to the back of the toilet in the men's room. We just hope we can do our best to come out with a win and move on."

[moonpie23]

Thank you Moonpie, for the most incomprehensible reply possible :confused:

Is this something we're not supposed to discuss? Because nobody is coming out and saying the words-- there was some sort of discussion of how to handle that cocky bas****

Sleeps with the fishes, indeed :cool:

i guess the interwebs make it hard to smell sarcasm.... sorry...

[Poincaré]

Remember when Singler's chin viciously attacked Mazzulla's head? Kyle should be called for a foul every time he swings that chin---it's like an elbow attached to his face. He's got an elbow-chin, if you will.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Remember when Singler's chin viciously attacked Mazzulla's head? Kyle should be called for a foul every time he swings that chin---it's like an elbow attached to his face. He's got an elbow-chin, if you will.

Elbow-Chin........LOL. I almost spit my coffee on the laptop. You are exactly on the money or the target (Chin to the head). Adding new word to my vocabulary-- Elbow-Chin. Thanks!!!

This has been an enjoyable thread to read, remembering the Duke ~ WVU game, 5 months later. It was a blast to be able to attend the Final 4 and watch Duke's unathletic team, shread the Mountaineers and send them back to the Hills of WV.

[MChambers]

we completely roughed up Joe Mazzulla at every opportunity, especially Lance Thomas who slammed the kid to the floor at least once? I know Mazzulla initiated contact with Kyle early in the game to cut his head, but I swear there was a hit out on that kid as payback for his floor slapping stunt in 2008.

Anybody else notice what I did?
I noticed that Duke was trying to put a lot of pressure on Mazzula, because he was WV's only point guard, because he hadn't played big minutes most of the year due to injuries, and because Wall had played off him and Mazzula had gone off against Kentucky. I don't think any rough play was because what he did in 2008.

[UrinalCake]

I still look at that WVU game as being our best performance of the year. The Butler game was more significant, of course, and it was a tough and gritty battle, but against WVU everything game together for us. The big three all shot great, the big guys muscled their way inside, and we made WVU look average.

In a somewhat-related note, I saw that Da'Sean Butler got signed by the Heat... good for him, he seems like a good guy.

[InSpades]

It always bugs me when people say that a team played a certain way due to something another player said or did to slight them. I think in a lot of ways it's a worse insult to a team than any "slight" may have been.

You are either assuming that:
#1. They decided to employ a strategy other than their best strategy to "get back at" the "slighter".

or

#2. That they are playing harder due to the slight than they would have otherwise.

I'm pretty sure that Duke went with whatever strategy they thought would give them the best opportunity to win the game. I'm also reasonably confident that they would give 100% effort no matter what the situation.

You often hear mention of "bulletin board material" but if a team needs extra incentive to play their hardest then what kind of a team are they? I'm sure there are some situations where it might apply but they are few and far between for the most part.

[gumbomoop]

Young Mr. Mazzulla is in the news - as in bad news.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/14785/joe-mazzulla-cited-for-public-urination

Maybe needs Huggins' help in getting onto a better track personally.