MBB: Duke 88, BC 49 Post-Game Thread

[TKG]

I apologize for not getting what perhaps should be obvious, but I’m not sure what Coach K meant by that quote. Could you shed a little light on it? Thanks.

I interpreted it as a National Titles vs. ACC Regular Season Titles. The tenor of his response was one of exasperation with the way folks always look for some criticism of our program. Which would you rather win? The guy never answered, by the way, because the answer is obvious.

[-jk]

<snip>

Even though I got two nervous emails to buy tickets about 2:00PM yesterday, Duke says it was a sellout. I already had tickets...

I think they don't count bleacher sales in the "sellout" category. They're just bonus bucks.

-jk

[Music man55]

Hurt finally erupted for 25 last night and maybe a good sign for things to come. Great team effort all the way around. Good start to regular season and I hope we keep on getting stronger. Go Duke!

[du_bb1]

"Wendell actually looked surprised and had a sneaky grin on his face after the made 3. It seems he misses a lot of shots around the basket which brings his 2% down."

I would really like to see him use the glass more on shots around the basket-but that is just me

[hustleplays]

Fantastic duo 2019 vs fantastic team 2020.

I'm seconding the motion: I'm giddy at watching a contemporary Duke team that plays hustling, team D and has so many contributing teammates. I continue to marvel how even our young guys have learned to switch and help out so well. And they are bound to continue to get better. I marvel at how quick laterally they are, and how many of them can stay on their man for so long, until another team mate helps out and drives them away from the basket. At one point [and perhaps more] against BC, K substituted all five guys. On Offense, I notice that there is less desultory passing around the perimeter. When it is passed around the perimeter, it's with purpose -- the other guys are moving, slashing setting pics. Fun to watch. The rebounding is aggressive. Fun to see our guards snatching rebounds and jetting down the court.

If 10 guys continue to play well, please assure me that K won't shorten the bench severely out of sheer habit. Thank you.

Also, [I didn't see this on another thread, sorry if it's there], right after the game on ACCN, they showed the documentary "The Class that Saved Coach K." Marvelous story of a great TEAM. Just loved seeing how that team fought through adversity, especially getting trounced repeatedly and badly their first year, ending up, I believe, 11-17. They hung in there and forged deep bonds. Four years of playing and growing together. I won't go into OAD whining here, it was a powerful reminder of what more years together can do. Coach K said that they, for him, were the beginning of the brotherhood and family, which never ends. And, being positive, I admire and appreciate how recent teams, including this year's, have forged strong bonds really quickly. Evidently, our upperclassmen, including Justin Robinson, have been key leaders in achieving that. Go Duke!

[Bob Green]

I would really like to see him use the glass more on shots around the basket-but that is just me

IM(H)O, most players would benefit from using the glass more. Unfortunately, using a finger roll is more sexy than laying it off the backboard. I label it the Sports Center effect.

[UrinalCake]

I interpreted it as a National Titles vs. ACC Regular Season Titles. The tenor of his response was one of exasperation with the way folks always look for some criticism of our program. Which would you rather win? The guy never answered, by the way, because the answer is obvious.

The reporter began by stating that Duke has not won the regular season ACC title since 2010. Before he could even get to his actual question, K interrupted him and said “which would you rather win?” It was one of those moments where it felt like K was expecting the question and already had a response teed up. IMO he was also including ACCT tournament titles in his response, saying that those and of course National Titles are what he cares about.

[JasonEvans]

The reporter began by stating that Duke has not won the regular season ACC title since 2010.

The ACC regular season title is a made up thing of fiction. Since the end of the round robin it has not officially existed. One team is given the #1 seed in the tournament, but there is no official recognition of a regular season champion by the league.

[UrinalCake]

The ACC regular season title is a made up thing of fiction. Since the end of the round robin it has not officially existed. One team is given the #1 seed in the tournament, but there is no official recognition of a regular season champion by the league.

I know this has been debated ad nauseum, but I was fortunate to be in Cameron for the Brown game with my nine year old daughter and she noticed the ACC banners hanging from the rafters. She pointed out that some of them say “Tournament,” some say “Regular Season,” and some say both. So even though the ACC regular season winner is not the ACC Champion, we still do hang a banner for it. It may be less important, but it’s not completely unimportant.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

The ACC regular season title is a made up thing of fiction. Since the end of the round robin it has not officially existed. One team is given the #1 seed in the tournament, but there is no official recognition of a regular season champion by the league.

In blue is a correct statement.
In black is a statement that is not mutually exclusive of the bold black statement, and is not really true. It's not official, but it's not made up either.

[Indoor66]

Unfortunately, using a finger roll is more sexy than laying it off the backboard. I label it the Sports Center effect.

Also, unfortunately, none of them are Wilt.

[TKG]

Also, unfortunately, none of them are Wilt.

Or, George “The Iceman” Gervin.

[TKG]

68034792-AC82-4910-8016-1FE0B2AF758C.jpg

Or, George “The Iceman” Gervin.

[SCMatt33]

The ACC regular season title is a made up thing of fiction. Since the end of the round robin it has not officially existed. One team is given the #1 seed in the tournament, but there is no official recognition of a regular season champion by the league.

So what’s this trophy that UVA is holding up from last year? https://virginiasports.com/s3/virgin...7&maxWidth=732

[chrishoke]

IM(H)O, most players would benefit from using the glass more. Unfortunately, using a finger roll is more sexy than laying it off the backboard. I label it the Sports Center effect.

I remember someone saying of Gene Banks back in the day that Gene uses the glass like Hershey uses chocolate.

[duke2x]

So what’s this trophy that UVA is holding up from last year? https://virginiasports.com/s3/virgin...7&maxWidth=732

It's what Swofford and the media created when Duke started winning the ACC Tournament every year from 1999 onward.

[Steven43]

The ACC regular season title is a made up thing of fiction. Since the end of the round robin it has not officially existed. One team is given the #1 seed in the tournament, but there is no official recognition of a regular season champion by the league.

Exactly. If you’re not doing a complete home-and-home with every team in the league there is no legitimate way to determine a true champion in the regular season. An unbalanced schedule is by definition, well, unbalanced.

[SCMatt33]

Exactly. If you’re not doing a complete home-and-home with every team in the league there is no legitimate way to determine a true champion in the regular season. An unbalanced schedule is by definition, well, unbalanced.

It’s absolutely a legitimate way to determine a champion. You can have any process you want and have it be legitimate so long as the method of determination has been set in advance and adhered to. The fallacy would come if someone tries to unequivocally equate “champion” with “best team”. A double round robin gets you closer to that compared to an unbalanced schedule, but there’s plenty of factors, from small sample size to injuries to rest and travel advantages to inherent randomness of the bounce of the ball to human error of officials that prevent ANY format from truly having a championship identify the best team 100% of the time without fail. The ACC has absolutely chosen to recognize its tournament as the “superior” award for its league, while others have chosen the regular season. Neither approach is “right” or “wrong” and the choice of one doesn’t make the other not legitimate

[UrinalCake]

Exactly. If you’re not doing a complete home-and-home with every team in the league there is no legitimate way to determine a true champion in the regular season. An unbalanced schedule is by definition, well, unbalanced.

Every professional sports league has an unbalanced schedule. They still recognize regular season winners. And for that matter, the ACC Tournament itself is inherently “unbalanced.”

[roywhite]

I remember someone saying of Gene Banks back in the day that Gene uses the glass like Hershey uses chocolate.

Good reference; we remember Zion for so many great things, but he also made very effective use of the glass.

On the topic of Wendell Moore, he seems close to breaking to another level of play. And some of the next steps seem possible -- finishing better near the rim, and not dribbling into traffic.