MLax: 2014 NCAA CHAMPS!!!!

[burnspbesq]

In a mild surprise, Duke is the overall number one seed. A 3-1 non-conference record against the field of 18 pretty clearly didn't hurt.

Here's a link to the bracket.

http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-men/d1

Duke plays the Richmond - Air Force winner at Koskinen at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Three must-see games on the first weekend: Loyola-Albany, Uva-Hop, and Denver-Evil.

A double order of schadenfreude seeing Carolina be the only ACC team to go unseeded--and get put on a plane and forced to play against a high-octane offense at altitude. The selection committee clearly loves this matchup, as we get it for the third year in succession. Apparently, ESPN loves it too, as it gets priority placement in prime time on Saturday.

Some key matchups to watch in the first round.

Ryan Feuerstein, Albany midfielder vs. Pat Laconi, Loyola SSDM. Laconi is almost certainly going to be a first-team A-A. When Albany gets offense from its midfield, it makes the Thompson Show that much more lethal because they get to work against defenses that are already being stretched out of shape.

Austin Pifani, North Carolina defender vs. Zach Miller, Denver attack. Arguably the two best freshmen in the country at their respective positions. Berg is going to get his. Adamson is going to get his. If Carolina can keep the rest of the Denver offense in check, huge advantage to them.

Matt Kavanaugh, Notre Dame attack vs. Steven Jahelka, Harvard defense. Teams that have shut down Kavanaugh have beaten ND. Simple as that.

This is going to be fun.

[BigWayne]

UNC got sent to Denver because seeds 6/7/8 are all ACC teams.
With this scenario next year, they would likely be at MD.

[MCFinARL]

This is a fairly promising draw for Duke, assuming the team plays the way they are capable of playing. The first two rounds will provide increasing challenges to build, if all goes well, to Memorial Day weekend. The second round opponent, Virginia or Hopkins, will be a big challenge but not an insurmountable one. And I'm very glad that Loyola is on the other side of the bracket; that's a team I would not want to have to beat to get to the Final Four. Hopefully the team will be able to figure out how to work around the absence of Luke Duprey.

[chrishoke]

This is a fairly promising draw for Duke, assuming the team plays the way they are capable of playing. The first two rounds will provide increasing challenges to build, if all goes well, to Memorial Day weekend. The second round opponent, Virginia or Hopkins, will be a big challenge but not an insurmountable one. And I'm very glad that Loyola is on the other side of the bracket; that's a team I would not want to have to beat to get to the Final Four. Hopefully the team will be able to figure out how to work around the absence of Luke Duprey.

The defense has been very poor since losing Luke , giving up a 4 goal lead late to Syracuse and then yesterday giving up an astonishing 11 goals to a 2 win Boston U team. At least we have a home game against a modest opponent to continue shore up the D. It's hard to win a championship with just offense.

[greybeard]

Very surprised that my guys, Cornell, made it. Terrible end of season stretch. Would have liked to see a match up with DeLuca. Duke has a good shot to make Championship weekend. Cornell, not so much. To Duke, play like it's yours.

[burnspbesq]

In today's play-in games, Bryant held on to beat Siena, 9-8, and Air Force dominated Richmond, 13-5.

The Falcons come to Koskinen on Sunday at 1715 EDT to play Duke in the first round.

[burnspbesq]

Congrats to Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf on being named one of the five finalists for the men's Teewaaraton Trophy, the highest honor a college player can earn.

The other finalists are attackmen Lyle Thompson and Miles Thompson of Albany, midfielder Tom Schreiber of Princeton, and defenseman Joe Fletcher of Loyola.

I don't know anyone who doesn't think Lyle Thompson is going to win it, but if the Great Danes crash and burn against Loyola on Saturday, and Jordan scores 15+ goals to lead Duke to the championship game, you never know ...

[MCFinARL]

Congrats to Duke senior attackman Jordan Wolf on being named one of the five finalists for the men's Teewaaraton Trophy, the highest honor a college player can earn.

The other finalists are attackmen Lyle Thompson and Miles Thompson of Albany, midfielder Tom Schreiber of Princeton, and defenseman Joe Fletcher of Loyola.

I don't know anyone who doesn't think Lyle Thompson is going to win it, but if the Great Danes crash and burn against Loyola on Saturday, and Jordan scores 15+ goals to lead Duke to the championship game, you never know ...

Yes, realistically, Wolf is probably the only person on this list with a chance to beat out Lyle Thompson, but it will depend on a short tournament for Albany and really exceptional tournament play from Wolf.

However, given that when Wolf came to Duke, there were a lot of naysayers who said he was really too small to play well at the college level, it has to feel pretty sweet for him to end his college career as a Tewaaraton finalist with at least 3 Final Fours and at least one national championship on his resume.

[burnspbesq]

Four first-round games today, starting at noon EDT on ESPNU and the Watch ESPN app. Loyola-Albany is up first, followed by ND-Harvard, Maryland-Cornell, and finally Denver-Carolina at 1930 EDT.

There will be a game-day post at collegecrosse.com that will turn into a chat involving some pretty knowledgeable guys. The best place for quick score updates is insidelacrosse.com; just click on the "D1" icon in the upper right of the home page.

While we're at it, congrats to both Duke women's teams. The varsity handled Stanford, 13-8, in their first-round NCAA Tounament game, scoring three goals in the first 57 seconds and never looking back. Kerrin Maurer led the Blue Devils with four goals and an assist, while Kelsey Duryea racked up nine saves. They will play ND at ND on Sunday.

The women's club team made it to the semis of the WCLA D2 tournament for the second year in a row, before falling to James Madison (their third loss of the season to the Dukes). The Devils beat third-seeded Utah (17-16 in OT) and UC San Diego to advance out of pool play. Well done, ladies!

[MCFinARL]

Albany leading Loyola 9-3 in the third. At this point, Loyola looks shell shocked; they will have to really pull it together quickly to get back in this game. Thompsons look amazing--think they can start engraving Lyle's name on the Tewaaraton right now.

[burnspbesq]

Sure didn't see that coming.

The goal Lyle scored with seven seconds to go in the first half was just beyond belief. How he kept the ball in his stick after the pass fake is ... And to follow that with a backhander from a low release point ... # sportscentertopplays.

[Bob Green]

What does the scouting report say about Air Force? I'm looking forward to watching today's 1st Round action and would appreciate one of the knowledgeable lacrosse posters giving us novice fans a heads up on what to expect from the Jet Jockeys.

[burnspbesq]

Air Force comes in at 11-5, ranked 18 in the latest Warrior media poll. They won the ECAC tournament at the expense of favored Fairfield. However, they suffered what is generally regarded as the worst upset loss of 2014 when they lost to VMI in March; they can be good, but they can also be quite bad.

The Falcons are led by senior attackman Mike Crampton, who set the school's single-season scoring record in the win over Richmond on Wednesday. They have good balance offensively, with two 20-goal scorers (Erik Smith and Kyle Cassidy) at midfield.

Like Denver and Syracuse, AF employs a goaltending rotation. Brett Dadiego, who plays the first half, was very good against Richmond on Wednesday.

This is a game Duke should win, and could win easily, but on Graduation Day emotions will need to be held in check.

The other games today are Hopkins-Virginia at 1300 EDT, followed by the neighborhood brawl between Penn and Drexel. Following the Duke game, Syracuse and Bryand round out the first weekend at 1930 EDT.

In case you missed it last night, Carolina was dominated and destroyed by Denver, 9-5. Maryland's Mike Chanenchuk scored with two seconds to go to complete a remarkable comeback for Maryland against Cornell, 8-7 (somebody go to Graybeard's house and check on him please).

And the Duke women are underway against ND in the second round of the women's tournament.

[burnspbesq]

Two Myles Jones Goals by Myles Jones and a buzzer-beater from Dionne.

In the early games, both lower seeded teams advanced: Hop over UVa and and Drexel over Penn. Ivy League goes three-and-out. Can't remember the last time two of the top four seeds went out in the first round.

[burnspbesq]

Jones has three goals and two assists. Keenan with a pair. Fowler 12-for-16. Duke's close D is dominating Air Force's attack.

Dionne limping. Don't think we'll see him in the second half. Move Keenan or Cohan down to attack and put Shaffer on the second midfield.

[burnspbesq]

Duke continuing to roll.

Hipps took a heavy slash (penalty was called), went off holding his left arm, and hasn't returned.

[MCFinARL]

Duke continuing to roll.

Hipps took a heavy slash (penalty was called), went off holding his left arm, and hasn't returned.

Dionne back in the game, still no sign of Hipps though. That is a big concern. The slash was at an angle that definitely could have caused a significant injury. Duke can't afford to lose defensemen.

[MCFinARL]

Hipps now on the sideline with his helmet on, so that is a reasonably good sign.

This Air Force team is really a rough team. Very agressive on defense, and they don't look like they care whether they hurt people.

[burnspbesq]

Duke reserves play the Air Force starters even.

Hop is next.

Note to MCF: That's pretty typical of service-academy teams. You have to match their toughness to beat them.

[DukieInKansas]

Congratulations to Coach Pressler and the Bryant Bulldogs!

[burnspbesq]

Congratulations to Coach Pressler and the Bryant Bulldogs!

Wow. Waldt stones Donahue at the buzzer. A freshman who was mostly overlooked in recruiting racks up six points.

You picked all four of the wins by unseeded teams (first time that's ever happened) in your bracket, right? Sure you did ...

Player of the weekend: Lyle Thompson, Nick Saputo, or Gunnar Waldt?

[burnspbesq]

That was, without a doubt, the craziest first weekend in the history of the NCAA D1 men's lacrosse tournament.

First time four seeded teams lose in the first round. Including the two, three, and four.

Drexel scores three goals in 13 seconds right before halftime against Penn and turns it into a 10-1 run to bury the Quakers.

The Thompson Show dominates the team that was number one for most of the season.

Bryant goes back to the Dome, and this time they finish off the Orange.

Carolina does less with more, yet again.

The so-called power conferences (ACC, Ivy, Patriot) go 3-7 in the first round. Managers at Denver, Maryland, and ND have to pull out the white unis they had previously put away for the season.

Quarterfinal matchups:

Albany-Notre Dame and Maryland-Bryant on Saturday at Hofstra
Duke-Hop and Drexel-Denver on Sunday at Delaware. Duke plays at noon EDT.

[MCFinARL]

Wow. Waldt stones Donahue at the buzzer. A freshman who was mostly overlooked in recruiting racks up six points.

You picked all four of the wins by unseeded teams (first time that's ever happened) in your bracket, right? Sure you did ...

Player of the weekend: Lyle Thompson, Nick Saputo, or Gunnar Waldt?

Waldt was amazing. But so were Thompson and Saputo.

[TKG]

Carolina does less with more, yet again.

In a related story, both Inside Lacrosse and Quint Kessench have selected Carolina as pre-season number one for the 2015 season and the Heels incoming recruiting class as the best in the history of college lacrosse.

It should be noted that the same prediction was made in 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 etc. etc.

[johnb]

Duke reserves play the Air Force starters even.

Hop is next.

Note to MCF: That's pretty typical of service-academy teams. You have to match their toughness to beat them.

I think the original poster said "rough" rather than tough. Several of Air Force's penalties struck me not as rough or tough but as cheap shots. I expect more than that from service academies.

[MCFinARL]

I think the original poster said "rough" rather than tough. Several of Air Force's penalties struck me not as rough or tough but as cheap shots. I expect more than that from service academies.

I'm not sure I am quite ready to say "cheap shots" but some of them were at least questionable. The hits on Casey Carroll and Chris Hipps seemed especially iffy to me.

[burnspbesq]

I'm not sure I am quite ready to say "cheap shots" but some of them were at least questionable. The hits on Casey Carroll and Chris Hipps seemed especially iffy to me.

The first hit on Casey was totally kosher. The one from behind, after the whistle? Not so much.

And I'm sure that our friends over at IC would say the slash on Hipps was nothing but richly deserved karma for last year's hit on Bitter. :p

[MCFinARL]

The first hit on Casey was totally kosher. The one from behind, after the whistle? Not so much.

And I'm sure that our friends over at IC would say the slash on Hipps was nothing but richly deserved karma for last year's hit on Bitter. :p

Yes, the one from behind was the one I was thinking of. And I'm sure you are right about what IC folks would say--though Hipps' hit on Jimmy Bitter doesn't hold a candle to Bray Malphrus' hit on his brother Billy. Jimmy was probably in a great deal of pain, which then went away; Billy was never really the same player after Malphrus' hit.

To be fair, lacrosse is a hard hitting game, and players are moving fast; they probably often make contact without knowing exactly where it will land. But the slash on Hipps bothered me because it was right on the forearm, on a vulnerable spot. It's not inconceivable the hit could have fractured a bone in Hipps' arm. Hard, of course, to say, whether the exact location of the hit was intentional.

[burnspbesq]

Great article on Casey Carroll.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DI/2013-14/news/051414_casey_carroll_homecoming_season_continues_w ith_duke_lacrosse

[fuse]

There is an article in today's N&O about Myles Jones having discussed with Coach K and Coach Danowski about playing on the basketball team after his lacrosse eligibility is complete.

[MCFinARL]

There is an article in today's N&O about Myles Jones having discussed with Coach K and Coach Danowski about playing on the basketball team after his lacrosse eligibility is complete.

Here is the link. http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/15/3864849/myles-jones-standing-tall-in-the.html?sp=/99/103/119/269/

Not sure how likely the basketball thing is to happen, though I imagine it could (think Reggie Love) if there is space available. IIRC Jones thought briefly, during his PG year, of reopening his commitment and taking a basketball scholarship somewhere else (he wasn't drawing all-out basketball interest from schools at the Duke level), but cooler heads prevailed and he stuck with lacrosse, where being 6'4" is a real advantage, not ho-hum.

[burnspbesq]

Myles was also an outstanding HS QB. Not hard to envision him in the Brandon Connette role.

[MCFinARL]

Myles was also an outstanding HS QB. Not hard to envision him in the Brandon Connette role.

That is an intriguing prospect.

[Here is a Turtle]

Maryland doubles up Bryant 16-8. Jumped on them early with four quick goals in the first five minutes or so and kept the pressure on.

Albany vs Notre Dame is next. This is my first time watching the Thompson trio so I'm pretty excited.

[burnspbesq]

The Thompson Show is living up to the hype and then some. Sure hope you're watching this.

[Here is a Turtle]

The Thompson Show is living up to the hype and then some. Sure hope you're watching this.

I am. Worth the hype. Albany just put up two more goals and are starting to run away with it. Maryland will have their hands full with Albany next week.

[Here is a Turtle]

Notre Dame goes on a 6-1 run at the end of the game to take it to Overtime. ND hits the game winner in 1st OT. Notre Dame and Maryland will play again for the third time. So at least one ACC team will be in the Championship game.

[burnspbesq]

As expected, Duke can't keep up with Maryland and Cuse survives BC.

Northwestern beats Florida in OT.

The big surprise: Hoos go into Chappaheeyah and beat Carolina.

[Here is a Turtle]

As expected, Duke can't keep up with Maryland and Cuse survives BC.

Northwestern beats Florida in OT.

The big surprise: Hoos go into Chappaheeyah and beat Carolina.

Maybe an ACC Championship rematch for the NCAA championship?

[JasonEvans]

Not sure how likely the basketball thing is to happen, though I imagine it could (think Reggie Love) if there is space available. IIRC Jones thought briefly, during his PG year, of reopening his commitment and taking a basketball scholarship somewhere else (he wasn't drawing all-out basketball interest from schools at the Duke level), but cooler heads prevailed and he stuck with lacrosse, where being 6'4" is a real advantage, not ho-hum.

I found an article that said he was being recruited by Bryant, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Robert Morris, Iona, and San Francisco before he firmly decided to play Lacrosse at Duke.

-Jason "N&O says Syracuse was offering him a joint Football and Lax scholarship*, so he must have been a pretty decent football player too" Evans

*- By NCAA rule, it would have counted against the Football scholarship limit. If you play multiple sports, there is a pecking order in scholarships and football is higher in the order than Lax.

[Bob Green]

Duke is off to a fast start leading Johns Hopkins 3-0.

[4Gen]

5-0 on the U. Bluejays have one shot on goal.

[4Gen]

6 possession. 6 goals. Mercy rule coming into play.

[blazindw]

We are really good on the transition right now. I think there have been 3 fast breaks we've had, and all were quick goals.

7-2 Duke, 1:20 left in the 1st.

[Bob Green]

End of 1st Quarter: Duke 7, Johns Hopkins 3. Two of their three goals came in extra man situations.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Can someone post a link to watch the game streaming? Thanks! I am following the live stats, but not the same as watching the game!

[Bob Green]

Can someone post a link to watch the game streaming? Thanks! I am following the live stats, but not the same as watching the game!

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/channel/espnu/

[DevilWearsPrada]

http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player/_/channel/espnu/

I can not log in. I tried earlier using the username and password. We do not have EspnU

[Bob Green]

I can not log in. I tried earlier using the username and password. We do not have EspnU

Who is your ISP? Use the username and password for your ISP account.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Who is your ISP? Use the username and password for your ISP account.

I did! It didn't work

[Bob Green]

Halftime: Duke 12, Johns Hopkins 8. JH dominated the last five minutes of the half outscoring Duke 4-1. Josh Dionne went down with an injury with ~25 seconds left in the half. There is a lot of lacrosse left to play.

[MCFinARL]

Halftime: Duke 12, Johns Hopkins 8. JH dominated the last five minutes of the half outscoring Duke 4-1. Josh Dionne went down with an injury with ~25 seconds left in the half. There is a lot of lacrosse left to play.

Injury very concerning. Dionne had been very effective today up to that point.

[Bob Green]

Injury very concerning. Dionne had been very effective today up to that point.

What are your thoughts on the injury play? The announcers say it was clean, but it appeared Dionne was checked high around the throat area while he was pivoting to take a shot.

[burnspbesq]

Would be nice to see Aaron make a few stops.

Would be nice to see Dionne ready to go.

Offensive efficiency off the charts for both teams: Hop 53%, Duke 67% (!). Duke possession margin plus three.

[burnspbesq]

What are your thoughts on the injury play? The announcers say it was clean, but it appeared Dionne was checked high around the throat area while he was pivoting to take a shot.

Thought it should have been a penalty. Hop gets all the calls.

[Furniture]

I hardly know anything about lacrosse but that was brutal. I can't see how any sport could allow that sort of tackle.

[Bob Green]

Announcers say Dionne is done for the day. Another goal for JH cuts the lead to 12-9.

[Bob Green]

Wolfe with a big Goal to stop the bleeding. 13-10 Duke.

[blazindw]

Myles Jones is a BEAST. I'm loving his game.

[Olympic Fan]

Strong fourth quarter gives Duke the 19-11 victory.

[burnspbesq]

NCAA Tournament = ACC Invitational. Denver and Drexel up next, playing for the invitation.

[SCMatt33]

Duke moves on! Defense stepped up big in the second half. They really have an extra gear with Wolf that they haven't had to go to a lot this year, but you really saw that happen when Hopkins pulled within 2. Given that Luke Aaron had a bad day and Fowler had a average day by his standards, it was good to see them end up with such a big margin. The one thing that I'm looking for next weekend is some work on the clearing game. Those issues have flared up a few times this year and was a big part of Hopkins' comeback.

[burnspbesq]

Myles Jones is the Son of Patrick Davidson.

[MCFinARL]

Thought it should have been a penalty. Hop gets all the calls.

Was offline for a while but I agree. It started as a clean hit to the chest but at the end the stick went up under Dionne's chin and looked like a cross check.

[Here is a Turtle]

Denver is destroying Drexel right now so it looks like they will play Duke at 1pm on Saturday.
Notre Dame and Maryland are at 3:30. Still in disbelief that Maryland did as well as they did this season. A lot of people did not even have them in the tournament before the season started.

[burnspbesq]

14-5 after three quarters. So Semifinal Saturday is all rematches. Both Duke and Denver are different, and better, than they were in February when Duke smoked the Pios.

[burnspbesq]

The record for points in a tournament is 25, shared by former Cornell attackmen Eamonn McEnaney and Tim Goldstein. Myles has 15 in two games.

[Olympic Fan]

With all the joking about "Basketball School" or "baseball school" or "football school", this is the eighth straight year that Duke lacrosse has reached the NCAA Final Four. The last time Duke missed, it was because the Devils cancelled the season (for reasons we don't need to dredge up). Duke has reached the Final Four nine straight times in the tournaments they've competed in -- two titles, two runnerups and four semifinal appearances in that span. 2004 was the last time Duke finished the season without going to the Final Four.

Lacrosse school?

[arnie]

With all the joking about "Basketball School" or "baseball school" or "football school", this is the eighth straight year that Duke lacrosse has reached the NCAA Final Four. The last time Duke missed, it was because the Devils cancelled the season (for reasons we don't need to dredge up). Duke has reached the Final Four nine straight times in the tournaments they've competed in -- two titles, two runnerups and four semifinal appearances in that span. 2004 was the last time Duke finished the season without going to the Final Four.

Lacrosse school? Women's golf school!

[Bob Green]

An observation I have from today's game is #6 Will Haus has impressive open field speed. The dude is fast!

[Olympic Fan]

Women's golf school!

Well, five national titles is impressive between 1999 and 2007 ... but the last was in 2007. I would contend that in the last eight years, no Duke program has had the sustained success of men's lacrosse.

The women golfers did have a runnerup finish in 2013 and are currently ranked No. 3, so they could bolster their claim with a title this year.

[devildeac]

With all the joking about "Basketball School" or "baseball school" or "football school", this is the eighth straight year that Duke lacrosse has reached the NCAA Final Four. The last time Duke missed, it was because the Devils cancelled the season (for reasons we don't need to dredge up). Duke has reached the Final Four nine straight times in the tournaments they've competed in -- two titles, two runnerups and four semifinal appearances in that span. 2004 was the last time Duke finished the season without going to the Final Four.

Lacrosse school?

Very interesting observation:D. I mentioned that in another thread also.

http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?33707-Duke-Baseball/page8

(post #144;))

[burnspbesq]

Some things that jump out of the box score:

(1) Slowest tempo game of the season, by far, with only 53 possessions total (!) for both teams. Duke had a possession margin of plus seven.

(2) Both teams' offensive efficiency was off the charts: Duke 19 goals on 30 possessions for 63.3 percent, Hop a mere 47.8 percent (11-for-23; take away Hop's 3-for-3 on EMO and they're still at 40 percent, which is not superhuman but is anything but shabby). Duke shot 43.2 percent to 31.4 percent for Hop.

(3) Ground ball disparity is huge: 38-19 for Duke.

(4) According to the Baltimore Sun game story, Hop only had two shots in the final 24:19. Stanwick buried one to cut the lead to 14-11 with 14:14 to go in the game. The next one was snuffed out by Turri, Haus got if off the rug, and Duke went down and scored to start its climactic 5-0 run.

Wonder if Coach Dano will be listening to Little Feat in the car this week. "Right on through to Baltimore," indeed. Never gets old.

[Class of '94]

If Dionne cannot play next weekend in the Final 4, does that keep Duke from realistically having the chance/opportunity to win the Lacrosse National Championship? It seems like it would be a big loss for Duke if he cannot play; but I haven't followed the team close enough this season to know if this would be true. I liked what Coach D had to say in that if Dionne could not play, it would simply be next man up; and I love that mindset.

I felt like the injuries to Ryan and Kyrie killed our chances to win NCs in basketball; but I'm not sure this would be true for our Lacrosse team because they depend on so many more players to win a game than just one. That being said, I'd love to have Dionne healthy enough to effectively play next weekend against Denver.

[arnie]

Well, five national titles is impressive between 1999 and 2007 ... but the last was in 2007. I would contend that in the last eight years, no Duke program has had the sustained success of men's lacrosse.

The women golfers did have a runnerup finish in 2013 and are currently ranked No. 3, so they could bolster their claim with a title this year.

Lets hope both programs win out thus continuing this discussion on memorial day.

[burnspbesq]

If Dionne cannot play next weekend in the Final 4, does that keep Duke from realistically having the chance/opportunity to win the Lacrosse National Championship?

Others can (and probably will) chime in, but my answer is unequivocally "no."

Keenan is the most likely candidate to take Dionne's spot on the starting attack. He's a converted attackman, and was good enough to start for the USA at the 2012 u-19 world championships. His game is different that Dionne's: he's more of a dodger and wing sniper than an inside finisher. We might, in certain situations, see Bruckner bump up from the second midfield to play on the crease; he plays inside on EMO.

Moving either of those guys up from the second midfield to the starting attack creates a hole in the second midfield unit. It's possible that Duke could go with a five-man rotation, with the guys on the first unit taking turns at double-shifting. That's not a great idea if the weather goes sideways, as it often does in Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend. Shaffer and Scott will presumably gets lots of reps with the second unit early in the week, and get a chance to prove that they can step up. It's also possible that Zenker could be moved up to the second midfield from his current spot at d-mid, with Rhodes stepping into that role. My fantasy is that Haus runs first midfield with Jones and Class, and Walsh becomes the stabilizing influence for Cohan and Bruckner, but I'm not holding my breath waiting to see that.

We'll know soon enough.

[Reilly]

... "Right on through to Baltimore," indeed. ...

And when Duke wins it all, the team plane "takes off from Baltimore and touches down on Bourbon Street ..."

[MCFinARL]

An observation I have from today's game is #6 Will Haus has impressive open field speed. The dude is fast!

Yes. I think Haus is sometimes undervalued because he plays primarily a defensive/transition role--but he is very fast and a very important player on this team. His key ground ball pickup and dash upfield that led to a score was a thing of beauty and a key play in the game.


Others can (and probably will) chime in, but my answer is unequivocally "no."

Keenan is the most likely candidate to take Dionne's spot on the starting attack. He's a converted attackman, and was good enough to start for the USA at the 2012 u-19 world championships. His game is different that Dionne's: he's more of a dodger and wing sniper than an inside finisher. We might, in certain situations, see Bruckner bump up from the second midfield to play on the crease; he plays inside on EMO.

Moving either of those guys up from the second midfield to the starting attack creates a hole in the second midfield unit. It's possible that Duke could go with a five-man rotation, with the guys on the first unit taking turns at double-shifting. That's not a great idea if the weather goes sideways, as it often does in Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend. Shaffer and Scott will presumably gets lots of reps with the second unit early in the week, and get a chance to prove that they can step up. It's also possible that Zenker could be moved up to the second midfield from his current spot at d-mid, with Rhodes stepping into that role. My fantasy is that Haus runs first midfield with Jones and Class, and Walsh becomes the stabilizing influence for Cohan and Bruckner, but I'm not holding my breath waiting to see that.

We'll know soon enough.

This is a thorough analysis of the alternatives. And I agree completely with your overall conclusion that losing Dionne is not fatal to Duke's chances. But, as you point out yourself, he has a very specific type of game that has played a really big role in Duke's offense. I think he would be a big loss, and they will have to scramble a bit this week to game plan for appropriate adjustments.

Didn't Walsh open the year on the second midfield? (Or was that last season?) I agree that might be a viable solution, although I suspect you are right that we will not see that--the chemistry of Walsh, Jones, and Class has been so good it might be too big a risk to mess with it.

[budwom]

Good observations, Paul. But we surely could've had more possessions and more goals had Danowski not called off the dogs in the latter part of the fourth quarter. As you know, we had a two man advantage and
didn't really make an effort to score.


Some things that jump out of the box score:

(1) Slowest tempo game of the season, by far, with only 53 possessions total (!) for both teams. Duke had a possession margin of plus seven.

(2) Both teams' offensive efficiency was off the charts: Duke 19 goals on 30 possessions for 63.3 percent, Hop a mere 47.8 percent (11-for-23; take away Hop's 3-for-3 on EMO and they're still at 40 percent, which is not superhuman but is anything but shabby). Duke shot 43.2 percent to 31.4 percent for Hop.

(3) Ground ball disparity is huge: 38-19 for Duke.

(4) According to the Baltimore Sun game story, Hop only had two shots in the final 24:19. Stanwick buried one to cut the lead to 14-11 with 14:14 to go in the game. The next one was snuffed out by Turri, Haus got if off the rug, and Duke went down and scored to start its climactic 5-0 run.

Wonder if Coach Dano will be listening to Little Feat in the car this week. "Right on through to Baltimore," indeed. Never gets old.

[DST Fan]

Others can (and probably will) chime in, but my answer is unequivocally "no."

Keenan is the most likely candidate to take Dionne's spot on the starting attack. He's a converted attackman, and was good enough to start for the USA at the 2012 u-19 world championships. His game is different that Dionne's: he's more of a dodger and wing sniper than an inside finisher. We might, in certain situations, see Bruckner bump up from the second midfield to play on the crease; he plays inside on EMO.

Moving either of those guys up from the second midfield to the starting attack creates a hole in the second midfield unit. It's possible that Duke could go with a five-man rotation, with the guys on the first unit taking turns at double-shifting. That's not a great idea if the weather goes sideways, as it often does in Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend. Shaffer and Scott will presumably gets lots of reps with the second unit early in the week, and get a chance to prove that they can step up. It's also possible that Zenker could be moved up to the second midfield from his current spot at d-mid, with Rhodes stepping into that role. My fantasy is that Haus runs first midfield with Jones and Class, and Walsh becomes the stabilizing influence for Cohan and Bruckner, but I'm not holding my breath waiting to see that.

We'll know soon enough.


On a positive note, the ESPNU broadcasters indicated yesterday that Luke Duprey was available to play. With one more week to recover, perhaps he will be back next weekend for at least limited playing time.

I'm a little concerned about the goalkeeping-- 4 saves on 15 shots on goal against Hopkins does not seem like a formula for a National Championship. However, I thought Turri looked good and made a couple of critical plays, so I am guessing we may see both goalkeepers next weekend.

[devildeac]

Nice article in the Raleigh N&O this AM with an interesting sidebar about Dionne:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/18/3870589/duke-downs-johns-hopkins-to-reach.html?sp=/99/103/

"The cost of the victory, though, appears to be the availability of senior attackman Josh Dionne, who scored on all four of his shots in the first half. Dionne was decked by Johns Hopkins midfielder Rob Guida just before halftime and returned to the sideline on crutches after the break.

Dionne, who has 49 goals and seven assists this season, wore a brace on his right knee after the game. Junior Kyle Keenan (two goals and an assist) took his place at attack the rest of the game."

I thought the injury was a "cross check" to the chest that ended up with a stick in his throat?:confused:

Maybe the initial blow was not so severe but, when he went down, he sustained the knee injury.

[MCFinARL]

On a positive note, the ESPNU broadcasters indicated yesterday that Luke Duprey was available to play. With one more week to recover, perhaps he will be back next weekend for at least limited playing time.

I'm a little concerned about the goalkeeping-- 4 saves on 15 shots on goal against Hopkins does not seem like a formula for a National Championship. However, I thought Turri looked good and made a couple of critical plays, so I am guessing we may see both goalkeepers next weekend.

Yes, goalkeeping is an issue. Aaron has looked very good at times this year and shaky other times. Turri is a terrific goalie in every aspect other than saves, as much of his play yesterday demonstrated, but he doesn't always see the ball well on opponents' shots. The defense as a whole needs to play well enough so that the goalies don't face a ton of tough shots.

Danowski said in his post-game presser that people get more excited about goalie substitutions than they should, that Duke has several competent goalies and they will play as game needs dictate. Interestingly, he suggested the best goalie on the team may be a redshirt freshman, presumably Danny Fowler--so there is something to look forward to. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see who plays next week.

Denver, as it happens, usually platoons its goalies, playing one in the first half and another in the second. That didn't work out so well for them in last year's final four, as their first half goalie saved a phenomenal 13 shots and let in 2 goals against Syracuse as the Pioneers built a 5-2 lead; in the second half the other goalie had 4 saves to 7 goals allowed and Denver lost by 1.

[MCFinARL]

Nice article in the Raleigh N&O this AM with an interesting sidebar about Dionne:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/18/3870589/duke-downs-johns-hopkins-to-reach.html?sp=/99/103/

"The cost of the victory, though, appears to be the availability of senior attackman Josh Dionne, who scored on all four of his shots in the first half. Dionne was decked by Johns Hopkins midfielder Rob Guida just before halftime and returned to the sideline on crutches after the break.

Dionne, who has 49 goals and seven assists this season, wore a brace on his right knee after the game. Junior Kyle Keenan (two goals and an assist) took his place at attack the rest of the game."

I thought the injury was a "cross check" to the chest that ended up with a stick in his throat?:confused:

Maybe the initial blow was not so severe but, when he went down, he sustained the knee injury.

Yes, the injury was more an indirect result of the hit, and probably would have occurred whether or not the hit had been legal (which the commentators, IIRC, thought it was). He was blasting toward the goal and getting ready to shoot, and he did not see the defender coming. The hit was very hard and, because of the angle of Dionne's body at the time, the contact caused him to twist his leg as he fell and wrench the knee. I don't think the defender could have anticipated that his hit might have injured Dionne in this way. it was just bad luck, really.

[devildeac]

Yes, the injury was more an indirect result of the hit, and probably would have occurred whether or not the hit had been legal (which the commentators, IIRC, thought it was). He was blasting toward the goal and getting ready to shoot, and he did not see the defender coming. The hit was very hard and, because of the angle of Dionne's body at the time, the contact caused him to twist his leg as he fell and wrench the knee. I don't think the defender could have anticipated that his hit might have injured Dionne in this way. it was just bad luck, really.

Thanks for the explanation. Makes more sense now. Sadly.

[Herbie]

Seeing Denver dominate the X in their game this past weekend against Drexel's "specialist" Saputo has me a little nervous and got me wondering how we did on faceoffs and GB's in our earlier match with Denver this year. Turns out not too bad. From the previous game recap:

"At the faceoff X, Fowler won 16-of-27 draws and was credited with nine ground balls. Duke won the overall ground ball battle 32-21, including 17-7 in the second half."

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=2027&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=209407455

Hopefully, history repeats itself this weekend!

[johnb]

Yes, the injury was more an indirect result of the hit, and probably would have occurred whether or not the hit had been legal (which the commentators, IIRC, thought it was). He was blasting toward the goal and getting ready to shoot, and he did not see the defender coming. The hit was very hard and, because of the angle of Dionne's body at the time, the contact caused him to twist his leg as he fell and wrench the knee. I don't think the defender could have anticipated that his hit might have injured Dionne in this way. it was just bad luck, really.

I agree with everything until the last sentence. The blow to the throat seems to have led to the awkward landing, and so while it perhaps wasn't planned, it struck me as clearly a penalty missed by the refs and commentators, but I'll defer to people who actually know lacrosse....

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

I agree with everything until the last sentence. The blow to the throat seems to have led to the awkward landing, and so while it perhaps wasn't planned, it struck me as clearly a penalty missed by the refs and commentators, but I'll defer to people who actually know lacrosse....

I wish someone who does actually know lacrosse could help me understand why an intentional and very violent stick attack across the throat is considered legal. He nearly took his head off. I still think that was a dirty play by the defender ... bless his heart.
Love, Ima

[Faison1]

I wish someone who does actually know lacrosse could help me understand why an intentional and very violent stick attack across the throat is considered legal. He nearly took his head off. I still think that was a dirty play by the defender ... bless his heart.
Love, Ima

Having played the game as a defenseman, I didn't see anything wrong with the play. However, I have not watched the play in super-slow-mo to see if there was any malicious intent.

Unless someone can show me (not being snarky here) different evidence, I did not see any type of intentional stick or slash across the neck. What might be open for debate is whether the defender performed a cross-check (where he has both hands on his stick, but his hands are separated so that he uses the middle of his stick to create a more forceful hit).

A cross-check is often open for debate, and granted quite a bit of leeway. It's tough to spot. As opposed to a cross check, it is perfectly legal for a defender to have both of his hands together on his stick, and make contact with the opposing player with both his fists.

On this specific play, both players were running at full sprints. It happened so quick, I would bet the defender didn't have time to bring his fists together. Having said that, I don't think the hit is to blame for the injury.

The first thing you're taught at an early age is to keep your head on a swivel, especially if you're an attackman. Dionne's mistake is not being aware of the defender. Rather than continuing to run and shoot, he planted both feet to rip a shot. That gave the defender time to make a play. The defender hit Dionne square in the chest. If part of the defender's stick got in Dionne's throat, it's because Dionne got low in a split second. Ref's will give a defender some latitude as long as the hit is not malicious.

In this case, it was a bang-bang play. I didn't like our guy lying on the ground, but I also didn't think the defender did anything wrong. Really, I thought Dionne just had the wind knocked out of him because it was such a good hit.

Frankly, you can't expect to go into the crease area, or rip a shot without getting hit. It's just the nature of the game. Dionne should have had better awareness of his surroundings. If you look at the replays, I don't think he ever took his eye off the goal.

If it was a dirty hit, I think you would have seen the Duke Bench erupt, but from what I can tell, they didn't.

[BigWayne]

I wish someone who does actually know lacrosse could help me understand why an intentional and very violent stick attack across the throat is considered legal. He nearly took his head off. I still think that was a dirty play by the defender ... bless his heart.
Love, Ima

What you describe is not legal, but is not what happened on this play. I went back and looked at it just now on the DVR. The defender does specifically move his hands together as Faison describes. When he makes contact, both of his gloves make contact with Dionne in the shoulder/chest pad area. At no time does the stick or the defender's hands contact Dionne's throat. The force of the hit itself makes Dionne's head bend sideways which could give the impression of throat contact. It was a clean hit and the knee injury was an unfortunate side effect of the hit.

[Class of '94]

Others can (and probably will) chime in, but my answer is unequivocally "no."

Keenan is the most likely candidate to take Dionne's spot on the starting attack. He's a converted attackman, and was good enough to start for the USA at the 2012 u-19 world championships. His game is different that Dionne's: he's more of a dodger and wing sniper than an inside finisher. We might, in certain situations, see Bruckner bump up from the second midfield to play on the crease; he plays inside on EMO.

Moving either of those guys up from the second midfield to the starting attack creates a hole in the second midfield unit. It's possible that Duke could go with a five-man rotation, with the guys on the first unit taking turns at double-shifting. That's not a great idea if the weather goes sideways, as it often does in Baltimore on Memorial Day weekend. Shaffer and Scott will presumably gets lots of reps with the second unit early in the week, and get a chance to prove that they can step up. It's also possible that Zenker could be moved up to the second midfield from his current spot at d-mid, with Rhodes stepping into that role. My fantasy is that Haus runs first midfield with Jones and Class, and Walsh becomes the stabilizing influence for Cohan and Bruckner, but I'm not holding my breath waiting to see that.

We'll know soon enough.

Thank-you for your thoughts and insight. Your analysis of Duke's possible alternatives was excellent; and it makes me feel a little bit better about the loss of Dionne. I hope somehow he will still be able to play but I'm not holding my breath on that. If he can't go, his loss will hurt us imo; but at least, the team has this week to gameplan and make adjustments as opposed to the injury incurring this upcoming weekend (with no time to plan and make adjustments).

[burnspbesq]

Looked at it several times last night. It's a crosse-check. Guida's hands are apart, and he leads with his stick. The point of impact is as high as it can be without being illegal, i.e., right on the collarbone.

Stuff happens. Next play.

[MCFinARL]

Looked at it several times last night. It's a crosse-check. Guida's hands are apart, and he leads with his stick. The point of impact is as high as it can be without being illegal, i.e., right on the collarbone.

Stuff happens. Next play.

"Stuff happens" is probably the right attitude--and one that, as it happens, Josh Dionne is apparently taking. In the post-game interviews he expressed much more happiness that the team had advanced than concern over his own injury--said he sacrificed his body for the team and any of his teammates would have done the same. Said he was looking forward to having a "coaching internship" during practice this week. It was pretty impressive, really--Danowski, by contrast, said he was "heartbroken" for Dionne, to get injured so near the end of his career. Neither even suggested there was anything wrong with the hit or the way it was called.

One can argue about whether a penalty should have been called, but I don't see any evidence of a "dirty" hit or an intent to injure.

[burnspbesq]

Friends of Duke lacrosse should be looking forward to this year's Under Armour All-American boys game, to be played on July 12 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Duke tops all NCAA D1 schools with six of its commits being selected to play.

Midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook) and defender James Riley (Apple Valley, MN/St. Thomas) will play for the North.

Defender Greg Pelton (Chester Springs, PA/Malvern Prep), attackman Mitch Russell (Tega Cay, SC/Fort Mill), midfielder Jake Seau (San Diego, CA/Bishop's), and LSM Peter Welch (Bernardsville, NJ/Delbarton) will play for the South.

Riley is the first player from Minnesota ever selected to play in the game.

The Duke women's program will have four recruits playing in the girls' game.

[Faison1]

Friends of Duke lacrosse should be looking forward to this year's Under Armour All-American boys game, to be played on July 12 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Duke tops all NCAA D1 schools with six of its commits being selected to play.

Midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook) and defender James Riley (Apple Valley, MN/St. Thomas) will play for the North.

Defender Greg Pelton (Chester Springs, PA/Malvern Prep), attackman Mitch Russell (Tega Cay, SC/Fort Mill), midfielder Jake Seau (San Diego, CA/Bishop's), and LSM Peter Welch (Bernardsville, NJ/Delbarton) will play for the South.

Riley is the first player from Minnesota ever selected to play in the game.

The Duke women's program will have four recruits playing in the girls' game.

Dumb question: If we have the most recruits playing, shouldn't we have the best recruiting class? Have I heard UNC's class is considered best?

[roywhite]

Friends of Duke lacrosse should be looking forward to this year's Under Armour All-American boys game, to be played on July 12 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Duke tops all NCAA D1 schools with six of its commits being selected to play.

Midfielder Matthew Giampetroni (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook) and defender James Riley (Apple Valley, MN/St. Thomas) will play for the North.

Defender Greg Pelton (Chester Springs, PA/Malvern Prep), attackman Mitch Russell (Tega Cay, SC/Fort Mill), midfielder Jake Seau (San Diego, CA/Bishop's), and LSM Peter Welch (Bernardsville, NJ/Delbarton) will play for the South.

Riley is the first player from Minnesota ever selected to play in the game.

The Duke women's program will have four recruits playing in the girls' game.

Good to see the recruiting momentum continues.

I'm especially looking forward to seeing Junior Seau's son Jake; if he has athletic ability comparable to his dad's, the Duke Midfield will be downright scary with Deemer Class and Myles Jones having two more years.

[burnspbesq]

Good to see the recruiting momentum continues.

I'm especially looking forward to seeing Junior Seau's son Jake; if he has athletic ability comparable to his dad's, the Duke Midfield will be downright scary with Deemer Class and Myles Jones having two more years.

You might want to manage your expectations just a little bit where Jake is concerned. He came to the game a bit late (seventh or eighth grade), and hasn't played against the same level of competition in high school as some other elite recruits. He's probably going to have a learning curve. My expectation is that he'll play at least a year at SSDM. Which, come to think of it, gives us some pretty off-the-charts athleticism at that position if he is running alongside Will Haus next year.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/apr/07/intricacies-intrigue-jake-seau-duke-commit/

[johnb]

.... defender James Riley (Apple Valley, MN/St. Thomas) will play for the North......
Riley is the first player from Minnesota ever selected to play in the game.
.

but Riley's not the only Apple Valley athlete coming to Duke-- the other one has gotten a bit more national press.

[TKG]

Friends of Duke lacrosse should be looking forward to this year's Under Armour All-American boys game, to be played on July 12 at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Duke tops all NCAA D1 schools with six of its commits being selected to play. defender James Riley (Apple Valley, MN/St. Thomas) will play for the North.

What is the water in Apple Valley, MN? I believe Tyus Jones is from Apple Valley, MN as well.

[Native]

Yes, the injury was more an indirect result of the hit, and probably would have occurred whether or not the hit had been legal (which the commentators, IIRC, thought it was). He was blasting toward the goal and getting ready to shoot, and he did not see the defender coming. The hit was very hard and, because of the angle of Dionne's body at the time, the contact caused him to twist his leg as he fell and wrench the knee. I don't think the defender could have anticipated that his hit might have injured Dionne in this way. it was just bad luck, really.

Agree. That was a completely legal hit, no question about it. It was a matter of bad luck that the hit came just as he transferred his weight and inertia onto his front foot in his shooting motion. Probably exacerbated the injury, if anything.

Josh did look capable of supporting some weight on that ankle/knee/leg as he walked off the field, which could be a good sign.

[MCFinARL]

Agree. That was a completely legal hit, no question about it. It was a matter of bad luck that the hit came just as he transferred his weight and inertia onto his front foot in his shooting motion. Probably exacerbated the injury, if anything.

Josh did look capable of supporting some weight on that ankle/knee/leg as he walked off the field, which could be a good sign.

Fingers crossed, but Danowski said today that they are planning to be without him. Sounded like there was still a chance (you're saying there's a chance?), but not much of one.

[DST Fan]

Josh did look capable of supporting some weight on that ankle/knee/leg as he walked off the field, which could be a good sign.


Based on Coach Danowski's comment quoted by Inside Lacrosse (see the link below), it seems unlikely that Josh will play this weekend. The article also refers to Luke Duprey's injury as "season-ending." However, before the Hopkins game, one of the ESPNU broadcasters (I don't recall if it was Quint Kessenich) reported that Luke was included on the active roster for the game and was available to play. He also quoted Luke as saying he was ready, so I am not sure that Inside Lacrosse is correct on Luke's status.


http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/duke-s-dionne-likely-out-maryland-s-raffa-limited-ncaa-conference-call-notes/28738

[burnspbesq]

Based on Coach Danowski's comment quoted by Inside Lacrosse (see the link below), it seems unlikely that Josh will play this weekend. The article also refers to Luke Duprey's injury as "season-ending." However, before the Hopkins game, one of the ESPNU broadcasters (I don't recall if it was Quint Kessenich) reported that Luke was included on the active roster for the game and was available to play. He also quoted Luke as saying he was ready, so I am not sure that Inside Lacrosse is correct on Luke's status.


http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/duke-s-dionne-likely-out-maryland-s-raffa-limited-ncaa-conference-call-notes/28738

Duprey's injury was originally announced as an ACL tear. Hard to imagine him playing at full effectiveness.

There is a precedent for Dano allowing seniors who aren't going to play to dress anyway, for whatever reason. Wiggy dressed for the championship game last year. You're allowed to dress 32 players for NCAA tournament games, and absent a blowout or an in-game injury Duke's rotation is 22-23 guys (three attackmen, six offensive mids, two LSMs, three or four SSDMs, one FOGO, three defensemen, two goalies, and two specialists who sub in on the man-down defense).

[arnie]

Lets hope both programs win out thus continuing this discussion on memorial day.

Women's golf tied for 3rd and 5 back after day 1. Good shape hopefully.

[DST Fan]

Duprey's injury was originally announced as an ACL tear. Hard to imagine him playing at full effectiveness.

There is a precedent for Dano allowing seniors who aren't going to play to dress anyway, for whatever reason. Wiggy dressed for the championship game last year. You're allowed to dress 32 players for NCAA tournament games, and absent a blowout or an in-game injury Duke's rotation is 22-23 guys (three attackmen, six offensive mids, two LSMs, three or four SSDMs, one FOGO, three defensemen, two goalies, and two specialists who sub in on the man-down defense).


Fair enough. I went back to the recording of the Hopkins game and Paul Carcaterra said he had spoken to Luke, who indicated that he practiced the week before the Hopkins game and was ready to play, but might be limited to close defense because of mobility issues. So, maybe his returning as a long pole middie is out of the question.

[Thurber Whyte]

If you are going to the game on Saturday, be aware that the Orioles, whose stadium is right next door to M&T Bank Stadium, have a game scheduled at the same time. The Orioles' game is scheduled for 12:35. Duke plays in the first semifinal game at 1:00.

Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium both share the same parking lots so it is going to create problems for everyone. Leave plenty of time to scout out parking and pick up your tickets if you ordered them through Duke.

The Iron Dukes are again hosting a pregame tailgate in Lot O for all Duke fans in attendance starting at 11:00. Lot O is close to the stadium, but requires a detour of a couple minutes walk to get there unless you are coming to the stadium from the direction of Federal Hill. If you are going to the tailgate (which, in previous years, has been very nice), leave some extra time to get there and back.

I am looking forward to the weekend!

[MCFinARL]

Fair enough. I went back to the recording of the Hopkins game and Paul Carcaterra said he had spoken to Luke, who indicated that he practiced the week before the Hopkins game and was ready to play, but might be limited to close defense because of mobility issues. So, maybe his returning as a long pole middie is out of the question.

Yes, it seems clear Duprey wants to play, and maybe he will see a few minutes if circumstances dictate/permit. In that way it is different from Wigrizer's situation, since he had been told by doctors never to play again because of concussion damage--but he did dress, including full eye black, for the Final Four games. But realistically I suspect you are right--that we will see limited Duprey if any.

[DST Fan]

Laura Keeley is reporting that Josh will not play this weekend.


http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/05/20/3875408/duke-attackman-josh-dionne-out.html?sp=/99/103/119/269/1529/

[burnspbesq]

http://www.collegecrosse.com/2014/5/21/5738500/cbss-casey-carroll-feature

[dukebballcamper90-91]

Thanks for cbs link. Amazing story.

[burnspbesq]

Obviously don't know whether he is correct, but in the Jordan Wolf interview that is posted at goduke.com Art Chase refers to Josh's injury as an ACL.

[burnspbesq]

Jordan Wolf and Deemer Class are first team.

Myles Jones is second team.

Luke Duprey, Brendan Fowler, and Chris Hipps are third team.

Josh Dionne, Will Haus, Henry Lobb, and Christian Walsh are honorable mention.

I think those are all pretty fair assessments, except for Will Haus. USILA doesn't treat short-stick d-mid as a separate position, which is unfair to those guys. I also agree with Quint, who said on the broadcast of the Hop game that Will has been the best in the country at his position this year. I did an A-A team at collegecrosse.com, and I had Will as one of my two first-team SSDMs (along with Pat Laconi of Loyola, who was named second team by USILA).

Congrats to all of our young men.

[burnspbesq]

OK, I think the Myles hype is officially out of hand.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/how-would-you-defend-myles-jones-/28767

There's never been a "how would you defend Lyle Thompson" story.

[MCFinARL]

OK, I think the Myles hype is officially out of hand.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/how-would-you-defend-myles-jones-/28767

There's never been a "how would you defend Lyle Thompson" story.

Even crazier, Brodie Merrill's comment is not the first time I have seen Myles compared to Paul Rabil. Hopefully he has a solid head on his shoulders (all his media comments so far, thankfully, suggest he does) and will not take this all too seriously going into the weekend. His ability to work with and within the team has been a great part of his strength; hero ball at this point would be a step backward.

[Herbie]

Here's an article from the front page of the Denver Post that highlights the importance of DU faceoff man Chris Hampton's matchup with Fowler:

http://www.denverpost.com/lacrosse/ci_25819849/face-it-chris-hampton-has-big-role-du

[Bluedog]

Here's an article from the front page of the Denver Post that highlights the importance of DU faceoff man Chris Hampton's matchup with Fowler:

http://www.denverpost.com/lacrosse/ci_25819849/face-it-chris-hampton-has-big-role-du

Wait, Denver is in the Big East?! (I realize it's just for lacrosse, but I missed that.) I agree that faceoffs will be huge. If there's not a sellout, the NCAA really needs to reduce the ticket prices. $120+ for the all-session ticket for the worst seats in the house (+parking, food, ticketmaster fees) is really not viable for the casual fan - I know there was an article saying the NCAA would evaluate things after this year after tickets have doubled in price since 2006. Should be a good one - Denver has looked really really solid recently. Go Duke!

[MCFinARL]

Wait, Denver is in the Big East?! (I realize it's just for lacrosse, but I missed that.) I agree that faceoffs will be huge. If there's not a sellout, the NCAA really needs to reduce the ticket prices. $120+ for the all-session ticket for the worst seats in the house (+parking, food, ticketmaster fees) is really not viable for the casual fan - I know there was an article saying the NCAA would evaluate things after this year after tickets have doubled in price since 2006. Should be a good one - Denver has looked really really solid recently. Go Duke!

Yes--the lacrosse Final Four used to be a pretty good bargain as sporting events go; we went almost every year (even to Foxboro, which is an unbelievably inconvenient venue if you want to do anything in your non-lacrosse watching time other than sit in traffic or go to the nearby shopping mall). But between the increasing expense of tickets and parking and the HDTV coverage from the comfort of the living room, we haven't gone since 2010. (Glad we went that year, though--the Duke-UVA semifinal was one of the best lacrosse games I have ever seen, and the Duke-Notre Dame final, while a lot more frustrating to watch, had the spectacular CJ Costabile overtime ending.)

[DST Fan]

http://www.collegecrosse.com/2014/5/21/5738500/cbss-casey-carroll-feature


Another story on Casey Carroll appears at the link.



http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/duke-defenseman-former-army-ranger-casey-carroll-has-always-led-by-example/28803

[Native]

Between this and the baseball game, I'm about to have a heart attack. Go Duke!

[devildeac]

My wife just reported the final here:

Denver-12
Duke-15

Woo-Hoo!

[SCMatt33]

After today, I think we might see Turri from the start on Monday. On to the title game

[burnspbesq]

Keenan delivers in relief of Dionne. Four goals on four shots.

Two huge goals from Chad Cohan.

Defense does just enough. Haus sensational against Miller. Hipps shuts down Adamson.

Phew. On to Monday.

[DST Fan]

My wife just reported the final here:

Denver-12
Duke-15

Woo-Hoo!

The team kept its poise in the 4th quarter when Denver closed to 11-10. Great performances by the Kyles-- strong goalkeeping by Turri and a big time performance Keenan on a very large stage.

[CDu]

Tough day for Fowler (only on 50% of faceoffs). Hopefully he rebounds and dominates faceoffs in the final.

Big-time decision to sub in Turri after Denver made a run. Glad it worked out!

[53n206]

As coach said Fowler had 2 calls against him so he had to be careful, I assume less aggressive, in the 2nd half.

[fuse]

Got a little too close for comfort, but what a game!
Hopefully the team gets some rest and comes out strong on Monday.

I won't second guess the goalie switch but fingers crossed it does not cause a distraction. I'm sure the media will make a big deal of it.

Go Devils!

[-bdbd]

Great game. Great win.

A lesser experienced team might well have gone into panic mode when Denver closed to within one. Nothing was going our way at that point, losing a couple face-offs, giving up 1-2 fairly soft goals, and getting an empty possession.... but they really fought back, like the experienced squad that they are. You have to love this group, as that's two games in a row where they saw leads largely go away and then fought back down the stretch to win it. They earned this one. Can't wait for Monday's game. Rooting for ND, as I am concerned about the MD tough D, as well as their huge home field advantage. (Heard an interview of the MD coach this afternoon where he described their Final Four experience a year ago, as coming out to a crowd that felt like 99% pro-MD.)

:eek:



Duke looks very solid. Great coach, athletic, cohesive squad.

[-bdbd]

Who is our starting Goalie on Monday???


:confused:

[DST Fan]

Got a little too close for comfort, but what a game!
Hopefully the team gets some rest and comes out strong on Monday.

I won't second guess the goalie switch but fingers crossed it does not cause a distraction. I'm sure the media will make a big deal of it.

Go Devils!

I think the team will be ok with the goalie situation. My impression is that Dano handles these situations masterfully. And besides, in terms of media coverage, this is not the b-ball final 4. I'm not sure there is much media coverage other than the Baltimore Sun and Inside Lacrosse. :)

[Native]

Who is our starting Goalie on Monday???


:confused:

This is the question of the day, isn't it? Do you go with the guy who's started all year or do you go with the hot hand in Turri? Keep in mind that Turri is arguably more experienced than Aaron – after all, he did sort of mind the nets last year en route to a National Championship.

[ricks68]

Seems like a repeat of the last time we met ND in the final----------at least as far as their goalie is concerned. He was magnificent today against Maryland. Just magnificent.

ricks

[burnspbesq]

Interesting tactical note: in both games today, the winning team bumped its best cover guy up from close D to guard the other team's biggest midfield threat. Hipps double-bageled Adamson, and O'Hara kept Chanenchuk off the board for over 50 minutes.

If ND chooses to double-pole Duke's first midfield on Monday, Matheis or Keenan (whichever one gets the shorty) has to step up and make them pay.

That said, ND's shorties were phenomenal today.

[chrishoke]

Notre Dame is the most physical team in the NCAAs.

[DST Fan]

I like the match up with ND better than MD. Although, as noted, Kelly played very well in goal today (and has had a strong tournament), I think there would be a greater chance of Niko Amato turning into an X factor and having a Jesse Schwartzman-type game. I also like the prospects of playing against ND's faster paced style, which is ironic given that ND was the poster child in 2010 for all the proponents of a shot clock in college lacrosse. Lastly, MD probably would have brought out at least 25,000 fans in M&T stadium on Monday and it is the one ACC team that has consitently given Duke trouble the past 5-6 years.

Leaving all that aside, Casey Carroll playing on Memorial Day for an NCAA championship is a very compelling story. It also was nice to see Luke Duprey on the field today.

[MCFinARL]

I like the match up with ND better than MD. Although, as noted, Kelly played very well in goal today (and has had a strong tournament), I think there would be a greater chance of Niko Amato turning into an X factor and having a Jesse Schwartzman-type game. I also like the prospects of playing against ND's faster paced style, which is ironic given that ND was the poster child in 2010 for all the proponents of a shot clock in college lacrosse. Lastly, MD probably would have brought out at least 25,000 fans in M&T stadium on Monday and it is the one ACC team that has consitently given Duke trouble the past 5-6 years.

Leaving all that aside, Casey Carroll playing on Memorial Day for an NCAA championship is a very compelling story. It also was nice to see Luke Duprey on the field today.

I don't know--Notre Dame is playing very, very well lately, which makes me nervous. On the other hand, Maryland has a bit of a psychological edge on Duke, whereas Duke has a bit of an edge on Notre Dame. So we'll see.

[roywhite]

I don't know--Notre Dame is playing very, very well lately, which makes me nervous. On the other hand, Maryland has a bit of a psychological edge on Duke, whereas Duke has a bit of an edge on Notre Dame. So we'll see.

Just about the last time we will have seen any Terp athletes compete as members of the ACC.

What a shame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsaTElBljOE&feature=kp)

[g-money]

Great win for Duke today! A lot of teams would have panicked when the lead was cut down to one in the fourth. That ours didn't is a testament to great coaching by Coach D and staff.

On a related note, was it just me or did Tierney seem to be wearing a sour puss after every call today? It was not a good look for him.

As for Monday, I think our magic number is 10: If we score that many, we win.

[DST Fan]

On a related note, was it just me or did Tierney seem to be wearing a sour puss after every call today? It was not a good look for him.

I think it is fair to say that Bill Tierney has a bit of a reputation for abusing officials and complaining about most calls that go against him. The contrast with Dano is pretty stark. Although Tierney's accomplishments in college lacrosse are considerable and his results at Denver are truly amazing, I will take Dano any day.

[DST Fan]

I don't know--Notre Dame is playing very, very well lately, which makes me nervous. On the other hand, Maryland has a bit of a psychological edge on Duke, whereas Duke has a bit of an edge on Notre Dame. So we'll see.

No doubt, ND has turned its season around and gotten hot at the right time-- much like Duke last year. But, any team that makes the championship game is pretty much guaranteed to be playing well. I like our chances on Monday.

[greybeard]

This will be a great final. High scoring. How Duke handles the traps, doubles, swarms when someone is in trouble, ground balls, might decide it. Duke I think has more weapons and its half court offense is a thing of beauty. You let ND turn you over and run, you're looking for trouble. I just might go; some games in sports you want to be able to say you were there. Edge Duke; Danowski.

[DST Fan]

This will be a great final. High scoring. How Duke handles the traps, doubles, swarms when someone is in trouble, ground balls, might decide it. Duke I think has more weapons and its half court offense is a thing of beauty. You let ND turn you over and run, you're looking for trouble. I just might go; some games in sports you want to be able to say you were there. Edge Duke; Danowski.

Good seats are available on StubHub and there is a pick-up location for tickets a ten-minute walk from M&T Stadium at Hampton Inn, Baltimore Downtown,
550 Washington Boulevard.

[MCFinARL]

Another story on Casey Carroll appears at the link.



http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/duke-defenseman-former-army-ranger-casey-carroll-has-always-led-by-example/28803

The end of this story packed a punch--I was reading along, thinking "another good story about Casey Carroll," when I got to the part about how, because Duke has advanced, Jimmy Regan's parents will attend the game to support Casey. Wow. A good thing to remember that Memorial Day is about more than picnics and lacrosse.

[Reilly]

The end of this story packed a punch ... Jimmy Regan's parents will attend the game to support Casey. ...

Remembering Jimmy Regan: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jjregan.htm

[YmoBeThere]

Remembering Jimmy Regan: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jjregan.htm

There is a little more detail of the Getty Images photo of SGT Regan's fiance here:

http://blog.gettyimages.com/2010/05/27/memorial-day-at-arlington-national-cemetery/#.U4JMECi8AxG

[burnspbesq]

Tomorrow, our young men will honor Jimmy's memory by doing what he did every time he put on a Duke uniform: play hard and smart, and with absolute commitment, for 60 minutes, or longer if necessary.

[dpslaw]

Will Duke be wearing the "flag" helmets tomorrow?

[Here is a Turtle]

Can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope you beat Notre Dame tomorrow. I thought this young Maryland team could get Amato a championship before he ran out of eligibility but it was not meant to be. The season was successful considering at the beginning of the year, no one predicted this team to lose and some thought this season would be the first time Maryland had a losing season ever in lacrosse.

Still, it's been 39 years since a championship. Since then, Maryland has made it to the final four 17 times and the runner up 7 times. Great success, but no championship.

[greybeard]

Good seats are available on StubHub and there is a pick-up location for tickets a ten-minute walk from M&T Stadium at Hampton Inn, Baltimore Downtown,
550 Washington Boulevard.

Thanks. I made it to the first ND-Duke Championship game. Tterrific. This should be better. There should be some real buys on the street if I can get there early enough.

[DST Fan]

Who is our starting Goalie on Monday???


:confused:


Coach Dano confirmed at yesterday's press conference that Luke Aaron will start in goal today.

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?&db_oem_id=4200&id=3291937

[burnspbesq]

Jordan Wolf needs one point today to break the Duke single-season scoring record, currently held by Matt Danowski. He needs seven goals to break the Duke single-season goal-scoring record, held by Max Quinzani.

Myles Jones needs six points to break the Duke record for points in an NCAA tournament, held by Matt Danowski.

[burnspbesq]

Baltimore weather forecast: mid-80s at game time, with humidity around 50 percent.

[Native]

Looks like Dano went with Luke Aaron as the starter. Made a good first save – hope he's ready to play today. Our boys look OK early. Ground balls will be key today.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Looks like Dano went with Luke Aaron as the starter. Made a good first save – hope he's ready to play today. Our boys look OK early. Ground balls will be key today.

Slow Start but Duke drew First Blood !

Who started for Josh Dionne? He was a beast for Duke!

[chrishoke]

3-0 Duke in a grind it out ND kind of game.

[MCFinARL]

Will Duke be wearing the "flag" helmets tomorrow?

Duke is wearing blue and white helmets, but they have flags on the back, along with Jimmy Regan's initials and number.

Slow Start but Duke drew First Blood !

Who started for Josh Dionne? He was a beast for Duke!

Kyle Keenan has moved up from second midfield to play for Dionne.

[duke09hms]

Holy crap Will Haus is fast!!!

Stuck it into a tiny window for the goal!

[DevilWearsPrada]

Duke 5/1 with 141 in the 2nd

[chrishoke]

Holy crap Will Haus is fast!!!

Stuck it into a tiny window for the goal!

That was beautiful! Play of the game so far. 5-1.

[duke09hms]

240 lb. Myles Jones runs over a 140 lb. ND player AND gains an extra-man opportunity at the same time. BEAST!

[burnspbesq]

Duke D winning all the matchups so far.

Need to see the second midfield in Q3, to keep the first unit's legs for Q4.

[Bob Green]

http://www.crazietalk.net/chat/

A few of us are chatting in Section 21 so come on over.

[chrishoke]

7-2, tempo picking up.

[JetpackJesus]

Does anyone know if the game is being broadcast over WatchESPN? I'm having problems accessing it on my phone (can't be home), but it's airing on both ESPN 2 and U. Usually I have access to such programming.

[chrishoke]

Yes it is.

[Furniture]

9to 7. The kids are getting tired

[CDu]

9to 7. The kids are getting tired

Fowler has to step up on faceoffs. Second straight game that he's just been average there. Needs to finish strong.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Man, I understand this game just barely enough to realize this is ugly. Seem to be playing not to lose. Not working.

[chrishoke]

9-8 w/ 5 to go. Slipping away.

[CDu]

Well, it's down to a 1-goal lead with 5 minutes to go. The team is running out of gas. We really need to win the faceoff and put one in the back of the net here.

[CDu]

Huge goal!!!!

Now if Fowler can win this faceoff, lots of pressure off the guys.

[Furniture]

Sounds like it's the Duke gets all the calls crowd...

[CDu]

And Fowler comes through when it counts. He wins the faceoff, up 1, with 50 seconds left. HUGE.

[CDu]

Jordan... m'n'f'n... Wolf!

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

And there it is!

[TruBlu]

Made me nervous at the end, but ended 11-9.

CONGRATS!!!

(Lax school)

[fuse]

Back to back lacrosse champions! Lucky to be in a golden age of Duke sports!
Congratulations to the team!

[Des Esseintes]

made me nervous at the end, but ended 11-9.

Congrats!!!

(lax school)

devils!

[NovaScotian]

woo! second natty chip this week. how many is it now? 12?

[duke09hms]

woo! second natty chip this week. how many is it now? 12?

I think at least 15.

W Golf: 6
M Soccer: 1
M Bball: 4
M Lax: 3
W Tennis: at least 1

[jimsumner]

I think at least 15.

W Golf: 6
M Soccer: 1
M Bball: 4
M Lax: 3
W Tennis: at least 1

Women's tennis has one.

[devilnfla]

woo! second natty chip this week. how many is it now? 12?

I count 14 (team championships).

4 men's bb
3 men's lacrosse
1 men's soccer
6 women's golf

[burnspbesq]

In any other year, Jordan Wolf would win the Teewaaraton. 103 points on the year, and had a hand in all of Duke's fourth-quarter goals.

Duke's close D was phenomenal. And the d-mids contributed two goals and an assist.

Luke was solid. He made the saves we needed him to make.

So great to see Erin Carroll and the boys on the field after the game. So happy for Casey.

Wow.

[Billy Dat]

Jordan... m'n'f'n... Wolf!

What a play he made...what a game...they JUST hung on. Congrats to the champs!!!!!!!

[75Crazie]

Don't forget women's tennis ... I forget what year.

[AncientPsychicT]

Don't forget women's tennis ... I forget what year.

2009. Pretty much the only good thing sports-wise about that year.

[burnspbesq]

Wolf wins MOP.

Haus, Jones, Keenan, Lobb make the all-tournament team.

[ricks68]

The defense was fantastic, and all year the pundits said it wasn't so hot after losing Luke. TEAM effort all the way.:)

ricks

[Bob Green]

I was on the edge of my seat for the last 5 minutes. Notre Dame made a valiant effort at a comeback but the Blue Devils prevail! Congratulations 2014 National Champions!!!

[fuse]

In any other year, Jordan Wolf would win the Teewaaraton. 103 points on the year, and had a hand in all of Duke's fourth-quarter goals.

Duke's close D was phenomenal. And the d-mids contributed two goals and an assist.

Luke was solid. He made the saves we needed him to make.

So great to see Erin Carroll and the boys on the field after the game. So happy for Casey.

Wow.

Fingers crossed on Wolf. While it does happen, rare for the winning team's nominee not to win.

[chrishoke]

Congrats to the Champs! Thank you Jordan, Casey and all the seniors.

Ps. I can't stand the ND coach, such a complainer.

[DST Fan]

After losing a 50-goal scorer in the quarterfinals, I would never have predicted a national championship. I thought Luke Aaron gave the team a lift today-- 9 saves on 18 shots on goal, including 4 saves in the 4th quarter. And I don't believe there is a better story in college athletics this year than Casey Carroll.

Does anyone know if Will Haus is ok?

[arnie]

Made me nervous at the end, but ended 11-9.

CONGRATS!!!

(Lax school)

As discussed in thread a week or so ago- with two more champions by Memorial Day - Duke is both a lacrosse and womens golf school. Great week for the devils!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif Congrats to our REPEAT NATIONAL CHAMPION BLUE DEVILS! http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif http://www.crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/devil9f.gif

[diablesseblu]

I forgot to set my DVR. :( However, the game will be rebroadcast tonight from midnight - 2:00 AM on ESPNU.

Cannot wait to watch (and rewatch) it!

[TKG]

Congrats to the Champs! Thank you Jordan, Casey and all the seniors.

Ps. I can't stand the ND coach, such a complainer.


Coach Danowski is so composed. His facial expressions never change and his post game comments are always upbeat, candid and positive.

[grossbus]

Congrats team! Super!!!

[ricks68]

Great post game show on the history of Lacrosse in the US. Check and see if they are showing it again. While it emphasizes the great players' role in its development maybe more than other things, it is quite informative as a social commentary. Well worth watching.

ricks

[PDDuke85]

Coach Danowski is so composed. His facial expressions never change and his post game comments are always upbeat, candid and positive.

Totally agree. Coach Danowski was a lesson in compare/contrast whenever the ESPN cameras panned in on both coaches. Also agree the ND coach came across on TV as a pestulant brat. Speaking of ESPN, I got the sense the announcer was a nanosecond shy of "Duke gets all the calls"

Congratulations to this great team of true student athletes. Great representatives of Duke.

[Reisen]

Duke was the heavy favorite, and I think that was responsible for the announcers' tone.

I missed the first half after getting stuck in holiday traffic coming back from the long weekend, but will dvr the replay tonight. The first 5-10 minutes of the third quarter were great, and then the wheels fell off. Lots of stuff going wrong, very similar to Saturday's game.

Duke showed great composure in staying strong, though, and our offense really shined at the end. Obviously, very pleased at the outcome.

The more I watch lacrosse, the more I could see my kids playing it. I wonder what the injury rate is like compared to soccer or other team sports?

[ricks68]

Did anyone else notice that there was no team logo on the championship hats? My wife was at the game and got me a shirt, but said there were no hats available yet. I would think that maybe because it was so close at the end that there was not enough time to get our logo on the hats. Both shirts could probably be made up well before, with the losers' shirts sent to third world counties for clothing or disposed of, which is not uncommon for other sports. Maybe the loser's hats are either too expensive to do that, or in some way, just logistically not feasible to do. Like the hats, however, and will add one to my collection.

ricks

[burnspbesq]

Speaking of ESPN, I got the sense the announcer was a nanosecond shy of "Duke gets all the calls."

McAnaney played at ND. I think he generally does a good job of not homering for the Irish. And he had a legit beef on the push-from-behind call that saved a possession for Duke. The hit on Duprey was reallllly borderline. Luke sold it by going airborne.

[Furniture]

Duke was the heavy favorite, and I think that was responsible for the announcers' tone.

I missed the first half after getting stuck in holiday traffic coming back from the long weekend, but will dvr the replay tonight. The first 5-10 minutes of the third quarter were great, and then the wheels fell off. Lots of stuff going wrong, very similar to Saturday's game.

Duke showed great composure in staying strong, though, and our offense really shined at the end. Obviously, very pleased at the outcome.

The more I watch lacrosse, the more I could see my kids playing it. I wonder what the injury rate is like compared to soccer or other team sports?

I have played soccer all my life and I am fairly new to LAX but I think LAX is much more brutal and exhausting. Funny enough I was talking to this guy the other day and he said that because the clock doesn't stop in soccer the game only "runs" an average of 45 minutes out of the official 90.

[Native]

The more I watch lacrosse, the more I could see my kids playing it. I wonder what the injury rate is like compared to soccer or other team sports?

I played for four years in high school. It's an amazing, fun sport to play. It is exhausting, particularly if you're a midfielder like I was, but if the game is played under control it really isn't that brutal. Expect some bumps and bruises on the arms, but little else. It's basketball pace on a football field – my favorite sport to play, by far. Your kids should definitely give it a shot – it's so much fun.

[noworries]

Duke was the heavy favorite, and I think that was responsible for the announcers' tone.

I missed the first half after getting stuck in holiday traffic coming back from the long weekend, but will dvr the replay tonight. The first 5-10 minutes of the third quarter were great, and then the wheels fell off. Lots of stuff going wrong, very similar to Saturday's game.

Duke showed great composure in staying strong, though, and our offense really shined at the end. Obviously, very pleased at the outcome.

The more I watch lacrosse, the more I could see my kids playing it. I wonder what the injury rate is like compared to soccer or other team sports?

http://www.uslacrosse.org/Portals/1/documents/pdf/about-the-sport/collegiate-mens-lacrosse-injuries.pdf

If you feel like reading a bit, there's an article about injury rates in lacrosse...if you don't...injuries are 4x more prevalent in games than in practice, and higher in Division 1 than 2 & 3 .I'll see what I can find comparing other sports.

[SCMatt33]

I can't get over how great Dano is at knowing his guys. I don't think most coaches would have given Luke Aaron another shot today, especially after how well Turri played Saturday. I guess that's how you make Championship Weekend 8 times in a row and win 3 of 5 titles. Plus two NCAA titles in 4 Days. A great weekend for Duke overall.

I also love how this teams best guys bring it when it counts. All year they've let the midfield run up the score early, but in crunch time, it's Wolf setting up goals and Fowler winning the big face-offs.

[burnspbesq]

Great post game show on the history of Lacrosse in the US. Check and see if they are showing it again. While it emphasizes the great players' role in its development maybe more than other things, it is quite informative as a social commentary. Well worth watching.

ricks

You should also check out "The Medicine Game," a documentary that follows the struggles of Jerome and Jeremy Thompson (older brothers of Miles and Lyle) as they try to turn their lacrosse skills into a college education without losing touch with their roots. It's a very clear-eyed look at how the deck is stacked against Native kids, and the prejudice that persists in the non-Rez high schools that Iroquois kids are funneled into in New York state.

http://themedicinegame.com/

[MB in MD]

Sounds like it's the Duke gets all the calls crowd...

I was there, and that wasn't my impression. It was mostly a quiet crowd (I suspect a lot of the MD fans from Saturday stayed home), and Duke was so dominating early that mostly the crowd wasn't really into it (Except for the small concentrated Duke contingent most of us were scattered around everywhere; walking around before the game there were more Duke shirts than ND ones). When ND started the run, that got everyone excited and loud, rooting for the underdog to come back and make a game of it. All pretty expected.

The one thing I doubt you guys watching on TV would have been able to appreciate was the job that Lobb did on Cavanaugh. He was just in his grill all day, almost never switching on picks and denying him the ball. One of Cavanaugh's goals came on a beautifully designed play for them right after a time out when he started the attack with the ball; I forget the second. I don't know how many shots he took, but it wasn't many. I think overall our defense was decent (though in all honesty we built a lot of our advantage because ND was playing badly), but Lobb was superb.

Congrats to Duke Lax 2014!

[fuse]

You should also check out "The Medicine Game," a documentary that follows the struggles of Jerome and Jeremy Thompson (older brothers of Miles and Lyle) as they try to turn their lacrosse skills into a college education without losing touch with their roots. It's a very clear-eyed look at how the deck is stacked against Native kids, and the prejudice that persists in the non-Rez high schools that Iroquois kids are funneled into in New York state.

http://themedicinegame.com/

It's hokey but I enjoyed Crooked Arrows as well.

[MCFinARL]

Fingers crossed on Wolf. While it does happen, rare for the winning team's nominee not to win.

I have to agree with burns here--I think Lyle Thompson wins the Teewaraton. But I doubt Jordan Wolf would trade his championship for the trophy. :D


Totally agree. Coach Danowski was a lesson in compare/contrast whenever the ESPN cameras panned in on both coaches. Also agree the ND coach came across on TV as a pestulant brat. Speaking of ESPN, I got the sense the announcer was a nanosecond shy of "Duke gets all the calls"

Congratulations to this great team of true student athletes. Great representatives of Duke.

I love, love, love Coach Danowski--and, really, the whole Duke staff. There was a great moment at the end when all four of them embraced. Wish we could hold onto coach Deluca, but he is obviously too talented and experienced to stay as a volunteer assistant, so I suspect it's not likely. As for Corrigan, petulant is the perfect word. Bill Tierney of Denver is another coach who gets very hot on the sidelines, but Tierney doesn't have the spoiled little boy vibe that Corrigan does. Very glad we have a coach who can behave like a grownup.


Duke was the heavy favorite, and I think that was responsible for the announcers' tone.

I missed the first half after getting stuck in holiday traffic coming back from the long weekend, but will dvr the replay tonight. The first 5-10 minutes of the third quarter were great, and then the wheels fell off. Lots of stuff going wrong, very similar to Saturday's game.

Duke showed great composure in staying strong, though, and our offense really shined at the end. Obviously, very pleased at the outcome.

The more I watch lacrosse, the more I could see my kids playing it. I wonder what the injury rate is like compared to soccer or other team sports?

I don't know the comparative stats. If your children are girls, I suspect the women's game is safer than soccer, where girls sustain many knee and head injuries even at the youth and high school levels. My daughter played lacrosse in high school and loved it, and her team had fewer injury problems than the soccer team.

If your children are boys, it may be a different story. I suspect youth lacrosse is fairly safe, though certainly at the college level a reasonable number of athletes suffer both leg injuries and concussions. Dan Wigrizer, for example, had to stop playing last year because of multiple concussions, and Brad Ross (who graduated in 2008 but, I believe, used his extra year of eligibility to play in 2009) has had a very tough time with post-concussion symptoms (http://www.laxmagazine.com/mll/2012-13/news/100913_lasting_impact_brad_ross_post_concussive_sy ndrome_lacrosse), although some of those were, I think, sustained in MLL, not in college. Sadly, when you get to a certain level of competition, sports are dangerous. But there is no comparison, I think, between lacrosse and football, which seems to leave its best players arthritic at best and severely disabled at worst.


Did anyone else notice that there was no team logo on the championship hats? My wife was at the game and got me a shirt, but said there were no hats available yet. I would think that maybe because it was so close at the end that there was not enough time to get our logo on the hats. Both shirts could probably be made up well before, with the losers' shirts sent to third world counties for clothing or disposed of, which is not uncommon for other sports. Maybe the loser's hats are either too expensive to do that, or in some way, just logistically not feasible to do. Like the hats, however, and will add one to my collection.

ricks

Lacrosse has a much lower NCAA budget than basketball, I suspect, so they may not be willing to make two sets of hats. And hats are more expensive than t-shirts.

[cspan37421]

Did anyone accidentally turn it on ESPNU or whatever "ocho" was using the spider-cam?

Half the time, the ball holder wasn't even in the frame. Disorienting view, often well behind the play. Thankfully another ESPN carried the traditional view.

Congrats Duke LAX! Thrilling game.

[devilirium]

Speaking of ESPN, I got the sense the announcer was a nanosecond shy of "Duke gets all the calls"

That may have something to do with Eamon McAnaney, the play by play guy, being a former Notre Dame player--who played under Corrigan. He is usually pretty levelheaded, knows the game, but I agree that his tone was "I'm getting tired of Notre Dame losing to Duke".

Corrigan did let down his guard in postgame commentary---claiming that Fowler jumped too quick and that ND should've received the ball. Technically, he was probably correct--but the jump was fractions of a second. No ref is going to call that in the last possession of the game, unless it's extremely egregious. FWIW, I have a friend of mine who knows a prominent ref, who off the record has said that he really loathes calling games where Tierney and Corrigan are usually involved. The great coaches, pick their moments, and should mature with the ref-baiting along the way. I think Coach K would be the first to tell you that he was a lot like Corrigan for the first part of his career. Corrigan has never changed, though.

[g-money]

As for Monday, I think our magic number is 10: If we score that many, we win.

I don't mean to self-promote, but the blind dog found the bone on this one. Woo hoo. (Of course, even a broken clock is right twice a day.)

It's so awesome to see our guys back on top of the mountain. A masterful job by Coach Danokowski, his staff, and the players. Way to go Duke!

[-bdbd]

I thought that the announcers were pretty bad, with one of them pretty obviously rooting for Notre Dame. I read leater that he had played at Notre Dame as a collegian. Certainly explains a lot about the commentary and the fixation on how the ND coach was reacting to calls, etc. I also have to agree that the "Spider-cam" view of the game, while occassionally it had some cool "above the fray" looks down, it was hugely disorienting and frequently the ball and action was outside of the frame. Grrr.

Congratulations to Coach Danowski and the guys! Nicely done, charging oiut to a big, early lead and then, once again, dealing well with the determined opponents fierce comeback. Eight straight FF's, and three Natty's. That is just incredible. Who could have predicted this after where we were ten yerars ago??? Great stuff.

[greybeard]

Danowski is almost beyond brilliant. The commenters were puzzled by how much Danowski was playing his second mid-field the first half. The now anticipated ND wave that has been taking teams down in the second half might have succeeded today but for that strategy. Not only were the first line mids much fresher than they would have been, but, having been given the chance to play extended minutes in the first half, the second line showed terrifically. Personally, I love it when subordinate players are given a real chance to display what they can do, and am especially pleased when they make the most of it. That Danowski knew what these kids could do, and gave them the chance to do it on the biggest stage there is on the belief that they would make his team better, stronger, well, if it gets any better, please call.

Duke's attack around the perimeter is remarkable. The weave, come on, the spacing, ease of giving the ball up, going when you have it, the open shooting lanes, the way the middle in front of the goalie parted in biblical fashion and the way Keenan and the outside guys connected to tear ND apart from point blank range, as impressive an offensive attack I've seen. What made the play in the half court so impressive is that Duke does not play slow, it creates attack and goes, and as talented as Wolf and Jones are, they do not seem to define Duke's effectiveness, although they certainly at its core.

My view, deserved Champions.

[Billy Dat]

Huge goal!!!!

Now if Fowler can win this faceoff, lots of pressure off the guys.

Reading the thread, I noticed that no one directly commented on the Keenan goal with under 3 to play, but CDu's post, above, celebrated it in the in-game comments. That was a HUGE goal, the game really felt like it was slipping away at that point as the turnovers mounted.

As for announcer Eamon McAnaney, I can cut him some slack as a Notre Dame alumni. I love his calls, to me he is to lax what Ian Darke is to futbol, Marv Albert is to hoops, etc.

[Mike Corey]

A decade ago, Duke was on the cusp of becoming a power:

'02: bowed out in the NCAA Quarters
'03: didn't qualify for NCAAs
'04: didn't qualify for NCAAs and actually had a losing record
'05: went 17-3 and lost to Hopkins by a single goal in the NCAA championship

With the exception of '06, when Duke's season was cut short, we haven't missed a Final Four since.

Incredible run from Coach Danowski's program.

[MCFinARL]

Speaking of ESPN, I got the sense the announcer was a nanosecond shy of "Duke gets all the calls"

That may have something to do with Eamon McAnaney, the play by play guy, being a former Notre Dame player--who played under Corrigan. He is usually pretty levelheaded, knows the game, but I agree that his tone was "I'm getting tired of Notre Dame losing to Duke".

Corrigan did let down his guard in postgame commentary---claiming that Fowler jumped too quick and that ND should've received the ball. Technically, he was probably correct--but the jump was fractions of a second. No ref is going to call that in the last possession of the game, unless it's extremely egregious. FWIW, I have a friend of mine who knows a prominent ref, who off the record has said that he really loathes calling games where Tierney and Corrigan are usually involved. The great coaches, pick their moments, and should mature with the ref-baiting along the way. I think Coach K would be the first to tell you that he was a lot like Corrigan for the first part of his career. Corrigan has never changed, though.

I don't know, I watched that faceoff on the replay this morning. After live time, they show it in slo-mo. In the live shot, I couldn't see any movement before the whistle--doesn't mean there wasn't any, because the shot was from distance, but it certainly corroborates your claim that it wasn't egregious. On the slo mo replay, Fowler clearly moved a hair before O'Connor, but you can't hear the whistle in that shot--so I don't think it indicates anything more than that Fowler had quicker reflexes. Quint Kessenich described the slo-mo replay as demonstrating Fowler's skills and didn't suggest there was a violation.

Bottom line, I agree with you completely about Corrigan--he can't have been certain that Fowler jumped, and even if there was a violation, the call was close enough that calling out the ref post-game is the worst kind of sour grapes. But I don't think I agree that Corrigan was "probably" right. He might have been right, but I'd say the chances are 50-50 at best. It's tough to lose a game you want so badly to win--but it was graceless to try to blame the loss on a faceoff call, especially one that was not obviously wrong. I feel confident in saying that John Danowski would never do that.


I thought that the announcers were pretty bad, with one of them pretty obviously rooting for Notre Dame. I read leater that he had played at Notre Dame as a collegian. Certainly explains a lot about the commentary and the fixation on how the ND coach was reacting to calls, etc. I also have to agree that the "Spider-cam" view of the game, while occassionally it had some cool "above the fray" looks down, it was hugely disorienting and frequently the ball and action was outside of the frame. Grrr.

Congratulations to Coach Danowski and the guys! Nicely done, charging oiut to a big, early lead and then, once again, dealing well with the determined opponents fierce comeback. Eight straight FF's, and three Natty's. That is just incredible. Who could have predicted this after where we were ten yerars ago??? Great stuff.

If it's lacrosse, there will be Eamon McAnaney and Quint Kessenich. There are a few other people who call games, but they are the "top" team and usually do all the biggest games. So it is what it is. That being said, I thought the fixation on how the ND coach was reacting to calls didn't exactly show the Notre Dame program to advantage--he was behaving like a toddler in full tantrum mode, right down to the grimace, clenched fists, and kicking the dirt/air in front of him (see several comments above in the thread).

[MCFinARL]

Danowski is almost beyond brilliant. The commenters were puzzled by how much Danowski was playing his second mid-field the first half. The now anticipated ND wave that has been taking teams down in the second half might have succeeded today but for that strategy. Not only were the first line mids much fresher than they would have been, but, having been given the chance to play extended minutes in the first half, the second line showed terrifically. Personally, I love it when subordinate players are given a real chance to display what they can do, and am especially pleased when they make the most of it. That Danowski knew what these kids could do, and gave them the chance to do it on the biggest stage there is on the belief that they would make his team better, stronger, well, if it gets any better, please call.

Duke's attack around the perimeter is remarkable. The weave, come on, the spacing, ease of giving the ball up, going when you have it, the open shooting lanes, the way the middle in front of the goalie parted in biblical fashion and the way Keenan and the outside guys connected to tear ND apart from point blank range, as impressive an offensive attack I've seen. What made the play in the half court so impressive is that Duke does not play slow, it creates attack and goes, and as talented as Wolf and Jones are, they do not seem to define Duke's effectiveness, although they certainly at its core.

My view, deserved Champions.

I agree with your post except for the part about the commentators being puzzled about Danowski using the second midfield in the first half. They had identified as one of the key aspects of the game Notre Dame's greater depth in the midfield, and they noted frequently Notre Dame's often successful efforts to make Duke's first midfielders stay in the game on defense. So I didn't get the sense they were surprised to see the second midfield or puzzled by Danowski's strategy.

[Reisen]

Yeah, I have to say (again, as the most casual of Lacrosse fans, that knows the teams but not the coaches) the behavior of the Denver and ND coaches was pretty egregious. I mean, the ND coach's behavior yesterday made Gary Williams look like Gandhi. He was flipping out over the tiniest details. Obviously, Danowski is not like that, but I wonder... was Pressler?

[Reisen]

I don't know the comparative stats. If your children are girls, I suspect the women's game is safer than soccer, where girls sustain many knee and head injuries even at the youth and high school levels. My daughter played lacrosse in high school and loved it, and her team had fewer injury problems than the soccer team.

If your children are boys, it may be a different story. I suspect youth lacrosse is fairly safe, though certainly at the college level a reasonable number of athletes suffer both leg injuries and concussions. Dan Wigrizer, for example, had to stop playing last year because of multiple concussions, and Brad Ross (who graduated in 2008 but, I believe, used his extra year of eligibility to play in 2009) has had a very tough time with post-concussion symptoms (http://www.laxmagazine.com/mll/2012-13/news/100913_lasting_impact_brad_ross_post_concussive_sy ndrome_lacrosse), although some of those were, I think, sustained in MLL, not in college. Sadly, when you get to a certain level of competition, sports are dangerous. But there is no comparison, I think, between lacrosse and football, which seems to leave its best players arthritic at best and severely disabled at worst.

Thanks to all those that answered. I have a 4 y/o girl, and a boy on the way. I, too, was a soccer player for decades. While my daughter already plays soccer, I think Lacrosse could be a good option for her (we live in the mid-Atlantic). I also think volleyball is a great sport in terms of not too many injuries, and my wife played club at Duke.

I was more thinking about my son, though. Football is out, no chance. I don't see him playing hockey for some reason, and I have little interest in baseball. So I see soccer, golf & basketball, and maybe lacrosse or tennis.

The concussion thing does worry me though (for lacrosse).

[gus]

...and I have little interest in baseball...

Good luck with that one.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Thanks to all those that answered. I have a 4 y/o girl, and a boy on the way. I, too, was a soccer player for decades. While my daughter already plays soccer, I think Lacrosse could be a good option for her (we live in the mid-Atlantic). I also think volleyball is a great sport in terms of not too many injuries, and my wife played club at Duke.

I was more thinking about my son, though. Football is out, no chance. I don't see him playing hockey for some reason, and I have little interest in baseball. So I see soccer, golf & basketball, and maybe lacrosse or tennis.

The concussion thing does worry me though (for lacrosse).

How about letting him find out what appeals to him?

[MCFinARL]

How about letting him find out what appeals to him?

Well, sure, pushing a kid into a sport he/she doesn't really take to is a recipe for disaster. But let's be fair to Reisen here. For better or worse, there aren't a lot of informal pick-up games out there for kids, except maybe in basketball; team sports today are organized, and for kids to get enough experience to know whether a sport appeals (unless it's one they do in PE at school), they may need to be signed up by parents. I think it's completely reasonable for a parent to think about what sports he might want his kids to sample in order to make a choice. And it's completely reasonable for a parent to think about what sports he might want to discourage because of injury risk.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Well, sure, pushing a kid into a sport he/she doesn't really take to is a recipe for disaster. But let's be fair to Reisen here. For better or worse, there aren't a lot of informal pick-up games out there for kids, except maybe in basketball; team sports today are organized, and for kids to get enough experience to know whether a sport appeals (unless it's one they do in PE at school), they may need to be signed up by parents. I think it's completely reasonable for a parent to think about what sports he might want his kids to sample in order to make a choice. And it's completely reasonable for a parent to think about what sports he might want to discourage because of injury risk.

OK - I guess.
Maybe a little brusque and I apologize, but I guess it was a reaction to my feeling that kids are over managed and need a chance to just be kids. But that is life today.

[MCFinARL]

OK - I guess.
Maybe a little brusque and I apologize, but I guess it was a reaction to my feeling that kids are over managed and need a chance to just be kids. But that is life today.

You will get no disagreement with me on that--but, sadly, that IS life today.

[greybeard]

There was an interesting article in the Sunday Times racking up the some of the considerable costs to kids of losing the neighborhood quality to highly coached Regional teams. Worth a read.

I will add there is convincing scientific evidence that over coaching, or the wrong kind, can rob youngsters of the ability to learn in a way that provides meaningful growth, that is, growth not only in the subject at hand, which is also enhanced considerably, but the ability to learn the life skill of how learning best happens for them. This research in the main has been a multi-disciplinary effort with brain, neuro, and learning specialists leading the way. There are noted behavior scientists, and others whose research supports these conclusions. One of the rare areas in which there is considerable multi-discipline dialogue.

Most recreational coaches naturally follow the model established by the pros who lead clinics and provide individual training. Learning to play and playing that produces learning should be of a piece. Rarely does adult run sport participation support the later; it pushes along the precocious, but does not permit them to reach their potential in most instances; takes away their control over their own development, their own style, their ability to figure things out on their own through play in a way that suits them as individuals. It often relegates those who are les at home in their bodies to the sidelines and then gone from a world that now comprises so much of the social interactions and growth to which one would hope we can all agree should happen. The numbers of kids that fall into that category all too often grows with each passing year. The message that that imparts is destructive on many levels. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, and the people pulling the string are not just the adults on the field, but the parents in the stands. We all are complicit, and I don't think I need to explain how.

For anyone interested in finding out more about this, I am happy to provide places to look. Ring me up. In the meantime, this article which I think is a specialist's perspective of the shortcomings/costs of high-end kid's baseball is a worthwhile read. So is a book authored by Ed Thompson, the director of an organization known as PCA, positive coaching alliance. A terrific book with lots of great suggestions for creating very positive experiences for your kids and yourselves as they participate in the "games" that adults create for them. His organization and book is effective in moving coaches and parents to approaches that address the emotional blows, even while making kids sports more and more the product of high-end performance teaching that science says is the wrong way to go. Since there exists neither the will nor ability to reverse the speeding drive towards teaching excellence, in effect, teaching how to "fix" kids so they will play(?) better and learn more (?), Thompson's book on how to promote emotional winning environments is I think a must read.

Don't leave it to luck would be my suggestion.

[MChambers]

Greybeard,

Perhaps you mean this article from this weekend's Washington Post?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/stealing-home-how-travel-teams-are-eroding-community-baseball/2014/05/23/5af95d34-df6e-11e3-9743-bb9b59cde7b9_story.html

[Billy Dat]

There was an interesting article in the Sunday Times racking up the some of the considerable costs to kids of losing the neighborhood quality to highly coached Regional teams. Worth a read.

I tried to find this article but couldn't...please post a link as I am sure many would be interested in reading it.

We had a great discussion a few years back on the "race to nowhere" nature of modern day youth sports, and greybeard had great perspective from his years coaching.

During yesterday's championship game, they had a lot of interesting "return from commercial" segments with interviews of former and current college lax players about their experience on teams. No less a legend then Paul Rabil started a sentence with, "At 12 years old, when a lacrosse stick was first placed in my hand..." and that's all you needed to hear to understand the difference between 1997 when Rabil was 12 and 2014 (let alone 1984 when I was 12).

In 2014, the idea that a kid who was "serious" about playing lacrosse in college would not start playing the sport until he was 12 has been relegated to the quaint past...and that's a big part of the problem. By the time a kid is 12, they are expected to have not only been playing for 3-4 years, but also, at that point, pretty much decided to specialize in that sport and play it year round, at the club level with a regional travel schedule. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating, that level of commitment isn't expected until they are 13.

It's insanity, but cottage industries have sprung up and adults are making their living by playing on the dreams of Mom and Dad. It is very very hard not to get sucked into it. As other said, the kids all meeting down at the school yard or the local park or the kids house with the biggest lawn to play pick up sports after school no longer exists - who has the time, they are too inundated with official sports practices, playdates, music lessons and scholastic tutors. Trying to play a different sport each season becomes a near impossibility once they hit 10.

What's funny is that my sons play soccer, basketball and lacrosse. What do they choose to play when they have some precious downtime....aside from video games....wiffle ball!

[MCFinARL]

I tried to find this article but couldn't...please post a link as I am sure many would be interested in reading it.

We had a great discussion a few years back on the "race to nowhere" nature of modern day youth sports, and greybeard had great perspective from his years coaching.

During yesterday's championship game, they had a lot of interesting "return from commercial" segments with interviews of former and current college lax players about their experience on teams. No less a legend then Paul Rabil started a sentence with, "At 12 years old, when a lacrosse stick was first placed in my hand..." and that's all you needed to hear to understand the difference between 1997 when Rabil was 12 and 2014 (let alone 1984 when I was 12).

In 2014, the idea that a kid who was "serious" about playing lacrosse in college would not start playing the sport until he was 12 has been relegated to the quaint past...and that's a big part of the problem. By the time a kid is 12, they are expected to have not only been playing for 3-4 years, but also, at that point, pretty much decided to specialize in that sport and play it year round, at the club level with a regional travel schedule. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating, that level of commitment isn't expected until they are 13.

It's insanity, but cottage industries have sprung up and adults are making their living by playing on the dreams of Mom and Dad. It is very very hard not to get sucked into it. As other said, the kids all meeting down at the school yard or the local park or the kids house with the biggest lawn to play pick up sports after school no longer exists - who has the time, they are too inundated with official sports practices, playdates, music lessons and scholastic tutors. Trying to play a different sport each season becomes a near impossibility once they hit 10.

What's funny is that my sons play soccer, basketball and lacrosse. What do they choose to play when they have some precious downtime....aside from video games....wiffle ball!

The comment from Rabil is interesting, as you note. My daughter who played lacrosse began at 13 and was able to start on a high school team that enjoyed a decent level of success against pretty mediocre competition--but had she wanted to play in college, she would have struggled to find a spot even on a weak D-III team, because she started so "late" and her stick skills were not as proficient as many other players'. (I doubt she would have been able to play D-I lacrosse even if she had started the sport earlier.) She switched to lacrosse after playing travel soccer for a couple of years, where she was already perceived by her coaches to have started too late because she didn't seek to join a "serious" team until she was 10.

[Billy Dat]

She switched to lacrosse after playing travel soccer for a couple of years, where she was already perceived by her coaches to have started too late because she didn't seek to join a "serious" team until she was 10.

You have summed up modern youth sports very neatly with this one sentence.

It's not like this is a US problem, in fact, we probably were late to the game considering the state sanctioned sports academies of the former USSR and China and the academies of the various non-US soccer and basketball pro teams in other countries. When did Leo Messi leave home to move to Spain to train with FC Barca...11 or 12?

A great deal has been lost though. One thing the article fails to mention is that the reason some parents turn from the local rec league to club teams is to get away from the nepotism and crazy politics of Mom and Dad-run and coaches rec leagues. What is meant to be great quality time between Dad/Mom and kid turns into a few parents with the best players coaching together so that their team can be the best. Whoa, the Dad coach plays his mediocre son the most of anyone because, hey, he's putting in the time coaching. Then, a cabal of like minded parents take over the "board" of the rec league so that they can run it how they want, usually to the advantage of their kids. Any then, when everyone starts complaining, they start bringing in outside evaluators to run tryouts so that there is no nepotism. Soon, that outside evaluator starts introducing all those parents to his coaching academy - I'll give your kid one-on-one coaching to make them better. Oh, now I've got 8-9 of you signed up for individual coaching, I'll start running clinics....and hey, since you all take my clinic, I'll form up a club team. Bye bye rec league....

[Tom B.]

Switching back to Duke lacrosse for a moment....

Anyone have any word on Haus' injury? It looked bad at the time -- he was down for a while and didn't look like he was able to put weight on his leg when he was being helped off.

[TKG]

Below is the link to a nice story about Ben DeLuca from today's Inside Lacrosse. Says a lot about Coach DeLuca and a lot about Coach Danowski.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ben-deluca-grateful-humbled-by-experience-at-duke/28832

[greybeard]

Greybeard,

Perhaps you mean this article from this weekend's Washington Post?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/stealing-home-how-travel-teams-are-eroding-community-baseball/2014/05/23/5af95d34-df6e-11e3-9743-bb9b59cde7b9_story.html

Thanks. This is the article I was thinking of. As I said, there is much in it I find quite valuable.

Here, in my opinion, is where it fails. I agree with the organizing premise entirely. I will place in bold letters where I think that the problem lies, even at the Little League level, and will provide a ting of information that I think this guy is burying, or just flat out can't face. To the chase:

But Stephen Keener, president and chief executive of Little League International, questions whether travel ball is the key to something more. “There’s this belief that a travel team and a higher level of competitive play will propel a child to a higher place. That belief is misguided,” he told me. “There is something to be said for high-quality instruction, but at the end of the day, the player and his personal desire and his athletic ability will determine how far he goes in baseball.”[/I]

Nothing wrong with what is said, but what it leaves out is huge, in my opinion. First, there is something fundamentally wrong about the concept that a player's "athletic ability" will define "how far he goes," at least from the perspective of the founder of little league, whose concepts Keener maintains should still be embraced. It belies the unfortunate truth that little league has become the mirror image of its big brother, and also happens not to be true.

Not to put too fine a line on it, a kid who can run and do ten times the push ups of the other kids can and often is perfectly ordinary in his performance unless he comes to the game having "figured it out." The it is how to develop his use of self to perform the tasks he likes. We have all seen it, even up through the early years of middle and high school sports when well-meaning coaches who see this talent try to "fix" the athletic kid "who "lacks skills" develop them by a barrage of how-to drills and instruction. How well does that work?

On the other hand, a kid who is slow of foot but has figured it out often shines on little league teams, at least as they exist during the first few years. The kid catches the thing wherever you put it, throws accurately and to the right places, and hits the ball well above average. If kids are choosing sides, this kid gets picked early. He also, but for the drive that Keener believes is missing from his game, thinks nothing of his higher level of performance. What he knows is that he loves it, and the it is not just playing; it is the joy of taking in information, not instruction, but information, and making it work for him. He is thinking and improving in something that attracts and he enjoys doing it. That's the list.

If you take two players, one "with athleticism" and one without and find each imbued with the same ability to figure it out, the athletic player will perform better. He is also the one who is more at risk. At risk of what? Having the ability to and the value of it stolen from him by well-meaning coaches who will focus on "fixing him to make him better. Burn out, science would say, comes from such thievery, and entering ever higher levels of "fixers," and performers makes him less the precocious learner that brought him to attention in the first place. This happens whether he moves on to travel participation or not. Summer comes, camp experiences become baseball fix it environments in which kids are segregated by their ability to perform, we wouldn't want games to be played by groups of kids of various degrees of skill; heck, what can the skilled guys learn from the less skilled, and what good can come of kids less comfortable in their own bodies rubbing shoulders and forming relationships, friendships, with players who are more advanced. It begins no matter what.

And, the secret all over the block," (The Master Song, Leonard Cohen; sorry, a compulsion of mine) is televised national championships and all the tournaments that lead up to them that this neighborhood, innocent little league participation is made of. Please. Anyone for a moment believe that every team, and I mean every single one, is not made up of a collection of the best of the best of little leaguers culled from any number of little league teams in a given area that often is quite expansive? In my neighborhood, that would be the City of Washington D.C., that is exactly, precisely the case. What about yours?

And, whether it made up of a group of Pops or not matters nott. These kids are trained, fixed, to do it the right way, which is lauded not just by the talking heads who do the telecasts or just "announcing" when these uber teams are collected, start playing, start being culled to leave just the "best" of the "best," but guess who else.

To paraphrase the Bard (Dylan that is):

An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
[But] it's alright, . . . [your kids] can make it.

[I]It's Alright Ma

(Please forgive the shortcomings of this writer for a poor choice of syntax).

[cspan37421]

As for announcer Eamon McAnaney, I can cut him some slack as a Notre Dame alumni. I love his calls, to me he is to lax what Ian Darke is to futbol, Marv Albert is to hoops, etc.

Is he the one who said in the final - and semi-final - "And THAT'S why they call it execution!"

Well, whoever said that, I thought, what terrible wording! Guy was born at the wrong time. Had he lived in the Reign of Terror ....

[cspan37421]

I mean, the ND coach's behavior yesterday made Gary Williams look like Gandhi.

Yeah, but nobody could sweat like Gary. Even his tie would get soaked. I loved how the Blue Devils would get him sweating. Especially in 2001. Oh, that was beautiful.

But don't you remember Gary? Has his customary rage faded from memory so quickly? He used to get every bit as animated, even on the golf course. Mr. Tony tells a story of golfing with Gary, and while my memory isn't perfect, the gist of it is that Gary drove the green of a par 5 in 2, and then proceeded to 3 putt for a par. Mr. Tony says, trying to console him, "You know, it's only a game. " Gary angrily approaches TK, gets up in his grill like he wants to choke him, and yells, "I KNOW it's a game!! I KNOW it's a game!! But you're supposed to WIN the game!!"

[chrishoke]

Below is the link to a nice story about Ben DeLuca from today's Inside Lacrosse. Says a lot about Coach DeLuca and a lot about Coach Danowski.

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ben-deluca-grateful-humbled-by-experience-at-duke/28832

Great article - thanks for the link. I also highly recommend listening to post game press conference http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3292117&db_oem_id=4200
We are so lucky as Duke fans!

[burnspbesq]

As you may recall, Duke was put in a bit of a bind in January when Joe Cinosky, who had been the volunteer assistant in 2013 working primarily with the defense, accepted a paying assistant job at Mt. St. Mary's. As it happened, Ben DeLuca, who had been fired as the head coach at Cornell in the fall after an alleged hazing incident, agreed to come down--and that obviously worked out brilliantly for all concerned.

I'm sure it was expected by all concerned that Coach DeLuca would pick up a head coaching job at the conclusion of this season. Here's the thing, though: as of now there are exactly zero head coaching vacancies in men's D1 college lacrosse. Holy Cross filled its vacancy last weekend, hiring Penn offensive co-ordinator Judd Lattimore. And there are (apart from the usual whingeing at Inside Carolina) no whispers of coaches being on hot seats--even the coaches whose teams' persistent underachivement you would expect to put them in jeopardy, like John Paul at Michigan, Andy Towers at Dartmouth, or Ryan Curtis at Vermont.

It would be utterly fantastic if Duke could hold on to Coach DeLuca, but there is probably no way that he could endure a second year without income. If we want to keep him, we have to find a way to pay him.

I have no idea whether this is likely, or even possible (and I'm probably crazy for even thinking it's plausible), but it occurs to me that there is a win-win-win outcome to this situation. Suppose Mike Murphy, the Penn head coach who is a former Duke player, were to hire Matt Danowski to replace Lattimore. That would open up a paid spot on the Duke staff, into which Coach DeLuca could step. That, in turn, would open up the volunteer assistant slot for someone like ... Josh Dionne, who has spoken openly of a desire to go into coaching (and would certainly benefit from access to Duke's sports medicine staff and facilities as he rehabs his knee).

Yeah, I know: crazy talk. But if anyone had told you last December that Coach DeLuca would be coming to Duke, that would have seemed equally crazy.

[Tom B.]

Yeah, but nobody could sweat like Gary. Even his tie would get soaked. I loved how the Blue Devils would get him sweating. Especially in 2001. Oh, that was beautiful.




1998 was pretty great too. We went up to College Park in early January and blitzed them -- came out firing (literally -- we won the opening tap and Langdon immediately took, and hit, a three-pointer), never looked back, hung 61 on them in the first half and won 104-72 (and that was after K eased off the gas in the second half).

So a month later, Maryland comes down to Durham. Keep in mind this is a pretty good Maryland team. They were ranked #20 at the time of the early January beatdown, were #23 for the rematch in Durham, and would eventually reach the NCAA Sweet 16. The result -- more of the same. The game basically picks up where the earlier one left off, with Duke clicking and Maryland unable to do much of anything. Gary loses it completely and gets hit with two technical fouls within the first six minutes, thus sparing himself from having to watch the rest of the debacle in person. Duke puts up 57 in the first half and actually leads by a bigger halftime margin (27) than the one in the first game (22). Again, K dials it back in the second half and Duke coasts to an 86-59 win.

Mmm....good times.

[Reisen]

OK - I guess.
Maybe a little brusque and I apologize, but I guess it was a reaction to my feeling that kids are over managed and need a chance to just be kids. But that is life today.

No need for an apology. That was a perfectly reasonable response, and one I anticipated when I wrote my original post. A couple of thoughts:

- First, at a young age, a child's involvement in sports is pretty much 100% determined by their parents. Nowadays, the costs are not trivial. My father took me to ski school every weekend during the ski season when I was only 3 years old. However, he never offered to take me with him golfing. As a result, I'm the equivalent of a scratch golfer when it comes to skiing, but my actual golf handicap is only an 18 or so (I didn't start until I took lessons at Duke). My daughter took private ski lessons this past season (also at age 3), and her mother and I regularly spent 3+hours driving, and another hour lugging equipment, getting her dressed, etc, only for 90 minutes of on-the-snow time (before she tired out or got cold). Not to mention the $$$ for the instructor* ($100+ per hour) and rentals.

- Similarly, we also already have her playing soccer (an added fee at her preschool), and taking swim lessons. My experience has been the kids that were into / good at sports were the ones whose parents committed to them early on. My cousin was an all-american swimmer at Georgia Tech; his mom (my aunt) committed both her kids to swimming 100% growing up. I've met a couple of olympic skiers and their parents... the parents often deserve just as much credit as the athlete. They often have great stories. Since Europe was mentioned, there's a reason Europe keeps churning out soccer players. Their youth systems are incredibly evolved and start at a very young age.

- Since I mentioned it, my parents wouldn't let me play football (head injury risk), and they were ahead of their time on that one (this was 25 years ago). I intend to do the same with my kids. If they really want to play baseball / softball, I'm not going to say no, but I'm certainly not going to do anything to encourage it (forget them getting a mitt for Christmas. My daughter has already been given a soccer ball, soccer shoes, full ski gear, and a golf club).

- Now, all that said, I've got a handful of sports for my kids to try (soccer, skiing, swimming, golf, volleyball, now lacrosse) and potentially more I would be open to (basketball, tennis, track / x-country, wrestling, karate, cycling) and would never force a kid to play when they didn't want to. So it's a matter of prioritization (it is physically and fiscally impossible to support all those activities at once). I'm definitely going to prioritize a kid trying some over others, even selfishly based on my interest in watching it.

* I thought I could teach her myself, and started off that way before I gave in and hired an instructor. It turns out she was dramatically different around him than with me. Specifically, she expected to be picked up / handheld much more with me, and was much more independent / resilient with an instructor.

[johnb]

No need for an apology. That was a perfectly reasonable response, and one I anticipated when I wrote my original post. A couple of thoughts:

- First, at a young age, a child's involvement in sports is pretty much 100% determined by their parents. Nowadays, the costs are not trivial. My father took me to ski school every weekend during the ski season when I was only 3 years old. However, he never offered to take me with him golfing. As a result, I'm the equivalent of a scratch golfer when it comes to skiing, but my actual golf handicap is only an 18 or so (I didn't start until I took lessons at Duke). My daughter took private ski lessons this past season (also at age 3), and her mother and I regularly spent 3+hours driving, and another hour lugging equipment, getting her dressed, etc, only for 90 minutes of on-the-snow time (before she tired out or got cold). Not to mention the $$$ for the instructor* ($100+ per hour) and rentals.

- Similarly, we also already have her playing soccer (an added fee at her preschool), and taking swim lessons. My experience has been the kids that were into / good at sports were the ones whose parents committed to them early on. My cousin was an all-american swimmer at Georgia Tech; his mom (my aunt) committed both her kids to swimming 100% growing up. I've met a couple of olympic skiers and their parents... the parents often deserve just as much credit as the athlete. They often have great stories. Since Europe was mentioned, there's a reason Europe keeps churning out soccer players. Their youth systems are incredibly evolved and start at a very young age.

- Since I mentioned it, my parents wouldn't let me play football (head injury risk), and they were ahead of their time on that one (this was 25 years ago). I intend to do the same with my kids. If they really want to play baseball / softball, I'm not going to say no, but I'm certainly not going to do anything to encourage it (forget them getting a mitt for Christmas. My daughter has already been given a soccer ball, soccer shoes, full ski gear, and a golf club).

- Now, all that said, I've got a handful of sports for my kids to try (soccer, skiing, swimming, golf, volleyball, now lacrosse) and potentially more I would be open to (basketball, tennis, track / x-country, wrestling, karate, cycling) and would never force a kid to play when they didn't want to. So it's a matter of prioritization (it is physically and fiscally impossible to support all those activities at once). I'm definitely going to prioritize a kid trying some over others, even selfishly based on my interest in watching it.

* I thought I could teach her myself, and started off that way before I gave in and hired an instructor. It turns out she was dramatically different around him than with me. Specifically, she expected to be picked up / handheld much more with me, and was much more independent / resilient with an instructor.

Interesting to read, since I have a similarly-aged daughter (just turned 4).

I'd like my daughter to develop some basic competence at a handful of "life sports," like swimming, skiing, tennis, and golf, regardless of whether she becomes adept. This is partly because I like to do them, and, unless she has some strong objection, I kinda expect her to do at least a few of the things that I enjoy. I'd also like her to have some experience at team sports, and so she's going to play soccer and basketball for a while regardless of her preference--I sign her up, and, up to now, she's been excited about everything.

I don't want her to become a serious gymnast, on the other hand, because it looks painful and dangerous. She is taking gymnastics since it seems good for her. I also don't want her to get interested in softball, bowling, or ice skating, because I find them boring and would have to spend interminable hours watching her. Sure, it'd be more interesting if she were playing, but all things being equal,,,

Don't know what I'd do if she indicates a desire and the talent to play at a Duke level in any sport. Sure, I'd be encouraging, but, in reviewing the pre-Duke careers of almost all of our athletes, they seem to have had very angular high school careers. Leaving aside football and basketball, which are a bit different, and lacrosse (where they almost exclusively attend prep schools or public schools famous for their academic and financial well being), Duke athletes tended to get schooled at home, via the internet, at an athletic academy, internationally, or at a school that has won dozens of state championships. I don't really know how those kids are identified in the first place. Sometimes the kids have the burning passion, but I assume parents are influential. And while we don't have the government-sponsored ssessment systems of a country like China, any untrained eye can see that some kids are exceptionally talented/quick/big, and those kids are going to be directed into specialty programs at a young age.

I wouldn't discount greed in regards to the channeling of kids into specialty high school experiences. My cousin plays AAU basketball as a scrappy 6'0" wing guard/forward. He has been encouraged by his AAU coach that he has a chance for a college scholarship, which seems insanely unrealistic for a guy who can't play point guard and isn't a particularly good shooter. I assume that for every young person who makes the Duke golf or tennis or soccer team, there are plenty of others who overfocus on sports and underfocus on academics. To my mind, this would be one of the downsides to the glorification of college sports: not only does it chew up spots that could go to students whose angularity is towards music or math rather than field hockey, but it influences how 15 year olds are spending their time in hopes of getting an elusive athletic scholarship. And so, when I think about where to steer my 4 year old, I tend to think I'm steering her toward a more average athletic experience regardless of her talent level, since while it might lead inevitably to athletic mediocrity, I have a few other things that take priority (like learning to read).

[Olympic Fan]

1998 was pretty great too. We went up to College Park in early January and blitzed them -- came out firing (literally -- we won the opening tap and Langdon immediately took, and hit, a three-pointer), never looked back, hung 61 on them in the first half and won 104-72 (and that was after K eased off the gas in the second half).

So a month later, Maryland comes down to Durham. Keep in mind this is a pretty good Maryland team. They were ranked #20 at the time of the early January beatdown, were #23 for the rematch in Durham, and would eventually reach the NCAA Sweet 16. The result -- more of the same. The game basically picks up where the earlier one left off, with Duke clicking and Maryland unable to do much of anything. Gary loses it completely and gets hit with two technical fouls within the first six minutes, thus sparing himself from having to watch the rest of the debacle in person. Duke puts up 57 in the first half and actually leads by a bigger halftime margin (27) than the one in the first game (22). Again, K dials it back in the second half and Duke coasts to an 86-59 win.

Mmm....good times.

Nice memories -- but to me, the 1999 season was even sweeter.

Duke visited Cole Field House on Jan. 3. At the time, Duke was 13-1 and No. 2 in the nation. Maryland was No. 4 in the nation (not sure of their record). But that was basically the 1998 Maryland team with Stevie Francis added. They were amazingly confident. I heart a radio guy phone in his report just before tipoff. It was basically, "This Duke is team very talented, but they haven't seen anybodu as quick and as talented as Maryland. I think they're going to be in for a big surprise."

Instead, Duke took control early in the second half and coasted to an 82-64 win. The rematch in Durham was Shane Battier's coming out party as a 3-point shooter. remember, he did almost nothing from long range in the first year and a half of his career. In that game, he hit 4-of-4 3s, scored 27 points and led Duke to an easy 95-77 victory. He credited that breakout to watching a documentary about Tibetan monks.

Duke's domination of Gary's teams actually proved to be a great goad for Maryland's program. The Terps would get a big win in Cameron the next year (although Duke would win 2 of 3, including the ACC title game). Maryland would also win in Cameron in 2001 ... although Duke won the other three meetings (two with legendary comebacks). Gary would win his share vs. Duke from 2000-2010, but was still usually chasing the Devils. Those 1998 and 1999 seasons were fun to watch from Duke's POV.

[MartyClark]

OK - I guess.
Maybe a little brusque and I apologize, but I guess it was a reaction to my feeling that kids are over managed and need a chance to just be kids. But that is life today.

I coached my twin boys, now 30, in baseball and basketball from 1st through 6th grade. I had no qualifications but loved my kids and wanted to help. In 1st grade we won everything. I told people, and they scoffed, that we had serious athletes on the team. As it turned out, one of the kids played in the NFL for five years, two played minor league baseball, one played Big Ten football ( now a Green Beret ) and one played professional soccer. I loved these kids and their parents, with one exception, were great.

The neighborhood concept fell apart by the 3d grade. The kids rapidly went on a recreational vs. competitive team track. The good athletes went to competitive teams. I stuck with my sons and the mediocre athletes.

I agree that kids are over managed. In my experience, the parents of the better kids were too ambitious and vicarious. At least in suburban Denver, there is scant attendance at high school games. My theory, maybe wrong, is that the ordinary student doesn't care about the school mate who deserted the neighborhood and went to a competitive team, that crossed school boundaries, at an early age.

There is little doubt that this trend has produced better players. I don't think it has produced better people. This AAU or club basketball drives me crazy. These kids really need to be in school, studying, during spring semester.

[TKG]

Great article - thanks for the link. I also highly recommend listening to post game press conference http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=3292117&db_oem_id=4200
We are so lucky as Duke fans!

Chris: thanks for the link to the interview. Coach Danowski is so humble and comfortable with himself. I would love to be a fly on the wall during his recruiting pitches. We are so fortunate to have him at Duke.

[Tom B.]

Nice memories -- but to me, the 1999 season was even sweeter.

Duke visited Cole Field House on Jan. 3. At the time, Duke was 13-1 and No. 2 in the nation. Maryland was No. 4 in the nation (not sure of their record). But that was basically the 1998 Maryland team with Stevie Francis added. They were amazingly confident. I heart a radio guy phone in his report just before tipoff. It was basically, "This Duke is team very talented, but they haven't seen anybodu as quick and as talented as Maryland. I think they're going to be in for a big surprise."

Instead, Duke took control early in the second half and coasted to an 82-64 win. The rematch in Durham was Shane Battier's coming out party as a 3-point shooter. remember, he did almost nothing from long range in the first year and a half of his career. In that game, he hit 4-of-4 3s, scored 27 points and led Duke to an easy 95-77 victory. He credited that breakout to watching a documentary about Tibetan monks.




Oh yeah, those games were fun. Especially holding legend-in-waiting Steve Francis to a collective 9-for-29 shooting in the two games.

[greybeard]

I coached my twin boys, now 30, in baseball and basketball from 1st through 6th grade. I had no qualifications but loved my kids and wanted to help. In 1st grade we won everything. I told people, and they scoffed, that we had serious athletes on the team. As it turned out, one of the kids played in the NFL for five years, two played minor league baseball, one played Big Ten football ( now a Green Beret ) and one played professional soccer. I loved these kids and their parents, with one exception, were great.

The neighborhood concept fell apart by the 3d grade. The kids rapidly went on a recreational vs. competitive team track. The good athletes went to competitive teams. I stuck with my sons and the mediocre athletes.

I agree that kids are over managed. In my experience, the parents of the better kids were too ambitious and vicarious. At least in suburban Denver, there is scant attendance at high school games. My theory, maybe wrong, is that the ordinary student doesn't care about the school mate who deserted the neighborhood and went to a competitive team, that crossed school boundaries, at an early age.

There is little doubt that this trend has produced better players. I don't think it has produced better people. This AAU or club basketball drives me crazy. These kids really need to be in school, studying, during spring semester.

Congrats, MartyClark. A well handled stink that created real value for the kids whom you coached in a sport to be played. Well done, and presented in a fashion that resonates. Thanks.

My guess is the reason "that the ordinary student doesn't care about the school mate" has less to do with being put off by desertion then having been scarred, many deeply, by a system that shunted them aside because coaches couldn't fix them. People need time to be comfortable in their skin, to see themselves, their physical selves, as a laboratory for experimentation for no time table for results and no definition of what achievement is. Kids the most disconnected from their bodies, as I term it, need with some company and a tip or two to figure out one thing, how to slow a basketball down as it bounces up by articulating joints and then straightening to impart direction and, voila, become a dribbler. Just a few dribbles and that kid can learn what he or she wants, with a little company and maybe a tip or two to keep their explorations going to far afield.

Perceptions by parents about how kids can best make progress, in my opinion, can offend be in conflict with what they profess to want for their kid. The norm that is blinds as I see it.

I spent a season lending my support to coaches who invited it in working with some of their kids. One kid was quite scarred and very detached from his body. In 15 minutes or so, he was with repeatability putting up shots from the spot where righty layups were shot from with very nice loft and touch off the backboard in the zone of what one would like. Yes, they went in, but the kid "knew" something more important. When practice began, I went over to his Dad to have a chat. "They were just from near the basket." Well, I would find the kid waiting for me when we would play with something new in our practice area, which was a ten foot wide strip between the baseline and a wall running parallel to it. When we were playing with shooting, he would chose the basket (s cinder block), I'd show him several different shots, lefty and righty, and he'd be off. The next time we'd pass it back and forth as we walked along from one side of the court to the other and talk about the game, sometimes the subject flowed from him, sometimes I'd fish for something that interested him.

So, after a couple or three of these short little stints together, we went back to a side basket in front of the old man. the kid went to the old spot, made 3 or 4 and I told him to take a big step back along the same angle to the basket. His look, "are syou sure about this." "same shot as the one you have been taking, where does the force, momentum for the shot come from. No, the kid had not taken physics. It was indeed the same shot. Take another step back and then another. The same shot, off the same area on the backboard.

The kid went back on the court for practice. I walked over to the old man. I asked him what he thought now. He said he was thinking of sending his kid to Morgan Wooten's camp (the Dad was a DeMatha grad). I thought he was certifiable, but just nodded and said nothing. I liked the guy, and thought the kid was great. After practice, I was doing my version of shooting around, the old man was standing maybe 10 plus feet away, and the ball bounced to him. I saw where his son had been only a few weeks earlier, only all grown up. The next time we met, he was dribbling up and back and was walked and chatted, lefty a few steps, a cross over, easy, walking and chatting, sometimes stopping to retrieve the ball. The time passed quickly, and practice had started, the other guys were scrimmaging on a short half court going across the gym. He looked over. With the second look, I said "go ahead." The kid was remarkable. He was finding great space at terrific angles, called for the ball with confident eyes and a supple ready posture, and often received it with greater aplomb than it had been passed. He probably took 3 or 4 shots from the spot of the catch. The result. Just what his father said he wanted to see. I'm pretty sure he didn't.

Another quick story. I coached two seasons; got into it to get my neighbor's son into the league. Cross over league, 4th and 5th graders. There was a simple rotation that formed the basis for an offense I learned a lifetime ago: through it into the corner, cut through on a diagonal through the lane without speed, the center rolls from the off side towards the ball timed to pass over the cutter as he passed by and proceeded into the far corner. Everybody shifted one spot (position) to the right and the ball swung to the cutter now in the far corner. There are a few more details to the continued rotation, but nothing you can't imagine.

By half way into the third practice, I could not find a single guy who would own up to understanding what was supposed to be going on; nobody came close to executing.

I asked the guys to form a circle, I made a ridiculous movement with my hand and a whoop, pointed to the guy next to me, indicating, "now you," and so on, when it passed through me, I said, "you do it and add your own nonsense." Now there were two, and so own until everyone had made a fool of themselves and were laughing. We all knew at what.

I then scribbled up a sequence of plays on several pieces of yellow paper, again from my high school days, gave it to Avi, my neighbor's kid, told him and four other guys to go to the other end of the half court and when they thought they had it to come back. Took them 5 minutes, maybe 7. The other 5 guys, we played with a high low inside game and some screens on and off the ball. They had their own thing down by the time Avi and the others came back. Judgments and adult directions in that case killed.

Final story. The next year the younger guys did not want to move up to run a regular full court. The team became an amalgam of kids who had some experience playing together and a bunch who were new. The newer guys were shy, scared a bit, and unfamiliar with the game. After the first game proceeded shamefully, the other coach was exhorting his players to press in the half court, double team one particular kid who was obviously intimidated, and every parent for the other team clapped when the ball was stolen, heck, the kid practically handed it to them, and then went on to score. The game outcome was obscene.

The next game it started again. I walked over towards the other coach, and yelled over the crowd, "why are you doing this?" He looked at me quizzically. I said, "you're up 12 to nothing, why are you having your kids pressure these guys 25 feet from the basket and embarrassing them. I am not the only adult here who is responsible for these kids. I have just met them. Cut it out." He did, but only for about 4 minutes when the score went from 18 to 0 to 20 to 5. After a bit, coaches would say to me, "don't worry, you only have two players, next year you'll get rid of the dead wood and get some other guys who can play." No really.

Avi and the other kid who the other coaches said could play, and another guy who was Avi's friend and also was experienced, were ashamed to be associated with these other guys and did all they could on the court to disassociate from them. I told Avi and his boyz that these other kids could really play, they just needed to be let in, to be supported, but Avi and the others were unwilling. Such was the force of the embarrassment being put upon them.

Now, I have to say that I am not a fan of pressure defense among 10-12 year olds; my sense is that this is a time when kids can discover and play with the many relationships on the court, to become familiar with moving the ball and themselves coherently on offense to create something. But, I couldn't let what was happening continue. "you force your guy to put it on the ground and dribble to his off hand. The dribbler comes in your direction, get prepared, move towards the path he is taking, and just as he approaches, get real low and GET THE BALL, hopefully without fouling. I told them nothing else. Scores of 12 to 10 are no way to go through a season, even if you win your share. They are much to be preferred than 50 to 4 or 6.

Oh, the timid kid, a black belt in Karate. You came his way, he got the ball, clean. And, the kid had hands and the ability to make some tough catches off of clever cuts and finish, which Avi and his boyz came to realize once they gave him a chance. Along with Avi and the other kid who the coaches allowed could play, the Karate Kid started the following year on the freshman team at a local private school. Another kid who supposedly couldn't play, turns out he was new to this country, he and his family had just moved here from Nigeria. Turns out he was a fantastic soccer player, whose smile and outward good nature belied his other side. He began the dominant defender on the team, and, to the extent there was one, the organizing force on offense. They call Futball "the beautiful game" not for nothing. Hey, it turns out that a third new kid also was fairly new to this country, and was well on his way to being a star soccer player when he decided to give a new sport a try. Very laid back kid, who needed to belong before he'd join in for real. The kid quietly did it all on the court, with ease and no flash. He just played. And, the hi low guys from the previous year, the hi post passer became Michigan State's long snapper. The other kid, the inside receiver/scorer, became a 3-year starter on a seriously good private school baseball team; it would have been 4 only his "coach" insisted that he come to practice even though Evan told him that he had a music lesson scheduled. I ran into Evan's parents last year; the next night, the three of us went to a club in a hip area of town where he was the featured bassist backed up by two old guy musicians.

Everyone of these guys were quality athletes and generous spirits who could have discovered the game, found the beginnings of it's potential brilliance if not for these well-meaning fathers who got caught up in their own egos and were all too willing to throw guys in whom they saw no talent under the bus. I did not and do not think that these guys were malevolent. I just think that they saw what they were looking for and were the product of a culture run amok with upside down concepts that diminishes what kids left to their own resources would create for themselves--games to be played not to exhibit dominance but just for the sport in them.

Well, at best you might say that this was a long shot at perhaps imparting something that might make the thicket that comprises much of kids' sports a little more navigable. More likely, just an old guy yodeling a tired song.

[greybeard]

"A well handled 'stink'"? Down near the bottom of what all would agree has been a vast pile of mistakes, a real stinker.

"Well done" would have sufficed, albeit an understatement.

The rest did not belong. My apology for the clutter. Grey

[MCFinARL]

Switching back to Duke lacrosse for a moment....

Anyone have any word on Haus' injury? It looked bad at the time -- he was down for a while and didn't look like he was able to put weight on his leg when he was being helped off.

Good question--I agree it looked like it must be either a knee or ankle injury of some severity. There was no replay and the injury apparently occurred away from the ball, so it was hard even to guess what happened. It would be nice to hear more but, since the season is over, we may not unless someone has a connection to the lacrosse team. Hope he is okay.


Is he the one who said in the final - and semi-final - "And THAT'S why they call it execution!"

Well, whoever said that, I thought, what terrible wording! Guy was born at the wrong time. Had he lived in the Reign of Terror ....

Yes, he says that all the time--it's sort of like the Eamon McAnaney equivalent of "Are you serious?" And you are right that it makes no sense--he says it to highlight a well executed play, but of course the fact that a play is well executed has no bearing on "why they call it execution."


As you may recall, Duke was put in a bit of a bind in January when Joe Cinosky, who had been the volunteer assistant in 2013 working primarily with the defense, accepted a paying assistant job at Mt. St. Mary's. As it happened, Ben DeLuca, who had been fired as the head coach at Cornell in the fall after an alleged hazing incident, agreed to come down--and that obviously worked out brilliantly for all concerned.

I'm sure it was expected by all concerned that Coach DeLuca would pick up a head coaching job at the conclusion of this season. Here's the thing, though: as of now there are exactly zero head coaching vacancies in men's D1 college lacrosse. Holy Cross filled its vacancy last weekend, hiring Penn offensive co-ordinator Judd Lattimore. And there are (apart from the usual whingeing at Inside Carolina) no whispers of coaches being on hot seats--even the coaches whose teams' persistent underachivement you would expect to put them in jeopardy, like John Paul at Michigan, Andy Towers at Dartmouth, or Ryan Curtis at Vermont.

It would be utterly fantastic if Duke could hold on to Coach DeLuca, but there is probably no way that he could endure a second year without income. If we want to keep him, we have to find a way to pay him.

I have no idea whether this is likely, or even possible (and I'm probably crazy for even thinking it's plausible), but it occurs to me that there is a win-win-win outcome to this situation. Suppose Mike Murphy, the Penn head coach who is a former Duke player, were to hire Matt Danowski to replace Lattimore. That would open up a paid spot on the Duke staff, into which Coach DeLuca could step. That, in turn, would open up the volunteer assistant slot for someone like ... Josh Dionne, who has spoken openly of a desire to go into coaching (and would certainly benefit from access to Duke's sports medicine staff and facilities as he rehabs his knee).

Yeah, I know: crazy talk. But if anyone had told you last December that Coach DeLuca would be coming to Duke, that would have seemed equally crazy.

I was thinking something similar the other day. The only scenario in which it seems plausible for DeLuca to stay at Duke is if Matt Danowski gets another job, because Caputo isn't going to leave for anything other than a head coaching position (and probably a pretty good one, at that). Matt, on the other hand, might get broader experience to prepare for a future head coaching position, if that is his goal, by working in an assistant position for a coach other than his dad. But who knows whether he would want to do that and whether such an opening would present itself?

The idea of Josh Dionne as the volunteer assistant is appealing also, especially since if Matt D. leaves we would be losing an offensive specialist.

[DST Fan]

Switching back to Duke lacrosse for a moment....

Anyone have any word on Haus' injury? It looked bad at the time -- he was down for a while and didn't look like he was able to put weight on his leg when he was being helped off.


I saw this comment today at Laxpower on one of the Duke threads:


"According to Laura Keeley, the Duke beat reporter for the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer:

'By the way, the knee injury that looked pretty bad for #Duke's Will Haus late in the title game...just a bruised knee. Will be fine'"



However, I have not had the time to try and track down the quote at either of the newspaper websites.

[MCFinARL]

I saw this comment today at Laxpower on one of the Duke threads:


"According to Laura Keeley, the Duke beat reporter for the Raleigh News & Observer and Charlotte Observer:

'By the way, the knee injury that looked pretty bad for #Duke's Will Haus late in the title game...just a bruised knee. Will be fine'"



However, I have not had the time to try and track down the quote at either of the newspaper websites.

Hope that report is accurate. If it is, very good news. Thanks for sharing.

[greybeard]

DeLuca might be carrying some real baggage that makes a head coaching job in the near-near very problematic. I do not follow Cornell LAX. My inside guy would definitely have known if he wasn't dead. But, hazing, in the form of a drinking bash, especially if one uses a little imagination, is beyond stupid for a head coach to turn a blind eye. Toxic as a head coach. Danowski is in charge at Duke; even still, putting DeLuca on the payroll, with a salary, might not be what he is willing to do. Could be a public relations problem that Duke doesn't need. Great that he is keeping DeLuca afloat. One mistake should not sink a guy. If this drinking thing was going on for more than one year, especially if getting freshman really smashed was involved (likely, no), who knows how deep the damage goes. Danowski is one of the very good guys for giving DeLuca a chance at redemption; part of what makes him so special.

[Mike Corey]

Hope that report is accurate. If it is, very good news. Thanks for sharing.

It's from Laura's account on The Twitter.



Laura Keeley @laurakeeley · 23h

By the way, the knee injury that looked pretty bad for #Duke's Will Haus late in the title game...just a bruised knee. Will be fine