I've been meaning to ask this of the board...

[Freddy Brown]

First of all what a great season and a great, great tournament run. I might have enjoyed this season as much as any Duke season since I started following them in 1977.

What I wanted to ask you about occurred more than once during the postgame Monday night. When Coach K spoke from the platform in the trophy ceremony, he appeared genuinely at a loss for words for a few moments and said he still couldn't believe they had won.

Then in the postgame press conference, he said it again--maybe more than once.

My question for the board is, why do you think he was in disbelief about it? In a way it seems to go against how I think Coach K coaches, which is that in every game his team should believe and expect that they can win.

Maybe it relates to how the team developed over the year, and how Coach told them they were good, but not great, earlier in the season.

Still, I was a little but surprised that Coach himself said more than once that he couldn't believe they had won.

Your thoughts? (And perhaps you've seen other quotes in which Coach expanded on that--if so, please pass them along).

Here's hoping that we turn this win into even greater success in recruiting and make another run next season!

[moonpie23]

so, you didn't see that last shot?

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I don't interpret Coach K's comments to mean he lacked confidence in this team, but rather that he experienced disbelief because of the probabilities being against winning the national championship again. I can understand it because I feel much the same way! beyond that, I read no more into what he said.

[roywhite]

I just took it that Coach K had a very, very strong emotional attachment to this team and so wanted them to achieve the final goal. Because of the game itself and the long journey this year and over the 4 year careers of the seniors, the victory was very impactful emotionally.

In a career with many highlights, seems like this championship was very special to our coach.

[killerleft]

I've often suspected Coach K says some things more for their effect than whether they are literally true. So I would interpret his statements were to make sure our players know just how special this win was for him, and to remind US of just how special ANY championship should be viewed.

He is very protective of each team and wants them to be seen in the present tense, not as an extension of years past or years to come.

Except when it suits his purposes to bring up those other things.

[Billy Dat]

I think it reflects the fact that no one, the coaching staff included, could have anticipated the improvement that the team made from the 2nd half of the Purdue game through the West Virginia game. We had yet to beat that caliber of competition all year and, in doing so, we kept playing, arguably, our best game of the year to that point over and over. That left us in the title game where we endured a 40 minute rock fight and prevailed by, literally, a fraction of an inch. Who COULD believe such a thing, especially right after it happened. I still can't believe it.

[MarkD83]

I also think this was the most focussed Duke team I have ever seen including Coach K. They always looked at the game in front of them, the half in front of them and the play in front of them, not the game next week or the game last week.

After the game I think Coach K took a deep breath and realized...there are no more "next plays" and we have not lost.

[Spam Filter]

I think it's because for this team to win the championship with all they have been through, especially the seniors, Nolan's father, etc it's like a story book ending.

It's so perfect that it's a scenario you've made up in your head as "wouldn't it be great if that happened", so when it happens you you start to wonder if it's really happening or you're just dreaming.

[Greg_Newton]

I also think this was the most focussed Duke team I have ever seen including Coach K. They always looked at the game in front of them, the half in front of them and the play in front of them, not the game next week or the game last week.

After the game I think Coach K took a deep breath and realized...there are no more "next plays" and we have not lost.

I think that's a great way to put it. This team did seem like they never once allowed themselves to relax and play complacently, to step back and look at the big picture, to stop and look at what they'd accomplished. It was always one possession at a time, one 4 minute stretch at a time until the dust cleared, and, as you said... there were no more "next plays". And then, lo and behold, they looked around and realized they were the last ones standing. It seems like it's still sinking in.

It really is a remarkable story, and I think one that will be appreciated more and more as time passes.

[bluepenguin]

Listen to the interview on 99.9 posted on the main page. Coach K tells you why he felt that way.

[sagegrouse]

What I wanted to ask you about occurred more than once during the postgame Monday night. When Coach K spoke from the platform in the trophy ceremony, he appeared genuinely at a loss for words for a few moments and said he still couldn't believe they had won.

Then in the postgame press conference, he said it again--maybe more than once.

My question for the board is, why do you think he was in disbelief about it? In a way it seems to go against how I think Coach K coaches, which is that in every game his team should believe and expect that they can win.

I think it goes back to the mind change that occurred after K became the U.S. National Team coach. He said, at various times, something like: "We are going to cherish every win. If some player doesn't get to a Final Four, that is too bad, but we are not going to worry about things like that." In other words, we are not going to put pressure on ourselves where we have to win games and we have to win championships. If we do the right things, championships will happen, and we will enjoy them.

His mindset seems to be that every championship, ACC and NCAA, is a gift, and he wants to enjoy it and for the players and other coaches to enjoy it.

sagegrouse

[bluepenguin]

I think it goes back to the mind change that occurred after K became the U.S. National Team coach. He said, at various times, something like: "We are going to cherish every win. If some player doesn't get to a Final Four, that is too bad, but we are not going to worry about things like that." In other words, we are not going to put pressure on ourselves where we have to win games and we have to win championships. If we do the right things, championships will happen, and we will enjoy them.

His mindset seems to be that every championship, ACC and NCAA, is a gift, and he wants to enjoy it and for the players and other coaches to enjoy it.

sagegrouse

Again, he addressed this in the interview with 99.9 posted on the main page. Basically, in the past, teams like 91&92 actually had goals at the beginning of the season that included winning the NC. This team did not have that as a goal. Their goal was to make the Final Four. And when they did, the goal was not to win it, but to beat WVa. Essentially, they had a "Next Game" goal philosophy this year, which is different from teams in the past which had more loftier goals at the beginning of the season.

[greybeard]

I just took it that Coach K had a very, very strong emotional attachment to this team and so wanted them to achieve the final goal. Because of the game itself and the long journey this year and over the 4 year careers of the seniors, the victory was very impactful emotionally.

In a career with many highlights, seems like this championship was very special to our coach.

Exceptional!

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

Game by game i don't think he was shocked but the season as a whole, yea very much. As was I

[Johnboy]

Also, in the interview mentioned above, it seems there are a couple things he's thinking about: (i) the improvement from the beginning of the year right through the title game and (ii) the fact that the talent level of this team isn't quite what his other title teams have had, which is to say, a couple or more lottery pick players.


<musings>
As good as our best players this year were, there's no Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Elton Brand, Shane Battier or Jason Williams on this team. What Duke had, though, was an incredible TEAM, where "role players" stepped up huge at the end of the season and carried the team to victory. Despite that, this team won every tournament it entered and shared a regular season conference title.

This was a wonderful team to follow. Too bad the great character of this team was overshadowed in the media by the Cinderella story of Butler - a marvelous team in itself. Had we beaten another perennial heavyweight for the title, the haters wouldn't have had so much ammunition.</musings>

[DevilHorns]

As good as our best players this year were, there's no Johnny Dawkins, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Elton Brand, Shane Battier or Jason Williams on this team. What Duke had, though, was an incredible TEAM, where "role players" stepped up huge at the end of the season and carried the team to victory.

One of those "role players" lead the country in offensive rebounding % and set the Duke record for offensive rebounds in a season.

http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2010/04/06/989107

"Zoubek finished with eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds, including six offensive boards to set the school record for most offensive rebounds in a season. He also had two blocks and drew a charge.

The Blue Devils were clearly the bigger team than the Bulldogs, and Zoubek made sure to take full advantage of the height discrepancy. When he was on the court Butler struggled to get the ball inside and his rebounding helped Duke hold the rebounding edge, 37-35.

But one of his most important plays didn't show up in the stat sheet.

With four minutes remaining Zoubek tapped out a Jon Scheyer miss to Kyle Singler and moments later Nolan Smith made two free throws to push the Blue Devils' lead to 60-55 - its largest lead since the first half.

"It's unbelievable (to end my career like this)," Zoubek said. "Senior year, my last game, my birthday. What more could you ask for?""

Happy Belated Bday Zoubs!