Duke-Texas Tech super regional

[Steven43]

I am bummed as well. It's been a tough Spring! Grayson's rim out, then my High School Baseball team that had a great chance to win a State Championship, lost 2-1 in 9 innings in the best High School game I have ever witnessed to the team that went on to win the State Title, and then the loss today.

And how about the Duke Men’s Lacrosse team losing the NCAA Final in a very close match? That hurt almost as much (but not quite) as it did when Grayson’s missed shot (by inches!) kept Duke from going to the Final Four and having a shot at another National Championship.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

And how about the Duke Men’s Lacrosse team losing the NCAA Final in a very close match? That hurt almost as much (but not quite) as it did when Grayson’s missed shot (by inches!) kept Duke from going to the Final Four and having a shot at another National Championship.

...Yep....it does seem like all of those teams could've done even more. Football too, seemingly leaving about 3 wins on the table.
That's not sour grapes, but the fact is, a loss is more painful (to me) when you know your team is better than the team they lost to - or capable of doing even more.

Duke athletics over all seems about as healthy as ever...but the pain at the end is still pain...

[MCFinARL]

And how about the Duke Men’s Lacrosse team losing the NCAA Final in a very close match? That hurt almost as much (but not quite) as it did when Grayson’s missed shot (by inches!) kept Duke from going to the Final Four and having a shot at another National Championship.

...Yep...it does seem like all of those teams could've done even more. Football too, seemingly leaving about 3 wins on the table.
That's not sour grapes, but the fact is, a loss is more painful (to me) when you know your team is better than the team they lost to - or capable of doing even more.

Duke athletics over all seems about as healthy as ever...but the pain at the end is still pain...

Losing hurts for sure, especially when your team gets close, and most especially when you can see the plays not made, the points/runs left on the table, etc. But to be fair, I don't think the Duke lacrosse team this year was "better than the team they lost to."

Duke did not play a perfect game in the title match, but they didn't play poorly, either. Yale just played better--and it wasn't a surprise that they did so. They had been a very highly ranked team all year, with excellent coaching and extremely skilled players. So a very good team lost to one that was at least as good and likely a little bit better.

[buddy]

Thanks for the ride. Winning 6 straight elimination games was a bridge too far. This team had little margin for error (mediocre starting pitching, little depth, weak bottom of the line-up--before Crabtree). Infield defense generally was sparkling. Just could not get a timely hit yesterday. Give TTU pitchers some credit. We lose a lot, but hope that the team can build off this. And yes, there have been some tough losses this spring, but overall our teams have been quite successful.

[jimsumner]

It was a most interesting spring-sport season for Duke. Baseball, men's lacrosse, women's tennis, women's golf and men's golf all went deep into the NCAAs, as did women's soccer, men's basketball, and women's basketball earlier in the academic year. But none of these teams won it all. Lots of depth. But I would have loved at least one national title.

[pfrduke]

Updated map post-Super Regionals. I reserve the right not to finish this if it trends too heavily light blue.

[TruBlu]

Any representation of “that” shade of blue with the letters “nc” should automatically have a scarlet letter “A” superimposed over it. For eternity.

[devilish]

...Yep...it does seem like all of those teams could've done even more. Football too, seemingly leaving about 3 wins on the table.
That's not sour grapes, but the fact is, a loss is more painful (to me) when you know your team is better than the team they lost to - or capable of doing even more.

Duke athletics over all seems about as healthy as ever...but the pain at the end is still pain...

Women's soccer too... Undefeated regular season. Lose in championship game on penalty kicks.

[OZ]

According to accounts I have read, we have seven players who have been drafted by MLB from the second round up. I have limited understanding as to the nature of the draft... so, I was wondering how many of these guys will leave? I get that we lose the seniors... and Conine was a given... but I wasn't counting on losing Herron (should have known) (3rd), Proctor(13th) and Kone(13th) to the draft. Also two of our 2019 signees... both pitchers... grad student Gross(34th) and high schooler Salley(40th) were also selected. Who goes makes a big difference in what we have next year.

[jimsumner]

According to accounts I have read, we have seven players who have been drafted by MLB from the second round up. I have limited understanding as to the nature of the draft... so, I was wondering how many of these guys will leave? I get that we lose the seniors... and Conine was a given... but I wasn't counting on losing Herron (should have known) (3rd), Proctor(13th) and Kone(13th) to the draft. Also two of our 2019 signees... both pitchers... grad student Gross(34th) and high schooler Salley(40th) were also selected. Who goes makes a big difference in what we have next year.

Conine and Herron have been gone for a long time. I'm assuming Proctor and Kone are gone until and unless I hear otherwise, especially Kone, based more on what I've heard than on draft position.

I would expect all of the signees to show up.

Again, in the long term it's great that Duke is having juniors picked high. Guys who get drafted high after their junior years are the guys that win championships and it's in Duke's best interests to show recruits that they can help them develop into those guys.

I guarantee you, Pollard is delighted that these four were picked so high. That's the plan.

[sagegrouse]

Conine and Herron have been gone for a long time. I'm assuming Proctor and Kone are gone until and unless I hear otherwise, especially Kone, based more on what I've heard than on draft position.

I would expect all of the signees to show up.

Again, in the long term it's great that Duke is having juniors picked high. Guys who get drafted high after their junior years are the guys that win championships and it's in Duke's best interests to show recruits that they can help them develop into those guys.

I guarantee you, Pollard is delighted that these four were picked so high. That's the plan.

I will be very happy if that big hoss of a pitcher, Graeme Stinson, returns for another year.

[jimsumner]

I will be very happy if that big hoss of a pitcher, Graeme Stinson, returns for another year.

Well, he's a sophomore, so he wasn't eligible for the draft this season.

I would expect him to be a high draft pick in 2019 and start rookie ball shortly after.

He and Jarvis should anchor the staff next season. If Duke can find out what happened to Laskey down the stretch and fix it, that would be way swell.

Cooper Stinson was a high-school senior and signed with Duke. He is bigger than his brother and is very highly regarded.

[CameronBlue]

Women's soccer too... Undefeated regular season. Lose in championship game on penalty kicks.

Semis, but great season none the less. I hate PKs. It's sudden death play to the bitter end and decide it on the pitch.

[jimsumner]

Semis, but great season none the less. I hate PKs. It's sudden death play to the bitter end and decide it on the pitch.

I understand what you're saying and maybe that's the way it should be in a final game. But if a semifinal runs into a bunch of overtimes--remember that Duke-IU men's game back in the early '80s--then the winner is going to be so fatigued that you're almost handing their next game to their opponent, especially if it's only a day or two away.

Deciding a game on PKs absolutely is a bad way to decide things. But so is grinding teenagers and young adults into sawdust. Figuratively speaking.

Maybe they should go the pro hockey route. 4 on 4, with unlimited, on-the-fly-substitutions.

Joking.

Sort of.

[HereBeforeCoachK]

I understand what you're saying and maybe that's the way it should be in a final game. But if a semifinal runs into a bunch of overtimes--remember that Duke-IU men's game back in the early '80s--then the winner is going to be so fatigued that you're almost handing their next game to their opponent, especially if it's only a day or two away.

Deciding a game on PKs absolutely is a bad way to decide things. But so is grinding teenagers and young adults into sawdust. Figuratively speaking.

Maybe they should go the pro hockey route. 4 on 4, with unlimited, on-the-fly-substitutions.

Joking.

Sort of.

Couple things Jim...wasn't the Duke IU marathon game the title game? Or am I remembering that wrong?

Also, the hockey route may not be bad...in soccer that would translate to something like 7 on 7. NHL hockey is actually 3 on 3, plus a goalie for each side. It's very exciting. The NHL also loosened up the offsides rule a tad back in 2005 - something that soccer should consider too.

[Acymetric]

I understand what you're saying and maybe that's the way it should be in a final game. But if a semifinal runs into a bunch of overtimes--remember that Duke-IU men's game back in the early '80s--then the winner is going to be so fatigued that you're almost handing their next game to their opponent, especially if it's only a day or two away.

Deciding a game on PKs absolutely is a bad way to decide things. But so is grinding teenagers and young adults into sawdust. Figuratively speaking.

Maybe they should go the pro hockey route. 4 on 4, with unlimited, on-the-fly-substitutions.

Joking.

Sort of.

Are PKs a bad way to decide a game tied after 120 minutes (or however many minutes are in a college game + OT...110 minutes actually I believe)? I don't know...watch a game that goes to PK's with a group of people in the upcoming World Cup. Once of the most tense and exciting moments in high level sports. I will acknowledge it is a hard way to lose, but any overtime loss is a hard way to lose.

Not to mention in college overtime is golden goal, so that means that in addition to a tie in the regulation time, both teams were scoreless in the overtime periods. You are unlikely to see any kind of enjoyable, quality play after that much time has elapsed, despite the fact that college allows unlimited substitutions.

[jimsumner]

Couple things Jim...wasn't the Duke IU marathon game the title game? Or am I remembering that wrong?

.

Yes, it was the title game. But an example of how long a college soccer game can go on if we insist on eliminating PKs as a way to decide tie games once they reach a certain point.

[OZ]

Conine and Herron have been gone for a long time. I'm assuming Proctor and Kone are gone until and unless I hear otherwise, especially Kone, based more on what I've heard than on draft position.

I would expect all of the signees to show up.

Again, in the long term it's great that Duke is having juniors picked high. Guys who get drafted high after their junior years are the guys that win championships and it's in Duke's best interests to show recruits that they can help them develop into those guys.

I guarantee you, Pollard is delighted that these four were picked so high. That's the plan.

Thanks Jim for the update. I'm thrilled for these kids and the program... they've earned it! My mistake early on about Herron was I got in my mind he was a soph and was surprised when he was drafted. A quick check remedied that. And as you hate to see them go... this is something all GOOD programs deal with. It's a good problem to have.

[chrishoke]

Good article by Steve Wiseman N&O on the future prospects of Duke baseball.

http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Oli...0FD9&mode=text

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Dealing with the uncertainty of juniors leaving early, whether or not recruits will actually show up or will go straight to the pros, and rationing out partial scholarships is not easy - managing one-and-done basketball players is nothing compared to that.