No Surprise - Duke No. 1 in AP Preseason Poll

[mr. synellinden]

For the seventh time (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/10/28/ap.poll.ap/index.html?eref=sihp), tied with UNC and second only to UCLA. I've read quotes like these from Coach K before, and I love the approach of pursuing rather than defending.

[OldPhiKap]

I think that Carolina will be improved by the end of the season, but not sure they start at #8. It will be interesting to see what happens if they hit some early trouble and drop down a bunch.

That being said, I would not be surprised to see them end the season in the second to fourth seed range.

[Jderf]

For the seventh time (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/ncaa/10/28/ap.poll.ap/index.html?eref=sihp), tied with UNC and second only to UCLA. I've read quotes like these from Coach K before, and I love the approach of pursuing rather than defending.

I thought it was interesting that, out of the seven times we've been ranked #1 in the preseason, we only won the NCAA tournament once. Here's to hoping we improve that ratio.

[SCMatt33]

Lucky for us, the AP poll does not share the same anonymity as the coaches poll. Here is the full report on Duke from Pollspeak (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&v=&t1=24&w=1&r=T). There were two voters who ranked Duke 3rd, and guess what, one of them was John Feinstein (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&t1=24&t2=&v=126&w=1&r=V), who also ranks UNC at 7. If you think that's bad, there were two guys who ranked UNC as high as 3rd, and both have Duke 2nd (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&t1=67&v=126&w=1&r=T)! Really? I understand a lot of different opinions on where UNC is right now. You can argue that Harrison Barnes is good enough, along with some improvement in guard play and Ol' Roy's reputation, is enough to earn a top ten ranking, but there are seriously 2 people who think that they should be a favorite for the Final Four and one spot behind Duke. That's pretty ridiculous.

By the way, pollspeak allows anyone to vote for one good voter and one bad voter each week. I personally picked Feinstein because Duke and K-state lose a similar amount from last year's teams in terms of importance, but Duke was better last year and brought in more because of Kyrie. I wouldn't argue, though if you picked one of the guys who voted UNC at 3 and Duke at 2.

[noyac]

I love how Coach K keeps things in perspective and is not arrogant.

We've been fortunate to be in that position several times at Duke, and we are appreciative when people think so highly of us. However, we have a lot of work to do to get ready for the regular season.---Coach K

This quote says it all to me. We thank the people that think we are the best team this year (not saying we think we are the best) but we still have alot of work to get done.

The thing that impresses more is how instills this same attitude in his players when you hear their press conferences and such.

[Bob Green]

The Washington Post has a poll up asking if Duke will win the Championship. Let's go DBR, skew that poll:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/2010/10/duke_easily_takes_top_spot_in.html

[OldPhiKap]

The Washington Post has a poll up asking if Duke will win the Championship. Let's go DBR, skew that poll:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/early-lead/2010/10/duke_easily_takes_top_spot_in.html

We seem to do best when everyone else thinks the answer is "no"

[Olympic Fan]

I've said it before ... I can see where there's a reasonable case to be made that Michigan State should be No. 1 (I don't agree, but I think it's a reasonable POV). And Purdue, before losing Hummel, had a case.

But frankly, I don't see the high regard for Kansas State.

They lost three starters off last year's No. 7 ranked team, including their point guard and No. 2 scorer, their best defender and their starting center (who was, to be fair, a bit of a stiff).

The return a preseason All-American shooting guard in Jacob Pullen and two solid forwards in Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels.

They are going to try and replace Clemente's 17 points and four-plus assists with Martaviouis Irving, a sophomore who played less than 10 minutes a game last season and did little in that time (1.8 ppg., 0.8 apg., 27.9 FG%). They are going to try and replace Sutton, maybe the best wing defender in the Big 12, with Rodney McGruder, who played 12 minutes a game last year. He has some offensive skills, but will have to go a long way to approach Sutton as a defender.

Their best newcomer is Nino Williams, a top 50 recruit -- a 6-1 shooting guard from Kansas who surprised everybody by qualifying at the last moment (he was slated for prep school).

I don't see how that's the third-best team in the counry. Borderline top 10 IMHO.

As for the rest, my only problem is with Kansas and Kentucky. And in those cases, I really can't criticize -- until we find out the status of Shelby at Kansas and Kanter at Kentucky, I have no clue how those teams will rank.

[FireOgilvie]

I've said it before ... I can see where there's a reasonable case to be made that Michigan State should be No. 1 (I don't agree, but I think it's a reasonable POV). And Purdue, before losing Hummel, had a case.

But frankly, I don't see the high regard for Kansas State.

They lost three starters off last year's No. 7 ranked team, including their point guard and No. 2 scorer, their best defender and their starting center (who was, to be fair, a bit of a stiff).

The return a preseason All-American shooting guard in Jacob Pullen and two solid forwards in Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels.

They are going to try and replace Clemente's 17 points and four-plus assists with Martaviouis Irving, a sophomore who played less than 10 minutes a game last season and did little in that time (1.8 ppg., 0.8 apg., 27.9 FG%). They are going to try and replace Sutton, maybe the best wing defender in the Big 12, with Rodney McGruder, who played 12 minutes a game last year. He has some offensive skills, but will have to go a long way to approach Sutton as a defender.

Their best newcomer is Nino Williams, a top 50 recruit -- a 6-1 shooting guard from Kansas who surprised everybody by qualifying at the last moment (he was slated for prep school).

I don't see how that's the third-best team in the counry. Borderline top 10 IMHO.

As for the rest, my only problem is with Kansas and Kentucky. And in those cases, I really can't criticize -- until we find out the status os Shelby at Kansas and Kanter at Kentucky, I have no clue how those teams will rank.

Kansas State is going to be much better down low with transfer Freddy Asprilla than they were last year with Colon. Also, Clemente put up a ton of shots and made questionable decisions a lot of the time. I think they will be okay without him. I think Curtis Kelly will average very close to a double-double. He's very good. McDonald's All-American Wally Judge should have a breakout sophomore year for them as well. They are very deep and very athletic and I don't see putting anyone else ahead of Kansas State at #3 except maybe Ohio State.

[CameronBornAndBred]

HAHAHAHAHAHA....you have to love the title of this article (from a good humored hater).




Duke Basketball Is No. 1, And Nobody Else Is Close: God Help Us All


It's actually a pretty good look at the coming season, stating the obvious that we SHOULD be better than we were last year.
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2010/10/28/1779824/duke-poll-no-1-associated-press (http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2010/10/28/1779824/duke-poll-no-1-associated-press)

[airowe]

Its highly likely we'll play the #2 and #3 teams before winter starts. This team will be tested early and often.

If Duke ends up with the final AP #1 ranking they will have earned it.

[gus]

I thought it was interesting that, out of the seven times we've been ranked #1 in the preseason, we only won the NCAA tournament once. Here's to hoping we improve that ratio.

1 out 7? That's 14.3%

Of the 54 times we haven't been ranked #1 in the preseason AP poll, we've only been the champion 3 times, or 5.6%.

[dukeballboy88]

unc is ranked higher than va tech but most people think va tech will finish higher in the acc???

[SCMatt33]

unc is ranked higher than va tech but most people think va tech will finish higher in the acc???

Those two aren't necessarily incompatible since Va Tech has a ridiculously easy ACC schedule playing nearly every top team only once. With the unbalanced schedule, better, and higher finish can mean two different things.

[Jderf]

1 out 7? That's 14.3%

Of the 54 times we haven't been ranked #1 in the preseason AP poll, we've only been the champion 3 times, or 5.6%.

Hadn't thought of it like that. If that's the case, though I know it would be impossible, here's to hoping both of those ratios only ever go up.

[OldPhiKap]

unc is ranked higher than va tech but most people think va tech will finish higher in the acc???

It's probably because UNC went deeper in the NIT last year than VT.

[CEF1959]

The relative dearth of ACC teams in the poll (3 in the top 25 and 5 in the top 50 if I counted correctly) is not only disappointing, but may be another reason why UNC is ranked as high as this. A typical non-conference schedule followed by play in a conference that is a little thin top to bottom = more wins.

[Newton_14]

Lucky for us, the AP poll does not share the same anonymity as the coaches poll. Here is the full report on Duke from Pollspeak (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&v=&t1=24&w=1&r=T). There were two voters who ranked Duke 3rd, and guess what, one of them was John Feinstein (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&t1=24&t2=&v=126&w=1&r=V), who also ranks UNC at 7. If you think that's bad, there were two guys who ranked UNC as high as 3rd, and both have Duke 2nd (http://www.pollspeak.com/pollstalker/pollstalker.php?s=14&p=29&t1=67&v=126&w=1&r=T)! Really? I understand a lot of different opinions on where UNC is right now. You can argue that Harrison Barnes is good enough, along with some improvement in guard play and Ol' Roy's reputation, is enough to earn a top ten ranking, but there are seriously 2 people who think that they should be a favorite for the Final Four and one spot behind Duke. That's pretty ridiculous.

By the way, pollspeak allows anyone to vote for one good voter and one bad voter each week. I personally picked Feinstein because Duke and K-state lose a similar amount from last year's teams in terms of importance, but Duke was better last year and brought in more because of Kyrie. I wouldn't argue, though if you picked one of the guys who voted UNC at 3 and Duke at 2.

Thanks for posting this. I checked out the site and I also voted for JF as the "bad voter" of the week. After my vote, he now has 73 votes for "Bad Voter" against 3 votes for "Good Voter". It will be interesting to follow this site weekly and see how he and others vote week to week as the season moves along.

[hq2]

The relative dearth of ACC teams in the poll (3 in the top 25 and 5 in the top 50 if I counted correctly) is not only disappointing, but may be another reason why UNC is ranked as high as this. A typical non-conference schedule followed by play in a conference that is a little thin top to bottom = more wins.

Yeah, in recent years no one else has really stepped up meaningfully. It used to be Duke and Carolina would usually have company with one other team that was good; sometimes Tech, State, Virginia, or Maryland, even Wake and Clemson occasionally, but since about 2002 when Maryland won the championship (and wasn't bad last year, although not doing well in the NCAAs) the other schools have been consistently mediocre. This is not a trend which is good for the conference in general. We need more balance and comp from the rest of the league.

[jimsumner]

unc is ranked higher than va tech but most people think va tech will finish higher in the acc???

Different polls, different voters.

[COYS]

Yeah, in recent years no one else has really stepped up meaningfully. It used to be Duke and Carolina would usually have company with one other team that was good; sometimes Tech, State, Virginia, or Maryland, even Wake and Clemson occasionally, but since about 2002 when Maryland won the championship (and wasn't bad last year, although not doing well in the NCAAs) the other schools have been consistently mediocre. This is not a trend which is good for the conference in general. We need more balance and comp from the rest of the league.

I don't think this is entirely true . . . I think it's more true that no other school has been consistently in the top 10. Since 2002, GaTech in the Jarret Jack/BJ Elder years made a run to the title game and beat Duke in Cameron. Wake Forest with Chris Paul and Josh Howard was a formidable team, NCAA Tourney flameouts notwithstanding. Also, Wake Forest two years ago with Teague and Johnson made a big splash for a while before flaming out at the end . . . again. Clemson has had some teams that performed much the same. NC State's final years with Julius Hodge saw them become pretty good. And Boston College had some good years, too, with Dudley and company.

I think what has contributed to the idea that the ACC hasn't had any other elite teams of late is the poor NCAA tournament performances. Clemson, Wake, State and BC have had some good teams that have fallen flat come tournament time.