What Were You Wrong About?

[Henderson]

Off-season, so...

Name the single biggest thing you've been wrong about publicly on this forum. And no snarky comments suggesting someone was even more wrong about another thing, or another dozen things. "You've been wrong so many times, that was #20 on my list." No. "You were worse when you said [blah blah]. No. "You've never been right, so shut up." No.

I'll go first.

Laura Keeley. Last year, Laura Keeley publicly endorsed some Adam Wojarnowski comments that were negative about Coach K, implied some nefarious control by Coach K, and were really silly in my view. I said at the time that it looked to me as though Keeley was currying contacts that would allow her to move on and up. That she was burnishing her resume as being "not a Duke homer" by gratuitously signing on to Wojarnowski's blather. I predicted that she had resumes out and would leave the Duke beat soon, citing her demonstrated objectivity about Duke.

Wrong. Despite her Wojarnowski lapse, Keeley's a good reporter, and she's still at the N&O past the time I predicted her to be. Sorry Laura.

[kAzE]

Wrong: I vastly underrated Luke Kennard, which may be the reason I was not able to come away with the top score in the minutes/rotation contest. I didn't not think he would be such a heady player as a freshman. He was also a MUCH better defender than I thought he would be. He will absolutely be first team All-ACC someday if he keeps working hard.

Also, I think I may have overrated Derryck Thornton a tad. I thought he was going to just tear it up as a pass-first point guard, get 5+ assists a game, and be close to leading the team in minutes. Ehh . . . I still think he'll be really good, but that was a bit of an overly optimistic view on an 18 year old kid.

I know this wasn't part of the thread BUT . . .

Right: Marshall Plumlee! I believed in him since early last year, when he played quite well as a backup for Jah!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I stated before the first UNC game that the only way we had a chance to win was if we stayed out of foul trouble, hit a ton of threes, and didn't have any injuries.

I've rarely been so pleased to be mistaken.

[cato]

Brian Zoubek. At some low point early in 2010, I commented (here or elsewhere) that Duke simply would not be great again until they could secure another Brand/Boozer/Williams big to hold down the middle.

I then compounded the mistake by saying that there was no way Marshall could make a similar jump in performance and court time as Big Z.

All this despite knowing full well that several big men have made huge leaps during their final year under K.

I just wish Marshall could have gone out on a similar high as Brian.

[moonpie23]

I admit.....i was TOTALLY wrong about The patriots being cheaters.....oh, snap...wait..


let's see, i was totally wrong about Zoubs......my son had to correct be and take up for him telling me in the fall of 2009 that Zoubs would "lead us to the championship"

I was totally wrong about saying the holes would not make the final 4.

I was totally wrong about Oakofor being a lock for the #1 pick

I was totally wrong about Justise being at least a 3 year dukie.


this is depressing me...

[Dev11]

First, I thought Grayson Allen was a four year player (last year). Then, I thought Grayson Allen would struggle carrying the offensive load (early this year/last summer). Then, I thought Grayson Allen was leaving for the NBA (~late November through this week).

I don't know what I think.

[BeachBlueDevil]

First 4 or 5 games into the season Ingram was playing like complete garbage. I texted my buddy ( fellow Duke fan) and told him I didn't see the hype on Ingram and that he was overrated...... I ended up being wrong, shortly after that text he started putting it all together and was a fantastic player this year for Duke and picked up the slack most of the time when Allen was having an off night and after Jefferson went down he really started improving on the glass.

[Dukehky]

I thought Jon Scheyer was a mouth breather who wouldn't be able to coach or recruit.

Jayson Tatum says hey to recruiting, and Luke Kennard says hello to coaching.

Dummy.

[alteran]

While I never begrudged it AT ALL-- he's given everything to both Duke and the Durham community, so if he wanted it, more power to him-- I thought USA Basketball would be a draining experience for Coach K and would have a negative impact both directly on the team but also on recruiting.

The court results speak for themselves, but I've also read the occasional articles where insiders comment that USA basketball in fact energizes Coach K. The dude is a machine.

[CDu]

Without going back and reviewing all the things I thought about this team last summer, I'd say the following:

Most wrong about: Allen and Obi/Plumlee
- I was a bit skeptical on whether Allen would be ready to take on a leading role and do so highly effectively. Everything he'd done coming into the season was done as the 5th option on the floor and an afterthought for defenses. I wondered if he would succeed as the focus of a defense. He proved that concern to be unnecessary.
- I was certainly not expecting Plumlee to be a 30+ mpg guy. I figured his foul rate would make it too difficult for him to stay on the floor. I think I pegged him more in the 15-20 mpg range. But I was at least right on his per minutes stats, as I saw him as a 15-20 mpg, ~5 and 5 guy. Instead, he was a 30 mpg and 8 and 8 guy.
- I also figured that Obi would be a regular part of the rotation, given his rebounding prowess and age. I'm not sure if it was knee problems or just lack of talent, but obviously he wasn't in the rotation

Most right about:
- Kennard's readiness as a freshman
- Jeter's not-readiness as a freshman

[Jeffrey]

MP3! He was the most improved player in the ACC and probably should have gotten that award. Watching MP3's growth was the best part of the season, for me. I never saw it coming.

[Bostondevil]

Does it have to be basketball related?

If not, I was totally wrong about Peyton Manning being a decent guy.

[Doria]

First, I thought Grayson Allen was a four year player (last year). Then, I thought Grayson Allen would struggle carrying the offensive load (early this year/last summer). Then, I thought Grayson Allen was leaving for the NBA (~late November through this week).

I don't know what I think.

I wasn't wrong aboutGrayson necessarily going to the NBA, but I did have my pre-season doubts that he could carry the load as the primary weapon (especially before Brandon started coming on), as the focus of opposing defenses. I'm happy to have been wrong and readily admit my mistake.

[SlapTheFloor]

I was wrong about small ball. It used to frustrate me constantly to watch the opposing team (particularly UNC) get the ball inside and keep volleyballing it until it went in. When we finally went with a big lineup in 2010 and won, I thought the era of small ball was finally over. So, in 2015 when we moved Amile to the bench and slid Winslow over to the 4 I thought, "Not this again." Things worked out ok.

[Rich]

I never thought, with Coach K's complicated man-to-man defensive scheme, that we would be able to be successful recruiting one-and-done prospects; that we needed 3-4 year players to win a championship. I did not believe that Coach K would be so flexible and play so much zone in 2015 in response to young guys just not "getting it." I'm glad I was wrong and I'm really glad that old dog has been willing to learn some new tricks.

[Tom B.]

Andre Dawkins.

There was a stretch in the 2011-12 season when Dawkins was struggling. One play I distinctly recall was against Florida State in Cameron -- Dawkins blew a defensive assignment on the last play, and Florida State won on a three-pointer at the buzzer. I (and many others) were critical of Dawkins on this board, and I was even more critical of him off the board.

I had no idea of the internal turmoil that he was going through. I owe a karma debt for that, so here it is: Andre, I'm sorry.

Beyond that, I was wrong about the entire 2009-10 team. It was essentially the same team (minus Gerald Henderson) that had made the Sweet 16 the previous year and gotten spanked by Villanova, so I speculated before the season that our ceiling in 2010 would be about the same. Happy to have been wrong about that.

[OldPhiKap]

I was wrong to think -- and write -- that Duke football could not compete in the modern landscape.

[rsvman]

First 4 or 5 games into the season Ingram was playing like complete garbage. I texted my buddy ( fellow Duke fan) and told him I didn't see the hype on Ingram and that he was overrated... I ended up being wrong, shortly after that text he started putting it all together and was a fantastic player this year for Duke and picked up the slack most of the time when Allen was having an off night and after Jefferson went down he really started improving on the glass.

This for me, too. Ingram turned the corner just about the time I opined that he didn't seem like he was going to live up to his billing.


Whoopsies.

[hurleyfor3]

I thought Gordon Hayward's shot was going in. (Was there, on the direct line behind Hayward.)

[JNort]

Do you mean this season? Or ever?

Most wrong thing ever for me was saying I thought Alex Murphy was gonna be a 4 year all acc guy. Wow.

I was also adament about benching Lance Thomas for Mason Plumlee. (Still think we would have been ok with that but it worked out regardless).

Thinking Andre Dawkins was the next player to get his jersey retired even before he stepped on campus. Man I wanted him to be great so bad.

[ChillinDuke]

First, I thought Grayson Allen was a four year player (last year). Then, I thought Grayson Allen would struggle carrying the offensive load (early this year/last summer). Then, I thought Grayson Allen was leaving for the NBA (~late November through this week).

I don't know what I think.

No, don't stop. Keep going...

- Chillin

[BigWayne]

I was wrong about a couple things, but I have successfully blocked out the memory of the details of those events.

[JNort]

Go check back in there. We were wrong about a lot lol!

I said somthing along the lines of Luke would not get off the bench and wouldn't average but 8ppg and see less time than Grayson did his 1st year. My exact words were "if he averages more than 8ppg I won be mildly surprised, I will be blown away."

Now I'm surprised he didn't average 17ppg

[duke blue brewcrew]

And what comes to mind the most is:

-Obi playing a significant role for this year's Duke team
-Lt. MP3 I knew would be a leader, a hard worker, and a tough rebounder coming into this season. He made a far bigger offensive leap than I thought was possible
-Duke was going to rise up and beat UNC in football this past season

[Mike Corey]

I'm wrong about most things, but I think I was most wrong about Josh McRoberts. I would tell anyone that would listen that Josh was among the most talented folks, all-around, that had played at Duke. I kept insisting upon that even as the limits of his skillset were on display. Still, a very talented player, but not as talented as I kept insisting he was.

[Wander]

My biggest miss was Rasheed. I thought he'd be a cross between Nolan Smith and Gerald Henderson, and a NPOY-contending type player by his senior year at Duke. Oops.

[tux]

Two recent things that come to mind:

1) I said that too many posters here were overrating both Grayson and Brandon before the season started. I thought both would be good, but that neither would approach the level they ended up reaching.

2) I said (many times) that I thought Okafor was a better pick than Towns and that MN would regret not taking Jah. Of course, that could end up being right but I actually (in my heart) meant that they would be regretting it in the short-term as well.

EDIT: Oh yeah...

3) I said before last season that I thought Tyus and Quinn would struggle playing together b/c I thought Quinn would want the ball too much...

[ChillinDuke]

I thought there was an ice cube's chance in Hell that Amile would not return this year.

- Chillin

[gurufrisbee]

Wrong about Amile coming back during this past season.

[Troublemaker]

I was wrong about UVA slipping defensively. They did struggle towards the beginning of the ACC season, but they put it all together from midseason on (seemingly sparked by the comeback at Wake Forest) and ended up with the #5 kenpom defense, which I did not expect at all. I was thinking they'd end up top-20 or so.

They have a very impressive program and coach in Charlottesville right now.

[Jeffrey]

I'm wrong about most things, but I think I was most wrong about Josh McRoberts. I would tell anyone that would listen that Josh was among the most talented folks, all-around, that had played at Duke. I kept insisting upon that even as the limits of his skillset were on display. Still, a very talented player, but not as talented as I kept insisting he was.

Well, if we're going back many moons, then my big miss was Ricky Price. IMO, he had a very nice offensive game, early on, which I thought would continue to improve. It's sad, his big issue was more brain than game.

[NSDukeFan]

First, I thought Grayson Allen was a four year player (last year). Then, I thought Grayson Allen would struggle carrying the offensive load (early this year/last summer). Then, I thought Grayson Allen was leaving for the NBA (~late November through this week).

I don't know what I think.
I expected Grayson to improve, get more playing time and challenge for a starting spot. I did NOT see this AA season coming. Happy to be wrong.

I admit....i was TOTALLY wrong about The patriots being cheaters....oh, snap...wait..


let's see, i was totally wrong about Zoubs...my son had to correct be and take up for him telling me in the fall of 2009 that Zoubs would "lead us to the championship"

I was totally wrong about saying the holes would not make the final 4.

I was totally wrong about Oakofor being a lock for the #1 pick

I was totally wrong about Justise being at least a 3 year dukie.


this is depressing me...
I also thought Okafor had to be the number one pick.

Two recent things that come to mind:

1) I said that too many posters here were overrating both Grayson and Brandon before the season started. I thought both would be good, but that neither would approach the level they ended up reaching.

2) I said (many times) that I thought Okafor was a better pick than Towns and that MN would regret not taking Jah. Of course, that could end up being right but I actually (in my heart) meant that they would be regretting it in the short-term as well.

EDIT: Oh yeah...

3) I said before last season that I thought Tyus and Quinn would struggle playing together b/c I thought Quinn would want the ball too much...
I vastly underestimated Towns and thought Jah would make everyone look dumb for picking Towns and Russell ahead of him. 50% right?

Wrong about Amile coming back during this past season.

I was convinced Amile would be back and Duke would be so much better and a legitimate title contender with him. 8 months too early?

I also honestly believed that UNC was a great institution that did things the right way, valued the student part of student-athlete and was a legitimate rival. Sad to have missed badly on this one.

[wilson]

I underestimated our chances of winning the 2010 title until Kansas lost to Northern Iowa (I still remember exactly where I was for the Ali Farokhmanesh shot) and Kentucky lost to West Virginia. I was honestly more bullish about our chances against the 2015 Kentucky juggernaut...I am not sad that we didn't get a shot at them (and Wisconsin was a more than worthy opponent), but I was not afraid of those Wildcats, and liked our chances more last year than at the outset of the 2010 tourney.

[fidel]

I was wrong when I thought UNCheat was a true rival.

I was wrong when I thought Dean was beyond reproach.

I was wrong when I thought the Carolina Way meant something.

I was wrong when I thought UNCheat wouldn't get the hammer of Thor in their collective foreheads.

[Newton_14]

I took the thread (as well as the "what did you get right") to mean concerning this season, not all past history. With that I will only speak to this season.

- I said this in another thread just last night. I was very wrong about unc-nlv's potential this season. In my infamous post to Wheat at the end of the Regular season, I stated they did not have this super duper higher ceiling that Wheat insisted they had. Based on their play last season and this entire Regular Season, I stated I would be mildly surprised if they won the ACC Tourney, shocked if they made the Final Four, and flabbergasted if they won it all (thank you Nova from the bottom of my heart). I also said Paige was a shell of his former self and their perimeter sucked and couldn't shoot. Less than a week later they transform into this juggernaut, and ride that momentum all the way to the title game shooting around 60% from 3! Paige became Paige again, Berry turned into Tyus Jones and Jackson started raining 3's, and that combined with their inside game made them almost impossible to beat. As I said to Wheat in that post, Paige was incredible those last 5 minutes of the title game, almost willing them to win by himself. A warrior and I now have great respect for him. Any young player aspiring to be great, should be forced to watch those final 5 minutes of the title game. The tying 3 was one of the best clutch shots I have ever seen.


- I felt if Clemson finished 10-8 in the Regular Season they would make the Dance. Maybe they should have over Pitt or Syracuse but alas they didn;t


So N_14 was wrong as heck on both of these items.

[wavedukefan70s]

Plumlee and jeter.i had them reversed.obi aswell.

[wsb3]

I predicted Amile would return in early February.

[freshmanjs]

I guess not the intent of the thread -- but, I was wrong in the tone of some of my posts and strive to improve for next season.

[JetpackJesus]

I was in an NCAA bracket pool in 2010 and filled out my bracket with Duke winning it all. Just before submitting, I threw away that bracket while exclaiming, "This bracket is a loser!"

[jipops]

I was wrong about being able to admit I was wrong about something. Wait...what?

[jipops]

I was wrong about Clemson being a tournament team when we lost to them.

[devildeac]

I discussed this with Mrs. dd tonight and she directed me to this thread but thought I might exceed the bandwidth...

[throatybeard]

I was wrong to believe Dean Smith's public stance on academic integrity.

When I was a sophomore (1995-96), I thought we'd be lucky to get more than about five additional years out of Coach K. I suppose it wasn't an extreme position at the time, but as a projection, five or eight or even ten would have been woefully low, it turns out.

I think I've been slow to admit there's a pretty big problem with Duke WBB.

If you had forced me to bet a month's pay in 2004, I would have put the money on Krzyzewski going to the Lakers. Not saying I had a lot of conviction, just that if I couldn't afford to lose money and had to guesstimate which way was more than 50%, I would have reluctantly taken leave over stay. You know what, forget I said anything. Let's all just pretend that la la la.

I thought Cutcliffe could drag us out of the football sewer. I didn't think he, or anyone, could do what he has actually done. Every time we win a game, I still rub my eyeballs like a disbelieving 1930s cartoon character. Old habits die hard.

[tfk53]

If I can go back over past seasons, then I have been wrong multiple seasons in thinking that this is the year Coach K goes 9-10 deep in his rotation. I truly did not think that this year, of course with the shortened roster, but do admit I expected much more contribution and playing time from Jeter/Obi. I should know by now a deep 9-10 rotation from K likely only if pigs fly.

Also, nothing in my mind ever thought that MP3 would evolve into the force he became this season. Simply Marvelous to watch that transformation. Very glad to be wrong about his potential.

[gumbomoop]

1. Despite the warnings of CDu and others, I predicted that JMM would be the "next great player at UNC." Whoa.
2. I was O-fer in my "Wild and Crazy 2016 Season Predictions." I may have jinxed Johnny.
3. Like Stacy Drew, I'd say my biggest weakness is I care too much. But that's just wrong.
4. Wrongest of all, I thought the tenured faculty at UNC would speak out.

[Newton_14]

1. Despite the warnings of CDu and others, I predicted that JMM would be the "next great player at UNC." Whoa.
2. I was O-fer in my "Wild and Crazy 2016 Season Predictions." I may have jinxed Johnny.
3. Like Stacy Drew, I'd say my biggest weakness is I care too much. But that's just wrong.
4. Wrongest of all, I thought the tenured faculty at UNC would speak out.

This is a test post to see what happens since this thread lost a lot of posts when the board went down.

My buddy gumb's.... he loved him some James Michael McAdoo! A select few of us in the minority kept hinting to him the guy was only great when he had better bigs beside him drawing all the defense attention.

[turnandburn55]

I thought Josh McRoberts would be a 15ish ppg scorer as a frosh, and near first team all-America as a sophomore.

Thought Greg Paulus would be the next great Duke pg.

That there was no way Mike Dunleavy would leave early. Or that Luol Deng was one and done.

Like many others, that the 2010 team would be lucky to make it past the sweet 16.

That Redick's sophomore year was his ceiling. And that his skillset would only translate to the NBA as a Steve Kerr specialist.

[fuse]

Hoping I am wrong about what I just posted in the UNC scandal hammer thread.

[captmojo]

What I wrote the other day, which seems to have been lost...

I may not always be right, but I'm NEVER wrong.
Once upon a time, I thought I might have been wrong. As it turns out, that was only a mistake.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I was wrong to think Brian Bersticker would develop into a high level power forward.

Other than that, I've been pretty much right on everything else. :)

[CDu]

Wow, I totally misread the theme of the thread and was thinking of this year only. Historically, I would guess my biggest whiff was probably Sulaimon. I was REALLY bullish on him coming out of high school. I saw the next Nolan Smith, only more advanced: I saw him starring for the team by his sophomore year.

After his freshman year, I was feeling really good about my prediction. Of course, then the wheels started slowly coming off, and the rest is history. He just never seemed to get appreciably better from freshman year through his senior year.

[BD80]

I was wrong to think Brian Bersticker would develop into a high level power forward.

Other than that, I've been pretty much right on everything else. :)

I was wrong when I thought we wouldn't hear from Wheat for a while after the championship game.

Welcome back. Condolences to you (but not the team or any other tar heel fan) on the loss.

[hackysack123]

That 2006 would end the way it did. And with Redick finishing out his college career going 3-18 from the field.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I was wrong when I thought we wouldn't hear from Wheat for a while after the championship game.

Welcome back. Condolences to you (but not the team or any other tar heel fan) on the loss.

I didn't get to comment on any of the tourney games, been busy...things just starting to slow a little.

I thought UNC had a great year. I was just disappointed for the players. Of course it's always nicer to win, but that was a very likable team for me. They said and did all the right things and played solid team basketball.

[NSDukeFan]

I didn't get to comment on any of the tourney games, been busy...things just starting to slow a little.

I thought UNC had a great year. I was just disappointed for the players. Of course it's always nicer to win, but that was a very likable team for me. They said and did all the right things and played solid team basketball.

Is this more stuff you were wrong about? 😄

[Wheat/"/"/"]

Is this more stuff you were wrong about? 😄

I think I called this team's potential pretty well all season, so nah, I'm still right.:)

[Faison1]

I was shocked when we lost to Cincinnati in the Great Alaska Shootout of 1998, and equally stunned when we lost to UConn in the Championship Game of 1999.

I was convinced we'd win both of those games.....

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Of course it's always nicer to win, but that was a very likable team for me.

I would say this UNC team was more likeable than some of the fans...

:)

[-jk]

I picked Duke in my pool yet again.

Of course, I did repeat my .500 2-year running average! I'll try to put that in next year's What Were You Right About thread.

-jk

[westwall]

I was wrong to think Brian Bersticker would develop into a high level power forward.

Well, Bersticker was also very wrong in failing to realize that he was not close to being a high level power forward.

[OldPhiKap]

I was wrong to think Brian Bersticker would develop into a high level power forward.



He was no Neil Fingelton. Allthough few are.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

He was no Neil Fingelton. Allthough few are.

I was one who never bought into the Fingleton can play camp. I always thought he was a stiff as a player from the first time I saw him walk on the floor.

I did a search on Bersticker and found this page...pretty well sums him up. He had talent, just for whatever reason couldn't mentally get into becoming a player.
http://weritegoode.blogspot.com/2007/09/where-have-you-gone-brian-bersticker.html

[OldPhiKap]

I was one who never bought into the Fingleton can play camp. I always thought he was a stiff as a player from the first time I saw him walk on the floor.



Yeah, just funnin' 'ya. We have had our share too. Although not a stiff, I really thought that Greg Newton was going to be a paint beast. I remember reading some quotes from him in high school about how he loved the physicality of hockey and brought that mentality to basketball.