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BlueintheFace
04-02-2008, 01:27 PM
Duke-Arizona is on ESPN Classic right now. It's just reminding me how great a player Battier was. I'm also reminded now how similar Singler's game is to Batttier's. That was a very complete team. They really had a lot of size too- Boozer, Sanders, Battier, James. God I miss being in the Final Four.

bbar7502
04-02-2008, 02:08 PM
glad you posted that it was on, just turned it on and watched battier's spectacular block which led to dunleavy's third three in a row.... still get goosebumps....

The1Bluedevil
04-02-2008, 02:08 PM
Just saw Dunleavy's 9 point sequence and started yelling. God I miss the final four as well.

GO DUKE

Dukie4Life
04-02-2008, 02:24 PM
I taped that game (like I do every game...yes I'm that fan. lol) however it never ceases to amaze me how well everyone played together. The leadership of Shane to Mike's shooting performance and Jason William's ball handeling. I also like to remember that Chris Duhon had quite the concussion the day before playing the Twerps of Maryland. As a freshman he really played well and gave great minutes!

Awww memories!

_Gary
04-02-2008, 02:34 PM
Watching and listening to the second half of the game again reminds just how bad Packer really was. Well, not bad. Just out and out biased. His comments about fouls on both ends of the floor almost always cast a bad light on Duke and a good light on Arizona. I personally lay a huge part of the Duke hatred blame on him and his call of this game in particular.

But in spite of Packer it's fun revisiting this team. Gosh they were great!


Gary

NashvilleDevil
04-02-2008, 02:36 PM
I watched my tape of the '01 title game and of THE GAME this past Saturday. I also forgot how great Battier was not just on the court but his leadership was awesome. Another thing I paid attention to was Packer's commentary since some people have mentioned this game as the beginning of the Duke gets all the calls garbage that has been going on. I know he commented on the officiating but from what I gathered he was saying that the crowd was turning on Duke because they thought they were getting all the calls. Something I am sure Gary mentioned 500 times in his post game press conference after the game on Saturday. I also watched Lute's post game comments and forgot he made a comment that he thought Williams should have fouled out on two occasions. I think Packer was just commenting on what the atmosphere of the arena was after a call and was not saying Duke was getting all the calls.

3211
04-02-2008, 02:39 PM
I think I may have blocked the memory of that game out because the court was the most hideous final four court ever conceived. Silly I know.

dw0827
04-02-2008, 03:06 PM
My fondest memory of that Final 4 was the semi-final game against Maryland.

I live in the midwest around KU. We were about 15 minutes into the first half and we were losing by a zillion . . . well, about 23 - 25 points . . . and suddenly I start getting calls from friends and acquaintances (all KU fans) just wanting to say hi. Bastards.

Of course we went on to win the game handily.

I made no calls. Didn't say a word to anyone the next day.

Just smiled a lot.

And when I read all the posts about how mean and nasty UNC fans are . . . hey, they got nothing on KU fans.

dkbaseball
04-02-2008, 03:08 PM
That was one impressive team. The game does point up how much easier things get when you have guards who can penetrate and dish.

Talk about running your mouth when you have no clue. Nantz declares Greg Koubek the winingest player in college basketball history because he played on four national champions. When Packer called him on it, they decide that Koubek played in four national championship games, and won two of them. Divide by two fellas, and you'll finally get it right -- he played twice for the nat'l championship, and won it once, in 1991.

It never ceases to amaze me how wrong the talking heads are about almost everything. Believe me, you don't want to pay a bit of attention to what they say if you're betting on sports.

BlueDevilBaby
04-02-2008, 03:29 PM
I wish I was home to tape it. I'm sure it will be on again. I can see Shane's backhanded tip-in right now.:D

Edouble
04-02-2008, 03:38 PM
I watched my tape of the '01 title game and of THE GAME this past Saturday. I also forgot how great Battier was not just on the court but his leadership was awesome. Another thing I paid attention to was Packer's commentary since some people have mentioned this game as the beginning of the Duke gets all the calls garbage that has been going on. I know he commented on the officiating but from what I gathered he was saying that the crowd was turning on Duke because they thought they were getting all the calls. Something I am sure Gary mentioned 500 times in his post game press conference after the game on Saturday. I also watched Lute's post game comments and forgot he made a comment that he thought Williams should have fouled out on two occasions. I think Packer was just commenting on what the atmosphere of the arena was after a call and was not saying Duke was getting all the calls.

Is THE GAME the Maryland game?

The title game certainly was a great game. All 5 starters are/were NBA players: pretty impressive.

NashvilleDevil
04-02-2008, 03:39 PM
THE GAME to me is the '92 Regional Final against Kentucky

billybreen
04-02-2008, 03:57 PM
That was one impressive team.

That whole season, as good as we were, all I could think of was how the '99 team would wipe the floor with '01. I'm not so sure that's true anymore as JWill was a more dominant player than Avery, and '01 certainly had more heart.

weezie
04-02-2008, 04:26 PM
Cool! I saw myself under the 2nd half Duke basket again. I still look that good ;) !

devildeac
04-02-2008, 06:00 PM
did Duke STILL get all the calls?;)

The1Bluedevil
04-02-2008, 06:40 PM
My fondest memory of that Final 4 was the semi-final game against Maryland.

I live in the midwest around KU. We were about 15 minutes into the first half and we were losing by a zillion . . . well, about 23 - 25 points . . . and suddenly I start getting calls from friends and acquaintances (all KU fans) just wanting to say hi. Bastards.

Of course we went on to win the game handily.

I made no calls. Didn't say a word to anyone the next day.

Just smiled a lot.

And when I read all the posts about how mean and nasty UNC fans are . . . hey, they got nothing on KU fans.


I was born and raised 20 minutes from Lawrence and I couldn't agree more. Many of the ku fans I know are simply delusional and very fair weather.

Son of Mojo
04-03-2008, 02:13 AM
I need to put that game on dvd sometime soon and watch it again when time permits.

moonpie23
04-03-2008, 09:08 AM
in addition to the elation i felt, i also remember how irritated i was during the week following the game. all the talk about how "duke gets the calls" was just plain making me mad...


I'm not sure if it was the 01 title game, or some OTHER game, but Coach K, when asked the question, "you know coach, a lot of people think the refs are on your side. What do you think about that?" he responded, "well, i sure hope so!"


classic...

davekay1971
04-03-2008, 09:34 AM
Gawd, Dunleavy's three treys in a row. I remember that moment so clearly. It was the moment that I knew we were actually going to win the game. I was sitting downstairs watching it...alone, since my ex-wife (and DUKE ALUMNA) had gone to bed rather than stay up for it. That was a really awesome team.

BTW...word of advice. If your Duke-alum spouse turns in early rather than staying up with you to watch a championship game, just go ahead and file the divorce papers then...no point waiting another five years to get it done. 'Nuff said.

Edouble
04-03-2008, 09:47 AM
Gawd, Dunleavy's three treys in a row. I remember that moment so clearly. It was the moment that I knew we were actually going to win the game. I was sitting downstairs watching it...alone, since my ex-wife (and DUKE ALUMNA) had gone to bed rather than stay up for it. That was a really awesome team.

BTW...word of advice. If your Duke-alum spouse turns in early rather than staying up with you to watch a championship game, just go ahead and file the divorce papers then...no point waiting another five years to get it done. 'Nuff said.

I remember Dunleavy's 3s and my reaction as well--I went bonkers. I do think that his 3 3-pointers in 45 seconds was amazing, but I feel that they are sort of remembered as more important than they were. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but I remember the Cats coming back after those 3s went down, so it was like Dunleavy went on a little 9 point run, then they came right back with a little (8 point?) run and brought the game to within one or two points. I think sometimes the 3s are sometimes spoken of as something that won us the game or put us up for good, which was not the case.

davekay1971
04-03-2008, 09:57 AM
You're probably right, and I'm remembering the feeling that those shots gave me better than I'm remembering the back and forth thereafter. Those shots came with a lot of time remaining, so they definitely didn't seal the deal. But they were huge, and made me think "Holy crap, we're going to win this!" It was like the feeling with Hurley's trey (Duke down 5, about 3 minutes to go) against UNLV in 1991 - which changed my frame of mind from "uh oh, I don't know if we can pull this out" to "oh my God, we might actually win this thing!" Those are the college basketball moments that, as a fan, you live for.

Shammrog
04-03-2008, 10:03 AM
Gawd, Dunleavy's three treys in a row. I remember that moment so clearly. It was the moment that I knew we were actually going to win the game. I was sitting downstairs watching it...alone, since my ex-wife (and DUKE ALUMNA) had gone to bed rather than stay up for it. That was a really awesome team.

BTW...word of advice. If your Duke-alum spouse turns in early rather than staying up with you to watch a championship game, just go ahead and file the divorce papers then...no point waiting another five years to get it done. 'Nuff said.

Hey Dave - check your PM box... :)

The Gordog
04-03-2008, 11:39 AM
Gawd, Dunleavy's three treys in a row. I remember that moment so clearly. It was the moment that I knew we were actually going to win the game. I was sitting downstairs watching it...alone, since my ex-wife (and DUKE ALUMNA) had gone to bed rather than stay up for it. That was a really awesome team.

BTW...word of advice. If your Duke-alum spouse turns in early rather than staying up with you to watch a championship game, just go ahead and file the divorce papers then...no point waiting another five years to get it done. 'Nuff said.
LOL! You poor man.

tarheelforlife
04-03-2008, 11:43 AM
battier is overrated

Duvall
04-03-2008, 11:45 AM
battier is overrated

An interesting claim. What's your reasoning?

tarheelforlife
04-03-2008, 11:49 AM
well i know alot of duke fans (i live in Raleigh) and one of them is my best friend. we always get into arguments about duke and carolina and he always says that duke has had so many great players. he compared battier with michael jordan and i have heard alot of duke fans say that he is better then any carolina player ever

Edouble
04-03-2008, 11:50 AM
battier is overrated

As opposed to Dunleavy's impressive three 3s in a row, the thing that really won it for us was Battier. It was like he had a hand in every play those last three or four minutes. There were times when he willed the team to greatness that season, and in the tournament, but in the Championship, it's like he was everywhere at the end of the game. One of the great NCAA Championship game performances IMHO. Even if Jason Gardner stands up and J-dub gets that untimely foul, I still think we would have won that game, simply because we had the man that would not be denied.

tarheelforlife
04-03-2008, 11:53 AM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

77devil
04-03-2008, 12:01 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

That's a well written sentence.

Duvall
04-03-2008, 12:03 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

Why? Historically, the pollsters have not agreed; both schools have been well-represented in All-American and Player of the Year voting.

Edouble
04-03-2008, 12:10 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

Do I have to?

Seriously, do you think you are going to come to a Duke website and have people agree with you on that? What's the point? It could be argued either way, that either program has had better players, but there's no way you are going to come on a Duke fan site and have people agree with you that UNC "has had alot better players" than Duke.

This thread was about the 2001 Championship game between Duke and Arizona. In order to try to relate the original thread to your post, I'll just note that all 5 starters on Duke's 2000-01 team were/are NBA players. You can't say that about Carolina's last Championship team.

DukeDevilDeb
04-03-2008, 12:24 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

... that Carolina fans make a lot (always two words) more grammatical errors than do Duke funs... but better players? No way, THFL! :)

devildeac
04-03-2008, 01:43 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

PFFFT. Darn, just used up the last spray of my troll repellent.

BlueintheFace
04-03-2008, 01:54 PM
well you have to agree Carolina has had alot more better players then duke

In college or the nba? In the modern game or all time? Please specify and then we can argue this....

moonpie23
04-03-2008, 05:19 PM
battier is overrated


show your work.

sundown
04-03-2008, 06:56 PM
Watching and listening to the second half of the game again reminds just how bad Packer really was. Well, not bad. Just out and out biased. His comments about fouls on both ends of the floor almost always cast a bad light on Duke and a good light on Arizona. I personally lay a huge part of the Duke hatred blame on him and his call of this game in particular.

But in spite of Packer it's fun revisiting this team. Gosh they were great!


Gary

All Packer did was point out that the neutral fans in the building had turned against Duke because they perceived Duke was getting all the calls. He never said they were right; in fact, after he commented on the fans' perception and reaction and Nantz asked him if he thought they were right, he said, "No, I don't necessarily think that." His comment that there were fouls on both ends of the floor was an expansion on the previous comment. Also, Packer never argued that Jason had fouled on the body-surfing play late in the first half, never argued that Baxter's fifth foul in the Maryland game was a bad call, and said he thought Battier's block that sent Gardner sprawling and led to Dunleavy's third three was a good no-call. I don't get why you blame Packer for Duke hatred.

davekay1971
04-04-2008, 08:41 AM
The Tarholefanforlife guy is an obvious troll, but his Battier vs. Jordan comments are interesting in one aspect - they bring up in my mind the question of who had the better college career - Battier or Jordan. They both won a national championship, though Jordan did it as a role player (a really really good role player) on an awesome team his freshman year, while Battier did it as the unquestioned leader of an awesome team his senior year. Battier improved dramatically during his career, as did Jordan, but Battier's development was probably more breathtaking.

I don't know...Jordan went on to become such a dominant player in the NBA (yes, even as a tarhole he's the best NBA player ever imho) that it sometimes clouds one's ability to objectively judge his college career. All in all I'd say that his college career was a very good one, but one of unrealized potential (that was, of course, later realized in the pros). No one could say Battier's college career left any potential unrealized.

Johnboy
04-04-2008, 10:14 AM
The Tarholefanforlife guy is an obvious troll, but his Battier vs. Jordan comments are interesting in one aspect - they bring up in my mind the question of who had the better college career - Battier or Jordan. They both won a national championship, though Jordan did it as a role player (a really really good role player) on an awesome team his freshman year, while Battier did it as the unquestioned leader of an awesome team his senior year. Battier improved dramatically during his career, as did Jordan, but Battier's development was probably more breathtaking.

I don't know...Jordan went on to become such a dominant player in the NBA (yes, even as a tarhole he's the best NBA player ever imho) that it sometimes clouds one's ability to objectively judge his college career. All in all I'd say that his college career was a very good one, but one of unrealized potential that was, of course, later realized in the pros). No one could say Battier's college career left any potential unrealized.

The Duke player whose college career most resembles Jordan's is Jason Williams. IIRC, they not only had similar numbers, but their final seasons were similar in remarkable ways (e.g., their #1 ranked and considered the prohibitive favorite teams both lost to Indiana in the Sweet 16).

As collegians, Jordan's and Battier's games were so different it's comparing apples and oranges, IMO.

In terms of winning titles at every level, there has been no greater basketball player than Bill Russell. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Russell)