Rasheed Sulaimon Appreciation Thread

[Billy Dat]

As the "Rasheed Dismissed from Team" thread indicates, this news has rocked many of us. While I am full of curiosity about what happened, I am kind of glad to not know because, by default, I am instead thinking about the good times.

As much as I care about this team and this program, I am no insider. I sit in my living room and watch games on TV. Once in a while, I get to see the games in person from a much less attractive vantage point. Yes, I was once a Crazie, but that was half a lifetime ago and it seems like a dream. Aside from fun Duke Blue Planet videos, I have only watched Rasheed play basketball, and it was a fun ride while it lasted.

You gave us all a lot of good memories, Rasheed.

Your non-smooth, herky jerky dribbling style always reminded me of my favorite Duke player, Chris Carrawell.

Your impulsive, often foolhardy attempts to make plays on offense could drive me crazy, but I never doubted your heart or desire to win.

You had fire. You never shrunk from the moment. You didn't always deliver, but in close games in the most heated battles, I always got the sense that you wanted in the fight. That always made a big impression on me.

If, in the end, we root for laundry, then I am glad you were wearing it.

I know many others feel this way, and I hope they will contribute their game memories to this thread.

Syracuse, 2/1/4, end of regulation, that's the first one that comes to my mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omAiOw58NpU

Virginia, in Cameron, 1/13/14, that improbable 3 that bounced straight up off the rim and fell in and kind of kept that team from falling apart at that moment in time, that's the second one that comes to mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr17w-H7VSc

I know there are others, but those two are big enough in their own right.

I don't know what you did, I don't know how your departure will impact the team, or this season, or your life. I hope everyone walks away with as little damage as possible and it turns out to be for the best all the way around.

Thanks for giving it your all when you pulled the uniform on. To me, you always played hard, and watching you enter the game with that determined glare and lean-forward battle-ready pose, I always felt oddly optimistic that you were part of the solution.

[FerryFor50]

Great thread and the sentiment is seconded.

Will miss Sheed for sure.

[Troublemaker]

Tops Plays from 2/13/13 comeback win over UNC in Cameron:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdN42xivYEQ

Sheed featured very prominently in the Top Plays and in the interviews afterwards

[Dukehky]

No video, but when he went berserk from 3 in the first half of the Maryland game in 2013 in Cameron.

[Furniture]

Thank you very much for this....

We hear so much the Duke BB teams of old vs the one and done teams of the moment and Sheed was supposed to be the typical Duke player that everyone loves. The 4 year guy. He wasn't getting too many minutes this year but next year as a senior he would be a captain. The backbone of the team.
He will not have his senior night.
He will not have his moment of glory in a Duke shirt.
So sad.......

[DukeTrinity11]

Thank you Sheed, you gave us so many great memories during your 3 years. You wore the Duke jersey with pride and always seemed to be the most emotionally involved player in the game. You were so clutch-I will never forget the 3 you hit against Syracuse to take the game to OT as well as the great game you had against Creighton in the Round of 32 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Here's hoping that time will heal all wounds, for yourself and this program.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

I appreciate all the good things that Rasheed did for Duke basketball the past three years.

But I certainly do not appreciate Rasheed's conduct, attitude and actions (whatever they may have been) that resulted in Coach K taking this drastic action.

There are no winners in this situation. This has been a very sad day for Duke basketball. Let's hope the team can recover and achieve greatness over the coming months.

[Kedsy]

Here's hoping that time will heal all wounds, for yourself and this program.

I thought around here we rooted for time to wound all Heels?

[hsheffield]

watching Rasheed play these last 2.5 years has been a gift for which I am thankful.

my heart hurts to see him go, whatever the reason.

I hope the appreciation thread ends up being as long as the dismissal one...

[jv001]

Best wishes Rasheed and may God bless you. GoDuke!

[throatybeard]

I can't explain why, but he was my favorite men's player here since I left Durham in 2004, really since the Battier era at least. From the git-go in 2012-13.

[chrishoke]

Sheed was my favorite as well. I am heart-broken.

[cruxer]

Great thread. I wish the young man well where ever his next stop is. Hopefully this will, in retrospect, be a learning experience that leads him to bigger and better things!

-c

[MCFinARL]

I will always remember Rasheed's enthusiasm and excitement in games and while cheering his teammates on from the bench. And I will remember the games (there were many, and they have all run together in my mind at this point) in which he seemed to find his 3-point shot and hit it in bunches when Duke needed it most. I will miss yelling "SHEED!" at those moments.

And I will miss his interviews and Duke Blue Planet clips, in which he always seemed like a real team player, gracious, humble and respectful of the team, the coaches, and the people to whom he was speaking. I am very sad that that Sulaimon was apparently not the whole picture, but I hope that Sulaimon--the gracious, humble, respectful one-- will take hold (with a pinch of the self-confidence that led him to attempt to drive on much bigger players) and see him through this very difficult moment in his life.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Just last Sunday, Sheed was the first to rush over and hug Coach K after the big win.

Good luck to you in your future endeavors, Sheed.

[summerwind03]

This makes me so sad, for me, for Duke, and most of all for Rasheed. I really enjoyed watching him play, and wish him the best.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Sheed was my favorite as well. I am heart-broken.

My sentiment also. I feel like someone has died. So shocked and stunned to hear this yesterday.

Sheed, thanks for 2.5 years to Duke Basketball. Get yourself together, and go play Basketball at another fine university. And get lots of playing minutes and be a leader on that team!!!! And conduct yourself as a true young man with intergrity, character, leadership and accountability for the embetterment of the entire team and staff and your coaches. And most of all, to yourself!

The best to you Rasheed Sulaimon "Sheed" ! We appreaciate you to the moon and back!

[flyingdutchdevil]

Sheed was my favorite as well. I am heart-broken.

Agreed. I always saw him as the next Nolan, a player who I believe epitomized the "student athlete".

Loved watching him play and loved his raw emotion.

Saturday's game will not be the same.

[toughbuff1]

I'm still trying to process what happened yesterday. From an outsider's perspective, it all happened so suddenly, but apparently this had been building for a while. I don't know whether to feel sorry for Rasheed or be angry with him, but I do know that he did provide a whole lot of positive memories for me, and for that I am grateful. I hope that whatever happened, Rasheed is able to find peace and happiness.

[Bluealum]

As the "Rasheed Dismissed from Team" thread indicates, this news has rocked many of us. While I am full of curiosity about what happened, I am kind of glad to not know because, by default, I am instead thinking about the good times.

As much as I care about this team and this program, I am no insider. I sit in my living room and watch games on TV. Once in a while, I get to see the games in person from a much less attractive vantage point. Yes, I was once a Crazie, but that was half a lifetime ago and it seems like a dream. Aside from fun Duke Blue Planet videos, I have only watched Rasheed play basketball, and it was a fun ride while it lasted.

You gave us all a lot of good memories, Rasheed.

Your non-smooth, herky jerky dribbling style always reminded me of my favorite Duke player, Chris Carrawell.

Your impulsive, often foolhardy attempts to make plays on offense could drive me crazy, but I never doubted your heart or desire to win.

You had fire. You never shrunk from the moment. You didn't always deliver, but in close games in the most heated battles, I always got the sense that you wanted in the fight. That always made a big impression on me.

If, in the end, we root for laundry, then I am glad you were wearing it.

I know many others feel this way, and I hope they will contribute their game memories to this thread.

Syracuse, 2/1/4, end of regulation, that's the first one that comes to my mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omAiOw58NpU

Virginia, in Cameron, 1/13/14, that improbable 3 that bounced straight up off the rim and fell in and kind of kept that team from falling apart at that moment in time, that's the second one that comes to mind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr17w-H7VSc

I know there are others, but those two are big enough in their own right.

I don't know what you did, I don't know how your departure will impact the team, or this season, or your life. I hope everyone walks away with as little damage as possible and it turns out to be for the best all the way around.

Thanks for giving it your all when you pulled the uniform on. To me, you always played hard, and watching you enter the game with that determined glare and lean-forward battle-ready pose, I always felt oddly optimistic that you were part of the solution.

Very well said ^^.

I truly enjoyed watching this young man play basketball for my University and wish him the best as he has to deal with the shock of a monumentally public dismissal in the national spotlight before our most publicized game of the year. I cannot imagine what he is going through and I both simultaneously hope it was not warranted (for his sake) and hope it was (for the sake of the trust we place in the coaches and the program).

Wish everyone involved the best, the player, the teammates who were shaken according to the DBR podcast, the staff, and the fans who are faced with the stark reality that they know less than they'd like to think and hence their passion (which is fueled by the feeling of knowing) is inevitably muted till we can regain the illusion of rooting for people we know instead of 'laundry' as you so eloquently put it Billy Dat.

Thank you for 2.5 great years Rasheed and best wishes on your journey forward!

[gus]

Seeing the "Welcome to Duke, Rasheed Sulaimon!" thread in the "similar threads" at the bottom makes me a little wistful. I enjoyed watching him play, and hope that whatever is happening gets resolved, and he lands on his feet. If that means playing basketball somewhere else, another team will get a talented and emotional player.

[SoCalDukeFan]

You had a reputation as a smart young man, true student athlete. You were one of my favorites. Thank you for your contributions.

Best of luck in the future.

SoCal

[Lauderdevil]

Rasheed: We have no idea what prompted the end of your Duke career, but all of us can probably say that when we were in college we did plenty of things that were dumb, impulsive, self-centered, or even dangerous. No one has lived the life of a saint; none of us was immune from the temptations of college-age life. But many of us never got caught, few of us had to live in a world of accountability like you've been in, and almost none of us had our successes and failures played out in public the way you have. Your mistakes or weaknesses, whatever they may have been, are highlighted for the world. Ours stayed mostly hidden. It's the flip side of the glamour of playing for a big-time athletic program.

You may have to live with your mistakes, but you don't have to be defined by them. Hard as it may be to believe now, you will get past this, and you'll have lots of Duke friends and fans who will be rooting for your long-term success. While I don't have any personal knowledge on this, I'm guessing Coach K will be among them.

[-bdbd]

Thanks 'sheed!

Thank you for your work, contributions and effort.

Best of luck to you.

[DieHard]

Rasheed,
You were my favorite player on this team. I wish you all the best, and hope at some point you can realize, this does not define you. You have your whole life ahead. The sun will shine again. My dad told me that once when I was your age. It was good advise.

[SoCalDukeFan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=omAiOw58NpU&x-yt-cl=85114404&feature=player_embedded

[richardjackson199]

From your days in the Duke TIP program, to the myriad examples of you being a genuinely caring guy, to giving the best 6th man spark since James Harden, to your silky smooth assists, your lock down D, to draining clutch 3's and free throws - you represented everything I love about a true blue Duke basketball player - the passion and the Assassin! My favorite Duke players are my favorite because they have heart - guys like Battier, Hurley, and Sulaimon. No doubt your heart is broken more than I can imagine. Mine is broken as a fan - I am devastated. I would rather this team lose again in the first round with your best than win it all without you. I thought this season would be one of the best ever; but this makes it the worst ever for me. (Flame me if you must - that is my opinion.) You will always be one of my favorite Duke players, and you'll always be in the Duke family to me.

My Duke ideal is a family of brothers, not a cold business who makes tough personnel decisions. I never thought emotions could turn so fast after seeing that passionate comeback to win 1000 - to this happening after one unlucky road loss later. I keep hoping to read that this is K's most drastic genius move ever to just get your attention for what he needed to see change, but that permanent dismissal is not real. To read that you repented, K forgave, and that the family welcomed back the prodigal son whose passion and fire sometimes just got the better of him. That this reunification then led to a stronger brotherhood who went out and played out their journey together with passion - whatever that journey may be. But that pipe dream was my denial stage. The reality is this royally sucks.

Take that heart, passion, and fire and direct it to great things. I'd love to see you finish your Duke degree strong. I'd love to see you leading the Crazies, cheering on your brothers from the stands as they finish out this season. Continue to be the 6th man by joining the 6th man.
Do some soul searching, and do whatever is best for you. Your jersey will always hang in my rafters of favorite Duke players.

Thanks for the memories Rasheed.

[Coballs]

From your days in the Duke TIP program, to the myriad examples of you being a genuinely caring guy, to giving the best 6th man spark since James Harden, to your silky smooth assists, your lock down D, to draining clutch 3's and free throws - you represented everything I love about a true blue Duke basketball player - the passion and the Assassin! My favorite Duke players are my favorite because they have heart - guys like Battier, Hurley, and Sulaimon. No doubt your heart is broken more than I can imagine. Mine is broken as a fan - I am devastated. I would rather this team lose again in the first round with your best than win it all without you. I thought this season would be one of the best ever; but this makes it the worst ever for me. (Flame me if you must - that is my opinion.) You will always be one of my favorite Duke players, and you'll always be in the Duke family to me.

My Duke ideal is a family of brothers, not a cold business who makes tough personnel decisions. I never thought emotions could turn so fast after seeing that passionate comeback to win 1000 - to this happening after one unlucky road loss later. I keep hoping to read that this is K's most drastic genius move ever to just get your attention for what he needed to see change, but that permanent dismissal is not real. To read that you repented, K forgave, and that the family welcomed back the prodigal son whose passion and fire sometimes just got the better of him. That this reunification then led to a stronger brotherhood who went out and played out their journey together with passion - whatever that journey may be. But that pipe dream was my denial stage. The reality is this royally sucks.

Take that heart, passion, and fire and direct it to great things. I'd love to see you finish your Duke degree strong. I'd love to see you leading the Crazies, cheering on your brothers from the stands as they finish out this season. Continue to be the 6th man by joining the 6th man.
Do some soul searching, and do whatever is best for you. Your jersey will always hang in my rafters of favorite Duke players.

Thanks for the memories Rasheed.

You do realize that Rasheed Sulaimon will most likely never read a word of this, right?

"I would rather this team lose again in the first round with your best than win it all without you." Ohhh Really??? Are you related to Rasheed Sulaimon? How long have you been following Duke basketball? Your personal message to Rasheed is very passionate and compelling (albeit a little creepy), but perhaps you might consider sending it to him privately. This is a Duke basketball board...the team always comes first.

[Edouble]

From your days in the Duke TIP program, to the myriad examples of you being a genuinely caring guy, to giving the best 6th man spark since James Harden, to your silky smooth assists, your lock down D, to draining clutch 3's and free throws - you represented everything I love about a true blue Duke basketball player - the passion and the Assassin! My favorite Duke players are my favorite because they have heart - guys like Battier, Hurley, and Sulaimon. No doubt your heart is broken more than I can imagine. Mine is broken as a fan - I am devastated. I would rather this team lose again in the first round with your best than win it all without you. I thought this season would be one of the best ever; but this makes it the worst ever for me. (Flame me if you must - that is my opinion.) You will always be one of my favorite Duke players, and you'll always be in the Duke family to me.

My Duke ideal is a family of brothers, not a cold business who makes tough personnel decisions. I never thought emotions could turn so fast after seeing that passionate comeback to win 1000 - to this happening after one unlucky road loss later. I keep hoping to read that this is K's most drastic genius move ever to just get your attention for what he needed to see change, but that permanent dismissal is not real. To read that you repented, K forgave, and that the family welcomed back the prodigal son whose passion and fire sometimes just got the better of him. That this reunification then led to a stronger brotherhood who went out and played out their journey together with passion - whatever that journey may be. But that pipe dream was my denial stage. The reality is this royally sucks.

Take that heart, passion, and fire and direct it to great things. I'd love to see you finish your Duke degree strong. I'd love to see you leading the Crazies, cheering on your brothers from the stands as they finish out this season. Continue to be the 6th man by joining the 6th man.
Do some soul searching, and do whatever is best for you. Your jersey will always hang in my rafters of favorite Duke players.

Thanks for the memories Rasheed.

I'm not going to flame you, and I am a big fan of Rasheed too, but your suggestion seems unhealthy. It's pretty clear that this chapter is over for Rasheed. He would do best to move on to other things, not hang around.

[subzero02]

I wish you the best Rasheed.

[cptnflash]

+1 to the OP, could not have expressed it better myself. Best of luck in the future Sheed - I'll always be rooting for you!

[gurufrisbee]

Lots of great moments. I immediately remembered the three at Syracuse last year. And then the really terrific performance against Mercer when Jabari and Hood were just crap. I liked his game and enjoyed rooting for him. I hope he can get figured out what the problems were and has success in the future.

[Duke71]

You do realize that Rasheed Sulaimon will most likely never read a word of this, right?

"I would rather this team lose again in the first round with your best than win it all without you." Ohhh Really??? Are you related to Rasheed Sulaimon? How long have you been following Duke basketball? Your personal message to Rasheed is very passionate and compelling (albeit a little creepy), but perhaps you might consider sending it to him privately. This is a Duke basketball board...the team always comes first.

"This is a Duke basketball board...the team always comes first."

The above statement, in my estimation, is a troubling admonishment to a probably young poster whose heart is obviously aching on a thread entitled "Rasheed Sulaimon Appreciation Thread".

Silly me. I would have thought that such a thread title might have been an invitation for people to freely share their appreciation, their gratefulness, their passion for Sulaimon's passion (which obviously connected with a lot of folks), their memories of better times and their emotions in general about hearing that Rasheed is suddenly gone. Emotions are not tidy little box-inserts that lend themselves to being inserted into tiny little statistical boxes, which are always analyzable by KenPom analysis. Stats have their place, as do admonishments. But, everyone grieves in their own way. The departure of Rasheed is something worth grieving about and not reflexively intimating "Next Play" prematurely.

Posters sometimes pay lip-service to the value of emotion, the importance of playing with heart, emphasizing gut-checks and wanting it more than the other guy, the competitive advantage of being energized, etc., etc. without understanding that emotion doesn't play according to statistically confirmable guidelines for players, or fans, or even other DBR Forum posters.

I, for one, don't approve of anyone calling out anyone who took the trouble to say in whatever unique way, "I'm hurting about this. I wish it hadn't happened."

We all hurt in highly personal ways and don't need to be told that there is a "right" way to hurt.

I'll miss the unmistakable passion that Rasheed brought to our team. Just think about it, if he had been a one-and-doner, we would have only seen that passion for one year. We were lucky enough to share his energetic contributions not only longer than that, but long enough for so many of us to develop a "connection" with Rasheed and thus really care about witnessing that passion.

[richardjackson199]

"This is a Duke basketball board...the team always comes first."

The above statement, in my estimation, is a troubling admonishment to a probably young poster whose heart is obviously aching on a thread entitled "Rasheed Sulaimon Appreciation Thread".

Silly me. I would have thought that such a thread title might have been an invitation for people to freely share their appreciation, their gratefulness, their passion for Sulaimon's passion (which obviously connected with a lot of folks), their memories of better times and their emotions in general about hearing that Rasheed is suddenly gone. Emotions are not tidy little box-inserts that lend themselves to being inserted into tiny little statistical boxes, which are always analyzable by KenPom analysis. Stats have their place, as do admonishments. But, everyone grieves in their own way. The departure of Rasheed is something worth grieving about and not reflexively intimating "Next Play" prematurely.

Posters sometimes pay lip-service to the value of emotion, the importance of playing with heart, emphasizing gut-checks and wanting it more than the other guy, the competitive advantage of being energized, etc., etc. without understanding that emotion doesn't play according to statistically confirmable guidelines for players, or fans, or even other DBR Forum posters.

I, for one, don't approve of anyone calling out anyone who took the trouble to say in whatever unique way, "I'm hurting about this. I wish it hadn't happened."

We all hurt in highly personal ways and don't need to be told that there is a "right" way to hurt.

I'll miss the unmistakable passion that Rasheed brought to our team. Just think about it, if he had been a one-and-doner, we would have only seen that passion for one year. We were lucky enough to share his energetic contributions not only longer than that, but long enough for so many of us to develop a "connection" with Rasheed and thus really care about witnessing that passion.

Thanks. To clarify, of course I want more than almost anything for Duke to win every game they play, especially in March. This is where Duke is, and I'll cheer for nothing but wins.

Some programs (Chapel Hill or Lexington come to mind as examples) value winning too much. I remember Calipari heartlessly kicking Harrow to the curb, or Roy doing the opposite, feigning blissful ignorance when intervention was warranted. I understand addition by subtraction. In this case, it was quite shocking as I didn't see it. I don't know details, but Rasheed has not been PJ Hairston. I would expect something egregious for this kind of abrupt dismissal. K knows what was going on, and he has every right to run his program his way. This is unprecedented for him, so many of us were shocked. (Personally I think it will be subtraction by subtraction for this team's chances, but I hope I'm wrong! But that is irrelevant to my point.)
Thanks for getting it - I wish more than anything (even winning) this had not happened. I hate it for Rasheed, and I hate it for his teammates who were reportedly shaken. I wish there was any other way to work on remediating whatever the problem was. I wonder if something regrettable was said in anger Wed. night or Thurs. which was not meant precipitating this. (Not trying to speculate - I know nothing aside from what has been reported - just wondering and trying to understand). Rasheed always seems like a genuinely good guy with lots of passion and love for being a Duke basketball player. He has almost always looked like a great teammate. He has been vocal in trying to recruit other studs to Duke (like Winslow). I rewatched the Notre Dame game and didn't see any signs that something like this was so imminent. For a favorite upper-class player to be so abruptly dismissed forever in that way hurt. Stages of grief certainly in play here. I work 80+ hours a week in medical fellowship, so DVR'd Duke hoops is a normally rewarding way to wind down after a tough shift. And I don't think I'm creepy (but I guess nobody does). For the record, my wife doesn't think I am either.
Go Duke!

[tfk53]

"[B]This is a Duke basketball board...the team always comes first."

The above statement, in my estimation, is a troubling admonishment to a probably young poster whose heart is obviously aching on a thread entitled "Rasheed Sulaimon Appreciation Thread".

Silly me. I would have thought that such a thread title might have been an invitation for people to freely share their appreciation, their gratefulness, their passion for Sulaimon's passion (which obviously connected with a lot of folks), their memories of better times and their emotions in general about hearing that Rasheed is suddenly gone. Emotions are not tidy little box-inserts that lend themselves to being inserted into tiny little statistical boxes, which are always analyzable by KenPom analysis. Stats have their place, as do admonishments. But, everyone grieves in their own way. The departure of Rasheed is something worth grieving about and not reflexively intimating "Next Play" prematurely.

Posters sometimes pay lip-service to the value of emotion, the importance of playing with heart, emphasizing gut-checks and wanting it more than the other guy, the competitive advantage of being energized, etc., etc. without understanding that emotion doesn't play according to statistically confirmable guidelines for players, or fans, or even other DBR Forum posters.

I, for one, don't approve of anyone calling out anyone who took the trouble to say in whatever unique way, "I'm hurting about this. I wish it hadn't happened."

We all hurt in highly personal ways and don't need to be told that there is a "right" way to hurt.

I'll miss the unmistakable passion that Rasheed brought to our team. Just think about it, if he had been a one-and-doner, we would have only seen that passion for one year. We were lucky enough to share his energetic contributions not only longer than that, but long enough for so many of us to develop a "connection" with Rasheed and thus really care about witnessing that passion.


Well said, Duke71. So much that we don't know and likely will never know about what has transpired. We must remember, these young people are learning, growing, maturing, making mistakes, trying to become adults. To go through that maturation process while being out front on the stage of a premier college program is something I simply can not fathom. It was hard enough for me in the general obscurity of my life.

I wish that Rasheed find what he is looking for and that he realizes there is so much more out there than basketball. I hope the path he selects leads him to be a well-respected adult making a positive impact in this world.

I have enjoyed Rasheed's play as much as anyone and will miss his presence on the court for Duke. I suspect this is more about the much bigger game of life.