dukelion
03-13-2007, 12:23 PM
Let's face it.........every year the pundits and fans make their picks only to be shocked when a George Mason or a Weber State make noise in the Tourney.
To be honest who thought Florida would win (actually dominate) the Tourney last year as a 3 seed? Especially with stacked UCONN and Duke teams?
Furthermore, it's vitually a gurantee that most of the 1 seeds and 2 seeds WON'T make the final 4.
So what's the key to Tourney success?
Getting hot and playing with confidence.
With that said there is every reason to believe that this Duke team can make a deep run in this years Tourney.
Part of getting on a roll and playig with confidence is playing without pressure and with Duke being a 6 seed as opposed to the traditional 1-2 seed I would say the pressure is off.....let's face it no one really expects much out of this team.
Another part of getting on a roll is having players "emerge" in the tourney.
Joe Noah and Tyrus Thompson are two good examples of players that really blossomed once the Tourney rolled around. Both flashed ability throughout the season but both turned into lottery picks in the Tourney.
A similar player for Duke? How bout Gerald Henderson?
Hendo has had 2 mini breakout games and seems poised to have agreat Tourney run. It appears K has given him the green light to shoot and he has the potential to be a 20 ppg guy in the Tourney especially considering the fact that we'll be playing small ball for the majority of our tourney stay.
And how bout McRoberts becoming a consistent low post threat? If he plays a full 40 minutes like he did against State then this team will be a very tough out for anybody.
Defense is the last key and I honestly think the time off helped them get back to basics and that they'll come out with defensive intensity against VCU.
All in all my gut feeling tells me we are going to make a run. Not saying Final 4 or anything but a run that will restore some of Duke's pride and luster after a difficult season, thereby setting us up for next year.
To be honest who thought Florida would win (actually dominate) the Tourney last year as a 3 seed? Especially with stacked UCONN and Duke teams?
Furthermore, it's vitually a gurantee that most of the 1 seeds and 2 seeds WON'T make the final 4.
So what's the key to Tourney success?
Getting hot and playing with confidence.
With that said there is every reason to believe that this Duke team can make a deep run in this years Tourney.
Part of getting on a roll and playig with confidence is playing without pressure and with Duke being a 6 seed as opposed to the traditional 1-2 seed I would say the pressure is off.....let's face it no one really expects much out of this team.
Another part of getting on a roll is having players "emerge" in the tourney.
Joe Noah and Tyrus Thompson are two good examples of players that really blossomed once the Tourney rolled around. Both flashed ability throughout the season but both turned into lottery picks in the Tourney.
A similar player for Duke? How bout Gerald Henderson?
Hendo has had 2 mini breakout games and seems poised to have agreat Tourney run. It appears K has given him the green light to shoot and he has the potential to be a 20 ppg guy in the Tourney especially considering the fact that we'll be playing small ball for the majority of our tourney stay.
And how bout McRoberts becoming a consistent low post threat? If he plays a full 40 minutes like he did against State then this team will be a very tough out for anybody.
Defense is the last key and I honestly think the time off helped them get back to basics and that they'll come out with defensive intensity against VCU.
All in all my gut feeling tells me we are going to make a run. Not saying Final 4 or anything but a run that will restore some of Duke's pride and luster after a difficult season, thereby setting us up for next year.