I ran into Tommy Burleson a few years ago while we were chasing smallmouth bass on the New River. I am six foot one, but Tommy towered over me. Made me feel like a midget..lol
He was a nice guy, even shared the same stretch of water with us for a while.
We were in kayaks, and Tommy was fishing out of a two man yak..lol By himself.
That kind of height is amazing. I played adult league ball against Chuck Nevitt a few times in Cary...and I also played one game against a guy named George Bell, a 7 foot 8 - yes, 7-8...back in the 80s...in an all star type game in SC. I'm about 6-3...wow, that George Bell didn't even seem real. Something like 15 years later, I ran into him in a convenience store in Raleigh...he had recently taken some kind of PR job with Raleigh PD. He wasn't good enough to play ball for a living, so that's what he did...these PR jobs for police departments. He was NOT a happy dude - living at that size is expensive for someone without a pro salary.
On Nevitt - I had my Tony Lang Scottie Thurman moment...he came charging out on a long three and I had to arc it so high that I had no idea where the hoop was...I just shot it to barely get over him. Nothing but net (nothing but luck). Nevitt was shocked...I acted like I never had a doubt (which was a lie). I guess I'm lucky I didn't have a Zion/Hunter moment....
He had his feet where the other guy would have been seated.
I think I get what he's saying because I see it too. "Playing hard" is probably not exactly the nuanced way I'd put it. I think most teams play hard, but great teams have an urgency on the defensive end that is above playing hard. I think both Zion and Tre play with that urgency on every play and it's contagious. There aren't many players who would have even attempted to block such a wide open 3, but Zion urgently needed to try! That's special and many recent Duke teams haven't had it.
-c
Knowing UNC’s history we may be dealing with this guy for 3-4 years. How do they keep finding these high-level PGs? From Raymond Felton to Ty Lawson to Kendall Marshall to Marcus Paige to Joel Berry II and now Coby White, it’s been a virtually unbroken string of nightmare PGs. And even if White becomes a somewhat rare Roy Williams OAD they may well have Cole Anthony waiting in the wings.
Apologies, no offense intended, not even a back-handed compliment. It's more that I'm thinking about the OAD problem in general, with Kentucky being the most significant example. Sometimes the OADs just seem to drift through the season putting up the points that they think will lead to becoming a lottery pick.
Your guys this year are playing with phenomenal intensity. It's a real pleasure to watch.
In the words of the Fonz, "I was wrrrrrrooong". DukieInBrasil said Duke would win @ UVA and I foolishly wagered on the odds. DukieInBrasil prudently ignored how few games UVA has lost at home, in the last two seasons, and beat Duke could win. I foolishly thought beating, IMO, the second best team in college hoops at home would be very difficult and the odds were against Duke.
DukeInBrasil was right!
Man, if your Mom made you wear that color when you were a baby, and you're still wearing it, it's time to grow up!
I think we can include Cam in that category with Zion & Tre. Those 3 players play hard for the entire game and never take a play off. I was so impressed with Cam when his shot wasn't going. He didn't let it affect his Defense and RJ is no slouch on D as well. Then you throw in Marques and Jack that play good defense and you have one of the best defensive teams we've had in a while. GoDuke!