ikiru36
08-24-2007, 03:31 PM
If this has been discussed in the past, ad nauseum, I apologize.
There are a number of obvious positives to Duke Men's Hoops being so frequently televised (and as a current West Coaster, I'm not complaining). I have seen this discussed as a negative regarding our being disliked/villified and the annoyance factor of seeing us so much (especially when multiplied to the power of V-as in Richard Vitale.)
As a separate "negative", I often wonder about the "scouting effect" of every player on every team we face likely having had many, many opportunities to watch and scout Duke's team in advance of playing us. Teams know all year if we're ahead on the schedule and even come the NCAA's, we're probably far more likely to have been seen in action, as well as seen dissected by broadcasters, than any other squad. I know that I'd be more prepared for an opponent that I, as a player, had the opportunity to watch a lot, especially being able to focus on the tendancies of the other team's player at my specific position.
I'm not trying to offer an excuse for when we play poorly, but I wonder if this could have anything to do with it often seeming that teams play among their best games of the year against us. Obviously, some of this relates to teams rising to the occasion of being televised themselves against a top team. But do other's think that there may also be an extreme scouting effect which Duke must overcome, as most other teams are far more familiar with seeing us play than we can possibly be with seeing them play?
There are a number of obvious positives to Duke Men's Hoops being so frequently televised (and as a current West Coaster, I'm not complaining). I have seen this discussed as a negative regarding our being disliked/villified and the annoyance factor of seeing us so much (especially when multiplied to the power of V-as in Richard Vitale.)
As a separate "negative", I often wonder about the "scouting effect" of every player on every team we face likely having had many, many opportunities to watch and scout Duke's team in advance of playing us. Teams know all year if we're ahead on the schedule and even come the NCAA's, we're probably far more likely to have been seen in action, as well as seen dissected by broadcasters, than any other squad. I know that I'd be more prepared for an opponent that I, as a player, had the opportunity to watch a lot, especially being able to focus on the tendancies of the other team's player at my specific position.
I'm not trying to offer an excuse for when we play poorly, but I wonder if this could have anything to do with it often seeming that teams play among their best games of the year against us. Obviously, some of this relates to teams rising to the occasion of being televised themselves against a top team. But do other's think that there may also be an extreme scouting effect which Duke must overcome, as most other teams are far more familiar with seeing us play than we can possibly be with seeing them play?