I despise Duke

[Gordio]

He had a decient freshman year..but has really sucked since

 

Paulus really stands for all that is wrong with Duke over the last 5-7 years or so. He is not athletic enough. Duke's team has not been athletic enough since the Elton Brand/Meggette days. How do you expect to ever beat North Carolina when Paulus is going head to head against a guy like Lawson. NC will win that matchup every time. Duke has been bounced out of the tournament lately by teams that are just more physical & athletic. It happened last year against West Virginia, it happened a few years ago against a low see VCU, it happened when they played LSU in the sweet 16 when LSU made their run to the final four. I remember the day the brackets came out that year one of the analysts said watchout if Duke runs into LSU in the sweet 16. Noway could they match their atheletes.

 

I mean Duke gets nice players, but they are too one dimensional. Guy Scheyer, Singular(sp), Paulus, these guys can not matchup against the big time athletes at schools like UNC/Uconn/Memphis. I do not know if coach K is scared of recruiting these types of athletes & then running the risk of losing them after 2 years or what. Henderson is the only guy on that team that is a true difference maker. If they are not hitting at least 50% from 3 point line they do not have a chance. They will not make it past the sweet 16 this year & I would not be surprised if they do not make it out of the first weekend.

[Ramius]

Paulus really stands for all that is wrong with Duke over the last 5-7 years or so. He is not athletic enough. Duke's team has not been athletic enough since the Elton Brand/Meggette days. How do you expect to ever beat North Carolina when Paulus is going head to head against a guy like Lawson. NC will win that matchup every time. Duke has been bounced out of the tournament lately by teams that are just more physical & athletic. It happened last year against West Virginia, it happened a few years ago against a low see VCU, it happened when they played LSU in the sweet 16 when LSU made their run to the final four. I remember the day the brackets came out that year one of the analysts said watchout if Duke runs into LSU in the sweet 16. Noway could they match their atheletes.

 

I mean Duke gets nice players, but they are too one dimensional. Guy Scheyer, Singular(sp), Paulus, these guys can not matchup against the big time athletes at schools like UNC/Uconn/Memphis. I do not know if coach K is scared of recruiting these types of athletes & then running the risk of losing them after 2 years or what. Henderson is the only guy on that team that is a true difference maker. If they are not hitting at least 50% from 3 point line they do not have a chance. They will not make it past the sweet 16 this year & I would not be surprised if they do not make it out of the first weekend.

 

This is exactly it. Coach K doesn't like to grab guys that are 1-and-doners. In doing so, he loses out on a ton of talent and athleticism.

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

Paulus really stands for all that is wrong with Duke over the last 5-7 years or so. He is not athletic enough. Duke's team has not been athletic enough since the Elton Brand/Meggette days. How do you expect to ever beat North Carolina when Paulus is going head to head against a guy like Lawson. NC will win that matchup every time. Duke has been bounced out of the tournament lately by teams that are just more physical & athletic. It happened last year against West Virginia, it happened a few years ago against a low see VCU, it happened when they played LSU in the sweet 16 when LSU made their run to the final four. I remember the day the brackets came out that year one of the analysts said watchout if Duke runs into LSU in the sweet 16. Noway could they match their atheletes.

 

I mean Duke gets nice players, but they are too one dimensional. Guy Scheyer, Singular(sp), Paulus, these guys can not matchup against the big time athletes at schools like UNC/Uconn/Memphis. I do not know if coach K is scared of recruiting these types of athletes & then running the risk of losing them after 2 years or what. Henderson is the only guy on that team that is a true difference maker. If they are not hitting at least 50% from 3 point line they do not have a chance. They will not make it past the sweet 16 this year & I would not be surprised if they do not make it out of the first weekend.

 

You're right on with this Gordio. Like you said, recruiting, and the kids they are bringing in throughout the process, has killed Duke for the better part of a decade now. Greg Paulus was NEVER good enough to run the point in the ACC, and would struggle to find any playing time on many teams in the major conferences. Scheyer is a streaky shooter, but that's about all he has, and if he goes cold on any given night he's pretty useless. Singler is a little more athletic and multi-dimensional than those two, but that doesn't matter to me personally because I can't stand looking at that guy's mug for 40 minutes. Sorry, my UNC bias came out a bit for a minute there . Gerald Henderson is a very good player, and has improved his overall game, especially his jumpshot, by leaps and bounds this year. He is their only chance of making a run in the tournament to even the Sweet 16. Other than that, I think their main bigs Thomas and Zoubek are pretty useless, and Nolan Smith and that Elliot Williams kid are the only ones capable of scoring points. And they are a sophomore and true freshman respectively. If Henderson is off the first weekend and they run into a couple solid teams (i.e. Siena, VCU, St. Marys, etc in Round One and any Big East/ACC team, Purdue, etc in Round Two) they are going to be hard pressed to make it through the weekend. IMO the biggest keys to success in the NCAA tournament is strong guard play, particularly from the point, which Duke is obviously lacking at, and rebounding-where they struggle as well many nights. Don't count on them to advance to far in the tourny, no matter what their ranking nationally is at the time.

[Gordio]

You're right on with this Gordio. Like you said, recruiting, and the kids they are bringing in throughout the process, has killed Duke for the better part of a decade now. Greg Paulus was NEVER good enough to run the point in the ACC, and would struggle to find any playing time on many teams in the major conferences. Scheyer is a streaky shooter, but that's about all he has, and if he goes cold on any given night he's pretty useless. Singler is a little more athletic and multi-dimensional than those two, but that doesn't matter to me personally because I can't stand looking at that guy's mug for 40 minutes. Sorry, my UNC bias came out a bit for a minute there . Gerald Henderson is a very good player, and has improved his overall game, especially his jumpshot, by leaps and bounds this year. He is their only chance of making a run in the tournament to even the Sweet 16. Other than that, I think their main bigs Thomas and Zoubek are pretty useless, and Nolan Smith and that Elliot Williams kid are the only ones capable of scoring points. And they are a sophomore and true freshman respectively. If Henderson is off the first weekend and they run into a couple solid teams (i.e. Siena, VCU, St. Marys, etc in Round One and any Big East/ACC team, Purdue, etc in Round Two) they are going to be hard pressed to make it through the weekend. IMO the biggest keys to success in the NCAA tournament is strong guard play, particularly from the point, which Duke is obviously lacking at, and rebounding-where they struggle as well many nights. Don't count on them to advance to far in the tourny, no matter what their ranking nationally is at the time.

 

 

Can not argue with any of this. ACC teams like Florida State/Clemson/Wake Forest, hell even Miami/Maryland if by some unlikely chance get in have a better chance of seeing the 2nd week of the tournament then Duke does.

 

The only way I see Duke making a far run is like you said if Henderson plays lights out(which he can do) or they shoot over 50% from the 3pt line. Like you said, if they get an unfavorable matchup against a team like St Mary's or VCU in the first round they could get beat.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Paulus really stands for all that is wrong with Duke over the last 5-7 years or so. He is not athletic enough. Duke's team has not been athletic enough since the Elton Brand/Meggette days. How do you expect to ever beat North Carolina when Paulus is going head to head against a guy like Lawson. NC will win that matchup every time. Duke has been bounced out of the tournament lately by teams that are just more physical & athletic. It happened last year against West Virginia, it happened a few years ago against a low see VCU, it happened when they played LSU in the sweet 16 when LSU made their run to the final four. I remember the day the brackets came out that year one of the analysts said watchout if Duke runs into LSU in the sweet 16. Noway could they match their atheletes.

 

I mean Duke gets nice players, but they are too one dimensional. Guy Scheyer, Singular(sp), Paulus, these guys can not matchup against the big time athletes at schools like UNC/Uconn/Memphis. I do not know if coach K is scared of recruiting these types of athletes & then running the risk of losing them after 2 years or what. Henderson is the only guy on that team that is a true difference maker. If they are not hitting at least 50% from 3 point line they do not have a chance. They will not make it past the sweet 16 this year & I would not be surprised if they do not make it out of the first weekend.

 

Since when are Scheyer, Singler and Paulus not gifted athletes? Ok, they aren't as gifted as the likes of Hansbrough and Lawson, but you can't JUST compare them to UNC....and I really hope you aren't saying those things because those 3 players are white and Henderson is black. Singler is miles ahead of Henderson IMO.

 

And by the way, Duke doesn't take that many 3-pointers. They rank 66th in the country in 3-pointers attempted and only shoot at a clip of 33.9%. So if they rely so much on the 3-pointer, then why are they 25-6?

 

And no, I am not a Duke fan but you made an unfair characterization of their team. There is plenty of physical talent there.

[Gordio]

Since when are Scheyer, Singler and Paulus not gifted athletes? Ok, they aren't as gifted as the likes of Hansbrough and Lawson, but you can't JUST compare them to UNC....and I really hope you aren't saying those things because those 3 players are white and Henderson is black. Singler is miles ahead of Henderson IMO.

 

And by the way, Duke doesn't take that many 3-pointers. They rank 66th in the country in 3-pointers attempted and only shoot at a clip of 33.9%. So if they rely so much on the 3-pointer, then why are they 25-6?

 

And no, I am not a Duke fan but you made an unfair characterization of their team. There is plenty of physical talent there.

 

 

You think Singler is a better basketball player/athlete then Henderson? Have you even watched a Duke game this year? Paulus has no business running the point ona major college basketball team like Duke & Scheyer resembles the pure defination of a streak shooter. If he is on, he is valuable to the team, if he is off, like he was the whole month of Febuary, he is useless. Trust me, this has nothing to do with race.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

You think Singler is a better basketball player/athlete then Henderson? Have you even watched a Duke game this year? Paulus has no business running the point ona major college basketball team like Duke & Scheyer resembles the pure defination of a streak shooter. If he is on, he is valuable to the team, if he is off, like he was the whole month of Febuary, he is useless. Trust me, this has nothing to do with race.

 

Yes, I've watched plenty of Duke basketball this year. Maybe Henderson can jump higher than Singler and take the ball to the rim better, but Singler is simply a more polished basketball player. Henderson has a few moments each game that make you slap your forehead and say "what was he thinking?". Singler is versatile as a forward who has a good shot from the outside and he is far and away the most talented rebounder on the team, which has more than a little bit to do with the level of tenacity he plays with. Why do you think Henderson is better?

 

And I should be the one asking if you've even watched a Duke game, as you're the one who made the ridiculous assertion that they depend on the 3 ball to win.

[The Senator]

F__k Duke.

 

GO BIG RED!!!!

[buckeyemike]

No, the greatest college basketball program ever is UCLA under John Wooden.

 

10 titles in 12 years...that's never happening again.

 

The team I root for in the ACC is Wake Forest, so I despise BOTH Duke and UNC.

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

Yes, I've watched plenty of Duke basketball this year. Maybe Henderson can jump higher than Singler and take the ball to the rim better, but Singler is simply a more polished basketball player. Henderson has a few moments each game that make you slap your forehead and say "what was he thinking?". Singler is versatile as a forward who has a good shot from the outside and he is far and away the most talented rebounder on the team, which has more than a little bit to do with the level of tenacity he plays with. Why do you think Henderson is better?

 

And I should be the one asking if you've even watched a Duke game, as you're the one who made the ridiculous assertion that they depend on the 3 ball to win.

 

Henderson is MUCH better at creating on his own than Kyle Singler is, at both taking his guy off the dribble and finishing around the rim and creating his own jump shot opportunities off the deck. Henderson also grabs only two less rebounds per game than Singler from a guard spot on the floor, and he is 4-5 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than the "most talented rebounder on the team". Also, if you've really paid close attention to Duke this year, you'll know who they give the ball to in the closing minutes of tight games when they need points, and that's Henderson 90% of the time. And if you don't think Duke very much so lives and dies by the three-point shot, how about these numbers, Duke's three point FG percentage in their 6 losses this year: 21% (Michigan), 18% (Clemson), 23% (Wake Forest), 33% (North Carolina), 19% (Boston College), 38% (North Carolina). The two losses against UNC are the only games in that group where they even shot MARGINALLY from behind the arc. It really doesn't matter that they don't take quite as many threes as other teams in the country, it is still the most pivotal part of their game, and I think even they will admit that. With such a lack of a post presence of any form, how can it not be?

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

F__k Duke.

 

GO BIG RED!!!!

 

WE'RE GONNA BEAT THE HELL OUTTA YOU, ROUGH EM UP, F*CK EM UP GO CU!!!!!

 

LET'S GO RED! BRACKET BUSTERS!

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Henderson is MUCH better at creating on his own than Kyle Singler is, at both taking his guy off the dribble and finishing around the rim and creating his own jump shot opportunities off the deck. Henderson also grabs only two less rebounds per game than Singler from a guard spot on the floor, and he is 4-5 inches shorter and 20 pounds lighter than the "most talented rebounder on the team". Also, if you've really paid close attention to Duke this year, you'll know who they give the ball to in the closing minutes of tight games when they need points, and that's Henderson 90% of the time. And if you don't think Duke very much so lives and dies by the three-point shot, how about these numbers, Duke's three point FG percentage in their 6 losses this year: 21% (Michigan), 18% (Clemson), 23% (Wake Forest), 33% (North Carolina), 19% (Boston College), 38% (North Carolina). The two losses against UNC are the only games in that group where they even shot MARGINALLY from behind the arc. It really doesn't matter that they don't take quite as many threes as other teams in the country, it is still the most pivotal part of their game, and I think even they will admit that. With such a lack of a post presence of any form, how can it not be?

 

Ok, they shot poorly from outside when they lost. That's true of most teams that lose. If you want to prove that they "live and die" by the 3-pointer, you'd have to prove that they are a good 3-point shooting team when they win...something they are most certainly not. Again, their 3-point percentage on the season is just 34% (the top teams in the country hover around 42%). The part that I bolded is just ridiculous. That's like saying "I know they don't hit a lot of home runs, but it is still the most pivotal part of their game considering how few bases they steal." 3-pointers and posting up...those are the only facets of a basketball game? I'd argue the most pivotal part of their game is their defense, something which Henderson tends to struggle with more than the other guys.

 

Henderson averages 5.0 rebounds, while Singler averages 7.7 and they score almost exactly the same amount of points. And of course Henderson is the guy they give it to in crunch time, I already admitted that he's good at taking the ball to the rim, and that's what you look for to either score or draw a foul.

[The Senator]

WE'RE GONNA BEAT THE HELL OUTTA YOU, ROUGH EM UP, F*CK EM UP GO CU!!!!!

 

LET'S GO RED! BRACKET BUSTERS!

GO RED indeed. Big week for CU - I despise RPI too!

[Gordio]

Ok, they shot poorly from outside when they lost. That's true of most teams that lose. If you want to prove that they "live and die" by the 3-pointer, you'd have to prove that they are a good 3-point shooting team when they win...something they are most certainly not. Again, their 3-point percentage on the season is just 34% (the top teams in the country hover around 42%). The part that I bolded is just ridiculous. That's like saying "I know they don't hit a lot of home runs, but it is still the most pivotal part of their game considering how few bases they steal." 3-pointers and posting up...those are the only facets of a basketball game? I'd argue the most pivotal part of their game is their defense, something which Henderson tends to struggle with more than the other guys.

 

Henderson averages 5.0 rebounds, while Singler averages 7.7 and they score almost exactly the same amount of points. And of course Henderson is the guy they give it to in crunch time, I already admitted that he's good at taking the ball to the rim, and that's what you look for to either score or draw a foul.

 

& all I am trying to say is Duke's only chance to beat an elite team(UNC, Oklahoma, Memphis, Uconn, Lousiville, Pitt etc...) is if by some chance they shoot lights out from the three point line. They just do not have the athletes to compete & make long runs in the tournament the last 4-5 years.

 

Remember this conversation next weekend when Duke gets bounced out by some some 11-12 seed with a very good point guard & a few very physical, very good athletes on their team.

[IHFO]

I'm a Cuse fan. I hate Duke, but i respect Coach K. Duke is good year in and year out because Coach K is one of the best coaches in the history of basketball (NBA included). He often takes inferior talent and coaches them into a position to win.

I can only wish Jim Boeheim could take his super talented basketball team, get away from letting his players play street ball and not blow 10 point leads with 5 minutes to go in the game.

 

You also have the most ridiculous list of teams to root for. Giants? How can you root for the Giants and be a Bills fan?

Sry

 

Packers #1 grew up with Farve...always will be my favorite player

Giants # 2 passed the Bills this year actually because my best friend is a Giants fan and I watched alot of their games this year and they are what I wish the Bills were...

Bills are #3 I never became a Bills fan until they got Bledsoe..too young for the SB's I'm only 19 and I grew up with them losing all the time...so idk the only reason I follow the Bills is because I'm from WNY and my dad's a fan and I like to have pride in this area and the city of Buffalo when they do well so I root for them...but they aren't my favorite team

 

As dfor the others I love Duke...I grew up watching Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz on TBS..HUGE Braves fan..back to the playoffs this year..gonna pass the Muts they are going down hill and we are on the way back up...I was a Bulls fan with Jordan but he left and welll...so I liked Steve Nash and Nowitzki is my Fav player so I'm a Mavs fan now..I like Cuban I think he's a great owner who cares about his players and a man people want to play for. IDK whats so crazy about it..just because I live in NY doesn't mean I have to root for teams around here...I like Syracuse as well probably second fav college bball team..And I like Joe Pa and the Nittany Lions in Football

[bills_fan]

You're right on with this Gordio. Like you said, recruiting, and the kids they are bringing in throughout the process, has killed Duke for the better part of a decade now. Greg Paulus was NEVER good enough to run the point in the ACC, and would struggle to find any playing time on many teams in the major conferences. Scheyer is a streaky shooter, but that's about all he has, and if he goes cold on any given night he's pretty useless. Singler is a little more athletic and multi-dimensional than those two, but that doesn't matter to me personally because I can't stand looking at that guy's mug for 40 minutes. Sorry, my UNC bias came out a bit for a minute there . Gerald Henderson is a very good player, and has improved his overall game, especially his jumpshot, by leaps and bounds this year. He is their only chance of making a run in the tournament to even the Sweet 16. Other than that, I think their main bigs Thomas and Zoubek are pretty useless, and Nolan Smith and that Elliot Williams kid are the only ones capable of scoring points. And they are a sophomore and true freshman respectively. If Henderson is off the first weekend and they run into a couple solid teams (i.e. Siena, VCU, St. Marys, etc in Round One and any Big East/ACC team, Purdue, etc in Round Two) they are going to be hard pressed to make it through the weekend. IMO the biggest keys to success in the NCAA tournament is strong guard play, particularly from the point, which Duke is obviously lacking at, and rebounding-where they struggle as well many nights. Don't count on them to advance to far in the tourny, no matter what their ranking nationally is at the time.

 

 

As a big Duke fan I totally agree with this post and Gordio's assessment. K has backed off a lot of guys since the Magette fiasco and have not recruited the type of athlete that can win one-on-one battles at crunch time...guys like Grant Hill, Roshawn McCloud, Maggette, Jason Williams etc. Outside of Laettner and Brand, Duke has never had great bigs, just shot-blocker/space-eaters. Zoubek is fine for what he provides (provided he stays out of foul trouble), he was great until getting into foul trouble in the first Mich game at the Garden (the only live Duke game I saw all year). Watching on TV gives you a skewed perspective. The UNC games really show how far above Duke UNC is talent-wise. Duke needs more athletes. They will always get a decent big or two and some great shooters and scrappy points (even tho I am not a Paulus fan), the difference is when Duke recruits the true athletes that can dominate, which they can get, same as UNC/Kansas.

 

As for the 3 pointers, just compare and contrast the 2 Wake games, game 1 Duke shoots 4-22 and bombs (despite the bs close final score), game 2 8-23 and Duke rolls by 10. You can't just look at shooting percentages, they do not count how the 3 sets up Duke's halfcourt offense. When Duke is making 3's, the whole offense opens up for the halfcourt game of Henderson and Singler to a point.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

& all I am trying to say is Duke's only chance to beat an elite team(UNC, Oklahoma, Memphis, Uconn, Lousiville, Pitt etc...) is if by some chance they shoot lights out from the three point line. They just do not have the athletes to compete & make long runs in the tournament the last 4-5 years.

 

Remember this conversation next weekend when Duke gets bounced out by some some 11-12 seed with a very good point guard & a few very physical, very good athletes on their team.

 

Ok yes, against dominant physical teams their only chance is outside shooting. If that's the point you were trying to make all along, sorry for the misunderstanding. I thought you were trying to say that they used 3-point shooting as a crutch all year.

[IHFO]

No, the greatest college basketball program ever is UCLA under John Wooden

.

10 titles in 12 years...that's never happening again.

 

The team I root for in the ACC is Wake Forest, so I despise BOTH Duke and UNC.

didn't realize we were going with 12 years as the entire history of college bball haha

it was a historic run which will prob never be done again..but what have they done since? They have been very good lately the last few years but have nothing to show for it

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

GO RED indeed. Big week for CU - I despise RPI too!

 

Yeah, RPI sucks this year though, I'm not too worried. The one thing that concerns me is that the ECAC tourney is in Albany, which essentially makes it a home game for RPI.

[Lt. Dan's Revenge]

Ok, they shot poorly from outside when they lost. That's true of most teams that lose. If you want to prove that they "live and die" by the 3-pointer, you'd have to prove that they are a good 3-point shooting team when they win...something they are most certainly not. Again, their 3-point percentage on the season is just 34% (the top teams in the country hover around 42%). The part that I bolded is just ridiculous. That's like saying "I know they don't hit a lot of home runs, but it is still the most pivotal part of their game considering how few bases they steal." 3-pointers and posting up...those are the only facets of a basketball game? I'd argue the most pivotal part of their game is their defense, something which Henderson tends to struggle with more than the other guys.

 

Henderson averages 5.0 rebounds, while Singler averages 7.7 and they score almost exactly the same amount of points. And of course Henderson is the guy they give it to in crunch time, I already admitted that he's good at taking the ball to the rim, and that's what you look for to either score or draw a foul.

 

The part that you bolded was in response to the fact that you presented about the amount of three-point shots they take indicating that they don't live and die by the three. That isn't the only factor in the discussion by any means. Also, just because they do not shoot it at all that high of a clip on average doesn't mean that it isn't a huge key in whether or not they win games on a given night. There is a big difference between shooting 33-40% and shooting 15-23% like they have in the majority of the games they have lost. And I never said that their defense isn't a big part of what they do, nor did I say that 3-point shooting and posting up are the facets of basketball. However, when you have a complete and utter lack of a presence in the post, which I'm sure you can admit Duke has (And don't try to tell me Singler poses as that), you will have to rely on the three-point shot in games against teams that match up with you athletically across the floor. If you don't have a reliable inside game, and do not have the athletes to have success taking some teams off the dribble in a given game, then you have to rely on deep jumpshots. There isn't much of a choice. And if a flawed offensive team such as Duke just so happens to run cold from behind the arc, like has happened in I'd say 5 out of their 6 losses, then it is really going to be difficult to win. Like has already been mentioned to you, come back to this thread when Duke faces an athletic team with a decent post presence in the first 2 rounds, shoots 7/24 from beyond the arc, and gets bounced early yet again.