Things I care about...

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

So, it's become clear to me over the last year or so on this board that I am in the minority when it comes to things that I care about and things I couldn't care less about. Please understand, this isn't a rant, but rather a pulse check to see who agrees with me.

Things I care about halfway through the ACC season:

Coach K's recovery and retutn to the team
Bolden's development as a valuable asset underneath
Luke's amazing offensive year
Tatum's decision-making development
Grayson's quest for redemption
Amile's leadership and focus
Team defense


Things I don't care about this week:

Draft stock
Commentator bias
AP Rankings
ESPN's Grayson hate
NCAA mock brackets
Fans taunting Grayson
Is Capel the next Duke coach


This team is so fascinating and talented and conflicted... we have all the potential in the world, and I have enjoyed the season so much as our team tries so hard to figure it out. Personally, I feel that getting distracted with the peripheral BS is just not allowing yourself to enjoy the journey of this season.

At any rate, I feel certain that I'm in the minority, but I sort of wanted to find out if I'm all alone on an island. Thanks for your thoughts, and feel free to flame away.

Go Duke!

[Troublemaker]

I'm with you. I care much more about the first batch of stuff.

I do have opinions on the second batch of stuff, but to the extent that I participate in those discussions (which probably hasn't been much), it's just because others are. I wouldn't mind if we never discussed those things.

[flyingdutchdevil]

So, it's become clear to me over the last year or so on this board that I am in the minority when it comes to things that I care about and things I couldn't care less about. Please understand, this isn't a rant, but rather a pulse check to see who agrees with me.

Things I care about halfway through the ACC season:

Coach K's recovery and retutn to the team
Bolden's development as a valuable asset underneath
Luke's amazing offensive year
Tatum's decision-making development
Grayson's quest for redemption
Amile's leadership and focus
Team defense


Things I don't care about this week:

Draft stock
Commentator bias
AP Rankings
ESPN's Grayson hate
NCAA mock brackets
Fans taunting Grayson
Is Capel the next Duke coach


This team is so fascinating and talented and conflicted... we have all the potential in the world, and I have enjoyed the season so much as our team tries so hard to figure it out. Personally, I feel that getting distracted with the peripheral BS is just not allowing yourself to enjoy the journey of this season.

At any rate, I feel certain that I'm in the minority, but I sort of wanted to find out if I'm all alone on an island. Thanks for your thoughts, and feel free to flame away.

Go Duke!

A questions and a few comments:

Amile's leadership and focus - is this a positive or a negative or both? I view Amile's focus as key, but would love to see a little better leadership, especially towards the freshman (and primarily towards Frank Jackson. 1:1 odds he screams at Frank at least once during the Pitt game)

I like your list on things you care about.

My list for things I don't care about is a little different:

ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate
ESPN's Grayson hate


All your other comments are things that I have a mild interest (draft stock, brackets) or have never considered (commentator bias, AP rankings). But that those 7 "things I don't care about" are at the top of my list.

[Reilly]

I only follow Duke basketball in order to have another reason to dislike Len Elmore. Len and I go way back.

[Troublemaker]

I didn't see the poll before I replied.

You know, it's hard for me to vote in the poll because I actually mildly to strongly agree with all 4 statements. I don't think they're necessarily contradictory positions. If it had been a checkbox poll, I would've checked all 4.

[Wander]

Half and half. Talking about announcer or referee bias is a lame conversation, and I don't think you can meaningfully evaluate a coach based on subbing in for the head coach for a few games. But rankings and draft stock are fair game and interesting to me.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Half and half. Talking about announcer or referee bias is a lame conversation, and I don't think you can meaningfully evaluate a coach based on subbing in for the head coach for a few games. But rankings and draft stock are fair game and interesting to me.

Thank you! Agree with this post all the way, especially the bolded part.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

So, it's become clear to me over the last year or so on this board that I am in the minority when it comes to things that I care about and things I couldn't care less about. Please understand, this isn't a rant, but rather a pulse check to see who agrees with me.

Things I care about halfway through the ACC season:

Coach K's recovery and retutn to the team
Bolden's development as a valuable asset underneath
Luke's amazing offensive year
Tatum's decision-making development
Grayson's quest for redemption
Amile's leadership and focus
Team defense


Things I don't care about this week:

Draft stock
Commentator bias
AP Rankings
ESPN's Grayson hate
NCAA mock brackets
Fans taunting Grayson
Is Capel the next Duke coach


This team is so fascinating and talented and conflicted... we have all the potential in the world, and I have enjoyed the season so much as our team tries so hard to figure it out. Personally, I feel that getting distracted with the peripheral BS is just not allowing yourself to enjoy the journey of this season.

At any rate, I feel certain that I'm in the minority, but I sort of wanted to find out if I'm all alone on an island. Thanks for your thoughts, and feel free to flame away.

Go Duke!

This is great - thanks. I would add to the "things I don't care about" list speculation about who will be back next year. I understand why this might fit into threads about recruiting, but generally speaking, I just want to focus on this season - I guess this ties into your "Draft stock" note. Also, something I care about is the strength of the ACC because it is a fascinating season from that perspective and that does directly relate to what is happening on the court.

[Billy Dat]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Half and half. Talking about announcer or referee bias is a lame conversation, and I don't think you can meaningfully evaluate a coach based on subbing in for the head coach for a few games. But rankings and draft stock are fair game and interesting to me.

I find those topics interesting once the season is over, but I prefer to focus on the players on the floor until April.

Anyways, thanks for the comments. Glad to hear I am not alone.

[Rich]

So, it's become clear to me over the last year or so on this board that I am in the minority when it comes to things that I care about and things I couldn't care less about. Please understand, this isn't a rant, but rather a pulse check to see who agrees with me.

Things I care about halfway through the ACC season:

Coach K's recovery and retutn to the team
Bolden's development as a valuable asset underneath
Luke's amazing offensive year
Tatum's decision-making development
Grayson's quest for redemption
Amile's leadership and focus
Team defense


Things I don't care about this week:

Draft stock
Commentator bias
AP Rankings
ESPN's Grayson hate
NCAA mock brackets
Fans taunting Grayson
Is Capel the next Duke coach


This team is so fascinating and talented and conflicted... we have all the potential in the world, and I have enjoyed the season so much as our team tries so hard to figure it out. Personally, I feel that getting distracted with the peripheral BS is just not allowing yourself to enjoy the journey of this season.

At any rate, I feel certain that I'm in the minority, but I sort of wanted to find out if I'm all alone on an island. Thanks for your thoughts, and feel free to flame away.

Go Duke!

By omission, it seems you are ambivalent about puppies and, sorry, I just can't get on board with that.

[killerleft]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

Saved me a few keystrokes.:)

[jacone21]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

I agree. I like most discussions and it's easy enough to ignore the ones I don't like. Where else can I commiserate with others about ESPN's antics? When I bring it up to my wife, she looks at me like this.

7134

[FerryFor50]

I agree. I like most discussions and it's easy enough to ignore the ones I don't like. Where else can I commiserate with others about ESPN's antics? When I bring it up to my wife, she looks at me like this.

7134

I'm just glad we're finally defining what each person on these forums should and should not care about. Streamlining makes life easier.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

That's more than fair. I will strive to that goal. For some reason, it bothers me less in the off season when every thread slowly drifts towards talk of "how many minutes" than it does during the season when every discussion becomes "how terrible is Jay/Jay and why don't they defend Duke."

That's when it becomes hard to avoid.

And, if that's your perspective BillyDat, then you must REALLY hate a thread about threads you hate!

As I say, I knew I was opening myself up to getting blasted by posting this thread. Carry on.

[English]

Half and half. Talking about announcer or referee bias is a lame conversation, and I don't think you can meaningfully evaluate a coach based on subbing in for the head coach for a few games. But rankings and draft stock are fair game and interesting to me.

This is precisely how I feel, as well. The CBB season is long, and we frequently go days without an actual game. I think it's amusing to talk about AP polls, even if they don't actually matter in any meaningful way. Not a whole lot that's discussed here actually matters in any meaningful way outside of an enjoyment shared by the community. Draft stock, in my view, is essentially the same--I'm a Duke hoops fan first and foremost, but I'm also a sports fan so I care a modest amount about basketball outside the cloistered Duke family. Plus, is anything shared on the 17th page of a post-game thread really much more significant and worthwhile than some posts about why a certain team fell in the polls after winning two games the week before?

WRT announcers and refs and analysts, etc., I'm interested only as far as wanting a small sliver of confirmation that what I perceive as a Duke fan isn't completely unfounded and misguided. Or, at least, that I'm not alone in thinking something during a game (bad call, odd commentator statement, whatever).

It's irksome (somewhere between mildly irritating and maddening) when, after reading the thread title on DBR, some posters still feel compelled to click into a thread, respond to some post about ranking polls with "Basketball polls are meaningless; you guys are wasting your lives and my time." Hey, that's certainly a valid philosophy and a rational person can justifiably feel that way, but they can also abstain from that thread and leave the rest of us to quibble about why Baylor is overrated in the polls or why there should actually be 7 ACC teams in the top-20 instead of 6 or 8. That, and why Malik Monk should be projected outside the top-5 while Miles Bridges belongs in the top-12.

[Newton_14]

I'm with you. I care much more about the first batch of stuff.

I do have opinions on the second batch of stuff, but to the extent that I participate in those discussions (which probably hasn't been much), it's just because others are. I wouldn't mind if we never discussed those things.

What he said^

[Eakane]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

This.

For some people, it's such a burden to skip topics they don't care about, such a distraction that they are topics they don't care about, so they undertake the further burden of telling you they don't care.

[NSDukeFan]

Am I the only one waiting for this thread to become about puns? 😃

[FadedTackyShirt]

While I respected and admired Duke basketball and K long before becoming a Duke student, I wouldn't avidly follow the program if I didn't value a Duke education and my Duke friends (classmates, profs, and administrators). Wild to be discussing the program in detail with lifelong second generation Duke fans who I've known since they were babies.

This season's group text includes goofy rants from four continents. Always look forward to hanging together during our annual CIS pilgrimage, even if the team occasionally loses (NCSU 2017, Syracuse 2016).

Wouldn't value Duke or the friendships as much if we were incapable of justifiable unbiased criticism when merited.

Selfishly want to see K hang as many banners as possible, but mostly care about how well the program represents the University (minimal complaints). Would also selfishly like to see K coach long enough so we could see his teams vanquish all ACC pretenders home and away.

[CDu]

My feeling has always been that if you don't like a topic, don't participate in the discussion and vice versa. I tend to not like when posters chime in with "why are we even talking about this?" as there are a potentially infinite number of threads that can be started and devoted to topics that an individual cares about.

Ditto.

[itshoopsbabee]

They hate us 'cause they ain't us...

[BD80]

Things I care about:

The health status of our coaches and players.

The level of participation of the players in scrimmages or practices.

News on recruits or recruiting.

Impressions on upcoming opponents from posters who have watched games of upcoming opponents.


Things I DON'T care about:

Minutes. Any discussion of minutes.

Comments critical of a player - except of Matt Jones' shooting.

Minutes predictions, particularly predictions of minutes or starting lineups for future teams including recruits that haven't declared.


It would be nice if we could just ignore a topic, but too often people will highjack a thread - particularly recruiting - to shoehorn their opinions that are being ignored in other threads.

[Billy Dat]

And, if that's your perspective BillyDat, then you must REALLY hate a thread about threads you hate!

Au contraire mon frère, I support all threads, no matter how far they diverge from my areas of interest. You really get a sense of the overall community based on which topics drive interest and what is discussed within. I tend to object to posters, within a thread, asking why the topic is worthy of discussion...if no one cares, it drops off page one and is gone baby gone. If not, then it's relevant.

Right now we are at a crazy point in our country's history where internet communication has gotten insanely nasty. DBR has more of an edge than I can remember, and I think the two are related. As a result, especially considering how much I value the discourse on here and its status as a haven for me, I'd rather we avoid value judgments about worthy topics within topic threads. But, as this thread is devoted to the topic, it is completely fair game.

[Edouble]

This poll confuses me. Who are "they"?

Also, choices are not mutually exclusive.

[Neals384]

Mtn. Devil, I agree with your list. Just one more thing to add: it drives me crazy when people start talking about next season during this season. Whoa! Win or lose, this season is what matters now. Plenty of time in the offseason to talk about next season. Not saying we shouldn't talk about recruiting, but talk about lineups, who's coming back or not, and whether we'll compete for a championship next year - those are all annoying until mid-April.

[Reilly]

... This team is so fascinating and talented and conflicted... we have all the potential in the world ...

This may be true, but why are you even talking about it? It has nothing to do with Len Elmore.


... Right now we are at a crazy point in our country's history where internet communication has gotten insanely nasty. DBR has more of an edge than I can remember ...

I have a theory as to who is responsible. I believe Lefty referred to him as Leonard.

[Indoor66]

This may be true, but why are you even talking about it? It has nothing to do with Len Elmore.



I have a theory as to who is responsible. I believe Lefty referred to him as Leonard.

Nay, it had to have been Dean. Dean never had a player who was called by any form of shortened name or any nickname. Mike Jordan became Michael Jordan, etc. Sooooooooooooooooooooo pretentious.

[ricks68]

Am I the only one waiting for this thread to become about puns? 😃

I was about to agree with Newton's "What he said." response until your post appeared. Nothing more needed to be said about the subject now, IMO.😉

ricks