Duke 2011-2012 3 months later

[freshmanjs]

Just reflecting back on this past season. This team provided 3 great moments that are really cool and worth remembering and celebrating. Some teams don't have any moments that stand out like this.

1) Maui -- really fantastic run through Maui with Thornton's huge shots capping things off. Exciting games and beat quality competition
2) Coach K's record -- what a fun game vs. Michigan State. Andre on fire and the coverage afterwards with Jay Bilas so excited
3) UNC - the dagger. Really epitomizes what is so fun to watch about Austin Rivers and the celebration afterwards was really something

That's a pretty solid set of memories even if things didn't end the way we hoped. I think this team is and will be underrated because of the tough finish.

Great to see Miles and Austin moving on as 1st round picks.

If that's a disappointing season, we really are spoiled...

[ohiodukefan]

I'm sorry. Losing to a #15 seed like Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament trumps any feel good stories last year.

[Kedsy]

I'm sorry. Losing to a #15 seed like Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament trumps any feel good stories last year.

I'm sorry, but I agree with freshmanjs. If all you care about is the last game, why do you even bother to watch the rest of the season?

[CDu]

Just reflecting back on this past season. This team provided 3 great moments that are really cool and worth remembering and celebrating. Some teams don't have any moments that stand out like this.

1) Maui -- really fantastic run through Maui with Thornton's huge shots capping things off. Exciting games and beat quality competition
2) Coach K's record -- what a fun game vs. Michigan State. Andre on fire and the coverage afterwards with Jay Bilas so excited
3) UNC - the dagger. Really epitomizes what is so fun to watch about Austin Rivers and the celebration afterwards was really something

That's a pretty solid set of memories even if things didn't end the way we hoped. I think this team is and will be underrated because of the tough finish.

Great to see Miles and Austin moving on as 1st round picks.

If that's a disappointing season, we really are spoiled...

Yeah, some very nice moments along with one very not nice moment.

[hurleyfor3]

It sucks to lose to a 15 seed, but

1. we weren't beating kentucky (the 1 in our bracket) anyway
2. at least it was a "good" school
3. I spent that day bombing a job interview so it was really just water over the dam

otoh, Austin "did something" during his year here. It was certainly worth having him.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

It sucks to lose to a 15 seed, but

3. I spent that day bombing a job interview so it was really just water over the dam
I was at the Greensboro Coliseum watching the game. My phone rang during the first half and I ignored the call from my brother. He called right back and I answered. Wish I hadn't. My dad had died an hour earlier. Yeah, losing the game was just piling on. It was a bad day all around.

[ohiodukefan]

Sorry guys. I could have taken losing to Xavier in the 2nd round. At least they are a legitimate Div I school. Check out the schools that BEAT LeHigh last year. Cornell, Holy Cross, Bucknell, American!!! There are probably some Div III schools that could have handled them. It was an embarrasing loss and I'm figuring we will see 'highlights' of this upset for years to come when the great upsets in the NCAA Tournament are discussed.

[freshmanjs]

Sorry guys. I could have taken losing to Xavier in the 2nd round. At least they are a legitimate Div I school. Check out the schools that BEAT LeHigh last year. Cornell, Holy Cross, Bucknell, American!!! There are probably some Div III schools that could have handled them. It was an embarrasing loss and I'm figuring we will see 'highlights' of this upset for years to come when the great upsets in the NCAA Tournament are discussed.

I'm figuring we'll see the dagger shot for years to come 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 times every season.

[rsvman]

Sorry guys. I could have taken losing to Xavier in the 2nd round. At least they are a legitimate Div I school. Check out the schools that BEAT LeHigh last year. Cornell, Holy Cross, Bucknell, American!!! There are probably some Div III schools that could have handled them. It was an embarrasing loss and I'm figuring we will see 'highlights' of this upset for years to come when the great upsets in the NCAA Tournament are discussed.

Bad loss? Sure. Will we see it over and over again? Ask Iowa State. They're STILL seeing the Hampton upset every once in a while.


But it is seriously time to get on with your life.


And if you can't appreciate the three moments the OP posted, you should probably quite following sports in general.

[Kedsy]

Bad loss? Sure. Will we see it over and over again? Ask Iowa State. They're STILL seeing the Hampton upset every once in a while.

Or UNC and Weber State (sorry, couldn't resist).

[Billy Dat]

Returning the focus to the good things, how about opinions on the peak of the team's play?

I vote for 2/23 at Florida State. A 10 point road win against a very good team vying for the regular season title. I thought, at the time, it was all coming together and the team was primed for a Final Four run. We never looked as good again.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'm sorry. Losing to a #15 seed like Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament trumps any feel good stories last year.

Will Duke fans be reminded of this ad nauseum in tournaments to come? Absolutely, just as we do remind UNC fans about Weber St (or ought to) on a regular basis. Go to enough NCAA tourneys as a high seed and it will happen to you eventually. Do we deserve the ribbing - you bet. Does it completely negate everything else that has happened in the season? Absolutely not.

Personally, I loved the Maui tournament and as a Rivers doubter his dagger at UNC was one of the top five "moments" I have experienced as a Duke fan in the last thirty years. Stunning, unwarranted, and lovely.

Good/bad yin/yang... Maybe the loss to Lehigh will make us a little less complacent as a fan base and we can get back to enjoying some of these "disappointing" seasons where we only get to the Final Four... /sarcasm intended

Every season is a unique ride. 2011-2012 was a lot of fun and took us many unexpected places. I look forward to next play, next season.

/Seriously, go back and watch that Rivers shot again and tell me you don't get goosebumps.

[elvis14]

Last year was very frustrating. We won lots of games but I knew when we were winning games by a couple of points that a team full of McD's AA should have been winning by 20 that we were in trouble in the tournaments. Lots of guys on here got chastised and called "spoiled" for complaining after wins but even in wins it was obvious to see that this team didn't have "it". Sadly, there are people being chastised in this thread, still, even after the Lehigh debacle. The UNC game was great but what it did was showed was the potential that our team had and weren't living up to. I try to stay positive but a year where we struggle to win games and go out to "nobody U" in the first round of the NCAA's does make it tough to stay positive.

[Kedsy]

Last year was very frustrating. We won lots of games but I knew when we were winning games by a couple of points that a team full of McD's AA should have been winning by 20 that we were in trouble in the tournaments. Lots of guys on here got chastised and called "spoiled" for complaining after wins but even in wins it was obvious to see that this team didn't have "it". Sadly, there are people being chastised in this thread, still, even after the Lehigh debacle. The UNC game was great but what it did was showed was the potential that our team had and weren't living up to. I try to stay positive but a year where we struggle to win games and go out to "nobody U" in the first round of the NCAA's does make it tough to stay positive.

Well, the thing is, the in-season comments during the 2011-12 season were very similar to the in-season comments during the 2009-10 season. If the 2010 team had gone out to Cal or Purdue in the NCAAT, droves of people would've said afterwards how they knew that team didn't have "it." My view is it's almost impossible to predict what will happen in the tournament based on what happens in the season. Someone may think they know, but they really don't. Sometimes what they think they know comes true, and sometimes the opposite comes true.

So I say just enjoy the high points and mourn the low points and move on. Your mileage may vary.

[freshmanjs]

Well, the thing is, the in-season comments during the 2011-12 season were very similar to the in-season comments during the 2009-10 season. If the 2010 team had gone out to Cal or Purdue in the NCAAT, droves of people would've said afterwards how they knew that team didn't have "it." My view is it's almost impossible to predict what will happen in the tournament based on what happens in the season. Someone may think they know, but they really don't. Sometimes what they think they know comes true, and sometimes the opposite comes true.

So I say just enjoy the high points and mourn the low points and move on. Your mileage may vary.

UCONN 2011 did not seem to have "it" at all until the Big East tournament started. Nor did Butler 2011. Agree it is very hard to tell.

[mpj96]

Well, the thing is, the in-season comments during the 2011-12 season were very similar to the in-season comments during the 2009-10 season.

This strikes me as quite a bit wide of the mark. The 2010 team was clutch in tight games and iirc never lost at home. They had their own issues with being perceived as unathletic. They started the season with low expectations. They were not immune to blowouts as seen in the georgetown and ncsu games. But their defense was very strong. They dove for loose balls. They had starters with experience and guards with height. They got better and better as the year progressed and as the season progressed. They seemed to have a very strong bond with each other.

If I recall some folks were bemoaning the lack of an elite one-and-done talent like Wall on the 2010 team. In 11 and 12 you didn't read that argument from the armchair strategists on these boards.

No Duke team has the luxury of avoiding criticism. But the personalities, strengths and weaknesses of those two squads were very different and the kinds of criticism the two teams received were very distingushable.