The best thing about the 2015 National Championship is....

[MarkD83]

My wife let me order new Duke t-shirts and golf caps today!!!!!!!

I did have to find old t-shirts to get rid of first, but that is OK one of them from 1990 read "L U I L" because the other parts of the letters had worn away.

[moonpie23]

the incredibly huge pot of STFU is pouring like manna from heaven.....

[Henderson]

IC..

[Reddevil]

Duke has the National Championship
Coach K has number 5 which puts him in his very own category
Hater tears taste so good!

[uh_no]

the ridiculous in season turn around this team's defense made.

100% K's best coaching job ever IMO. nothing even comes close. not 2010, not anything.

[JStuart]

the ridiculous in season turn around this team's defense made.

100% K's best coaching job ever IMO. nothing even comes close. not 2010, not anything.

Agreed; Plus:
In the CBS video pre-introduction of the players, they used a recording of the late (2011), great Arthur C. Chandler, M.D.'s famous, "here comes Duke!"
I'm glad he was included in this very terrific championship, albeit in a small way.
JStuart (Duke Ophthalmology HS '78-'81)

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I just bought two shirts - one for myself, and one for my father (class of '68) for his birthday.

[ncexnyc]

I won the office pool and will collect my winnings when I return to work on Monday.

I get to go shopping at Kohl's tomorrow for some new gear to wear.

[Karl Beem]

Agreed; Plus:
In the CBS video pre-introduction of the players, they used a recording of the late (2011), great Arthur C. Chandler, M.D.'s famous, "here comes Duke!"
I'm glad he was included in this very terrific championship, albeit in a small way.
JStuart (Duke Ophthalmology HS '78-'81)

He gave me my first eye exam.

[davekay1971]

Number 5 for K.

To some extent, I think there is an over-emphasis on the number of national championships won when discussing the comparative excellence of college basketball coaches. But, whenever the discussion is made about who is the best, that number seems to be a defining part of the debate. 5 puts K above everyone else except Wooden, whose total is untouchable, and difficult to compare to anyone else given the different era and the way it was so tightly clustered in one amazing run.

To me, 5 puts K out of reach in any rational debate with every other coach in the history of men's college basketball, save Wooden...and there are many good reasons to rank K above Wooden.

[captmojo]

...the quiet satisfaction of your own confidence and understanding, while all the world around you seethes in chaos. ;)

[weezie]

Coach K giving Quinn and Tyus big kisses after the victory. I've watched that several times and I'm still misty-eyed.

[MarkD83]

Number 5 for K.

To some extent, I think there is an over-emphasis on the number of national championships won when discussing the comparative excellence of college basketball coaches. But, whenever the discussion is made about who is the best, that number seems to be a defining part of the debate. 5 puts K above everyone else except Wooden, whose total is untouchable, and difficult to compare to anyone else given the different era and the way it was so tightly clustered in one amazing run.

To me, 5 puts K out of reach in any rational debate with every other coach in the history of men's college basketball, save Wooden...and there are many good reasons to rank K above Wooden.

If I include the 12 Final Fours in this discussion, it is the length of time with sustained excellence that is impressive. 12 Final Fours from 1986 to 2015 (30 years).

[Indoor66]

If I include the 12 Final Fours in this discussion, it is the length of time with sustained excellence that is impressive. 12 Final Fours from 1986 to 2015 (30 years).

Said another way, Duke has been in 40% of the Final Fours between 1986 & 2015 and won 16.67% 0f those 30 Final Fours! That is incredible.

[cato]

The best part? This doesn't feel like K's swan song. Who knows if he can put together another team that will reach this pinnacle, but you have to like his chances.

[OldPhiKap]

The best part? This doesn't feel like K's swan song. Who knows if he can put together another team that will reach this pinnacle, but you have to like his chances.

So -- the best thing is that K is now half-way to Wooden!

Sign me up!

[NancyCarol]

The whole ride all season long. What a trip. What a team. What a coach. What great fans. I saved most of the games on my DVR...hope they will last me until it all starts all over in the fall. It was ALL the best thing.

[CameronBlue]

Continuing the tradition of hanging banners that actually mean something....but I believe that we won't have Wheat's tears to enjoy, or so it seems.

[dukelifer]

Didn't have to wait the usual 9 years

[wsb3]

So many reasons. The aftermath of watching the game multiple times with your heart not in your throat. Watching the smiles and tears shed when it was over.

The freshman playing like anything but freshman when it counted the most. But most of all that this was Quinn Cook's team & as Coach K said he was the most valuable member. That he will be talked about for many years as being one of the great leaders to play for Coach K.

One of my favorite stories of this team is several meetings into the new season Coach K noticed that when the team huddled and held hands that Quinn was always next to him holding his hand. Coach K said no one told him to. He did it on his own. Coach K thought this is a pretty cool thing.

I think that it was Quinn's way of saying, I am with you and I am all in. He certainly was.

Captain Cook, this was your team.

[Duke95]

...that we're halfway to the re-peat.

[MarkD83]

...that we're halfway to the re-peat.

In college bball there is so much turn-over in players that there is no such thing as a "repeat". However, we're halfway to "Back-to-back" sounds good to me.

[MarkD83]

I just noticed that I have another pitch-fork and when I move my cursor over the pitch-forks it says I am All-ACC.

So I would like to announce that........I will not be entering the draft and will be back on this board in the off-season and next year.

[moonpie23]

Hater Tears.....did i mention HATER TEARS??? ...eat them up eat them up eat them up, YUM...


that's pretty kewl....

[captmojo]

Hater Tears.....did i mention HATER TEARS??? ...eat them up eat them up eat them up, YUM...


that's pretty kewl....

And you know how they taste best?
With roly-poly fish heads, of course! :D

[Stray Gator]

The best thing about it, for me, was being able to enjoy it and celebrate it with family members and friends who believed in the magic and were able to make the trip to Indy. And I'm sure the enthusiasm will bubble up anew next weekend at the Class Reunions, when we'll have the fun of sharing the experience with some of the same family members and friends who were there, as well as many more who were unable to attend.

But there is one other thing about this Final Four triumph that ranks highly on my list: After listening for years to pundits trumpeting the toughness of Michigan State and the poise and experience of the Wisconsin players, and constantly conveying the impression that the Big Ten plays a brutally physical brand of basketball while the ACC is more of a finesse league, I took some pleasure in the fact that our eight guys, half of whom are freshmen, overpowered the best of the Big Ten teams and left their coaches and players complaining about excessive contact.

[Tom B.]

Remember back when K took over as head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team, and many of us (myself included) worried that he might be spreading himself too thin and that Duke's performance could suffer? That all seems so quaint now.

Rarely have I ever been so happy to be wrong. If anything, K's tenure with USA Basketball seems to have made him a better coach. Two Olympic gold medals, two World Championship titles -- and two NCAA Championships.

[roywhite]

Remember back when K took over as head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team, and many of us (myself included) worried that he might be spreading himself too thin and that Duke's performance could suffer? That all seems so quaint now.

Rarely have I ever been so happy to be wrong. If anything, K's tenure with USA Basketball seems to have made him a better coach. Two Olympic gold medals, two World Championship titles -- and two NCAA Championships.

And occasionally he may have positive contacts with some of the talented players in the younger age group USA teams:

2012 USA U-17 FIBA Gold Medal Team (http://www.usab.com/history/u17-mens/second-2012-fiba8200u17-world-championship-for-men-2012.aspx)


Jones and Justise Winslow combined for 39 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to lead the USA past Canada 113-59 in the July 6 quarterfinal game. Jones contributed game-bests of 22 points and six assists, while Winslow notched 17 points and 13 rebounds.

After holding a six-point lead at half, the U.S. pulled away from Spain in the second half for an eventual 95-66 semifinal victory. The USA earned its gold medal game berth with the help of a powerful performance by Winslow, who finished the night with 17 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Advancing to the gold medal game, the Americans found themselves in a rematch against Australia, which had gone 6-0 following its opening loss to the U.S. Both teams had gotten better and more cohesive throughout the tournament, but the USA went to its obliterating defense, which was beyond a doubt the best in the competition, and the result was a 95-62 gold medal victory. Paced by 22 points from Frankamp, the U.S. received 17 points from tournament MVP Okafor. He was joined on the FIBA U17 World Championship All-Tournament Team by Winslow, who finished the night with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals.

[bjornolf]

...all the whining and gnashing of teeth over on IC.

[Utley]

We got to enjoy the team as long as we could

We are back in vogue

It was part of one of the best weekends of my life

Brunch with Laettner on Monday - including him tweeting our picture

Getting into the after party

[drcharl]

Going to work the day after wearing a Duke lanyard at a hospital where the CEO is a Wisconsin grad and reminded us all of it regularly as soon as Wisconsin was known to be in the final 4.

[wilson]

...forcing a full complement of high schoolers, every student in every class, to watch 'One Shining Moment' the next day.

[Les Grossman]

The return of classic, tenacious man to man Duke defense. Fully absorbed in less than a full season by a group that came with no apparent predisposition to same. Just fantastic coaching!

[flyingdutchdevil]

...Quinn Cook finding redemption.

For me, that's reason 1-3. And now for reasons 4-6:

4) Coach K-Wooden comparisons. I have always thought that Wooden is the best college coach of all time. I am now completely reconsidering that.

5) This team was just fun to watch. It wasn't my favorite team, nor was it the team that I saw grow up the most, nor was it the best defensive or offensive team we've seen. But, by golly, it's the most fun team I think I've ever seen.

6) Kentucky didn't win.

[Billy Dat]

Great contributions from everyone, and I agree with all of them, some resonate with me more than others.

1991 - 1992 was the initial validation of K and the program as champions after such a steady 5-6 year climb under the new coach which built upon a rich tradition that hadn't quite made it to the top.
2001 was the capstone of the second K Golden Age, proof that he had come all the way back from 1995.
2010 was the re-statement of the Duke championship program after many thought the modern recruiting environment had passed K by.
2015 should feel like the end of K's run, but it basically makes one feel that, if he stays healthy, anything is possible.

But, what makes this year so special to me is that the team proved out what it steadily showed throughout the year, that they were an uber talented collection of tough, never quit bulldogs who gave us an unprecedented season of exciting games, massive road wins and epic comebacks. Coming back from 9 down in the second half in Indianapolis was the final glorious touch. In the end, they were who were hoped they were when watching the decisive victories against Wisconsin and Louisville on the road, Notre Dame and Clemson at home, and many comebacks especially UNC at home, St Johns, Virginia and the aforementioned title game.

The best part of the season was the team fulfilling its promise and showing its grit, which was is such contrast to the prior season.

[BrazyATX]

...Quinn Cook finding redemption.

For me, that's reason 1-3. And now for reasons 4-6:

4) Coach K-Wooden comparisons. I have always thought that Wooden is the best college coach of all time. I am now completely reconsidering that.

5) This team was just fun to watch. It wasn't my favorite team, nor was it the team that I saw grow up the most, nor was it the best defensive or offensive team we've seen. But, by golly, it's the most fun team I think I've ever seen.

6) Kentucky didn't win.

7) No more talk about Mercer or Lehigh

8) 2 Since UNC last won one

9) Grayson Allen's coming out party

10) A glimpse into what our defense will look like next year with Amile and Matt's performance.


As was repeated ad nauseum in 2010- 'Order has been restored'

[rsvman]

1) Quinn finally (finally!) getting a banner. And it was a doozy.

2) Took the sting right out of that Mercer loss.