I think it's impossible for any freshman to be prepared for the first UNC game. I also think it's impossible for it to "matter" as much to a player who hasn't been living it for a few years the way an upperclassman has.
Obviously, that doesn't mean that an 18 year old kid can't come out and perform, but I don't think it's reasonable for us to expect the same level of rival-based intensity from our freshmen.
Let's go Duke!
I get that he's only 18 and all, but I think the bigger issue is how does he not know that he's not supposed to do something like that? I mean, that shows an extreme lack of judgment and common sense.
Rich
"Failure is Not a Destination"
Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016
Kids do dumb things. It is not the first time that a teenager showed a serious lack of judgment and common sense.
Hell, I'm reminded of a rec league softball game I played a few years back. We lost in the championship game, in a heartbreaker. And as we were leaving the field, one of my teammates said (with the guy who made the last out with runners on and the top of our order coming up), "just saying, I went 4 for 4 today". He didn't mean it maliciously, and probably didn't even realize the significance of the comment. But it pissed me off, and pissed off the guy who was still stewing about making the season-ending out 10 times more. Just a totally tone-deaf me-first comment. Had he realized what he was saying, he probably wouldn't have said it. But he was a 22-year-old kid, and wasn't thinking.
I still remember that, and it was a rec league softball game. I can't imagine how irritated a senior Grayson Allen might be about essentially the same thing.
Again, I definitely don't think Duval is a me-first guy. I definitely don't think he isn't all-in with the team. But he didn't make a good decision, likely because he wasn't thinking about his actions. He's a kid, and kids make mistakes. But it definitely was a mistake. And he'll probably get penalized for it.
Why he isn't supposed to do something like that? All he did was retweet a SportsCenter mention of his dunk clip which made the show's infamous Top 10 segment. That's a really cool moment for Duval. Not everybody gets on SportsCenter. It's a dream for most kids who played any sort of organized sport in high school.
We can agree to disagree but I find it strange how some of you can't celebrate an individual accomplishment within the context of a team sport. If anything, Duval's SportsCenter Top 10 dunk enhanced Duke's brand because it showcased the type of athletes we have on the team.
I can't believe we're dogging on an 18 year old who simply retweeted a widely known social mention of himself. I guess he should have pretended it never happened just so "the optics" look better to please some of ya'll. This is a new low for DBR.
I hope seeing that dunk again postgame builds some mojo and confidence for Tricky Tre because if Duke is going to cut down the nets this year, its because Duval reached his ceiling in March.
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I was too busy making crappy mixtapes for my on-and-off "love of my life at the time" girlfriend. Most of the stupid stuff I did wouldn't have been able to be texted or video'd (at least not easily):
- Jumping off bridges (though I have a sweet picture of this)
- Taking turns driving my friend's dad's car 100+ mph (often with one friend standing up out the top of the convertible)
- "Mudding" (if you don't know, it's a terrible way to treat your parents' vehicles)
Yeah, teenagers are dumb.
[note to self: my 3-year-old son is already long-jumping off his slide. FML in about 10-15 years]
I happen to agree with DukeTrinity11. It was an awesome dunk. We lost the game but it doesn't discount the dunk. Trevon should celebrate it, and I for one would like to see him dunk like that more often. And it was about the only good highlight from last night.
You guys dissing one of our young players ain't right. My god, you who are criticizing Trevon stood up more for the tripping incidents by Grayson than Tre showing a highlight dunk. That is not right.
~rthomas
24 hours later and he’s still liking and retweeting the dunk.
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust
This was the single most unfortunate score of the game. Yes, in isolation, it is great. But its consequences weren't. It hyped Duval up (as we have seen happen several times when he's driven and scored) and it gave him permission to try other things because, after all, if the dunk worked, so should be other shots, the passes, the barely defensive plays and so on.
The problems this season aren't all Duval's fault. Nothing is ever completely on one player. But as a point guard, he is a good shooting guard. I have seen him bring the ball down the court, with Grayson in the corner waiting for a pass and an open 3 (when he could still hit the 3s predictably), and Duval rarely saw him and used that opportunity. He hasn't even done a good job at getting the ball inside. For that, Trent is actually considerably better.
I am devastated by the number of players we lost after last season (why, oh why didn't I fail Matt or Amile in something that would have prevented their graduation!?!?!? ... and Duval got a lot of hype as being FINALLY the point guard we haven't had for several years. But he isn't. Not critical... just not his strength.
Tyus, come back! OH, wait... we get someone like Tyus next year. I, for one, can't wait. But I do not like the fact that many of the kids leave after one year. I used to be so proud that our kids graduated and had a degree that, when their NBA careers didn't work out (listening, Jason Williams?!), they could get good jobs and use their minds as well as their bodies.
Next play. I don't want to beat this dead horse any more.
Go Devils!
DukeDevilDeb
I have a suggestion: Buy a bunch of Yondr bags.- Lock up the players' mobile phones when the bus leaves Durham or the hotel and unlock them when the team leaves the locker room 30 minutes after the game. Here's the thread.
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
I doubt the team really cares. Only fans seem to get wound up about it.
Not sure how exactly what he did somehow detracts from Duke's brand, but whatever. As I said, fans seem to think Duke players should be as invested as they are in beating UNC, which is laughable given the fact that we're recruiting players who are on campus for 8 months.