The Official "We Owe Dereck Lively An Apology" Thread

[Southgate0809]

It deserves its own thread. The young man had 4 points, yet he almost had a double double with rebounds and blocks. He owned Bacot. His putback dunk with 90 seconds left was one of the most intense moments in Cameron I've ever seen.

The overwhelming care consensus on the pregame thread was that Bacot would eat him alive and that Lively would have 2 fouls on him in no time. I led the charge in this assertion. I am ashamed, and I apologize. I suggested the o/u in seconds for how long it takes Lively to get his 2nd foul would be 90 seconds. If I took the under in a lightning bet, I would have gotten absolutely smoked.

I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.

Trivia - I know Lively didn't quite get there, but who was the last player on Duke (or in the country) who got a double double without scoring double digits in points.

Oh and also, Flip is a tough MF.

[Bob Green]

He deserves to have his name spelled correctly so I fixed it.

[Dukehk]

Mr. Lively had a block party today.

[OldPhiKap]

“We”???

[MChambers]

“We”???

Exactly.

[Nrrrrvous]

“We”???

He must have a mouse in his pocket!

[johnb]

“We”???

Somebody already said, “exactly,” so I’ll add that I’d view the consensus differently.

Most of us were clear that
A) he was working hard and appeared to be a solid, enthusiastic teammate
B) he looked very athletic and was having his terrific moments
C) he seemed to lack a key weapon (in this case, shooting) for a guy considered by experts to be the very best high school player in the country
D) he didn’t vote himself #1. if so-called experts were disillusioned, that meant they were illusioned in the first place
E) he’s a freshman without early season practices and without an experienced template of teammates
F) he would almost certainly improve as he spends another year or two as a teen
G) ideally, we’d get to see the improvement in a Duke uniform
H) his critics were misguided. Especially on a fan site, it seems really misguided to get harsh on our own guys, especially when A is true.

The above can be recycled almost every year that we get elite recruits

[OldPhiKap]

Somebody already said, “exactly,” so I’ll add that I’d view the consensus differently.

Most of us were clear that
A) he was working hard and appeared to be a solid, enthusiastic teammate
B) he looked very athletic and was having his terrific moments
C) he seemed to lack a key weapon (in this case, shooting) for a guy considered by experts to be the very best high school player in the country
D) he didn’t vote himself #1. if so-called experts were disillusioned, that meant they were illusioned in the first place
E) he’s a freshman without early season practices and without an experienced template of teammates
F) he would almost certainly improve as he spends another year or two as a teen
G) ideally, we’d get to see the improvement in a Duke uniform
H) his critics were misguided. Especially on a fan site, it seems really misguided to get harsh on our own guys, especially when A is true.

The above can be recycled almost every year that we get elite recruits

Can’t spork unfortunately, but this is a great break-down as always.

And I would add in regard to the UNC game run-up: “I) Bacot gets an absurd amount of foul calls in his favor, even when he initiates the contact.”

[Phredd3]

Can’t spork unfortunately, but this is a great break-down as always.

And I would add in regard to the UNC game run-up: “I) Bacot gets an absurd amount of foul calls in his favor, even when he initiates the contact.”

Got you covered. Unfortunately, I don't have your addendum covered, which I also agree with. Apparently, I ran out of sporks.

[OldPhiKap]

Apparently, I ran out of sporks.

It happens as we get older. My wife says it’s okay.

[Phredd3]

It happens as we get older. My wife says it’s okay.

Dammit. I'm still out of sporks.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

It happens as we get older. My wife says it’s okay.

Brilliant. Well done.

Perhaps the original poster should start a “apologies to the DBR community for putting words in their mouths that do not reflect the opinions of most people here” thread?

Most people enter a long standing organization and spend some time reading the room, getting a sense of the norms of the community, etc. before throwing themselves into it in leading the conversation. Others dive in head first.

This is a super welcoming place and that loves newcomers who add to the conversation. But it has worked well for 25+ years for a reason.

[SavDukeGrad]

I think most of us have been pulling really hard for him - to have a breakout game like last night and show everyone why he deserved the no. 1 ranking. And we are so happy for him! So I’m not really sure an apology is how I would react.

One of my favorite parts of the win last night was Dereck getting so much praise during the broadcast, praise from Scheyer during his post-game presser, getting the post-game player interview on ESPN, and learning that his mom was at the game to see it all. I really hope he can keep it going.

[Southgate0809]

He deserves to have his name spelled correctly so I fixed it.

Haha, thanks Bob. I made that post on my cell phone after several celebratory drinks last night, so I wouldn't have even put it past myself to misspell a name as simple as yours.

[Southgate0809]

You all who responded may not be included in that "we," but I certainly wasn't alone, especially in my prediction that Lively would rack up a lot of fouls quickly in this one, so yes, there is indeed a collective "we" that owes an apology.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

You all who responded may not be included in that "we," but I certainly wasn't alone, especially in my prediction that Lively would rack up a lot of fouls quickly in this one, so yes, there is indeed a collective "we" that owes an apology.

You are pretty quick to share the blame.

I'm stoked Lively played so well against a legit big man with way more experience and muscle.

I don't feel the need to apologize to anyone, I just hope he can maintain this level of play going forward. If so, our ceiling just became a roof, or whatever kids today are saying.

[DevilYouKnow]

How many of Bacot’s points were scored with Lively on the bench? I think most of them. Dereck picked a great game to explode and with only two fouls. I can’t wait to see how this propels him, going forward.

[CDu]

How many of Bacot’s points were scored with Lively on the bench? I think most of them. Dereck picked a great game to explode and with only two fouls. I can’t wait to see how this propels him, going forward.

8 of his 14 came with Lively in the game; 6 came with Lively on the bench (2 of them being UNC's only 2 fast break points of the night off a transition turnover by Proctor).

On a per-minute basis, though, Bacot's points were definitely more when Lively wasn't in. As you would expect in probably one of the most dominant defensive performances ever.

[flyingdutchdevil]

8 of his 14 came with Lively in the game; 6 came with Lively on the bench (2 of them being UNC's only 2 fast break points of the night off a transition turnover by Proctor).

On a per-minute basis, though, Bacot's points were definitely more when Lively wasn't in. As you would expect in probably one of the most dominant defensive performances ever.

6 points in 6 minutes for Bacot with Lively on the bench. Vs 8 points in 34 min when guarded by Lively.

Just a helluva performance against likely the ACC player of the year.

[Southgate0809]

I can see we're having a classic DBR moment of taking things too seriously. I'm worried that I actually have to clarify and say that I'm not suggesting anyone should call Lively and personally apologize. I'm also.not suggesting that anyone is guilty of some sort of sin or crime.