It's already different because that UConn team didn't have to beat Duke twice.
If, in '99, the national championship game had been the 2nd meeting between Duke and UConn, with the first meeting won by UConn in a game that went down to the wire and was lost when Duke's shooting guard went 1-on-1 on the final play and failed, with Coach K being much-criticized for his endgame coaching afterwards, that second meeting might've gone quite differently.
That said, I don't want to compare this Duke team to the '99 version just yet. They'll have to earn that over the course of the season. (And there's no shame if they aren't quite that good a team, of course.)
I too would like our chances in a Gonzaga rematch, although
I actually was not saying anything about Duke '99 or Duke-UConn. I meant it as a comment about Richard Hamilton that year. I remember feeling a kind of inevitability that he was going to succeed. E.g., that game earlier in the '99 tournament when he hit that buzzer beater in the lane to win it - it felt inevitable. Hachimura has some of that.
Also agree that Tillie will change the dynamic. I don't have a good feel for Tillie's game and I'm certain that I underrate him, but as far as I am concerned, I'm all for it if it means fewer shots for Hachimura and Norvell.
Edit: But, if people do start making UConn/Gonzaga comparisons I get the most Crystal Ball (or Crystal Spork?) points!
Last edited by gam7; 12-06-2018 at 11:29 AM.
"I don't like them when they are eating my azaleas or rhododendrons or pansies." - Coach K
Coach K on Kyle Singler - "What position does he play? ... He plays winner."
"Duke is never the underdog" - Quinn Cook
Alabama just defeated Arizona in Tuscaloosa. But Chase Jeter had a career high 19 points (per the announcers). He really seems to have improved; such a shame he couldn’t realize that potential at Duke.
I watched the first half, didn't see the second. I was thinking of posting about Chase Jeter but you beat me to it.
He has improved, as we would hope, two seasons removed from Duke. He is less tentative and seems to have more confidence in his shot.
I liked him at Duke. He seemed to be a solid kid who, even when he wasn't getting much burn, supported his teammates. I'm glad he is doing well.
I think he made a good decision to transfer. I don't think he would have gotten much playing time last year competing with Carter and Bagley. I don't think he would crack the top 6 or 7 this year either.
Someone else commented on this earlier but the uneven length of Chase's uniform pants are a little weird. I'm not a fashion maven but I don't see this catching on.
Zags and Vols in a heck of a battle. Feels like a tourney game.
Gonzaga goes down at home to Rocky Top. I assume KS will be #1 despite struggling with NMSU.
Quite a change of fortunes for Villanova. A month or so ago they were on top of the basketball world, having won two of the past three titles and with another top-10 team. Their recruiting was on a roll, bringing in a highly rated class that even included a 5-star in Javon Quinerly and highly sought-after transfer Joe Cremo. They stole Bryan Antoine from us and really seemed set to continue rolling.
Now they have three losses already, two to unranked teams, Quinerly is tweeting out disparaging things about his team and rumors are flying that he may transfer. It’s still early and you can’t take away what they’ve done in recent years, but it’s kind of a reminder that things can change fast.
EDIT: looks like I wrote this post simulateously with thedukelamere. Great minds think alike!
What in the world is going on with 'Nova? They usually stay out of the news and quietly churn out W's, now they are doing neither... On top of losing to Penn last night, 5* frosh Jahvon Quinerly (who played only 1 minute last against Penn and was averaging 9.9 mpg prior) posted to Instagram a cryptic "Was my 2nd choice for a reason."
Quinerly, as you may or may not remember, originally committed to Zona and ended up at Villanova due to the bribery charges against Emanuel Richardson. Not a good look.
http://www.villanovan.com/sports/jah...3632dee6e.html
I watched the second half of the game last night (there are several Penn degrees in my immediate family - go Quakers!) and kept thinking there was someone not playing for Villanova and couldn't figure out who it was. The game was a case of Penn out hustling Villanova and I think Wright got outcoached. Villanova was also likely looking past Penn to its game at Kansas this Saturday. They have plenty of talent and still are not a team that I would want to face but it seems like Wright has a big coaching job ahead of him.
Is there a backstory on how little Quinerly is playing? His tweet does not reflect well on him. One has to wonder how long he will stick around. I assume that one and done is not likely for him?
Social media abuzz with possibilities that former Duke target Quade Green is considering a midseason transfer out of Kentucky.
As a 6-0 (maybe 6-1) PG with decent, but not outstanding wingspan of 6-4, he is not someone on the NBA's radar. He's got a rep as a good shooter, but not lights out, and though he can get to the bucket, he's not the kind of freak athlete that thrives in the NBA game. He's probably at least a 2 or 3 year college player.
And I am betting those years are spent somewhere else. After that tweet about "2nd choice" I would not be at all surprised if Jay Wright showed him the door. You just don't take your complaints to the public in a well-run program like Villanova.
-Jason "worth noting that shortly after posting the instagram '2nd choice' note that it was deleted... and now Quinerly's entire Instagram account has been deleted... he may be having second thoughts" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
Sounds like it is pretty close to a done deal, though his destination is unknown. The middle/end of December is a common transfer window.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
I have always thought Steve Donahue is a really good coach. While attending Duke’s first 2 NCAA tournament games in 2010 in Jacksonville, I saw Cornell upset 2 much higher seeded teams (Wisconsin and Temple, the 4 and 5 seeds). His team just seemed to out hustle the others, and he seemed to push all the right buttons.
I was surprised he was not able to translate that success to BC. But I think he’s a really good fit at Penn - he was an assistant there for many years. And Coach K had some really nice things to say about that hire IIRC.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?