Good riddance '06-'07

[feldspar]

Purge and move on. Next play.

Who else is looking forward to Maui in November?

Seriously, harping about this season's struggles is only going to give you heartburn. Chalk this one up to a tough season and let's talk about next year.

P.S. I STILL LOVE YA, DUKE!!

[smittendevil]

I agree totally.

Sad/annoyed/pissed/frustrated as I am that we lost, I'm equally, if not more, relieved to know that this season has come to a close, and (hopefully) with it, our struggles. We were never going to go on a miracle run, anyway, so maybe this is for the best. At least we know that next year's team will be uber-motivated.

[mapei]

I'm going to have to wallow in it for another day or so, and then I'm with you . . . although I'm not sure I see our situation as all that much better next year. Maybe if I subscribed more to the "youth" theory, but I don't, as much as others seem to.

Singler looks like a serious scoring machine, but if our problem is defense and turnovers . . .

[terrih]

Yep. We have now been put out of our misery. What a hard, long, painful season.

As for Maui- I am looking forward to it. I will be there in Hawaii, just have to secure some tickets now for the games.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

until Oct. 15. Someone else can count it up.

Amazing how free my March just became. I have nothing on my schedule now.

[cbarry]

I am afraid next year we will have problems at the center/PF spot. I really think Josh is NBA-Bound. I can't say I blame him. I don't claim to know what really goes on behind closed doors, but this team did not seem cohesive AT ALL. The lack of communication (and those darn free throws) was their downfall, even when they recognized the problem.

[feldspar]

Amazing how free my March just became. I have nothing on my schedule now.

Ozzie,

We must all now unite in spirit against the dark ones of Chapel Hill. There is still work left to do.

[BluBones]

until Oct. 15. Someone else can count it up.

Amazing how free my March just became. I have nothing on my schedule now.

The Duke women are going to win the championship, Ozzie. Think of the irony of them winning it all in a year the men go in the first round.

[Stray Gator]

I feel as if I went to an elementary school band concert and had to sit
through 4 months of music that started out okay, but became mostly off-key and made me cringe at times as I began to squirm uncomfortably in my seat. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little relieved that we can finally leave.

Stray ~~~;~~;~ http://mudlizard.com/users/icons/emoticons/chomp.gif

[feldspar]

I feel as if I went to an elementary school band concert and had to sit
through 4 months of music that started out okay, but became mostly off-key and made me cringe at times as I began to squirm uncomfortably in my seat. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little relieved that we can finally leave.


Very fitting analogy, Stray.

[Atlanta Duke]

Now that this is over, can Watzone share whether the Feinstein insinuations about McBob allegedly being told don't let the door hit you on the way out have any merit?

Is it really let's wait for 2008-09?

[Susan]

I feel as if I went to an elementary school band concert and had to sit
through 4 months of music that started out okay, but became mostly off-key and made me cringe at times as I began to squirm uncomfortably in my seat. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little relieved that we can finally leave.

Stray ~~~;~~;~ http://mudlizard.com/users/icons/emoticons/chomp.gif

Can I just say, "AMEN!"

Now that the concert is over I really am going to bed.

[dukeisawesome]

Now that this is over, can Watzone share whether the Feinstein insinuations about McBob allegedly being told don't let the door hit you on the way out have any merit?

Is it really let's wait for 2008-09?

Who said that to McRoberts?

[feldspar]

Who said that to McRoberts?

From Saturday's WaPo (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030902200.html):


McRoberts puts up nice numbers but appears to believe that playing college basketball is beneath him at times. He's about as ready for the NBA as he is for Broadway, but he may very well depart after the season. If you believe what people close to the Duke program are saying, few tears will be shed in the locker room if that occurs.

[Lord Ash]

*sigh*

This was the worst season I've seen as a Duke fan. Admittedly I haven't been around for 40 years, but...

Swept by Carolina.
Out of the top 25 for the first time in years.
First round of the ACC tournament.
First round of the NCAA tournament.
Not a single player who really stepped up to what I had expected of them (realistic or not.)
Players who seemed like they should play who didn't.
Players who played 38 minutes a game and were then exhausted when the tournament came.
No "signature" win or game where I really felt we played that well.
Swept by Maryland.
The whole Lacrosse thing.
All the Paulus/GHenderson/doesn't Duke suck/we hate Duke and are glad they suck talk.
Completely lost our Duke mojo.

I take nothing from this season as a positive.

I hope next year is better and that this year pays off then, although I am not holding my breath, as the lack of a center when McBob leaves and Zoubek cannot play could really kill us.

:(

Terrible year.

[mapei]

Hard to disagree, Ash! I had us 8-8 in the conference, going out in the conference semis, and winning at least one game in the dance. Sadly, they failed to meet even that scaled-back expectation.

Of course the sun will shine tomorrow, or soon . . .

Beware the Ides of March.

[evrdukie]

This if from the lead story in tomorrow's New York Times sports pages. It says it all:

"For the first time since 1996, the second round of the N.C.A.A. tournament will not include Duke. With the score tied at 77-77, and a little more than 10 seconds to play, Maynor calmly dribbled down the floor. He made a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line with 1.8 seconds to play that gave Virginia Commonwealth a 79-77 victory in the opening round of the West Region.

Duke called timeout after Maynor’s shot, but there would be no Duke miracle Thursday night at HSBC Arena. The ball was inbounded to Greg Paulus, who launched a desperation shot from just beyond midcourt that was well off target at the buzzer. Virginia Commonwealth’s players danced and hugged on the court while Paulus slumped to the floor in despair and Duke fans watched in stunned disbelief."

What a nightmare this year turned out to be.

[Billy Dat]

*sigh*

This was the worst season I've seen as a Duke fan. Admittedly I haven't been around for 40 years, but...

Swept by Carolina.
Out of the top 25 for the first time in years.
First round of the ACC tournament.
First round of the NCAA tournament.
Not a single player who really stepped up to what I had expected of them (realistic or not.)
Players who seemed like they should play who didn't.
Players who played 38 minutes a game and were then exhausted when the tournament came.
No "signature" win or game where I really felt we played that well.
Swept by Maryland.
The whole Lacrosse thing.
All the Paulus/GHenderson/doesn't Duke suck/we hate Duke and are glad they suck talk.
Completely lost our Duke mojo.

I take nothing from this season as a positive.

I hope next year is better and that this year pays off then, although I am not holding my breath, as the lack of a center when McBob leaves and Zoubek cannot play could really kill us.

:(

Terrible year.

Ash just said it all...he hit the nail on the head...the only place I disagree is that for a sophomore playing with little support, Paulus ended the year well and showed some BALLS. Whatever...these guys played hard, they just couldn't get out of their own way.

[BlueDevilBaby]

That God that's over. I'm not sure I could have taken much more. Glad to see GP end the season like he did after so much criticism. He's a warrior.

[Gozza]

This is the second "down period" I've seen in the K period, and it shares something in common with the first ('95-'97). Our D requires, at a minimum, having a PG that can apply defensive pressure on the ball, and stay in front of his man. Exceptional Duke teams also have wing players that can create steals by stepping into passing lanes off the ball. In the mid '90's, and again now, we don't have that kind of point guard. And then, as now, we don't have that kind of 2-guard. There's definitely some Jeff Capel-Paulus parallels, as well as Chris Collins-Scheyer parallels. Hopefuly Paulus' grit will help him persevere, where the negativity absolutely shot Capel's confidence and Duke career.

While Greg Paulus is a very good player, and a talented offensive player, the fact is that he's a poor on-the-ball defender. While that wouldn't be as big a problem if he were playing for Syracuse, it's an absolute killer in K's defense.

After tonight's game we need to look forward to next year. How do we improve? Well, K's not going to change his defense to adjust to personnel, so I hope he'll adjust his personnel to match his defense. Scheyer needs to be coming off the bench, as someone who can stretch the D and provide some instant offense. Henderson and Nelso need to get the minutes at the 2and 3. That combination off the ball will start creating more defensive pressure. Hopefully Paulus will be better conditioned and quicker with another summer of PT under his belt. There's no cavalry coming at the point position, and if Paulus doesn't become a great defender, we're going to be a good-but-not-great squad until a new PG takes the reigns.

[hurleyfor3]

Insanity is repeating the same mistake over and over and expecting a different result, right? Considering how this was the same old Duke we've seen all season, it would have been a surprise only if we had won tonight.

My real concern is not that this year wasn't as good as others, but that I'm not certain it will get much better. I remember when we saved our best basketball for March. Where did that go?

[throatybeard]

Insanity is repeating the same mistake over and over and expecting a different result, right?

So that's why I read all these threads about Zoubek and K allegedly mismanaging the rotation. I'm touched in the head.

[rasputin]

The women have a great shot to win it all.

And, as far as the men's team goes, I remember a very wise man (actually, I think it was Lefty Driesell), saying, "the sun don't shine on the same dog's *** every day."

If this is a horrible season, we are spoiled. I love watching these kids.

[Boswell]

We finished 22-11. A frustrating season, but not too bad in the larger scheme. I'm proud to have these guys representing Duke and must express my thanks to them for all of the things they do off the court that make the lives of a lot people brighter by their presence.

Thanks for your effort, guys. Tough year, but a lot of us are grateful to have you at our school. It's a game, so next play, but your legacy is how you conducted yourself off the court. Well done.

[dukemsu]

Yikes, in a word. A winnable game gone awry by stubborn refusal to make defensive adjustments, clanking free throws, and spotty ball handling. I'll break it down like this:

THE GOOD:
-A leader emerged. In a game where he was severely challenged, knocked around the floor, and baited by a GAME OFFICIAL, Paulus continued to show his passion and leadership. Yes, he's a below average on the ball defender. Yup, clanked some free throws. But his spirit is Duke basketball. Hopefully he's a bridge to the next great run.
-G, Marty, and Scheyer all showed flashes of great things.
-Through much of the year, our team rebounding was far superior (aside from just depending on Shel) to previous years.
-Josh did a great deal well in many games, particularly defensively. Not sure what happened against Costner in the ACC tourney, but hey, everyone has a bad game.

THE BAD:
-Josh had consistency problems, particularly offensively. How much of this is his fault and how much is the staff's fault for not finding him a consistent role is open to debate.
-Perimeter quickness is an obvious problem, not only in stopping the ball but in penetrating. Tonight, Greg was able to get through the rather porous VCU one-on-one defense (their traps were effective, their one-on-one defense in many cases downright awful) and had no idea how to distribute the ball after drawing multiple defenders. This is a direct result of his lack of penetration skills during the season.
-For the first time in forever, a Duke team had significant problems scoring.
-Free throw shooting was abysmal by Duke standards. The biggest factor here was the loss of JJ, who could be counted on to go 10 for 11 for about the last 3 seasons. Those points add up.

THE UGLY:
-Josh is gone.
-As much as I admire K, there are times I really scratch my head at what he's doing defensively. There had to be a better way to play that last possession. Obviously, this team wasn't built to play the classic Duke overplay and recover man to man. While we did play zone at various parts of the season, it was often to rest players or avoid foul trouble, not get stops.
-While Jon and G will improve, Z is a project, and Lance either needs to get way stronger or become a Robert Brickey type provoceteur. PP is a longshot. Singler isn't a bruiser. Where are the rebounds going to come from next year with Josh sitting on the bench in Indiana or Golden State?
-Even worse, the Holes are steamrolling toward the Final Four, likely putting a pasting on the other half of my chat handle in the process (I know many are saying MSU will give UNC problems, but no matter what Izzo pulls, the gap in personnel is simply too large).

Can someone please try and talk me down here?

Here's hoping Pitt throttles VCU. I don't want to hear about this in the press for a week (I know the kid had 22 points and the game winner, but he wasn't the only reason VCU won, plus his behavior throughout the game was less than classy). If Pitt handles them, they'll have had their moment and that will help me heal, anyway.

dukemsu

[SeattleIrish]

That this season could be labled "a huge disappointment" is strong testimony to just how spoiled we've become.

Our "huge disappointment" gave us a #6 seed in the dance - better than all but 23 other teams in the country.

We're spoiled - perhaps this season (and a couple more like it) will help us appreciate what we have here.

s.i.