Blue Blood 3.0

We are less than two weeks away from The Battle for Tobacco Road: Round 1, and there couldn’t be a more exciting time of the year for Blue Devils and Tar Heels.

Right now, Duke and UNC seem to be at about the same level. Both have three losses, both have had their issues with defense exploited, while the two teams have hovered around each other in the rankings the entire season. Surprisingly enough, both teams lost to Florida State within the same week. Of course, UNC’s loss to FSU was MUCH worse than that of Duke’s, with a lot of controversy to boot.

For those who did not witness the end of the game, it seemed as if North Carolina was actually forfeiting with 14.2 seconds left on the clock. However, the intentions are in dispute. 

Here are the facts:

• Seminoles were primed to rush the court, as soon as the clock hit 0.0
• Roy Williams met with Leonard Hamilton at mid-court with 14.2 seconds left
• After a short conference, Roy Williams took his starters and bench players, and left the court.
• The walk-on, non-players for the North Carolina, were left behind to finish an embarrassing 33 point loss, while thousands of students rushed the court. Yes- LEFT BEHIND.

There was and is a lot of dispute over what the process of events was, and whose idea it was for UNC to leave early. But that’s not so significant; the fact is that it happened, Duke lost also to FSU so we can’t say much (yet), and now we’ve all moved on. Both teams are dealing with their share of injuries, as Duke’s point guard Quinn Cook battles a knee issue, while UNC’s Dexter Strickland joins Leslie McDonald on IR, with a torn ACL. Tough luck, Dex. However, the Tar Heels are still afforded the opportunity to start new shooting guard Reggie Bullock (former #10 recruit); not a huge deal. The Blue Devils remember Reggie Bullock for his bold talk, speaking how how badly he was going to dominate the Blue Devils last season. Define dominate? If you say so: 6.1 PPG, 36% FG. This Year- 8.4 PPG, 44% FG. Keep it up, moron.

The Blue Devils, losing at home for the first time in 45 games, rebounded last night with a solid pummeling of Maryland on the road. Duke rises to 5-1 in the conference, while UNC lacks at 3-1 with a game at home against NC State (easy win). Through 6 games in ACC play, the Blue Devils offense can be best described as unpredictable. But that’s not a bad thing; between Austin, Mason, and Andre, it seems one player rises to the occasion with at least a double-double, while the rest of the players fill in the stat sheet, handsomely. The same can be said for Syracuse- there’s not one key player on the team, but together, everyone plays a key role.

After UNC’s loss to FSU, some might say the Tar Heels are complacent. Despite their praise, their talent, and their stats, Chapel Hill has lately looked comfortable and unwilling to get their hands dirty. If I were Roy Williams, I would light a fire, and tell these boys that they’re going to have to sweat and scrap to achieve anything this season…..and then I’d leave them behind on the court like it’s 1999. I digress- Duke and North Carolina have pulled neck and neck. Points, rebounds, defense; it’s all in the same neighborhood.

It will be very interesting to see if the Heels and Devils clash against one another with the same record, as similar as they are now. Since North Carolina has struggled to live up to expectations, with the Blue Devils excelling to 4-1 against ranked opponents, one has to wonder if the Heels may be over-confident heading into February 8^th? We shall see. LET’S GO DUKE!

Krzyzewski, A Gentleman and Scholar

Jimmy Valvano at N.C. State, Dean Smith at UNC, and Pat Summitt at Tennessee. Coaches who have become commanding role models of their sport; famous for how deeply beloved they are, by their universities.   

Thanks to college football and the work of people such as Lane Kiffin and Urban Meyer, there has developed a misconception that just because someone is a coach of a legendary college program, respect is automatically deserved. The wins, the money, and the fans stadium have become the only thing relevant to those in power, in a sport poisoned by conference re-alignment. Thankfully, leaders of institutions such as those aforementioned give hope to those not impressed by million-dollar extensions. There are things much more important, such as philanthropy, ambition, and class. 

There is a very small group of figures in college sports who are so strongly associated with one university,  and at the same time so beloved for their work off the court, that they survive the test of time and of a losing season. In my hometown of Durham, North Carolina, Blue Devils are unanimous in their allegiance, respect, and love for coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Coach K, the winningest mens coach of all time, has won 4 national championships, a FIBA world championship, and most importantly the almighty Olympic gold medal. UNC will always have the indisputable argument, “We had Michael Jordan,” but since 2008 Duke can say, “The United States of America chose our coach, and not yours.” Krzyzewski became the first and only college basketball coach to coach the Men’s team in the Olympics; an honor capped by the re-gaining of superiority and the gold medal, after eight years of yearning and mediocrity. As impressive as his accomplishments are on the hardwood, his accomplishments off are arguably more so, as portrayed by his motto “I don’t want you armed for the game, I want you armed for life.”

It was announced on January 10^th, 2012, that Mike Krzyzewski will receive the second annual Wayman Tisdale Humanitarian Award. The award, first given to Dick Vitale in 2011, marks the accomplishments of someone involved with college basketball, who strives to make a positive difference in society. As a fan of the Blue Devils and of a man who truly is a humanitarian, I could not be happier for the winningest of all time. Not everything is about money, and piling up the wins; I believe that, and Coach K exemplifies it. His philanthropy extends to the Emily Krzyzewski Center (a community center in Durham named after his mother), the Duke Children’s Hospital, the Children's Miracle Network, and the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research (for which he is a board member). 

There are countless people who earn millions of dollars, and meanwhile they’re getting arrested or getting caught up in a scandal when they don’t even care. These people (Gilbert Arenas) do not deserve any of the fame and fortune they receive, but people like Mike Krzyzewski deserve 10 times as much, while they’re already giving what they have back to society.

K’s work and devotion to the welfare of his community, his players, and his family is an inspiration to myself and millions more. Someone like John Calipari abuses his coaching abilities by producing problematic, immature players such as John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, and Tyreke Evans; all one-and-dones (See where I’m going with this???). On the other hand, a coach like Krzyzewski grooms his players for impressive careers, and teaches them the utmost meaning of discipline, respect, and showmanship: Shane Battier, Grant Hill, Elton Brand. Duke players rise, fall, succeed, fail. While none of them are perfect, the reputations of anyone associated with Mike Krzyzewski are preceded by the decorum instilled in them by their coach.

I am honored to be a Duke fan, supporting the greatest program in college basketball, led by a giant and humanitarian. Never has he breached ethics, never has he endangered his university of players- it has been 32 years of pure delight. Delight, basketball, and passion. LETS-GO-DUKE.

Manning Takes Over Ole Miss

A year after the University of Mississippi made the revolutionary decision to change it's mascot to a black bear, Ole Miss has decided to make two resounding alterations within its athletic department.

On November 8th, 2011, Houston Nutt was forced out at Ole miss as Head Football Coach. On December 8th, 2011, Arkansas State's Hugh Freeze agreed to become the new Rebels head ball coach.

Now, on January 9th, 2012, a source close to Ole Miss has confirmed that Rebels alum and hero, Archie Manning, will be replacing Pete Boone as Athletic Director at the University of Ole Miss.

More to come.

Blue Blood 2.0

It’s a New Year. Good riddance to the horror-fest that was 2011.

Now that college basketball has been through a decent amount of games, it’s time to re-examine tobacco road. Since the last analysis, Duke was riding high, UNC was average, and 6 men on the court was still outlawed. Now, it seems it’s 2007, and the Blue Devils may not be who they think they are.

The Durham Thunder have fizzled since their thrilling triumph in Maui. After a rough pounding in Columbus, I said the team needs to wake up and realize their playing for one of the greatest teams in all of sports; not some mid-major struggling to make a name for itself. 2-1 against ranked opponents, the Blue Devils looked awful against the Temple Owls, going down 78-73. Our guards played soft defense the entire game (somewhat attributed to ridiculous foul calls), our three 6"11 posterizers were outrebounded by little boys, and Seth Curry made a case for being benched the rest of the season.

Duke committed 16 turnovers: a season high…conference play has not started yet. My living room took a beating as I watched Philadelphia referees call cheap fouls one after the other, and our guards play like frightened girls down in Bon Temps, LA. Here is the latest list of unacceptables:

UNACCEPTABLE:

• Seth Curry. This is not the guy who STUNNED UNC twice last year. Go find THAT guy!
• Only 3 Blue Devils attempted more than 5 field goals
• Out rebounded by a team with ONLY TWO forwards (6”9, 6”6)
• 16 turnovers. UN-FREAKIN-ACCEPTABLE for DUKE basketball, this is John Calipari territory!
• Losing to a mediocre team, in a mediocre atmosphere, when you are #3 in the country.
  

Last year, Seth Curry went insane and hit up North Carolina for 20 points a game (3 times). This year, Seth has looked scared, clueless, and absolutely passionless. Someone needs to bench him, and make him watch tape of Shane Battier, Wojociechowski, and Elton Brand; he’ll see what playing with heart looks like. This is not a rant because of a loss- this is a rant over being 0-2 on the road, and our second consecutive embarrassing loss to a team that matters.

8 miles south, UNC has been as good as exceptional as they should. That is to say, they’re exceptionally better than the cream puffs they've played, therefore they've won big. The only true blemish on their record is the upset loss to UNLV; the 73-72 loss to Kentucky means nothing. Two giants stood back to back, and one of them was only 1 inch taller. This is irrelevant; a complete coin-toss. With all the talent on both teams, realistically, they are as equally great as were LSU-Alabama in The Game of the Century.

The Duke Blue Devils seem to be where they were in 2007: starting off the season loaded with great, young, inexperienced talent. Assuming leadership, immediately after losing the greatest players in the country (Nolan, Kyrie, Kyle). The ’07 Devils finished with 9 losses; the most since the 1995-1996 team, who had 11 losses. On the other hand, the Tar Heels are loaded with talent, seasoning, and experience- the perfect trifecta. However, these Tar Heels lack leadership, and at times motivation. John Henson & the gang want to win and can do so in dominating fashion, but they have got to get better at going for the jugular.

Furthermore, North Carolina has taken the lead on Tobacco Road, ahead of Duke. Chapel Hill knows how to use its working parts; they’re gelling, and they play so well because they are having fun doing their thing. Duke- you have to get your heads together. Seth has to want to win, Ryan has to want to have the rock, and MP2 has to finish on the rim. That’s the game.