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  1. Editing My Original Post

    I began this thread and once I posted it, I realized that I need to express more clearly what it was I was trying to say. Rather than title it "We Needed the Loss", I should have said, "The Rest May Do Us Well". In other words, I wanted to see Duke win as badly as anyone. I didn't sit down the entire second half as I watched on my TV. But, now that they have lost, I was trying to imply some optimism by saying, "hey, I wanted to see some rhythm established during the ACC Tourney and see some games won, but since that didn't happen, let's be excited that Duke will be well-rested and fresh going into the Big Dance". And quite honestly, freshness is something we may need more than anything in the NCAAs.

    Often teams reach a new level of fatigue during conference Tourneys, particulary teams that run only a 6-7 man rotation, such as Duke's. I have enjoyed Duke's ACC Tourney success as much as anyone, but I often wonder if we'd be fresher if we hadn't made it to each Title game.

    This Duke team has caused us to step away from the norm and gain new perspectives, and our latest is this: Let's see if a fresh Duke team (which is different than any other Duke team in the past 8 years) can make a little noise in the NCAAs.

  2. #22
    Honestly, this team is frustrating because it DOES have talent, but it lacks in consistency. Normally its great for a team to have five players with a balanced scoring attack (Nelson, McRoberts, Paulus, Sheyer, Henderson) but if any of the five have an off night then that spells doom. I hope in the offseason, that Thomas and Zoubek hit the weights and work on their mechanics and Marty keeps his confidence to be a go to guy off the bench.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Skinker-DeBaliviere, Saint Louis
    One man's "well-rested" is another man's "rusty."

    I don't see how we needed a wake-up call. We've had 9 others already.

    A movie is not about what it's about; it's about how it's about it.
    ---Roger Ebert


    Some questions cannot be answered
    Who’s gonna bury who
    We need a love like Johnny, Johnny and June
    ---Over the Rhine

  4. #24
    I don't think I will ever buy into the "needed a loss" or "will be more rested for the NCAAs" school of thought. I always want to win the ACCT.

    Also, I would so much rather win the ACCT than be a Sweet 16 team. (NC or FF is, perhaps, a different story)

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Allawah, NSW Australia (near Sydney)

    road wins

    Quote Originally Posted by A-Tex Devil View Post
    I'll respectfully disagree. This team ain't winning the NCAA's. But we had every opportunity to win as many as 3 games in this tourney. And once in the championship, who knows?

    I just want to see these guys win as many as possible. Losing tonight makes next week's matchup tougher. Man this is frustrating.

    I don't care about RPI. I don't know how we aren't a bubble team considering we've lost 7 of 10 and were .500 in our conference and lost the first game to a mediocre (and that's kind) team in our conference.

    We needed this win.
    We are 4-6 in our last 10, not 3-7.

    As for the NCAAs, there is the road wins factor. If the committee looks at our resume carefully it will see that our stellar nonconference record was compiled entirely outside of opposing teams' home buildings. That won't help our seeding either. But still, we'll be in the tourney and we deserve to be. Don't know how some folks thought we would get a 2 or a 3 though. Try an 8 or a 9.
    Last edited by devildownunder; 03-09-2007 at 09:03 AM.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Mar 2007

    One and done?

    If Duke gets a bad match-up in the first round, they will be out in the first round. The sweet 16 would be a huge accomplishment for this team, but I don't see it happening at all. I'm surprised that they are not considered a bubble team. Maybe they will be now.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Inman, SC & Fort Myers, FL
    There may such a thing as a "good" loss, but I haven't seen one this year. I have, however, seen losses that Duke deserved, and last night was one. In an earlier game the color guy referred to one team (Maryland, I think) as asleep on defense. I think that sums up much of the Duke game, certainly the last 10 minutes or so.
    The time off may do the Duke team some good, as Coach K can work on team defense. However, I don't see any players getting touch by a "magic twanger" (plunk your magic twanger, froggy). McRoberts is not turning into Sheldon Williams, and Scheyer is not turning into JJ Redick. While GH can make a real contribution, which we need, one game does not make him Grant Hill.
    Duke's only hope is to play team basketball. We started out doing that this season, but have gotten away from it. I don't know why, and I don't know how to fix it, given the players we have. Thankfully, Coach K is a genius with regard to basketball.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Toledo
    If Duke gets a bad match-up in the first round
    If we are an 8 seed and are matched up with, say, a Michigan State or a Syracuse, we will be in big trouble. And I don't know how I would live with myself over the summer if we lose in the First Round. It would be hell, especially during the last three weeks of the tournament

    If we do draw a dangerous First Round matchup as an 8 seed, which is something I think the NCAA Selection Committee would love to do considering if we won it would mean a nationally televised Duke matchup with a one seed, then I will not be sleeping until that Thursday or Friday game. The nerves in my household will be palpable.

  9. #29
    Someone give me some perspective here; what were our top five "needed" losses in the K era? Or even some games we won that we "needed" to lose instead.

  10. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Allawah, NSW Australia (near Sydney)

    There is only one loss that we "needed"

    Quote Originally Posted by hurleyfor3 View Post
    Someone give me some perspective here; what were our top five "needed" losses in the K era? Or even some games we won that we "needed" to lose instead.
    IMO.

    103-73.

  11. #31
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC
    We don't win in it all in 2001 without the home loss to MD IMO. Losing the final home game and going without Boozer gave our guys a killer instinct for the last 10 games.

  12. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    About 150 feet in front of the Duke Chapel doors.
    Quote Originally Posted by VaDukie View Post
    We don't win in it all in 2001 without the home loss to MD IMO. Losing the final home game and going without Boozer gave our guys a killer instinct for the last 10 games.
    I would argue, though, that it was the loss of Boozer, and K's subsequent adjustment to the rotation, that was the key, not the actual loss to Maryland. If Boozer goes down, but we still win that game, I think K makes the same adjustment and we win 6.

    However, IMO, the 1991 team used the motivation from the humiliating loss to Carolina in the ACC Tourney final to get them to the Final Four. After that, it was the loss to UNLV from the previous year that helped them overcome the Rebs in the semi-finals.
    JBDuke

    Andre Dawkins: “People ask me if I can still shoot, and I ask them if they can still breathe. That’s kind of the same thing.”

  13. #33
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Toledo
    I would argue, though, that it was the loss of Boozer, and K's subsequent adjustment to the rotation, that was the key, not the actual loss to Maryland.
    Exactly. K's lineup shift and brilliant strategy for the Carolina game, a game we were expected to get dropped hard in without Boozer, were the keys to our eventually blowing through the ACC Tournament in Georgia and then winning 6 games in the Big Dance. That win at UNC without Boozer showed our team they were capable of winning it all in April, and they played with a fire we may never see in a Duke team again for the remaining four weeks. It was so special to watch. What a year.

  14. #34

    the team

    lots of people are wondering why this team has so many supposedly talented players, yet so often gets outplayed by "inferior" talent. Others have pointed it out as well, and after watching the State game i'm convinced as well, that this team doesn't have the camraderie or the desire to play together like past teams. Part of it is a vaccuum of leadership, but i think that another part of it is probably personality conflicts among players, which probably has a feedback looop to leadership. So much focus was thrown on Josh that he wasn't really ready for and would not have received with a more veteran roster. This team hasn't gelled and has obvious communication problems. The Fr. only have one Jr. to look up to and he doesn't seem to have the leadership knack of a a Nate James or Battier. The So. class is not prepared to take on leadership roles but they have had to, and alot of their weak points are being exposed b/c there is no cover for them. Lots of those issues will get smoother next year simply b/c everyone will be older and will have been through enough to guide the incoming Fr. class much better. Unless Josh is able to completely overhaul his approach to his teammates during games, i'm not sure that him returning for next year will improve the team chemistry issues. An off-season of hard work reflection and maturation might do the trick, but as of now, Josh's on-court attitude is a negative influence on this team.

  15. #35
    How was 103-73 a "needed" loss when winning it would have given us a title, and made Unlv's 1991 season less historically relevant? Assuming a scenario in which it could have been won, of course. "Losing by 30 was better than losing by 10" isn't an argument; I mean losing versus winning.

    I don't think any particular motivation arose from the '91 ACC final. I don't want to say K tanked that game, but it definitely seemed like a low priority to win. (I attended that tournament and lived in Charlotte.)

    I'll grant the Maryland/Boozer loss in 2001.

  16. #36
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Carolina Beach NC
    And do NOT forget the importance of Boozers' injury. It gave Casey Sanders a chance to get comfortable. Without him we don't win it. Not saying he was the vital component, he was not. But I don't think we win without his play in the NCAAs...

  17. #37
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Allawah, NSW Australia (near Sydney)

    forging the "mettle"

    Quote Originally Posted by hurleyfor3 View Post
    How was 103-73 a "needed" loss when winning it would have given us a title, and made Unlv's 1991 season less historically relevant? Assuming a scenario in which it could have been won, of course. "Losing by 30 was better than losing by 10" isn't an argument; I mean losing versus winning.

    I don't think any particular motivation arose from the '91 ACC final. I don't want to say K tanked that game, but it definitely seemed like a low priority to win. (I attended that tournament and lived in Charlotte.)

    I'll grant the Maryland/Boozer loss in 2001.

    Getting annihilated by UNLV made that group of players come back tougher. It was a lesson and they learned it well, picking up the last piece the team and the program needed to finally win that first national championship.

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