Fairweather Fans Catchup?

[peterjswift]

Hey all,

I dropped off the face of the earth last March as soon as the conference tournament was ended early and NCAAs were cancelled. I'm sure many others had similarly life-up-ending experiences thanks to COVID/Jobs/etc. For me, this also meant that I stopped reading anything basketball related and turned my focus entirely to my job and the many weird things it required of me this year.

I also imagine that I'm not the only one in this boat. There are probably tons of fans that check-out at the end of NCAA tourney and check back in come November.

Would anyone be willing to "catch me up" on everything I missed between March and now?

I know these two things:

• AOC transferred to Creighton. I will miss his hair and energy. I will not miss his defense.
• Extra year of eligibility for winter sports from last year.

I also know that PSU fired Pat Chambers, and there is some speculation that Jon Scheyer could be a target for PSU (personally, as a PSU fan and native to that area, I think that is unlikely, but boy would I love a reason to care about PSU basketball!).

So - some questions: Did UNC ever get punished for their decades of cheating? Has Matthew Hurt smiled? Whatever happened with accusations surrounding Zion Williams impermissible benefits? Who on the team should I get really, really hyped about and then overestimate based on countdown to craziness and pre-season games?

I would be in favor of an annual end of October "catchup" thread to help out those of us who are admittedly less committed to the team than we should be.

[uh_no]

Hey all,

I dropped off the face of the earth last March as soon as the conference tournament was ended early and NCAAs were cancelled. I'm sure many others had similarly life-up-ending experiences thanks to COVID/Jobs/etc. For me, this also meant that I stopped reading anything basketball related and turned my focus entirely to my job and the many weird things it required of me this year.

I also imagine that I'm not the only one in this boat. There are probably tons of fans that check-out at the end of NCAA tourney and check back in come November.

Would anyone be willing to "catch me up" on everything I missed between March and now?

I know these two things:

• AOC transferred to Creighton. I will miss his hair and energy. I will not miss his defense.
• Extra year of eligibility for winter sports from last year.

I also know that PSU fired Pat Chambers, and there is some speculation that Jon Scheyer could be a target for PSU (personally, as a PSU fan and native to that area, I think that is unlikely, but boy would I love a reason to care about PSU basketball!).

So - some questions: Did UNC ever get punished for their decades of cheating? Has Matthew Hurt smiled? Whatever happened with accusations surrounding Zion Williams impermissible benefits? Who on the team should I get really, really hyped about and then overestimate based on countdown to craziness and pre-season games?

I would be in favor of an annual end of October "catchup" thread to help out those of us who are admittedly less committed to the team than we should be.

everyone thought hurt would transfer, they did. UNC was not punished, and asked the whole school to stop showing up to classes since march. Tape committed, decommitted, and recommitted again. the zion accusations were a load of BS and the guy making them is now in jail (i think?) for other crimes.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I can't understand what someone would use the Duke Basketball Report only for basketball, rather than a political hub, COVID-19 information reservoir, and beer reference.

Seriously though, I am excited to get back to the business at hand and see more familiar faces return. The level of navel gazing here had gotten slightly dangerous.

[peterjswift]

I can't understand what someone would use the Duke Basketball Report only for basketball, rather than a political hub, COVID-19 information reservoir, and beer reference.

Seriously though, I am excited to get back to the business at hand and see more familiar faces return. The level of navel gazing here had gotten slightly dangerous.

Hah! And in other "normal" years - this is my source for all of those things. Hands down my favorite message board on the internet, partially because this is one of the few places on the internet where communication almost rises to the level of discourse (though Neil Postman is rolling in his grave as I type this).

[peterjswift]

everyone thought hurt would transfer, they did. UNC was not punished, and asked the whole school to stop showing up to classes since march. Tape committed, decommitted, and recommitted again. the zion accusations were a load of BS and the guy making them is now in jail (i think?) for other crimes.

All good stuff. I can use this to sound semi-intelligent to other basketball fans now.

[budwom]

you sound more like an intermittent fan than a fair weather one (which I think has negative connotations), no?

[uh_no]

everyone thought hurt would transfer, they did. UNC was not punished, and asked the whole school to stop showing up to classes since march. Tape committed, decommitted, and recommitted again. the zion accusations were a load of BS and the guy making them is now in jail (i think?) for other crimes.

sorry, he didn't.

[CameronBlue]

Hey all,

I dropped off the face of the earth last March

Give my best to Kyrie.

[budwom]

Give my best to Kyrie.

that's funny. I've been trying to drop off the face of the earth since March, but can't figure out how to do it...

[wilson]

...Who on the team should I get really, really hyped about and then overestimate based on countdown to craziness and pre-season games?

Apparently Horvath has been just killing it in pick-up ball.

[peterjswift]

you sound more like an intermittent fan than a fair weather one (which I think has negative connotations), no?

I mean, considering Duke's winning percentage, aren't we all fair weather fans? I mean, every couple of years I guess Duke loses two in a row...

Back in the early 2000s, I always contended that my Duke fanhood was just to balance out my PSU and Philadelphia sports fanhood. Now since then, both Phillies, Penn State Football, and even the Eagles have had some success...but in the early 2000s, Duke was a lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak sports landscape.

[peterjswift]

Apparently Horvath has been just killing it in pick-up ball.

He's making good use of that extra year of eligibility. So awesome to get him for an eighth season!

[budwom]

I mean, considering Duke's winning percentage, aren't we all fair weather fans? I mean, every couple of years I guess Duke loses two in a row...

Back in the early 2000s, I always contended that my Duke fanhood was just to balance out my PSU and Philadelphia sports fanhood. Now since then, both Phillies, Penn State Football, and even the Eagles have had some success...but in the early 2000s, Duke was a lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak sports landscape.

A number of us here are also Duke football fans, and if we had depended upon winning for the past 50 years, we would have perished decades ago...I guess my definition of "fair weather fans" are those who only root for their team when they win...most of us here are fans no matter what (and a number of us personally met back in the dark days of what, 1995?...we've formed a number of very long friendships).

[peterjswift]

A number of us here are also Duke football fans, and if we had depended upon winning for the past 50 years, we would have perished decades ago...I guess my definition of "fair weather fans" are those who only root for their team when they win...most of us here are fans no matter what (and a number of us personally met back in the dark days of what, 1995?...we've formed a number of very long friendships).

I'm tracking with you, and I agree. I was more or less just joking that Duke almost always wins - creating lots of fair weather.

The disparity relating to basketball/football success is a reminder of Penn State's disparity (though neither program have reached the heights of Duke basketball!).

[budwom]

I'm tracking with you, and I agree. I was more or less just joking that Duke almost always wins - creating lots of fair weather.

The disparity relating to basketball/football success is a reminder of Penn State's disparity (though neither program have reached the heights of Duke basketball!).

Yeah, they shouldn't be mutually exclusive, and sometimes aren't, but often are. Especially since there's often a ton of hoop talent in PA...