Thank you Team!

[HK Dukie]

I just wanted to say thanks to the team for an inspiring season. Yes, we didn't get any new banners this year, but I loved the passion of this team.

Say what you want about Paulus, I happen to love the kid, but I don't think I've seen a Duke player with more heart in my 20 years of watching Duke basketball. Coach K and the coaching staff, despite the results, gave their very best effort.

Obviously, we all want to look to the future, when hopefully we can hang some more banners in Cameron. But I encourage all to look at this years team with pride. They gave it everything and grew as men. We should be thankful.

[drksuh]

I concur. Thank you guys. Your effort was there. Your talent is there. Your character is there. Make a few more shots, make a few more stops... and we're not 22-12, we're 28-6 and we're still dancing. As Faith Hill croons...I hope you dance!

[CMS2478]

Was the season dissapointing..............YES

Was the season exciting................YES


I was thinking about it last night, except for a handful of games this year, pretty much all of our games were close nailbiters that we either won or loss by 10 or less. This season was a lot of fun, but it would be more fun if we got to watch them play again tommorrow. :mad:

[gw67]

Expectations were high for this team, probably too high. They finished at 22-11, played hard and had a good season. By the Pomeroy Ratings (Sagarin with extra basketball factors included), the Devils are 11th. The first nine teams are UNC, Kansas, Florida, Ohio State, Georgetown, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, UCLA and Memphis. These are arguably the top nine teams in the country which validates the rating system IMO. Many of the Devils’ losses were very close and they lacked a Laettner, JWill or Redick to pull out the wins. Further, they had to overcome injuries and the lack of senior leadership. Overall, the team competed and they are to be congratulated.

gw67

[jaytoc]

GW, I have no quarrel with your fundamental point, but to suggest that Duke was the 11th best team in the country this year puts you pretty far out on a slender limb. By the way, where does Maryland rank in the Pomeroy? If behind Duke, then we both know at least one flaw in the rating system.

Nice kids, good effort, potential uncertain but possibly bright, but not a very good team this year. Early exits from the ACC and NCAA tourneys, inability to hold serve at home, paucity of true away game victories, goose eggs against our biggest rival and biggest (not our rival) nonrival, well, it's just not much of a resume. Hope things will be better next year.

[gw67]

jaytoc,
The point I was making was that the team had a good season which resulted in them being highly rated in Pomeroy. They ended the season and NCAA tourney on a low note but that shouldn't invalidate the wins over Air Force, Davidson, Indiana, Holy Cross, Gonzaga, NC State, Clemson (twice), BC (twice) and Georgia Tech. I've endured many a poor season by the Devils but this was not one of them, IMO.

Per your question, Maryland is rated 10th in Pomeroy, just ahead of Duke.

In summary, I waited until late morning before I posted because I was so disappointed in last night's loss. I was careful to pick a thread that was positive to give my opinion. Agree, I hope next year is better.

gw67

[drksuh]

How can the Pomeroy have any validity placing us 11th when it greatly loses credibility placing THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL as the number one team in the USA? In some ways we overacheived with the youth and talent with which we were so blessed. I would rank us in the top 40 somewhere but not quite 11th.

[HK Dukie]

In my experience the Sagarin and Pomeroy statistics are the most reliable for predicting who will win a game. It is much more correlated with Vegas odds than any of the so called "experts". I generally use those two to help me out with my brackets.

Since we are usually pretty highly ranked in these statistics, I successfully use circular logic to prove they are the best.

[lavell12]

Id like to thank the team also, it seems like none of our players get the respect they deserve especially Greg and Josh. I heard people saying Josh and Greg are the reason they were eliminated. Hhaha they combined for 27 points. I really like the desire of the team, especially Paulus.