Realism

[NYC Duke Fan]

# 1 This year's team is better than last year's team.

# 2 This year's team plays very good defense

# 3 This year's team will not go out in the first round of the NCAA tournament

# 4 I will be rooting for them as hard as I have rooted for other Duke teams

# 5 This year's team probably cannot win the National Championship because REALISTICALLY I cannot see Duke winning 6 straight games in March against good to excellent teams. ( the reasons have been given on many posts citing deficiencies)

[mr. synellinden]

# 5 This year's team probably cannot win the National Championship because REALISTICALLY I cannot see Duke winning 6 straight games in March against good to excellent teams. ( the reasons have been given on many posts citing deficiencies)


Do I think we are currently playing the best basketball in the country? No. But we are close. Every team has shown weaknesses.

Do we need to improve free throw shooting and do a better job of maintaining intensity? Yes.

Do I think we can beat any team in the coutry? Yes.

Can we win 6 straight games? Yes. We've already won 10 straight and one tip in away from 11 and we will probably be favored in every game until Feb.

Duke proved last night that it could compete at a top 10 level without playing its best for 40 minutes and shooting poorly from the field and free throw line. Our defense should keep us in every game. There are maybe a few teams that have more talent than us.

We have Singler.

We are unquestionably a national championship contender.

[Patrick Yates]

Technically, there are 65 contenders once the tourney starts. And I like us winning 3 games, with a solid chance in the 4th, depending on who we play. But by March, coaches will be tuned in to Duke's weakness, the post. Until last night, we had not really played a team that could exploit it.

Wisconsin and Illinois have adeuquate bigs, but no guards, and that will kill you dead against Duke. But the other top 10s have quality, or better, guards to go along with superior bigs. As the top poster said, I don't like our chances.

We are a contender for the Title. But, we are not, and probably won't be considered so at any time this year, one of the favorites to reach the FF. We will have real problems with a UNC, UCLA, G-Town, Kansas, or Memphis.

And basically, if we get the 2 seed I now think we will get, it will be against G-Town, or maybe UCLA. If we have to go through them, at a neutral arena, I do not like our chances. Texas we can take. Maybe Memphis if they get Soft. No chance of UNC till at least the FF. So, of the elite teams, I see the committee pairing us with G-Town, a recent rival of sorts, or UCLA, another big "name." We have few favorable match ups in either game.

Patrick Yates

[Troublemaker]

# 1 This year's team is better than last year's team.

# 2 This year's team plays very good defense

# 3 This year's team will not go out in the first round of the NCAA tournament

# 4 I will be rooting for them as hard as I have rooted for other Duke teams

# 5 This year's team probably cannot win the National Championship because REALISTICALLY I cannot see Duke winning 6 straight games in March against good to excellent teams. ( the reasons have been given on many posts citing deficiencies)

Take any contender (UCLA, UNC, etc) and it would be a true statement to say they probably will not win the national championship. That's the reality of single-elimination.

If you're saying Duke absolutely cannot win, that is wrong as well. Certainly wrong on a literal level. On a practical level, I also disagree. Besides UCLA and maybe UNC, I don't think Duke's odds are any worse than anyone else's. Especially based on results so far.

I would also recommend focusing on the journey instead of the NCAA tournament. Lots of games to be played, which means lots of moments to enjoy and chances to get better. Your conclusion is both wrong and comes too soon.

[bdh21]

Florida in 2006 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
Syracuse in 2003 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
Arizona in 1997 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
Michigan in 1989 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
Kansas in 1988 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
Villanova in 1985 probably couldn't win the National Championship.
NC State in 1983 probably couldn't win the National Championship.

I don't want to beat this dead but you're probably right. Duke most likely will not win the Championship this year, but that's ok. Chances are decent though that some team who "cannot win" the championship will go ahead and win the championship in any given year.

[Uncle Drew]

Did Duke almost win last night despite looking like every player had braces on their legs the first 15 minutes of the second half? Yes.

Was I impressed Scheyer grabbed 12 rebounds to contribute on a night his shot wasn't falling? Yes.

Did Duke seem to let up when they were up late in the first half and at half time? Yes. (Haven't seen killer instinct in a Duke team since 2002.)

Did a freshman only 6'7" in height grab 20, count em' 20 rebounds against Duke and add 15 points? Yes.

Does anyone think other coaches preparing to play Duke are going to watch this tape and take some pointers on how to beat Duke? Yes.

Do you think the long wait in between games is going to eat away at our players over the holiday season and make them hungrier when play resumes? Yes!!!!!!!

Would you like to see a rebounding machine sign a letter of intent to go to Duke so we aren't relying on guards to crash the boards after every shot? YES!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone think in a 64 (excuse me 65!) team field Duke will face 6 teams that don't have an inside presence, bruising rebounders and physical players? NO!!!!!


Truth be told this team COULD win it all, if the shots are falling and they play hussle defense for 40 minutes every game. Then again they could face a mid major in the first round that plays physical and rebounds and be out the first round again. This team has been a beautiful thing to watch most of the year kind of like a Ferarri. Unfortunately we may be riding on rims, with the man chasing us.

[Classof06]

It's pretty early to even be speculating about this, but I believe Duke is in the group of about 8-10 teams that can legitimately win the NC. Duke is a contender, make no mistake about it. We have our weaknesses just like any other team in America but I have no doubt we can play with anyone. No doubt whatsoever...

[dukeENG2003]

we are definitely a contender. We're not the favorite, but we're definitely capable of winning 6 games in a row in March/April. Remember, we won't face a team the quality of Pitt until most likely the 3rd round at the earliest (if we're a 1 or 2 seed, then maybe not until the regional finals even). As a 2 seed, you face a 15 and then at worst a 7 seed to get to the regionals. Predicting this sort of stuff at this point is silly anyways though, as the NCAA toruney has a LOT to do with what matchups you draw, something that is still VERY fluid at this point.

[Uncle Drew]

we are definitely a contender. We're not the favorite, but we're definitely capable of winning 6 games in a row in March/April. Remember, we won't face a team the quality of Pitt until most likely the 3rd round at the earliest (if we're a 1 or 2 seed, then maybe not until the regional finals even). As a 2 seed, you face a 15 and then at worst a 7 seed to get to the regionals. Predicting this sort of stuff at this point is silly anyways though, as the NCAA toruney has a LOT to do with what matchups you draw, something that is still VERY fluid at this point.

Agreed 1000% that predicting NCAA fields and especially games is insane, at least until the 65 teams and match ups are announced. But doesn't it ALWAYS seem Duke is put in a bracket with a national rival (UK, AZ, UCONN) they have a history with or even more often a physical team that has the ability to and often pushes Duke around. (VCU, LSU etc.) The NCAA selection comittee can say it doesn't think about match ups at all when it makes it's pairings. But I've seen Duke be a favorite too many times and be matched up with a team they have a history with or matches up well against them. And I've seen quite a few national champions get match ups through the whole tournament that made their tough road look like a four lane highway.

[weezie]

It's pretty early to even be speculating about this, but I believe Duke is in the group of about 8-10 teams that can legitimately win the NC. Duke is a contender, make no mistake about it. We have our weaknesses just like any other team in America but I have no doubt we can play with anyone. No doubt whatsoever...


Bravo! Absodamnedlutely. Why, I think the West looks kind of cozy, eh?

[Memphis Devil]

From what I have seen so far this year as long as another team doesn't have a 6'7 265 lb. Freshman that has quick feet and a 7'3 wingspan, I like our chances!:D

[Ben63]

So, of the elite teams, I see the committee pairing us with G-Town, a recent rival of sorts, or UCLA, another big "name." We have few favorable match ups in either game.

Not so sure about that one. If we couldn't stop Blair what makes you think we can stop Kevin Love/Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (sp?) or even worse (for us) Roy Hibbert. Absolutely no chance. I don't see favorable matchups v UCLA's guards but we could hold our own. GTowns guards I think we can beat. But with the bigs it may not matter.

[ThatDukeFan1]

From what I have seen so far this year as long as another team doesn't have a 6'7 265 lb. Freshman that has quick feet and a 7'3 wingspan, I like our chances!:D



i personally don't think it matters whether or not we'll face another freshman like that, but we will face players who play just like him, except better. DeJaun Blair wasn't the reason we lost. we lost because we gave up, not because Blair is good enough to beat us. of course he's a good player, i'll take nothing from him, but duke is more than capable of beating pitt if they can just do the basics (hit FT's, hold on to leads, not make bad passes, etc.)

we're a better team than what we showed vs pitt.

[DukeDevilDeb]

I was relatively disgusted by the pages and pages of critical, hopeless, and downright insulting posts after the Pittsburgh game. It is true that we lost. It is true that we displayed some weaknesses. But I thought we came away from that game with several real positives:

Scheyer's 12 rebounds blew my mind! The kid couldn't hit (it happened to JJ too, usually in the NCAA tournament... remember?!), but he played his heart out on defense and outrebounded Nelson by a lot despite it.

Pitt had a huge inside presence, yet we lost by only 1 point. I know, I know, we had a big lead in the first half, but don't you think Pitt's poor play had something to do with that? (and maybe the rim at that end of the court: see earlier thread).

Our guys were kings after what had to be a heart-breaking loss. As mentioned in an earlier thread, they were big hearted losers, something most teams don't even try to do.

We also had some weaknesses, but many can be improved:

Free throws, free throws, free throws. But Jon is usually much better; so is Singler. And Nelson hit a really key free throw when he got Blair's 5th foul. (and we've had bad free throw shooting before... remember a kid named Jason Williams?)

Hustle. Coach K was really pissed about how the team came out in the second half. The long time out early in the half was an expression of that. I don't think that will happen again soon... maybe not at all.

Freshmen/sophomore plays. Yes, Scheyer should have passed instead of shot; yes, some of the fouls were really dumb. But with a freshman/sophomore heavy team that REALLY, REALLY wants to win, I think this will improve as the season goes on.

Three-point shooting. I shouldn't even have to address this. We had a bad night for 3s. That happens. King didn't get 6. But he will.

We have one huge weakness that probably won't change: lack of a post presence. But when Lance is healthy again, we won't be as weak.

And to all you Scrooges out there who are saying that the season might as well be over because now we can't win the National Championship or we can't beat Carolina, I say: LET IT GO. IT IS ONLY DECEMBER. Remember that Coach K views a loss as a learning experience.

And if you watch the Duke team only if they are going to win the National Championship, then go watch someone else. We don't need fans like that!

Happy holidays to all!