Go Duke!-beat Carolina

[Fairfax Bird]

Probably because he isn't a senior.

Alright, I have officially given up on the Nelson thing. He is an overachiever.

[Sports Guy]

You're not going to believe me when i say this, but I actually like Paulus quite a bit, I think he's the perfect point guard. I think most anti Duke people just hate him in the way they hated Wojo, Collins, and Hurley...He's a far better player than Wojo and Collins, and would be as good as Hurley if he had the team around him that Bobby did.

I have alot of respect for Paulus. He took alot of sh!t this year and he has really rebounded. He has worked to become a better defender and a much better shooter.

He is turning it over too much but that has improved as well. He will be the team leader the next 2 years and my guess is he will be a first time all ACC player before he leaves school.

[beaner]

I have alot of respect for Paulus. He took alot of sh!t this year and he has really rebounded. He has worked to become a better defender and a much better shooter.

He is turning it over too much but that has improved as well. He will be the team leader the next 2 years and my guess is he will be a first time all ACC player before he leaves school.

Agreed...i added to the last thing I wrote and talked about McRoberts...If he had Hansbrough's heart he's be the best player in the country.

[Sports Guy]

Agreed...i added to the last thing I wrote and talked about McRoberts...If he had Hansbrough's heart he's be the best player in the country.

It is the one thing you can't scout. It is the one thing you can't measure..Heart...Desire.

McRoberts has all the talent in the world but he has to want it. He has to get that killer instinct.

There have been many players, throughout all sports, who had great talent but lacked the desire.

Look at Battier...Battier was a talented player but McRoberts is more skilled than Shane was. But Battier was a great leader and had incredible desire.

[beaner]

It is the one thing you can't scout. It is the one thing you can't measure..Heart...Desire.

McRoberts has all the talent in the world but he has to want it. He has to get that killer instinct.

There have been many players, throughout all sports, who had great talent but lacked the desire.

Look at Battier...Battier was a talented player but McRoberts is more skilled than Shane was. But Battier was a great leader and had incredible desire.

Battier and Hansbrough are both great examples. McRoberts is way more skilled than either but just doesn't have the desire, or so it would seem.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Maybe he just doesn't like it...Not sure.

There's a very simple answer for this, Duke's a victim of its own recruiting success. When you get the top 1-2 rated players at each position year in year out, good but not great players have a choice to make, come off the bench at Duke, or be a starter elsewhere. It's an easy decision.

Best case scenario for you guys is to have your blue chippers staggered at each position. When one starter is about to graduate or leave for the NBA, bring in the next McD's AA so that he only has to come off the bench for one year. Of course its a tricky game predicting who will leave when.

Another solution seems to be getting hard workers who have their own niche. A rebounding big man, a pesky defender, a 3 point specialist who can handle the point, etc. They won't be the most highly touted if their games aren't complete, but mixing them into the game one at a time won't hurt, and would keep the starters legs fresher for the NCAAs.

[EddieO's21]

I think what is even more amazing is that Duke ended up with a 7 seed in the ACC tourney! Man, who would have seen that coming. Can't say that I am sad though...

[Nuclear Dish]

I didn't watch the game. I'm not a Hansborough fan. I actually can't stand the guy.

But after watching the replays, there is NO DOUBT in my mind it was an intentional, flagrant foul delivered by Henderson. Even Coach K mentioned in his post game interview that it was unfortunate the players were in the game. [Translation - Why in the hell is Hansborough in the game with a 14 point lead and only 15 seconds left in the game.]

Perhaps Henderson didn't intend to break his nose, but he did intend to flagrantly foul him. Spin it however you want, but Coach K was sending a message to Roy and Tyler.

I say... Message received loud and clear!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2787890&sportCat=ncb

This article says it all.

Dirty? Maybe not. Did he intend to hurt? No. But he intended a hard, flagrant foul, and when you intend that, sometimes people get hurt. The ejection was therefore justified, and the suspension is therefore by rule automatic.

Why was TH in the game? Because Ratface was still calling timeouts with 50 seconds left down by 13 and still had pieces of his core 5 in the game (Henderson is the equivilent of a starter once McRoberts and Paulus are fouled out). If dook wants to throw in the towel, Carolina will gladly remove its core players too. Until then, we play on.

And besides, there was a sub at the scorer's table waiting to go in for Hans, so blame Frasor for missing the FT.

But ultimately, the best thing about this article is the theme behind it. dook not only lost the basketball game; they also lost in the image game.

Message sent? No, I think not. If anything, they managed to fire up a team that tends to coast at times. If I were dook (and what a horrific thought that is), I wouldn't want any part of Carolina any time soon.

[Nuclear Dish]

UNC has now won 3 out 4 to Duke, so they are playing them well the last 2 years(although that stops next year).

But, where did losing 18 of 21 to them rank(now 18 of 23)?

Uh, that would be 3 in a row and 4 of 5. We beat you guys the last regular season game 2 years ago also.

I recall Carolina taking 16 of 17 from 1972-1977. And 10 of 12 from 1980-1984. And 9 of 10 from 1993-1998.

In fact, if I'm not mistaken, from Jan. 1, 1967 to March 3, 1984 Carolina won went 38-12 (.760) against dook. Extend it out to February 5, 1998 and Carolina went 58-26 (.690) over a 31-year stretch.

Oh, and then there's this: 126-96 (.568) overall

So wake me up when you've got a case.

[Ruzious]

That is an excellent article - ND. It made my point better than I did. Some folks don't seem to comprehend that there is an area between intentional and unintentional. There are probably better words to describe it, but I call it wreckless. And when wreckless happens and somebody gets hurt, there's gotta be a punishment... a severe punishment.

And the article shows that Coach K is part of the problem - that he most likely encouraged the wreckless play:

Then, rather shamefully, Krzyzewski fired a subtle but unmistakable shot right back at Roy Williams. After saying all the right things, he had to say one catty thing.

(There was only so much falling upon the sword Coach K could tolerate, right there in the Dean Dome after getting his head handed to him. Taking the high road is always easier when you're beating Carolina on a regular basis, which Duke isn't doing anymore.)

"The game was over before that," he said. "I mean the outcome of the game, let's put it that way. That's unfortunate, too, that those people were in the game in that play. Maybe this wouldn't have happened."

[Dr. FLK]

Why was TH in the game? Because Ratface was still calling timeouts with 50 seconds left down by 13 and still had pieces of his core 5 in the game (Henderson is the equivilent of a starter once McRoberts and Paulus are fouled out). If dook wants to throw in the towel, Carolina will gladly remove its core players too. Until then, we play on.

And besides, there was a sub at the scorer's table waiting to go in for Hans, so blame Frasor for missing the FT.

I like how Coach K almost didn't blame someone else, and then he just couldn't resist. The whole quote about "that those people were in the game" just seems uncalled for. It's not like it was 25 point game. And, maybe Coach K should remember that he came back from a double digit lead in 50 seconds against the Terps. So, just because he feels like quitting doesn't make the game over.

And, while we're on the subject of Coach K quitting...when they played the Terps this year, he sat on the bench motionless- down by only 7 with 30 seconds or more on the clock. And, in this game, now he's mad that Roy didn't quit because he wanted to. Maybe he should stop having pity parties at the end of games and finish the thing?

Maybe I read too much into that quote, but it sure sounds like "Gerald fouled him hard because we are mad starters were in" to me.

[Sports Guy]

Ok guys seriously, TH was in the game, with a 13 point lead, with 14.5 seconds left. No one is coming back from that.

He shouldn't have been in there. What if he had gone up for the rebound, came down awkwardly and blew out his knee? I bet ND and beaner would complain he was out there then.

Now, i do agree that Henderson was going to committ a hard foul but that is part of the game and there is no reason to chastize him for that.

[rolliefingers]

Ok guys seriously, TH was in the game, with a 13 point lead, with 14.5 seconds left. No one is coming back from that.

He shouldn't have been in there. What if he had gone up for the rebound, came down awkwardly and blew out his knee? I bet ND and beaner would complain he was out there then.

Now, i do agree that Henderson was going to committ a hard foul but that is part of the game and there is no reason to chastize him for that.

After watching the replay several times, I think Henderson was going for the block, which he would have had if the ball hadn't been deflected already. I don't really see how it was even intentional, much less malicious.

(K's subtle dig at the press conference does put some doubt in my mind, though.)

[Flosman]

Ok guys seriously, TH was in the game, with a 13 point lead, with 14.5 seconds left. No one is coming back from that.

He shouldn't have been in there. What if he had gone up for the rebound, came down awkwardly and blew out his knee? I bet ND and beaner would complain he was out there then.

Now, i do agree that Henderson was going to committ a hard foul but that is part of the game and there is no reason to chastize him for that.

Well I for one do not think less of him because of the hard foul. However I have no problem with the ejection and the suspension. It was a hard intentional foul, it lead to an injury, the line needs to be drawn somewhere. If there are not penalties for things like this then it becomes a free for all. Sure it sucks for him and Duke but it is what it is. I would be saying the same thing if one of the Treps were in the same situation. I am not saying I would like it, but it is not unfair either. It is unlucky that Henderson caught him in the Nose. The purpose of rules like this and the enforcement is to discourage actions just like this or worse.

[Ruzious]

Ok guys seriously, TH was in the game, with a 13 point lead, with 14.5 seconds left. No one is coming back from that.

He shouldn't have been in there. What if he had gone up for the rebound, came down awkwardly and blew out his knee? I bet ND and beaner would complain he was out there then.

True, and if Coack K had said that, that would have been fine. But he didn't. Instead, his whining comments imply that he thought an intentionally hard foul was appropriate.

Now, i do agree that Henderson was going to committ a hard foul but that is part of the game and there is no reason to chastize him for that.

But there is good reason to suspend him.