Thanks team Duke

[drion97]

Gutty effort. Tough game. Paulus and McRoberts played huge (absent missed free throws) and played their hearts out.

Tough to do much more when a team doens't miss a jumper and hits 4 of 4 threes in a row...

Maynor is crazy talented, and all respect to him-- but I'm tired of people roughing Duke kids up just because they think they can. I almost feel like we need an enforcer, like in hockey.

VCU's a different team if they hit 35 % of 3's instead of 70 %. But sadly, maybe were open and in transition.

Great effort by Duke, we'll be strong and angry next season.

I'll happily not think about Duke for a while and focus on baseball- this season's killed me....

[3rd Dukie]

Gutty effort. Tough game. Paulus and McRoberts played huge (absent missed free throws) and played their hearts out.

Tough to do much more when a team doens't miss a jumper and hits 4 of 4 threes in a row...

Maynor is crazy talented, and all respect to him-- but I'm tired of people roughing Duke kids up just because they think they can. I almost feel like we need an enforcer, like in hockey.

VCU's a different team if they hit 35 % of 3's instead of 70 %. But sadly, maybe were open and in transition.

Great effort by Duke, we'll be strong and angry next season.

I'll happily not think about Duke for a while and focus on baseball- this season's killed me....


NO. NO respect for that punk. That was the dirtiest game I have seen in a while. Tons of no-calls. Street punks.

[jjasper0729]

Just seems like the last few years (outside of JJ) that free throw shooting has been dreadful. Even 01-02 when J-Will couldn't buy a free throw, it's like they don't emphasize it. If we hit half the ones we miss, we have the lead and the game may turn out completely different.

I agree about the roughing up the Duke team. Dont know why it always is okay and nothing gets called by the officials. Good of them in this game though to keep that crap from escalating in the second half there.

[dukehick]

Agreed. Eric Maynor = Bootsy Thorton (spelling?) Have to respect the guts he showed.
Paulus had a monster, gutty game as well.

Hey, now everybody can start talking about next year's lineup!! When is November?

[dukeENG2003]

I said it before the game was even over, there were a lot of things that were out of our control that went against us in this game, and we stayed in it until the last play. Nothing to be ashamed of tonight, we clearly just weren't destined to win.

[Virginian]

Well, it would have been nice to win at least one close game this year. A gutty effort on our part, yes, but evidently you can't win if you can't hit free throws down the stretch.

The really disappointing thing to me is that I don't see that as a team we got any better as the season wore on. So as much as I like these guys and appreciate their effort, I don't see what positives we take from the season forward to next year. And hoping a crop of super freshman save us doesn't sound like a sound plan for future success.

[3rd Dukie]

Offending quote deleted by mods.

Are you nuts?? Tell that stuff to Paulus. You are totally wrong.

[jjasper0729]

Offending quote deleted by mods.

how hard is it to practice free throws at the end of practice. When I was in high school, you couldn't leave practice until you had hit five in a row at the end of it. We used to be a good foul shooting team in the 90s. Without JJ, our percentage would have been totally horrendous. It's like they don't think it matters. It's not even end of game situations, it's the entire game.

[fogey]

Greg has great tecnique, but was just exhausted, and it showed on the line. McB and DN had lousy technique all year. nothing new.

[RelativeWays]

And just like Eastern Michigan, we won't ever get a chance at revenge because VCU will go back to being *** after this season. If we do play them again, I hope we run the score up on them. I hope we run the score up on everyone who beat us this year.

[vango]

Well, that was frustrating. Now we know how it feels to have another team make us play their game instead of the other way around.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Been that way all year long. Young teams do that but I didn't see much improvement in that area. Hopefully with a year under their belt it will clean up a bit.

Was a rough game and I didn't care for that but if it's going to be called that way then you can give it back. We did.

The most frustrating was we all knew what they would do and they did it. At the end it looked easy to me.

Well, whenever we lose in the tournament I pull out the championship dvd's and watch them again. Makes me remember we've had it good. So I'll do that and pull for the women to bring home a banner.

[evrdukie]

VCU beat our guys like a drum in virtually every aspect of the game, even conditioning. This was painful. And like one of the earlier posters, I don't see the foundation for dramatic improvement next year. Hope I'm wrong.

[Saratoga2]

Both Paulus and McRoberts played as well as they ever have yet our defense couldn't deal with the quickness and agggressiveness of VCU. They got their points by penetrating and by quick transitions with 3's coming off of Duke turnovers. We really weren't able to exploit McRobert's advantage inside for the last 10 minutes. Yes foul shooting was also an issue.

This team does need some quality additions to make that step forward next year. This team also really needs to have McRoberts return.

[RelativeWays]

I don't think I've been so angry at a Duke season before. The 96 and 97 seasons didn't affect me because I knew Duke was rebuilding after the nitemare that was the 95 season. Last years loss to LSU certainly disappointed me but the JJ era Duke teams seemed to run out of gas in the last month, running a 7 man rotation seems to do that. This year, Duke just looked clueless or careless, sometimes timid unsure or scared. I will say that they did play hard. This team did not give up once, the just couldn't finish the job.

[feldspar]

I thought this thread was supposed to be about thanking the team.

THANKS guys, for a roller-coaster season that allowed us to explore otherwise-seldom explored emotions. :)

Thanks for giving it your all and not giving up.

Thanks for not listening to the haters.

See you all (or most of you, perhaps ;) ) in '07-'08!

[dukepsy1963]

thanks fellows...we'll get everybody next year....I promise...

Hold your heads up....

Go Duke....

[devildownunder]

Just seems like the last few years (outside of JJ) that free throw shooting has been dreadful. Even 01-02 when J-Will couldn't buy a free throw, it's like they don't emphasize it. If we hit half the ones we miss, we have the lead and the game may turn out completely different.

I agree about the roughing up the Duke team. Dont know why it always is okay and nothing gets called by the officials. Good of them in this game though to keep that crap from escalating in the second half there.

except for the harassment of paulus, i think they called VCU for roughing up duke players. Unfortunately, what they did against gp was one of the key factors in the game. :(

[DankeShane]

The silver lining here is that now we know that the "losing early in the ACC tournament so we get rest" argument is toast. Now that we know that, we can win it next year and not worry about not having legs.

[Dukebacker]

What a suspenseful season. Ups and downs everywhere. Oh well. We are Duke. We will be fighting to be a nat'l champ next year.

Paulus played great tonight. I would imagine McBob would want to leave on such a strong performance...hopefully he stays.

I can't wait to see what improvements are made this offseason. It's going to be a long wait, but with guys like singler, king, smith, and hopefully patterson...it will be well worth the wait.

The bad thing about this...were all going to hear about how duke lost for the next 3 days.

GO DUKE

[BELMONTDFAN]

This team is dreadful at free throws because they are chokers. They don't have heart. No more excuses.

This is the worst Duke team in 20+yrs. No athleticism , no basketball IQ, no relentless defense, no pressure offense whatsoever, no mental toughness.McRoberts is the slowest , most methodical waste of height that is currently in the ACC.(hope he goes pro).Hang in ther Gerald and Jon.......also, Duke had better get some assistants that know what they're doing....these former players don't.Roy is kicking our butts and does'nt look tired!

[Constantstrain 81]

We have the makings of a team. If we can jump to big leads and hold teams down for 30 minutes, then we can do it for 40 minutes.

What seemed so odd was our lack of cohesiveness on offense. Early in the season, we needed to run a patterned offense just to score it seems. Tonight (and the last ten games) it seemed to be that whoever got the ball first made the move to score. It was like five guys who didn't know each other playing.

Momentum is a confidence killer. Once that worm turns, it turns. When we had the 61-50 lead and gave up five points in seconds - I knew we were in for it. Momentum had turned. Only experienced superstars can stop that (or a bigger lead).

That said, the framework is there. A year under the belt. A little motivation (instead of trying to play to expectations) from this year's finish. More talented freshmen coming it. More shooters. A summer of training and strength work. No injuries.

The difference between 22-11 and 33-4 can be a very fine line. I guess if it was easy to do, everyone would be doing it.

[DukeUsul]

Thanks especially to Greg and Josh for trying to carry us to a win. Gutty performance by those two. Thanks to everyone on the team for playing their heart out.

[vango]

What a suspenseful season. Ups and downs everywhere. Oh well. We are Duke. We will be fighting to be a nat'l champ next year.

Paulus played great tonight. I would imagine McBob would want to leave on such a strong performance...hopefully he stays.

I can't wait to see what improvements are made this offseason. It's going to be a long wait, but with guys like singler, king, smith, and hopefully patterson...it will be well worth the wait.

The bad thing about this...were all going to hear about how duke lost for the next 3 days.

GO DUKE

I'll hear it from the UNC faithful tomorrow - I'm outnumbered 6 to 1 in the office. But, I'm ready to say that we lost to a CAA team just like they did last year.

Anyhow, we've all seen teams take lumps and come out the other side champions (I'm a Colts fan and I finally got to see it this year after some tough years). So, with this team showing that they never give up and with age and some additions we're going to be NC contenders in the years to come. I'm convinced of it.

But for now, let's go Women!!!!

[Constantstrain 81]

This is the worst Duke team in 20+yrs. No athleticism , no basketball IQ, no relentless defense, no pressure offense whatsoever, no mental toughness.McRoberts is the slowest , most methodical waste of height that is currently in the ACC.(hope he goes pro).Hang in ther Gerald and Jon.......also, Duke had better get some assistants that know what they're doing....these former players don't.Roy is kicking our butts and does'nt look tired!

This would be an example of over-reacting. I hope that the Duke team (and particularly Josh) reads this with some dignity and grace and with some understanding of the frustration of a disappointed fan. That said, let's all be the insightful, positive, supportive fans that I know we can be.

Good season. Not what we dreamed of (but we all have pretty big dreams, don't we?). But a good season. Gutty effort by Greg and Josh. I might be bleeding - but it's Duke blue.

[lmb]

Has anyone else come to dread the off-season these last few years? Between JJ's DUI, K to the Lakers, surprise jumps to the NBA, McRobert's surprise back surgery, etc., they seem to be more stressful than all these nail-biters we've sat through this year.

That said, the effort tonight far exceeded the game against NC State. I was proud of the team, they just ran out of juice. The summer break will probably be a welcome one for this team, both physically and mentally. I predict good things next year.

Paulus was a highlight of the season. He played his guts out tonight.

[drion97]

It's not embarrassing. It could have been. Maynor has TALENT. They went CRAZY from three. Honestly, VCU has a tough draw with Pitt, but against MANY other teams they could make the elite 8. I've been more embarrassed by other losses this season. Throw out their conference and their seed-- just look at the team-- VCU played GREAT. Free throws, 3 pointers, heart. That was a tough team to beat. Granted, Duke of old would've beat them, but with out youth and the heart we showed, that game was anything but embarrassing.

[snewman92]

Dear Greg, Josh, Coach K, and the rest of the Devils,

I'm sure you're disappointed; so are we. It's hard to sugarcoat a first-round tournament loss, given our record of excellence. But I am proud of the effort you showed tonight and have great but realistic hopes for the future. And most of my sour feelings dissipated when I thought of how much I owe the program for all the joy it's brought me and how much I owe Duke for a great education (I was lucky enough to graduate in 1992). And any residual sadness dissolved when I thought of my 19-month-old daughter asleep, upstairs--Duke class of 2027, G-d willing.

I have to say I have a hard time undestanding the other posters (on a thread designed to express our gratitude, no less) gnashing their teeth and excoriating a bunch of 18-22 year-olds . . .for what, exactly? I would ask them: What is the nature of your attachment to Duke and Duke basketball if this is how you react? I'm not talking about well-intentioned criticism, though I'd advise all of us, as I do my students, to wait 24 hours before posting a complaint; they're usually more convincing with a bit of time to reflect. I'm not even talking about a little vinegar in the wake of a season that didn't turn out as we'd like. If my daughter weren't sleeping upstairs I'm sure I would have cursed very loudly when Maynor's last shot went in and at all those missed free throws. I'm talking about the venom toward our own players being hurled around here. It's really unseemly; some of you need to get a grip.

In any case, I don't doubt that the players and the coaches are being harder on themselves than we can imagine (and they have the advantage of actually knowing a fair bit more about basketball than we do). So I thank all of them again for their efforts this year and look forward to the next.

Best,

Steve Newman (T'92)

[rsvman]

This would be an example of over-reacting.
This is not over-reacting. "Belmontdfan" is a Tarheel. Duh.

[ricks68]

Thanks, guys, for all the hard work and effort you put in before and during the season. I wish you all the best during your off season and good luck in everything that you decide to undertake in the future.

ricks:)

[BELMONTDFAN]

This is not over-reacting. "Belmontdfan" is a Tarheel. Duh.

I can assure you I am not a tarheel fan....quite the opposite.Somehow we have lost our ability to see real natural talent in recruiting players.Except for the excuse of being young, we were always outmatched in athletic ability and speed.We did have height, but that was very slow and methodical and easy to defend. Did we not have enough rest for the VCU game.Our quick exit in the ACC tournament should have given us a chance to be better prepaired.

[BELMONTDFAN]

This is not over-reacting. "Belmontdfan" is a Tarheel. Duh.

Wrong......just an honest opinion of the team.When the real season started in March, how did we do.......0 for....

[Virginian]

I will add this. Except for about a 8-minute stretch in the first Md. game when they drummed us pretty darn convincingly, we played head to head with every single team we met. And we beat 2/3 of them.

I don't think we're guaranteed to fix all our problems next year, but I think we have a strong nucleus that MIGHT WELL improve. And I think the competitive landscape in the ACC will be more in our favor next season.

So I for one am looking forward to the next campaign. I just hope we keep Josh, avoid injuries (!), gain body strengthy, muscle mass, speed, agility and stamina and have some good luck with recruits and get a few breaks and a few bounces when we need them. And can we please practice our free throws?!