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Vanceman201
02-19-2016, 01:49 PM
First off...congratulations to Duke on an amazing, totally deserved, epic victory!! In the interest of full disclosure I state that I am a life-long Tarheel fan. AND, I never hated Duke. I appreciate the intelligent and incisive comments that I find here...and I find them to be "mostly" fair even to UNC. In fact, until the unfortunate, but needed and justified investigations into our improper paper classes, etc...I always lumped us together in our "clean" approach to athletics/academics. I am 62 years old, and for most of that time, in speaking of questionable programs, I'd respond with..."In schools like Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Princeton, etc...at least our athletes 'have to attend class". Well, that ended up not being true, and many, many of us feel betrayed and embarrassed by the whole thing.

I see by the Twitter posts by "Bluedevilicious" that even though a small segment of individuals from a couple of department(s) organized and promoted this...it's undeniable, to me, that there were folks with the power to see it ended. The reality of the situation was well known and understood by folks who should have been above it all. And they weren't. And, when it was exposed, instead of UNC manning up...we whined. Disgraceful. I often have folks say, "Well, every school does this or something like it!" My response, well, maybe...maybe not. Show me the evidence and I'll judge it. Till then, the Dukes, Stanfords, or anyone else...they're all clean. WE got caught and there's no doubt about it. No conspiracy here...just our own misguided actions that went on for many years.

NOW...on to my question. What does it take to kill a vampire? In all my years of watching Duke play basketball...what I learned decades ago was this. Never, ever let up on Duke...don't slow down, don't stop, don't take off even one play. I can't rest till I see the scoreboard showing more points for us and reading 00:00:00. If you do -- you can and often will get burned. The well known phenomenon that has plagued UNC in recent years is this lack of intensity or lack of feeling urgency issue. Never in all my years have I seen this in a Duke team...or most other teams for that matter. Duke will scrape, claw, fight, spit, fall down, and puke...with effort and intensity in an effort to prevail.

(A side note: I was very impressed with the post-game interviews with Grayson and Brandon...seem like fine young men...warriors with class.)

And, that's what happened Wednesday night.
With UNC doing decent, Duke down with 2 killer players sidelined, one with 4 fouls, and a starting five who should be wearing down...and an 8 point lead...I text to my friend..."Nervous...!!"
That was the fear of the vampire coming out in me. At this very moment we look good...but, this is Duke...who like a vampire, or the walking dead, can reanimate and kill you in a heartbeat.

True, UNC didn't have the grit to finish with strength, but Roy's decision to leave 3 TO's hanging will always be inexplicable and maddening to me. Why not take a timeout, regroup...talk about some scenarios at the game's end. Maybe the guys would benefit from a minute of rest...and maybe could use a little coaching...has this ever crossed your mind, Roy?

Incidentally, I like Roy, and I loved Dean...but, enough with channeling Dean...how 'bout Roy come up with a plan, some strategy, some unique Roy thoughts, and a decision.

So, with the vampire in mind...I'm gonna suggest to the Heels that the next time that Duke shows up in Chapel Hill...that the Dean Dome is outfitted with some running water flowing beside Duke's bench...that all UNC players are rubbed down with garlic cloves...that all our players be wearing big metal crucifixes on heavy chains, that we somehow schedule this as a daytime game so we can pipe sunlight from the ceiling on to the Duke bench.

But, this is Duke, and we could still be doomed if we don't issue wooden stakes and hammers for finishing things off.

If all those things work...just maybe we would stand a chance...if, and it's a big if...IF we can just get Roy to have a plan, and to call a timeout.

DukieInKansas
02-19-2016, 02:01 PM
First off...congratulations to Duke on and amazing, totally deserved, epic victory!! In the interest of full disclosure I state that I am a life-long Tarheel fan. AND, I never hated Duke. I appreciate the intelligent and incisive comments that I find here...and I find them to be "mostly" fair even to UNC. In fact, until the unfortunate, but needed and justified investigations into our improper paper classes, etc...I always lumped us together in our "clean" approach to athletics/academics. I am 62 years old, and for most of that time, in speaking of questionable programs, I'd respond with..."In schools like Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Princeton, etc...at least our athletes 'have to attend class". Well, that ended up not being true, and many, many of us feel betrayed and embarrassed by the whole thing.

I see by the Twitter posts by "Bluedevilicious" that even though a small segment of individuals from a couple of department(s) organized and promoted this...it's undeniable, to me, that there were folks with the power to see it ended. The reality of the situation was well known and understood by folks who should have been above it all. And they weren't. And, when it was exposed, instead of UNC manning up...we whined. Disgraceful. I often have folks say, "Well, every school does this or something like it!" My response, well, maybe...maybe not. Show me the evidence and I'll judge it. Till then, the Dukes, Stanfords, or anyone else...they're all clean. WE got caught and there's no doubt about it. No conspiracy here...just our own misguided actions that went on for many years.

NOW...on to my question. What does it take to kill a vampire? In all my years of watching Duke play basketball...what I learned decades ago was this. Never, ever let up on Duke...don't slow down, don't stop, don't take of even one play. I can't rest till I see the scoreboard showing more points for us and reading 00:00:00. If you do -- you can and often will get burned. The well known phenomenon that has plagued UNC in recent years is this lack of intensity or lack of feeling urgency issue. Never in all my years have I seen this in a Duke team...or most other teams for that matter. Duke will scrape, claw, fight, spit, fall down, and puke...with effort and intensity in an effort to prevail.

I was very impressed with the post-game interviews with Grayson and Brandon...seem like fine young men...warriors with class.

And, that's what happened Wednesday night.
With UNC doing decent, Duke down with 2 killer players sidelined, one with 4 fouls, and a starting five who should be wearing down...and an 8 point lead...I text to my friend..."Nervous...!!"
That was the fear of the vampire coming out in me. At this very moment we look good...but, this is Duke...who like a vampire, or the walking dead, can reanimate and kill you in a heartbeat.

True, UNC didn't have the grit to finish with strength, but Roy's decision to leave 3 TO's hanging will always be inexplicable and maddening to me. Why not take a timeout, regroup...talk about some scenarios at the game's end. Maybe the guys would benefit from a minute of rest...and maybe could use a little coaching...has this ever crossed your mind, Roy?

Incidentally, I like Roy, and I loved Dean...but, enough with channeling Dean...how 'bout Roy come up with a plan, some strategy, some unique Roy thoughts, and a decision.

So, with the vampire in mind...I'm gonna suggest to the Heels that the next time that Duke shows up in Chapel Hill....that the Dean Dome is outfitted with some running water flowing beside Duke's bench...that all UNC players are rubbed down with garlic cloves...that all our players be wearing big metal crucifixes on heavy chains, that we somehow schedule this as a daytime game so we can pipe sunlight from the ceiling on to the Duke bench.

But, this is Duke, and we could still be doomed if we don't issue wooden stakes and hammers for finishing things off.

If all those things work...just maybe we would stand a chance...if, and it's a big if...IF we can just get Roy to have a plan, and to call a timeout.

I think the crucifixes sound like a great idea - the heavier, the better. ;-)

Thank you for an excellent post.

I always enjoyed the rivalry because both schools ran clean programs. I can't decide if I lost more respect because of the paper class issue happened or because of the lack of response to it. I understood him leaving Kansas to be closer to home but thought he would always be in Dean's shadow. Roy lost me in as a fan in 2010 when he started saying weird things (Haiti? really?). And, as more information has come out, I worry that similar academic issues can be found with his Kansas program. Having KU grads in the family, that would not be a good thing.

Apparently, the everybody does it view isn't held by just unc fans. I ran into two guys in the hall discussing basketball and the Louisville issue. I asked them when they thought unc would get hammered and their response was everyone does it. (Should have asked if they went to unc.) I disagreed with them - not everyone does it and certainly not to that extent.

sagegrouse
02-19-2016, 02:10 PM
So, with the vampire in mind...I'm gonna suggest to the Heels that the next time that Duke shows up in Chapel Hill...that the Dean Dome is outfitted with some running water flowing beside Duke's bench...that all UNC players are rubbed down with garlic cloves...that all our players be wearing big metal crucifixes on heavy chains, that we somehow schedule this as a daytime game so we can pipe sunlight from the ceiling on to the Duke bench.

But, this is Duke, and we could still be doomed if we don't issue wooden stakes and hammers for finishing things off.



The selected quote needs to be on someone's signature, credited to "A Carolina Fan."

Thanks Vanceman for your positive thoughts and complimentary words.

Doria
02-19-2016, 02:14 PM
Thanks for the gracious (and humorous) post. I especially relate to the first paragraph, as I also used to think that way about our two programs, and I hope we can both do so again in the near future.

MCFinARL
02-19-2016, 02:47 PM
Chiming in here, thanks for your post and kind words (in this case, having one's team likened to a vampire are kind words indeed :) ).

Sorry to say, though, I suspect those crucifixes might not be permitted as UNC is a public university--probably not allowed to require players to wear religious symbols. ;) The garlic, on the other hand, is a brilliant idea and, among other things, might make opponents unwilling to guard the Heels players too closely.

jv001
02-19-2016, 02:52 PM
Thank you for an outstanding post. One that is funny and at the same time serious(Roy's coaching). Everyone of my unc friends that attended unc are not in denial. They acknowledge the fact they the university put winning before playing the game of basketball legally, but almost every unc fan that didn't attend unc(that I know) is in denial and that's what's discouraging. The Carolina fans of today are feeling what us Duke fans of the 70's felt. So, we know how it feels to lose. However, we've never had the cloud of dishonesty hanging over our heads like you unc fans do. That has to be terrible. Once again thanks for being a man/woman that is honest about the years of cheating. GoDuke!

BandAlum83
02-19-2016, 03:08 PM
Nice post, but I thought it was a thread about beating Pitino. :)

Stray Gator
02-19-2016, 03:40 PM
As those of us who have been fortunate enough to watch these two programs go head-to-head over the past half-century can attest, the tables are always turning in this rivalry. From the 10,000 foot view, one could posit persuasively that as fortunes have ebbed and flowed, the edge has usually gone to the team with the coach having the most experience. In the early 1950s, Duke had a streak of wins under Coach Bradley, then Frank McGuire used his New York pipeline to bring UNC to the fore, after which Vic Bubas held the upper hand until Dean got his program implemented. Dean's reign lasted a long time, but he was challenged and eventually supplanted at the top by K, who has lasted even longer. By all rights, UNC fans could have expected Roy Williams to supplant K in turn; and from 2005 to 2009, it appeared that the trend would continue in that direction, as UNC took 7 of 9 from Duke. But it hasn't worked out that way. And I think there are a couple of reasons for that.

First, upon closer inspection, it isn't just the experience factor that provides the upper hand, but something that experience usually imparts -- the ability to deal with the pressure by maintaining one's poise, and transforming that pressure into a positive force that keeps the players focused and highly motivated. I think that even the most ardent of UNC fans would now acknowledge that K has mastered that facet of coaching. On the other side, it appears that for all of his coaching experience and acumen, Roy has not been able to manage the pressures effectively -- and when the stress manifests itself in the head coach, it inevitably gets channeled to the players. Going into that game Wednesday night, I would have given Duke no more than a 20-25% chance to win. But about midway through the first half, I told a group of friends with whom I was chatting about the game that if Duke could continue to keep it close until the last few minutes, UNC's players and coaches would start to feel the pressure, which could affect their play and might open the door for Duke to steal a win. You don't have to be clairvoyant to foresee that; and it's not because Duke's program is populated by vampires.

Since Roy took over in Chapel Hill, there have been a total of 6 one-possession games between Duke and UNC. Roy's record in those games is 1-5; and the one he won was in 2005, when he had Doherty's great recruits at their peak. In fact, if you review the scores of the Duke-UNC games over the last 10 years, it's striking how UNC's wins are all by a fairly comfortable margin. Is that coincidence? Or is it a reflection of the fact that Roy doesn't respond well to the pressure, and either doesn't prepare his players for that pressure or recruits players who themselves don't handle the pressure well? As some more astute observers have noted, K seems to deliberately seek out players who welcome the pressure of high expectations and intense competition. Players come to Duke knowing that they're going to be regarded by many college basketball fans -- and more than a few in the media -- as villains, and that every play they make in every game, and every loss, is likely to be subjected to unfavorable scrutiny; but they welcome the opportunity to perform in that spotlight, because they believe, as does K, that there is no sweeter feeling than achieving triumph by overcoming adversity and proving the skeptics and naysayers wrong. You may not be a Duke hater; among UNC fans, outside of our friend Wheat, that's quite rare. Ironically, however, I think that Duke hate is a part of what K and his players use to fuel their desire to win and their will to fight. "Us against the world" is a powerful mantra.

One final observation I'll offer. It has always been my impression that Roy really did not want to become the head coach at UNC -- he chose to stay at Kansas the first time the UNC job opened up, and then came after Doherty was ousted only reluctantly because (or so it was rumored) Dean pleaded that it was his "family duty" to come back and restore the program to respectability. He knew that a large segment of the Carolina fanbase was myopic and maniacally devoted to the myth of The Carolina Way, and that the cult of Dean devotees would be unforgiving to any successor who fell short of perfection. Even Roy, however, probably underestimated the degree to which the job would test the thickness of his skin. There's no doubt in my mind that he would have been happier and healthier if he had stayed at Kansas. Given the way they're treating Roy now, UNC fans may be the most formidable obstacle to attracting a qualified replacement.

moonpie23
02-19-2016, 03:53 PM
Excellent post by Gator....


Money Quote:

the myth of The Carolina Way,

JetpackJesus
02-19-2016, 03:55 PM
Apparently, the everybody does it view isn't held by just unc fans. I ran into two guys in the hall discussing basketball and the Louisville issue. I asked them when they thought unc would get hammered and their response was everyone does it. (Should have asked if they went to unc.) I disagreed with them - not everyone does it and certainly not to that extent.

I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding, or a wilful ignorance, as to what happened at UNC among the "everyone does it" crowd. This group, for whatever reason, is conflating easy classes with fake classes. I suspect it's true that every school has easy classes--Duke has/had "rocks for jocks," for example--but they are still classes. What every school does not have are fake classes with fake grades designed to maintain athlete eligibility.

As to the OP, thanks for the enjoyable and thoughtful post, Vanceman. But, if Duke is a vampire, I'd like to think it is Blade. All of the strengths, none of the weaknesses, and battling on the side of good.

JetpackJesus
02-19-2016, 04:06 PM
He knew that a large segment of the Carolina fanbase was myopic and maniacally devoted to the myth of The Carolina Way, and that the cult of Dean devotees would be unforgiving to any successor who fell short of perfection. Even Roy, however, probably underestimated the degree to which the job would test the thickness of his skin. There's no doubt in my mind that he would have been happier and healthier if he had stayed at Kansas. Given the way they're treating Roy now, UNC fans may be the most formidable obstacle to attracting a qualified replacement.

This sounds a lot like NCSU fans after running Herb Sendek out of town a decade ago.

snowdenscold
02-19-2016, 04:08 PM
I can't rest till I see the scoreboard showing more points for us and reading 00:00:00.

Great post, and I hate to rub salt in the wound, but thought I might address the sentence above :eek:

http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/buzzer-beater-3.jpg

(yes, that's the Austin Rivers shot from 2012)

Rich
02-19-2016, 04:36 PM
"How do you kill a vampire?" Chop off its head.

In this case, that's Coach K. His teams embody him. He's the only constant when, year after year, his players (as you put it) "scrape, claw, fight, spit, fall down, and puke...with effort and intensity in an effort to prevail." As far as I can tell, he's the only coach that can elicit this desire, game after game, year after year. I honestly don't know how he does it. I've been following Duke for over 30 years -- all Coach K years -- and I've rarely seen a game when this wasn't the case. Coach K is the only reason I can think of. He is the head of the beast and oh what a wonderful beast it is!

-jk
02-19-2016, 04:42 PM
I think the crucifixes sound like a great idea - the heavier, the better. ;-)

Thank you for an excellent post.

I always enjoyed the rivalry because both schools ran clean programs. I can't decide if I lost more respect because of the paper class issue happened or because of the lack of response to it. I understood him leaving Kansas to be closer to home but thought he would always be in Dean's shadow. Roy lost me in as a fan in 2010 when he started saying weird things (Haiti? really?). And, as more information has come out, I worry that similar academic issues can be found with his Kansas program. Having KU grads in the family, that would not be a good thing.

Apparently, the everybody does it view isn't held by just unc fans. I ran into two guys in the hall discussing basketball and the Louisville issue. I asked them when they thought unc would get hammered and their response was everyone does it. (Should have asked if they went to unc.) I disagreed with them - not everyone does it and certainly not to that extent.

And: Woe to him who teaches men faster than they can learn.

-jk

BLPOG
02-19-2016, 04:45 PM
That was the fear of the vampire coming out in me. At this very moment we look good...but, this is Duke...who like a vampire, or the walking dead, can reanimate and kill you in a heartbeat.

Good post, Vanceman201. The sentence I've quoted reminded me of a pleasant dream I had last night.


Set several years in the future, Coach K had just bagged another National Championship and decided it was time to retire as Duke's head coach. However, as a true fan of the game, he couldn't stop coaching entirely. So he recruited several former players and assistants and formed a mercenary coaching squad (let's call them "The K-Team").

The K-Team offered their services to any school playing UNC, who merely had to suspend their coaching staff for a game and let K and company do the rest. Using his incredible ability to adapt his coaching to his current players, Coach K was able to repeatedly defeat UNC, in game after game after game. Bottom of the ACC, no burger boys? K scraped by with "W." Expected national title contender with a couple one-and-dones? Tripled up on the spread. Injured squad coming off multiple consecutive losses? You know the outcome. He so thoroughly demoralized the Tar Heel squad that, with an 0-23 record heading into the ACC tournament, their players burned the Helms banner as an offering to appease the basketball gods.

Coach K merely shook his head in bemusement and replied, "What a half-baked idea."

The next year, there were no incoming recruits, scholarship players all transferred, and each walk-on pretended to have been confused for someone else. No coaches could be hired at any price, and Walmart stopped selling UNC-branded merchandise.


Ok, ok - so I might have embellished on the original dream a little bit, but imagining that scenario, you're probably in pretty good shape just facing the occasional vampire. :cool:

duke74
02-19-2016, 05:08 PM
I think there's a fundamental misunderstanding, or a wilful ignorance, as to what happened at UNC among the "everyone does it" crowd. This group, for whatever reason, is conflating easy classes with fake classes. I suspect it's true that every school has easy classes--Duke has/had "rocks for jocks," for example--but they are still classes. What every school does not have are fake classes with fake grades designed to maintain athlete eligibility.

As to the OP, thanks for the enjoyable and thoughtful post, Vanceman. But, if Duke is a vampire, I'd like to think it is Blade. All of the strengths, none of the weaknesses, and battling on the side of good.

As a Marine Geology major (a BS not BA) , now CPA and "retired" Big 4 audit partner, I resemble that remark! Loved the basement of the Art Museum and the Marine Lab.

jacone21
02-19-2016, 05:29 PM
Good post, Vanceman201. The sentence I've quoted reminded me of a pleasant dream I had last night.


Set several years in the future, Coach K had just bagged another National Championship and decided it was time to retire as Duke's head coach. However, as a true fan of the game, he couldn't stop coaching entirely. So he recruited several former players and assistants and formed a mercenary coaching squad (let's call them "The K-Team").

The K-Team offered their services to any school playing UNC, who merely had to suspend their coaching staff for a game and let K and company do the rest. Using his incredible ability to adapt his coaching to his current players, Coach K was able to repeatedly defeat UNC, in game after game after game. Bottom of the ACC, no burger boys? K scraped by with "W." Expected national title contender with a couple one-and-dones? Tripled up on the spread. Injured squad coming off multiple consecutive losses? You know the outcome. He so thoroughly demoralized the Tar Heel squad that, with an 0-23 record heading into the ACC tournament, their players burned the Helms banner as an offering to appease the basketball gods.

Coach K merely shook his head in bemusement and replied, "What a half-baked idea."

The next year, there were no incoming recruits, scholarship players all transferred, and each walk-on pretended to have been confused for someone else. No coaches could be hired at any price, and Walmart stopped selling UNC-branded merchandise.


Ok, ok - so I might have embellished on the original dream a little bit, but imagining that scenario, you're probably in pretty good shape just facing the occasional vampire. :cool:

Hmmmm The K Team.

So if Coach K is Hannibal "I love it when a plan comes together."
John Scheyer is Face
Nate James is obviously BA "I ain't gettin on no plane!"
Does that make Coach Capel Murdock?

BLPOG
02-19-2016, 06:13 PM
Hmmmm The K Team.

So if Coach K is Hannibal "I love it when a plan comes together."
John Scheyer is Face
Nate James is obviously BA "I ain't gettin on no plane!"
Does that make Coach Capel Murdock?

Crazy Towel Guy is Murdock.

flyingdutchdevil
02-19-2016, 07:32 PM
"How do you kill a vampire?" Chop off its head.

In this case, that's Coach K. His teams embody him. He's the only constant when, year after year, his players (as you put it) "scrape, claw, fight, spit, fall down, and puke...with effort and intensity in an effort to prevail." As far as I can tell, he's the only coach that can elicit this desire, game after game, year after year. I honestly don't know how he does it. I've been following Duke for over 30 years -- all Coach K years -- and I've rarely seen a game when this wasn't the case. Coach K is the only reason I can think of. He is the head of the beast and oh what a wonderful beast it is!

these are vampires. Not highlander.

Indoor66
02-19-2016, 08:02 PM
these are vampires. Not highlander.

Or The A Team.

Vanceman201
02-19-2016, 08:24 PM
Thanks for the gracious (and humorous) post. I especially relate to the first paragraph, as I also used to think that way about our two programs, and I hope we can both do so again in the near future.

Thank you, Doria...and I agree. UNC has some things to mend for me to feel comfortable.

Vanceman201
02-19-2016, 08:30 PM
Chiming in here, thanks for your post and kind words (in this case, having one's team likened to a vampire are kind words indeed :) ).

Sorry to say, though, I suspect those crucifixes might not be permitted as UNC is a public university--probably not allowed to require players to wear religious symbols. ;) The garlic, on the other hand, is a brilliant idea and, among other things, might make opponents unwilling to guard the Heels players too closely.

Haa...that's funny, MCFinARL...I guess as a youth I watched too many Dracula, Frankenstein, and Wolfman movies. But, the reference seemed totally fitting to me as every time we play
Duke I sit in anticipation that no matter how well we are doing....that it could turn into a horror show for us....like it did Wednesday.

Vanceman201
02-19-2016, 08:36 PM
As those of us who have been fortunate enough to watch these two programs go head-to-head over the past half-century can attest, the tables are always turning in this rivalry. From the 10,000 foot view, one could posit persuasively that as fortunes have ebbed and flowed, the edge has usually gone to the team with the coach having the most experience. In the early 1950s, Duke had a streak of wins under Coach Bradley, then Frank McGuire used his New York pipeline to bring UNC to the fore, after which Vic Bubas held the upper hand until Dean got his program implemented. Dean's reign lasted a long time, but he was challenged and eventually supplanted at the top by K, who has lasted even longer. By all rights, UNC fans could have expected Roy Williams to supplant K in turn; and from 2005 to 2009, it appeared that the trend would continue in that direction, as UNC took 7 of 9 from Duke. But it hasn't worked out that way. And I think there are a couple of reasons for that.

First, upon closer inspection, it isn't just the experience factor that provides the upper hand, but something that experience usually imparts -- the ability to deal with the pressure by maintaining one's poise, and transforming that pressure into a positive force that keeps the players focused and highly motivated. I think that even the most ardent of UNC fans would now acknowledge that K has mastered that facet of coaching. On the other side, it appears that for all of his coaching experience and acumen, Roy has not been able to manage the pressures effectively -- and when the stress manifests itself in the head coach, it inevitably gets channeled to the players. Going into that game Wednesday night, I would have given Duke no more than a 20-25% chance to win. But about midway through the first half, I told a group of friends with whom I was chatting about the game that if Duke could continue to keep it close until the last few minutes, UNC's players and coaches would start to feel the pressure, which could affect their play and might open the door for Duke to steal a win. You don't have to be clairvoyant to foresee that; and it's not because Duke's program is populated by vampires.

Since Roy took over in Chapel Hill, there have been a total of 6 one-possession games between Duke and UNC. Roy's record in those games is 1-5; and the one he won was in 2005, when he had Doherty's great recruits at their peak. In fact, if you review the scores of the Duke-UNC games over the last 10 years, it's striking how UNC's wins are all by a fairly comfortable margin. Is that coincidence? Or is it a reflection of the fact that Roy doesn't respond well to the pressure, and either doesn't prepare his players for that pressure or recruits players who themselves don't handle the pressure well? As some more astute observers have noted, K seems to deliberately seek out players who welcome the pressure of high expectations and intense competition. Players come to Duke knowing that they're going to be regarded by many college basketball fans -- and more than a few in the media -- as villains, and that every play they make in every game, and every loss, is likely to be subjected to unfavorable scrutiny; but they welcome the opportunity to perform in that spotlight, because they believe, as does K, that there is no sweeter feeling than achieving triumph by overcoming adversity and proving the skeptics and naysayers wrong. You may not be a Duke hater; among UNC fans, outside of our friend Wheat, that's quite rare. Ironically, however, I think that Duke hate is a part of what K and his players use to fuel their desire to win and their will to fight. "Us against the world" is a powerful mantra.

One final observation I'll offer. It has always been my impression that Roy really did not want to become the head coach at UNC -- he chose to stay at Kansas the first time the UNC job opened up, and then came after Doherty was ousted only reluctantly because (or so it was rumored) Dean pleaded that it was his "family duty" to come back and restore the program to respectability. He knew that a large segment of the Carolina fanbase was myopic and maniacally devoted to the myth of The Carolina Way, and that the cult of Dean devotees would be unforgiving to any successor who fell short of perfection. Even Roy, however, probably underestimated the degree to which the job would test the thickness of his skin. There's no doubt in my mind that he would have been happier and healthier if he had stayed at Kansas. Given the way they're treating Roy now, UNC fans may be the most formidable obstacle to attracting a qualified replacement.

Wow, StrayGator...what an outstanding post! I think your observations and ideas are right on...well thought out and expressed beautifully in this message. Boy, I wish I had the clarity of thought and the ability to express it like you've shown here. Well done !

JetpackJesus
02-19-2016, 10:12 PM
As a Marine Geology major (a BS not BA) , now CPA and "retired" Big 4 audit partner, I resemble that remark! Loved the basement of the Art Museum and the Marine Lab.

I spent fall semester of my junior year at the Marine Lab. Absolutely loved it there, and I think that was my favorite semester of college.

Doria
02-19-2016, 10:51 PM
I spent fall semester of my junior year at the Marine Lab. Absolutely loved it there, and I think that was my favorite semester of college.

I did biology during the summer there with the TIP program (can't recall when); such good memories, though they apparently don't extend to what year it was.

bedeviled
02-20-2016, 01:48 AM
Hmmmm The K Team.
So if Coach K is Hannibal "I love it when a plan comes together."
John Scheyer is Face
Nate James is obviously BA "I ain't gettin on no plane!"
Does that make Coach Capel Murdock?http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5991&d=1455950756

BLPOG
02-20-2016, 02:42 AM
http://forums.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5991&d=1455950756

"You must spread some Comments around before commenting on bedeviled again."

It's just not fair. There has to be another way. Can't we set up a mechanism to buy additional sporking potential while diverting the payment to a charitable cause? Because I want to hand out internet points right now!

DukieInKansas
02-20-2016, 09:13 AM
"You must spread some Comments around before commenting on bedeviled again."

It's just not fair. There has to be another way. Can't we set up a mechanism to buy additional sporking potential while diverting the payment to a charitable cause? Because I want to hand out internet points right now!

Sporked for you. I love it when a plan comes together.

Rich
02-20-2016, 11:02 AM
these are vampires. Not highlander.

Coach K...there can be only one!