season recap

Well, I'm still getting over our 2nd round exit from the tournament, but at least I was more emotionally prepared for it this year. After last year's debacle and our showing against Belmont, I wasn't surprised that we fell to W. Virginia. Plus, finding out that half our team had the flu made it easier to accept.

Coming into the season, we all knew that we had no real post presence and would struggle at times. Still, we had a remarkable run through the first 2/3 of our schedule, knocking off some really good teams like Wisconsin, Marquette, and Davidson. Not only that, we split with UNC in a year that they were vastly superior to us, talent-wise.

Of course, it's hard to end the season like we did - losing at home on senior night to the Heels, then leaving both the ACC and NCAA tourneys early. But overall, it was still a fun team to watch. I think we probably got the most out of our roster this year, and we were clearly better than last year. Once the NCAA starts, anything can happen to anyone. We weren't the only 2 seed that struggled - Georgetown lost to a 10 seed and Tennessee could have easily lost their game. Even UCLA could have lost in the 2nd round. Only UNC seems to be truly dominating, a bit of a sore spot for Duke fans, I know.

For me, I can accept the season we had. The hard part is looking to the future of the program. I don't see us getting much better next year barring some unforeseen events. Losing only one player and returning a lot of good players will help. And our 2 recruits seem solid, but I don't know if we have the really special player(s) that we need to return to the glory days. Where are the Grant Hills and Jason Williams and Carlos Boozers? I know we won't get most of the Mayos and Beasleys out there, but we used to be able to find those rare guys that were good students and also very smart and athletic ballers. I don't know. Maybe Singler or Gerald will develop into special players, but most of our guys seem to have fatal flaws in their game. Demarcus was a great Dukie - committed, athletic, well-mannered, but he never developed a consistent stroke, a must for a 6-4 guard. And Scheyer and Paulus are McDonald's AAs and good players, but they'll never be the superior athletes that they have to guard all the time.

Maybe it's just all a cycle and we have to be patient. We have certainly been spoiled over the years as Duke fans, but I can't help wonder when and if we'll ever return to being a perennial powerhouse. UNC's doing a good job of it right now. How the heck do you get a guy like Psycho-T who wants to play for 4 years? He's the kind of guy we need to start finding again.

Sorry this is so long, y'all. I just needed to get it all of my chest.
Go UCLA! Go Davidson! Go Texas!

A Good Read for DUKE Fans

I'm ashamed to admit it, but this article was written for me. Yes, I have been complaining bitterly all month about our team. I needed this slap in the face.

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=24637

NCAA Chatter

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the way the bracket shook out. Duke actually has a decent chance to reach the Elite 8, where beating UCLA would be quite the feat, although it's possible. I know UCLA has a great big man in Love, but they really struggle to score at times, esp. from the perimeter.

And since our Devils probably won't win the whole thing, I'm glad that UNC has a pretty tough road to the title. Getting through Indiana, ND/Wazzu, then Louisville/TN will be a challenge.

As for how our team actually looks right now, I'd say that we're in much better shape than last year. We're fairly healthy, most of our players have improved considerably from a year ago, and we're pretty deep. Of course, the biggest key will be our 3-point shooting. We can't really afford to have a cold night once we start seeing the better teams.

Personnel-wise, Zoubek has definitely improved, but he still hurts us more than he helps. He has hands of stone and can't move his feet for the life of him. The best thing he does for us is gives us a few minutes and fouls to protect Singler from all the banging down low. And as I've said all year long, we're better off with Mcclure playing as an undersized big. At least he's active and quick and smart.

I'm not too worried about Singler. I think he'll get his legs back under him with a few days off and perform well. I do wish we had worked Nolan Smith into a bigger role, though. We're going to really need him to stop quick point guards like Lavender and Collison. Paulus is tough-minded and a competitor, but he can't stop people.

Well, hope everyone enjoys the tournament. It's probably my favorite 3 weeks of the sports year. And by the way, if anyone wants to join a pool, I'm running one for $5/entry on espn.com under group name brianpaik, password duke, and Eric is running his free one under NC Connection, password bracket.

Seattle Trip

Joyce and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend alone in Seattle. We figured it would be our last chance to go anywhere alone for a while. So Josh stayed with grandma while we ate our way through Seattle.
I seriously think Joyce stopped at every bakery we saw. At least she's eating for two. :)

This was one of only 2 pics I got to take because we broke our camera. At least we have a funny story to go along with it. While Joyce was posing near the fresh fish stand at Pike Market, one of the workers moved a monkfish that had been tied to a string. Joyce jumped, screamed, and grabbed me so hard that our camera went flying. Never had a chance.

By the way, Gary is alive and well as you can see. It seems the Pacific Northwest agrees with their family. Thanks for breakfast, Gary!

Madness!

I wasn't really surprised by our loss to the Heels last Saturday. At full-strength, it's hard to argue that we're better than UNC. But I am encouraged by our play in the 2nd half. I came away thinking that we can play with anyone, even teams with strong post players. Zoubek is even starting to look like a decent player.

Were it not for a horrendous shooting display in the 1st half and Demarcus's worst game of the year, I think we would have won the game. I hope we get another crack at UNC in the ACC tourney, not just because I know we can beat them, but because it makes us better/more prepared for the NCAA.

As for seeding and regions, I don't really think it matters too much anymore. I don't even know who would be easier or harder to beat. We just have to play our best game every game in the tourney. We can beat anyone. Almost anyone can beat us. But at least, we have the potential to make a run. We'll see how it all unfolds.