Just two days after we squeaked by 15 seed Belmont on a Gerald Henderson coast to coast, we face 7 seed West Virginia in round 2 of the NCAAs. My heart is racing 100 mph. After that uncharacteristic first round performance (all other 2 seeds won with relative ease), we have gotten the usual reassurances: that this is in no way indicative of how Duke will fare the rest of the way, that Belmont played out of their minds, played loose, the crowd was cheering for them, our coach was sick (104 temperature!) and at least some of the players were also coughing afterwards (DeMarcus Nelson), and that we are still hungry, fresh, and confident. All good words. Bobby Knight: “the way [Belmont] moves, cuts, they can play with anybody. They played the game of basketball very very well.” Dickie V: “Duke found a way to win. As Jimmy V would say, ‘survive and advance’. Duke needed to win 6 games in this tournament? Now they’ve only got to win 5.” Even better.
Ok, so now we’re set for round 2, we’re gonna kick some butts, and we’re gonna show everyone how Duke basketball is played. G is doing some high jumps before the jump ball, a very good omen. They get first possession – oh, a lucky roll on their first shot! On our first shot . . well, we turn it over. Nelson makes a risky baseline drive to give to Kyle on the opposite end, aaaaand . . he steps on the line. Oooo-kay? Boy, Kyle looks bewildered. Wow, they’re getting some very good looks on their possessions – taking Singler right into the lane? Just not finishing. G with a missed 3. WHAT??? Nelson turns it over??? Traveling?
Ok, calm down, calm down. We still have 39 minutes left to play. This is not exactly a 1 seed, guys . . relax, have some patience. I need some fresh air already. OH, FINALLY! SOME POINTS! And it’s our gritty point guard, Greg Paulus, who gets the screen from Lance and fires off the THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-4, 17:36.
OH NELSON! There’s our senior leader!!! Looks to pass . . nobody open . . Singler points to a spot . . and he takes it in himself, lowering that muscular shoulder, driving, driving – then elevating strongly for beautiful right hook. And we take the lead! That is not to be taken for granted anymore. 5-4, 17:00.
Oh, GREAT call. Great call, officials. Wellington Smith with a solid immovable wall on Paulus, just drops him stone cold to the ground as Nichols coasts by, and the whistle comes immediately. A chorus of throaty boos descend upon Smith as the possession arrow swiftly goes the other way (at least, I hope they’re booing Smith, and NOT Greg – you can never tell with these anti-Duke crowds). So Smith gets a free pass to the bench with 2 early fouls – do not pass Go, do not collect $200 – as Huggins argues in vain. Greg nods vigorously to his teammates’ questions of ‘are you ok?’.
In the slight cloud of chaos that ensues – Greg is dribbling innocently out on the right side – eyes the basket – and somehow G is left completely alone – and you know what that means! OLE OLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALLEY-OOP FOR GERALD HENDERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW-EEEE! “Superior athletic ability!”
Haha!!!!! DUKE IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Singler with the hand-off, and Greg just runs to his spot and fires, hand in his face and all – AND HITS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bottom of the net, baby!!!! He’s excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pump ‘em up, y’all!!!!! C’mon, cheer for your Duke Blue Devils!!!! 10-0 run!!!!
Whoa. Huggy Bear with some foul words during a timeout, and is hit with a technical. Damn! Just give the game to us, why don’tcha? So Scheyer comes off the bench and enters the game, and with not a second gone by, snags 2 points. 12-4, 15:36. “Well, Bob Huggins is certainly known to be an intense coach. And maybe his team needs something to get their fire started.” Sure, alright . . bring it on.
Some teeth-gnashing, as Paulus finds a cutting Lance Thomas with a perfect threading pass – but Thomas can’t finish!!!! You’re 1 inch away, dude! FINISH! Zoubek with the alert offensive board – but can’t muscle his way against Smalligan, shuffles his feet, and it’s all over. Turnover. Can one of our guards please always be available by his side, so that he can dump it off before being whistled for the inevitable TO? Kinda like a personal assistant? Just an idea. That ball is kinda valuable.
Wow, great defense from Paulus! Nichols shakes Paulus off, but when the pass soars overhead to a cutting Nichols, Paulus sprints his way over and puts up both hands up high, using his body and his strength to push back against Nichols and stand his ground – and force the turnover! Radical!!!!!
Shoot. Scheyer drives into the lane, finds his path cut off, and gets whistled for the turnover. Nice try though. Sweet! Duke’s defense is looking SOLID. 35 seconds of solid, solid work. When Joe Alexander drives – with Singler on him – G rotates over to help, and the two of them pin him down almost on top of the baseline, with G easily blocking his shot attempt. Hell, if it worked against Hansborough, it’s gonna be fool-proof against you. Smalligan squirrels for the loose ball, but the shot clock continues to run, and though they swing it around for a 3 point shooter . . it clanks off the rim, and the clock expires. Thank you for playing – next!
The lane opens up for Nolan, and he licks his chops while taking it all the way – but gets fouled. Knocks down both free throws, for a 10 point lead! 14-4, 14:06, and we’ve held WVU scoreless for 4 full minutes now. They suddenly realize that too, and comes roaring back to life, reeling off 4 quick points, including one off an inbounds play that is quite breathtaking. But we respond right back with defense turning into offense. Singler with a great play to leap up and alter a shot, then grab the loose ball out of the air. Scheyer runs it up the court, looks to shoot, and Alexander looks overmatched, trying to guess where the quicker Scheyer will go and then jumps into the air, boxing Scheyer’s shoulder as he comes down and promptly getting the whistle. As Scheyer snickers and steps up to the free throw line, the announcers applaud that “this foul Alexander had on Scheyer was a real foul. He deserves to go to the line.” Oh, ok, thanks. Yeah, as opposed to the imaginery fouls that we so often must contend with. Unreal. 16-8, 12:35.
Oh, Paulus, Paulus, Paulus!!!! He gets elbowed in the face and drops down to the ground, but no whistle – they race the ball away from our full court pressure like a bottle rocket, gets it in the hands of the always-dangerous Alexander for 3 – nope! – but they grab the rebound too – and here comes Paulus to slap it away! A STEAL! And quick as lightening, he’s off to the other end, G running with him, ALL FIVE WVU guys chasing after him, a pack of bloodhounds chasing one lonely fleet little fox with the ball. Crap – fastbreak too fast! And the ball slips away/is slapped away and out of bounds. Grrrrrrrr.
ANOTHER STEAL! G this time, and now it’s in the backcourt, where we have more of a head start. Singler is the running mate this time, and G sends him the bounce pass – fouled! Da’Sean Butler with his 2nd. “This is going to test the creativity of Bob Huggins on the sidelines.” Yeah, I hear WVU has a thin bench? Good luck with that, dude. We are perfect on the charity stripe so far, 8 for 8, as we once again grab a 10 point lead, 18-8, 12:02.
WVU goes small, with Joe Mazzulla at the controls, and it works like heck. They make a 7-0 run to cut it down to 18-15 in a hurry, with Alexander in there making a 3 point play and a beautiful finger roll as he got past Thomas in the lane. The cheering for them gets louder and louder. Uh oh, Singler with his 2nd foul, guarding Alexander, 10:00. David McClure comes in for him. Hmm, so far, LT has been unsuccessful, Z’s still not ready for primetime, and Singler with 2 fouls. Can McClure do better?
King all alone in the corner! But no – first shot is short. Maybe too wide open? Awww, Paulus with the drive and floater! Iron will! YAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KING!!!!!!!! This time, when Paulus finds him in the corner again – he fakes the 3, takes his defender off balance, then takes 2 dribbles inside the circle and snags a difficult, 15 foot jumper from the elbow. “Mr. Greenlight!” I am liking this cushion that we have once again: 24-17, 8:01.
“I tell you what, Duke’s defense is so good. I can’t imagine the difference between Thursday and this one. They are denying the first pass . . WVU already has 2 guys in foul trouble, Smith and Butler, 2 very athletic forwards.” I tell you what, our offense is pretty darn good too. Hee hee, G with the long loping stride, has the rebound, wants to try that coast to coast thing again – but oh! Blocked? Hit the rim? Lance with a nice post-up move! AND NELSON! Just when Scheyer looked to be in trouble on the far right wing, pinned down by 1 and now 2 defenders – Nelson flashes into the paint, receives the pinpoint pass from Jon, waits calmly for his defender to excuse himself by flying out of bounds, and then easily ratchets up for the deuce.
“Look at how tired West Virginia is. 4 guys and it took 8 seconds to bring the ball upcourt.” And as Mazzulla tries to cut and trips himself up trying to reach for the pass that zips out of bounds, “when you are fatigued, you make mistakes like that. The normal rotation is off sync with Butler and Smith with 2 fouls each.” Singler, with 2 fouls, checks back into the game.
OH, pretty! Scheyer is so crafty! He knows he wants to find Singler, but he’s such a threat himself to score that they all key in on him, and as he dribbles, waits, tangles a bit with the ball on the free throw line . . he finds the opportune moment for Singler to wiggle free, and then BAM! The pass, the catch, and the release. Boom, boom, boom! Layup, and we’re done. Gorgeous.
Boy, look at Alexander work! Their 3 pointer again is off the mark – but Alexander is right under the basket, and he somehow grabs the rebound. Alarmed, both Singler and McClure front him, trying to shove him out of bounds, both hands up high – but Alexander just pushes, pushes, his eyes peering straight up for the slightest seam to get that shot off. And it goes! “He should get FIVE POINTS for that effort!” Well! He is pretty damn good, isn’t he?
Scheyer answers right back with an authoritative baseline drive and 7 footer. His first points from the floor? Wow. 34-27, 1:17 left, and Paulus with the ball dribbles casually over to Coach K for a word and a shamrock shake, some magic words, then crosses the line and lets the ball dribble by itself as he crosses his arms and yells said words to his teammates. Hmm, wonder what they are connotating? A 3 by Scheyer. No good. Ball falls right into the hands of Paulus! Who lets it fly for another 3 point try. Awww – nope, no good either. Is that 2 for 9 now on threes??? When we started off so hot? They run the other way and Scheyer fouls Butler. 34-29. Then we throw it away??? Damn! Paulus gets caught up in the air and finds no one to throw it too. They run the other way . . scramble for the loose ball . . out of bounds . . to WVU. 2.8 seconds left – and they can’t hit from 3. Phew! 34-29 halftime.
Second half: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! G with another DUNK-A-THON! Way to start off the half! And this one courtesy of Lance Thomas, who feeds Gerald in the post, with just one defender on him – never, never enough – and he elevates for the DUNK! “Henderson starts the second half with a slam and a look. Did you see the look?” You mean the “how’d you like that!” look? Oh, I wish I could see it.
WVU is 0-8 when they are trailing at the half. Nice. Oh, a STEAL by Singler! Nelson grabs it and runs – but can’t finish! That’s 2 close ones now that he’s been unable to finish. Still, I like this game very much. Whoever said WVU can’t be turned over? Hmmm, and now Nelson, all alone in the corner, can’t hit the three. We’ve been having some tremendously, startlingly OPEN looks on 3s today . . just can’t knock them down! If we did, we’ll be up 12 or 15 rather than just 7 right now; our defense is that good. Wonder what’s wrong?
WOW. GREAT D by Duke! 35 seconds of running WVU in circles, trying to find openings, and they make a pass here, a look there, no one getting open even a hair – and finally they take a drive, but it is way, way too late, with the buzzer sounding as the shot is desperately heaved up. Nope. Doesn’t count. Better luck tomorrow! “Credit Duke! It looks like they’ve got 7 guys out there right now.”
Then on the other end – we do not look much better – but we do wind up with 2 offensive boards! Nelson is looking, looking, G looks too, but neither can find a clean path to the goal, and finally Nelson gets to the elbow and tries a floater – no! But Lance with the board! Henderson tries a baseline jumper – no! But Singler amongst a pack of guys grabs the board – and is bodily fouled. That’s 3 on Smith.
Uh oh. Airball three from G? Who worked so hard to get open! I mean, nobody was within 10 feet of him! Then they race down court for a transition 3, and it’s danger time. 37-34, 16:03, and the place is going bonkers. We are 2 of 11 from 3 point land, which is a nightmare. And Nelson, knowing that he must answer the call, that he must somehow find a way of penetrating into the lane no matter what the odds – finds it cut off and turns around . . turnover. Crap! You can see the frustration all over his face. 2 of 9 shooting so far for him? Bully.
SHHHIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 35 seconds of GREAT defense, and then the dagger! Ruoff is pinned down in the far corner by Scheyer almost to the point of the bench – and he has to toss up a hopeless three – but it hits! GODDAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 37-37 tie???????? They get a miracle shot when we can’t hit for our life, even if left WIDE OPEN????? Arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!! At least it’s only 15:03, still plenty of time left.
Alarm bells are ringing in Gerald Henderson’s head. He takes it personally, and drives to the basket with only one goal in mind – ATTACK. Ugh, he’s fouled. But boy, when he steps up to the free throw line and misses the first – the cheers that erupt from the pro-underdog crowd now seethes at him. Taking a deep breath . . he lines up the second, and makes it. But already the announcers are turning against them, pulling now for the underdog too, calling Duke “rattled” by WVU’s transition threes. That is “three”, thank you. Singular, not plural. But now on their end, with every bit of momentum on their side – Alexander slips by Singler and gets a clear lane to the goal, and G tries to block it – but gets called for the foul instead. Count the basket! 3 point play again by their golden boy Alexander! “Boy, has the emotion in this building FLIP-FLOPPED!!” the announcers roar with glee. As the thunderous applause rains down upon the Mountaineers. Relax, Devils. Feed off that hatred. Imagine they are Carolina. We will wear them down. 38-40, 14:38.
Oh no. In the caldron of emotion right now, WVU, overeager, feeling it, hopping up and down, commits 2 fouls in a row on Singler and G to disrupt our offense. Off the 3rd reset – Nolan does a drive-by – but misses! Singler is there for the key rebound – but NO! Push-off! FOUL! Crap! 3rd on Kyle! Then on the other end – Scheyer exacts revenge, draws a charge from Ruoff – his 3rd. “Nobody wants to go home!” The announcers cry over the noise.
Singler drives on Alexander – but is BLOCKED! The cameras capture Alexander talking smack to the freshman as well – but WHY is Singler getting blocked on every drive he attempts nowadays???? Is it because he’s lost his foot speed? Oh, Scheyer with a beautiful pull-up jumper! Smooth as butter! Ties it up, 40-40, 13:25 to go. DAMN! Alexander gets free from McClure, and hits a THREE! Then – Nelson is BLOCKED! By Alexander! This dude is everywhere!
Oh, no, no, no – Singler with his fourth foul??????? 12:43 still left? C’mon! You know they’re calling every stupid little thing! Arrrrgghh!
SHIT. But the trouble does not end there. Nolan cannot hit the 1 and 1. They grab every offensive board known to man, and they make their bonus attempts too. 40-45, Scheyer is now at the point, advancing up the ball, we need to stop the bleeding – but, WTF? Whistle? LANCE?????? Awww, offensive foul? And as the ball swings quickly the other way – the crowd is just baying for blood, their throaty roars drowning out the frustrated looks on the Duke players’ faces. This cannot be it. This cannot be our last stand. If our 3s aren’t falling, then attack! attack! and attack! They are calling every single thing, WVU is in foul trouble, and you have to take advantage of that! They are not deep. If you can get Mr. Golden Boy over here in foul trouble, or get Smith off the floor too, then at least we may be able to wear them down. And Nelson. You’ve got to try harder. By that I mean less forcing shots and dropping that shoulder, and more using all your wiles and all your 4 years of experience to help us out. You know that we suck when you don’t come to play? Oh oh oh . . and then they blow right through our defense for a layup. Classic. 40-47, and Coach K has seen enough. Timeout, Duke, 11:43.
There it is. Smith with his 4th foul, 11:04. But we don’t capitalize. I mean – C’MON! You get two timeouts, and you come out of them with nothing better than Paulus trying back-to-back long threes? To run our tally up to 2 for 13? That’s our answer?
Nice! Nelson with the rebound, is immediately double-trapped and shrink-wrapped down against the baseline, gets so frustrated waiting for the whistle to blow that he leaps into the air and bounces that ball hard out of bounds off the WVU player. There. Now go to hell.
THERE IT IS! 3rd foul on Alexander! And it was Scheyer, doing what he’s been doing better and better nowadays, driving into the lane and then finishing despite a whack on the arm from Alexander. AND ONE! Oh, Greg hugs him! The Duke section standing up and cheering for him! That was our first bucket since – god, when? 4 min ago? 43-47, 9:23.
Whoa . . Nelson is only 3 for 16 today????? That is beyond morbid. Makes 1 of 2 at the line . . and then on the other end, picks up 2 fouls in a hurry. Shit. That Mazzulla kid too quick for him? A frustrated, shut-down Nelson is NEVER good for our team. 44-51, 8:36, and the bleeding continues. If we somehow win, with these kind of numbers? It’ll be nothing short of a miracle.
Awwww, G! G answers with a quicksilver baseline drive – and REVERSE! Awesome! Then Lance quickly reverses that smile off our face with a foul on Alexander, trying to tie him up. Uh, no – that’ll be a reach-in. Three on Lance. Shit – everything is going WVU’s way. Everything. If they’d wanted a genie in a bottle, they would get that too. Alexander only makes 1 of 2 at the line? No prob-lemo. They’ll just grab the offensive board. LANCE!!!!!!! C’MON! Foul #4 on you? Do you WANT to go home?????
So now Kyle must come back in, earlier than what Coach K wanted. Let’s hope to God that he does not foul out. This is not a good strategy. We are cold from 3 point land – woefully, bewilderingly, disgustingly so – so what do we do? Shoot some more threes?????? Oh, let’s!! Nelson with one. Cling! Scheyer with one. Cling! Singler is in there – can we please get him a touch or two before he inevitably fouls out? We have missed 13 consecutive shots from beyond the arc! Please grab a score sheet the next time you want to chat with your coach and read up!
Hey, G with a great STEAL! Tries to save it in vain but can’t, as it flies out of bounds. Great, great effort though. It’s a weird noise level right now: a mix of “Let’s Go, Duke!” commingling with boos. The Duke section behind the bench is on their feet, clapping and cheering, trying to rally the Blue Devils on, but it’s a small contingent by far.
Can we cut this s**** out????? No one wants to drive, so Paulus takes yet another long three – and once again, it’s short. “Tired legs,” the announcers say ominously. This is starting to look like Illinois in the 2005 championship final, so stymied by Carolina’s big inside presence that they prayed to God to bail them out with threes. It didn’t work then, and – despite WVU not having any kind of similar inside presence – it’s not working out now. We’ve never made a comeback without hitting our 3s. Never. And now with every tick of the clock winding down . . and with no appearance from the Blue Devils in changing their ways – I am sagging deeper and deeper into the couch. They are about to shoot themselves out of this tournament. Not just this ballgame – but this tournament, this great Madness of March, this whole season. Nelson will end his career with 3 alarmingly bad games. The whole team will end this season with 3 terrible games from beyond the arc. And it will be to a 5 seed, a 15 seed, and a 7 seed. Embarrassing. Do you not even want a crack at 3 seed Xavier? At 1 seed UCLA? . . . Kyle?
Remember how giddy everyone was when the brackets came out? Giggling with glee at the thought of sidestepping such intense 3 seeds as Louisville and Stanford, then smiling when Xavier had to fight for its life against 14 seed Georgia? Remember? That was all of 6 days ago. How can you tell me now . . that we’re already done? In none of our dreams, did we dare imagine this. Down 46-54 to a 7 seed with 5:43 left, and seeing no hope. None.
Because WVU is now laughing at us. Yet ANOTHER backdoor??????? The antidote to our pressure D!$&@#*&*$#%! Heartbreaking! Then – a backbreaking three by Ruoff! It’s over. It is clearly over. 49-60???????? And, now, finally, the notion of rescuing ourselves by our 3s are kaput. G drives!! Promptly gets fouled. WVU is very smart, fouling G every time he gets anywhere near the basket to stop our momentum and confidence. If he’s our only hope – and he starts getting frustrated at not being able to finish – then we have no hope of making a comeback. Heehee! Lance is frowning like a demon right now from the bench. Glad to see some anger from him – though why does it NEVER translate onto the court? 51-60, 4:23.
Oh Jesus Christ. Perfect timing. With such a commanding lead, WVU plays stallball, and though we defend our tails off, they grab offensive boards like they have magnetized paws, hogging an entire minute and then some of our precious clock to themselves. It is beyond over at this point. I mean – we are hopelessly being outrebounded, 26-43. No turnover advantage whatsoever. 3 point shooting down the drain. And the most frustrating thing is that it’s not like WVU is a brilliant club that’s doing anything spectacular defensively. It’s us that’s the problem. Those are WIDE OPEN shots. They’re just not going down! And then, on top of that, we take some more long jumpshots, with no offensive boards in sight if we miss. I just . . I don’t know what to say. It is so, so heartbreaking. If the team that you love goes out of the tournament . . then I could care less, frankly, what any other team does. The whole beauty of March just goes right down the tubes.
I think desperation calls for desperation, don’t you think? Zone? Full court pressure? Zoubek? We are down ELEVEN. How are we gonna get back into it without 3 point shooting? HOW????????
Oh no. Another foul on Duke. More points for them to build onto their lead. And they don’t miss a thing from the line. When he hears the whistle, G covers his face with his hands in despair. But look! Look at Kyle with a nifty spin move in the lane and a double-pump to draw the foul, the 4th on Alexander! NICE!!! Can he leave the game now, please? Singler at the line, but we’re still down 51-64, 2:50 left.
Full court pressure now – but they beat it pretty easily with high passes, looking to run away from us for an easy bucket – but OH! Ill-adviced decision to reverse it out, trying to milk the clock – and Scheyer with the STEAL! G knows what to do with it – push, push, push! – and after his heroics in the Belmont game, they are not going to let him finish one iota. Fouled, on his way to the bucket. Well, bye bye Da’Sean Butler. You’re gone.
But Gerald does not make a single free throw. Meanwhile, the shortest guy on the floor, Mazzulla, gets his mitts on his 150th rebound, and Paulus fouls him. Of course, he makes both free throws. Oh, finally. About 10 minutes too late. G with a three pointer that finally goes in. So there is no moving basket, huh? It really is there? 55-66, right back to where we started, oh, 5 min ago. But now, there’s just 1:54 left. No chance in hell. Timeout to drag out the pain a little bit more.
The crowd is on their feet. They play keep-away, and Paulus is forced to foul. And now Nelson comes off the floor from his final career game. To the stinging ring of cheers for the opponent in his ears. Terrible day. Terrible shooting. Terrible performance for him. But Greg is still on the floor, still fighting. Races up the court and drills a three from the top of the key, 25 feet out, in about 4 seconds flat. Very thankful for that, but we are still parked at 58-68, 55 seconds left.
Ok, so now the 3 point shots fall? How cruel is fate? Nolan with another one, despite a hand in his face. A forced turnover. A nice offensive put-back. But yeah, it’s over. 67-73, no quit in the end to at least close the gap a little in the score, but . . it is way, way too late. So. The Belmont scare was not an anomaly. The NC State scare was not an anomaly. The Clemson loss . . this loss . . 5 losses in our last 11. All not aberrations. The bench gave us no lift. Mazzulla had a career game for them. Kyle with some untimely fouls that really limited him . . and oh, oh – DeMarcus Nelson. The look on his face, as he walked the post-game line, was just – awful. Blank. Almost expressionless, closed off – but wrestling with monumental hurt and disbelief. I want to cry. But I can’t. I won’t. These kids played their hearts out today. They really wanted to prove something. But the shots just did not fall. And the rebounding differential: a heartbreaking 27-47. This, when the other team was not a big team at all. Not by far. O, my kingdom for a center!
Oh, you know the vultures are circling in already. The lion has fallen. Doug Goettieb on ESPN News: “Stunning? Is it really stunning? I think there’s several levels to this. Since winning the championship in 2001, Duke has yet to be a top 4 seed (talent-wise). Whether its because of recruiting, or players leaving early . . ” WVU players, as reported by The New York Times, when told there’s 8 McDonald’s All-Americans on the Duke roster: “Really? Who???” The headline on SI.com: “Down Goes Duke”. And I don’t even want to touch the boards.
I understand the concern. This is our second quick exit in 2 years now, and this year was especially puzzling because we had such a red-hot start, 22-1, 10-0 in the conference. Usually after a loss I can write an entire term paper on why we lost and what we need to do better. But, this one? Our very last game? Let me just say that no other game this year has so prepared me for the bitter result at the end than this one. I could see it from a mile away. I knew it by the 8 minute mark. And thus, I’m not as bitter/angry/sad as I usually am when we lose. I don’t feel like dissecting it too much either. I’m just going to let it go.
Watching the post-game presser . . my God, the look on G’s face . . or the 2 seconds I could see of it, he had it down for the majority of the time. Here was our hero from the Belmont game, and he could not even lift his head to face the reporters. It was so heartbreaking. And suddenly, I didn’t care anymore. I mean . . who cares how they got all those rebounds? Who cares about strategy, rotation, who should’ve played over whom . . .
Our season is over. It’s the worst feeling in the world. And I have nothing but thanks for our players. To see Gerald, with so much talent, not even look up from the podium . . C’mon. Let him go. Just – let this one go. We don’t need to dissect it to death. It’s fine. It’s a game, and it should stay that way.
My heart goes out to DeMarcus Nelson, our senior captain. Thank you for leading the team to a most memorable, 28-6 season – and good luck, on whatever you do in the future. I am sure you'll make it to the NBA!
Ok, so now we’re set for round 2, we’re gonna kick some butts, and we’re gonna show everyone how Duke basketball is played. G is doing some high jumps before the jump ball, a very good omen. They get first possession – oh, a lucky roll on their first shot! On our first shot . . well, we turn it over. Nelson makes a risky baseline drive to give to Kyle on the opposite end, aaaaand . . he steps on the line. Oooo-kay? Boy, Kyle looks bewildered. Wow, they’re getting some very good looks on their possessions – taking Singler right into the lane? Just not finishing. G with a missed 3. WHAT??? Nelson turns it over??? Traveling?
Ok, calm down, calm down. We still have 39 minutes left to play. This is not exactly a 1 seed, guys . . relax, have some patience. I need some fresh air already. OH, FINALLY! SOME POINTS! And it’s our gritty point guard, Greg Paulus, who gets the screen from Lance and fires off the THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-4, 17:36.
OH NELSON! There’s our senior leader!!! Looks to pass . . nobody open . . Singler points to a spot . . and he takes it in himself, lowering that muscular shoulder, driving, driving – then elevating strongly for beautiful right hook. And we take the lead! That is not to be taken for granted anymore. 5-4, 17:00.
Oh, GREAT call. Great call, officials. Wellington Smith with a solid immovable wall on Paulus, just drops him stone cold to the ground as Nichols coasts by, and the whistle comes immediately. A chorus of throaty boos descend upon Smith as the possession arrow swiftly goes the other way (at least, I hope they’re booing Smith, and NOT Greg – you can never tell with these anti-Duke crowds). So Smith gets a free pass to the bench with 2 early fouls – do not pass Go, do not collect $200 – as Huggins argues in vain. Greg nods vigorously to his teammates’ questions of ‘are you ok?’.
In the slight cloud of chaos that ensues – Greg is dribbling innocently out on the right side – eyes the basket – and somehow G is left completely alone – and you know what that means! OLE OLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALLEY-OOP FOR GERALD HENDERSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW-EEEE! “Superior athletic ability!”
Haha!!!!! DUKE IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Singler with the hand-off, and Greg just runs to his spot and fires, hand in his face and all – AND HITS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bottom of the net, baby!!!! He’s excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pump ‘em up, y’all!!!!! C’mon, cheer for your Duke Blue Devils!!!! 10-0 run!!!!
Whoa. Huggy Bear with some foul words during a timeout, and is hit with a technical. Damn! Just give the game to us, why don’tcha? So Scheyer comes off the bench and enters the game, and with not a second gone by, snags 2 points. 12-4, 15:36. “Well, Bob Huggins is certainly known to be an intense coach. And maybe his team needs something to get their fire started.” Sure, alright . . bring it on.
Some teeth-gnashing, as Paulus finds a cutting Lance Thomas with a perfect threading pass – but Thomas can’t finish!!!! You’re 1 inch away, dude! FINISH! Zoubek with the alert offensive board – but can’t muscle his way against Smalligan, shuffles his feet, and it’s all over. Turnover. Can one of our guards please always be available by his side, so that he can dump it off before being whistled for the inevitable TO? Kinda like a personal assistant? Just an idea. That ball is kinda valuable.
Wow, great defense from Paulus! Nichols shakes Paulus off, but when the pass soars overhead to a cutting Nichols, Paulus sprints his way over and puts up both hands up high, using his body and his strength to push back against Nichols and stand his ground – and force the turnover! Radical!!!!!
Shoot. Scheyer drives into the lane, finds his path cut off, and gets whistled for the turnover. Nice try though. Sweet! Duke’s defense is looking SOLID. 35 seconds of solid, solid work. When Joe Alexander drives – with Singler on him – G rotates over to help, and the two of them pin him down almost on top of the baseline, with G easily blocking his shot attempt. Hell, if it worked against Hansborough, it’s gonna be fool-proof against you. Smalligan squirrels for the loose ball, but the shot clock continues to run, and though they swing it around for a 3 point shooter . . it clanks off the rim, and the clock expires. Thank you for playing – next!
The lane opens up for Nolan, and he licks his chops while taking it all the way – but gets fouled. Knocks down both free throws, for a 10 point lead! 14-4, 14:06, and we’ve held WVU scoreless for 4 full minutes now. They suddenly realize that too, and comes roaring back to life, reeling off 4 quick points, including one off an inbounds play that is quite breathtaking. But we respond right back with defense turning into offense. Singler with a great play to leap up and alter a shot, then grab the loose ball out of the air. Scheyer runs it up the court, looks to shoot, and Alexander looks overmatched, trying to guess where the quicker Scheyer will go and then jumps into the air, boxing Scheyer’s shoulder as he comes down and promptly getting the whistle. As Scheyer snickers and steps up to the free throw line, the announcers applaud that “this foul Alexander had on Scheyer was a real foul. He deserves to go to the line.” Oh, ok, thanks. Yeah, as opposed to the imaginery fouls that we so often must contend with. Unreal. 16-8, 12:35.
Oh, Paulus, Paulus, Paulus!!!! He gets elbowed in the face and drops down to the ground, but no whistle – they race the ball away from our full court pressure like a bottle rocket, gets it in the hands of the always-dangerous Alexander for 3 – nope! – but they grab the rebound too – and here comes Paulus to slap it away! A STEAL! And quick as lightening, he’s off to the other end, G running with him, ALL FIVE WVU guys chasing after him, a pack of bloodhounds chasing one lonely fleet little fox with the ball. Crap – fastbreak too fast! And the ball slips away/is slapped away and out of bounds. Grrrrrrrr.
ANOTHER STEAL! G this time, and now it’s in the backcourt, where we have more of a head start. Singler is the running mate this time, and G sends him the bounce pass – fouled! Da’Sean Butler with his 2nd. “This is going to test the creativity of Bob Huggins on the sidelines.” Yeah, I hear WVU has a thin bench? Good luck with that, dude. We are perfect on the charity stripe so far, 8 for 8, as we once again grab a 10 point lead, 18-8, 12:02.
WVU goes small, with Joe Mazzulla at the controls, and it works like heck. They make a 7-0 run to cut it down to 18-15 in a hurry, with Alexander in there making a 3 point play and a beautiful finger roll as he got past Thomas in the lane. The cheering for them gets louder and louder. Uh oh, Singler with his 2nd foul, guarding Alexander, 10:00. David McClure comes in for him. Hmm, so far, LT has been unsuccessful, Z’s still not ready for primetime, and Singler with 2 fouls. Can McClure do better?
King all alone in the corner! But no – first shot is short. Maybe too wide open? Awww, Paulus with the drive and floater! Iron will! YAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KING!!!!!!!! This time, when Paulus finds him in the corner again – he fakes the 3, takes his defender off balance, then takes 2 dribbles inside the circle and snags a difficult, 15 foot jumper from the elbow. “Mr. Greenlight!” I am liking this cushion that we have once again: 24-17, 8:01.
“I tell you what, Duke’s defense is so good. I can’t imagine the difference between Thursday and this one. They are denying the first pass . . WVU already has 2 guys in foul trouble, Smith and Butler, 2 very athletic forwards.” I tell you what, our offense is pretty darn good too. Hee hee, G with the long loping stride, has the rebound, wants to try that coast to coast thing again – but oh! Blocked? Hit the rim? Lance with a nice post-up move! AND NELSON! Just when Scheyer looked to be in trouble on the far right wing, pinned down by 1 and now 2 defenders – Nelson flashes into the paint, receives the pinpoint pass from Jon, waits calmly for his defender to excuse himself by flying out of bounds, and then easily ratchets up for the deuce.
“Look at how tired West Virginia is. 4 guys and it took 8 seconds to bring the ball upcourt.” And as Mazzulla tries to cut and trips himself up trying to reach for the pass that zips out of bounds, “when you are fatigued, you make mistakes like that. The normal rotation is off sync with Butler and Smith with 2 fouls each.” Singler, with 2 fouls, checks back into the game.
OH, pretty! Scheyer is so crafty! He knows he wants to find Singler, but he’s such a threat himself to score that they all key in on him, and as he dribbles, waits, tangles a bit with the ball on the free throw line . . he finds the opportune moment for Singler to wiggle free, and then BAM! The pass, the catch, and the release. Boom, boom, boom! Layup, and we’re done. Gorgeous.
Boy, look at Alexander work! Their 3 pointer again is off the mark – but Alexander is right under the basket, and he somehow grabs the rebound. Alarmed, both Singler and McClure front him, trying to shove him out of bounds, both hands up high – but Alexander just pushes, pushes, his eyes peering straight up for the slightest seam to get that shot off. And it goes! “He should get FIVE POINTS for that effort!” Well! He is pretty damn good, isn’t he?
Scheyer answers right back with an authoritative baseline drive and 7 footer. His first points from the floor? Wow. 34-27, 1:17 left, and Paulus with the ball dribbles casually over to Coach K for a word and a shamrock shake, some magic words, then crosses the line and lets the ball dribble by itself as he crosses his arms and yells said words to his teammates. Hmm, wonder what they are connotating? A 3 by Scheyer. No good. Ball falls right into the hands of Paulus! Who lets it fly for another 3 point try. Awww – nope, no good either. Is that 2 for 9 now on threes??? When we started off so hot? They run the other way and Scheyer fouls Butler. 34-29. Then we throw it away??? Damn! Paulus gets caught up in the air and finds no one to throw it too. They run the other way . . scramble for the loose ball . . out of bounds . . to WVU. 2.8 seconds left – and they can’t hit from 3. Phew! 34-29 halftime.
Second half: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! G with another DUNK-A-THON! Way to start off the half! And this one courtesy of Lance Thomas, who feeds Gerald in the post, with just one defender on him – never, never enough – and he elevates for the DUNK! “Henderson starts the second half with a slam and a look. Did you see the look?” You mean the “how’d you like that!” look? Oh, I wish I could see it.
WVU is 0-8 when they are trailing at the half. Nice. Oh, a STEAL by Singler! Nelson grabs it and runs – but can’t finish! That’s 2 close ones now that he’s been unable to finish. Still, I like this game very much. Whoever said WVU can’t be turned over? Hmmm, and now Nelson, all alone in the corner, can’t hit the three. We’ve been having some tremendously, startlingly OPEN looks on 3s today . . just can’t knock them down! If we did, we’ll be up 12 or 15 rather than just 7 right now; our defense is that good. Wonder what’s wrong?
WOW. GREAT D by Duke! 35 seconds of running WVU in circles, trying to find openings, and they make a pass here, a look there, no one getting open even a hair – and finally they take a drive, but it is way, way too late, with the buzzer sounding as the shot is desperately heaved up. Nope. Doesn’t count. Better luck tomorrow! “Credit Duke! It looks like they’ve got 7 guys out there right now.”
Then on the other end – we do not look much better – but we do wind up with 2 offensive boards! Nelson is looking, looking, G looks too, but neither can find a clean path to the goal, and finally Nelson gets to the elbow and tries a floater – no! But Lance with the board! Henderson tries a baseline jumper – no! But Singler amongst a pack of guys grabs the board – and is bodily fouled. That’s 3 on Smith.
Uh oh. Airball three from G? Who worked so hard to get open! I mean, nobody was within 10 feet of him! Then they race down court for a transition 3, and it’s danger time. 37-34, 16:03, and the place is going bonkers. We are 2 of 11 from 3 point land, which is a nightmare. And Nelson, knowing that he must answer the call, that he must somehow find a way of penetrating into the lane no matter what the odds – finds it cut off and turns around . . turnover. Crap! You can see the frustration all over his face. 2 of 9 shooting so far for him? Bully.
SHHHIIIITTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 35 seconds of GREAT defense, and then the dagger! Ruoff is pinned down in the far corner by Scheyer almost to the point of the bench – and he has to toss up a hopeless three – but it hits! GODDAMN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 37-37 tie???????? They get a miracle shot when we can’t hit for our life, even if left WIDE OPEN????? Arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!!! At least it’s only 15:03, still plenty of time left.
Alarm bells are ringing in Gerald Henderson’s head. He takes it personally, and drives to the basket with only one goal in mind – ATTACK. Ugh, he’s fouled. But boy, when he steps up to the free throw line and misses the first – the cheers that erupt from the pro-underdog crowd now seethes at him. Taking a deep breath . . he lines up the second, and makes it. But already the announcers are turning against them, pulling now for the underdog too, calling Duke “rattled” by WVU’s transition threes. That is “three”, thank you. Singular, not plural. But now on their end, with every bit of momentum on their side – Alexander slips by Singler and gets a clear lane to the goal, and G tries to block it – but gets called for the foul instead. Count the basket! 3 point play again by their golden boy Alexander! “Boy, has the emotion in this building FLIP-FLOPPED!!” the announcers roar with glee. As the thunderous applause rains down upon the Mountaineers. Relax, Devils. Feed off that hatred. Imagine they are Carolina. We will wear them down. 38-40, 14:38.
Oh no. In the caldron of emotion right now, WVU, overeager, feeling it, hopping up and down, commits 2 fouls in a row on Singler and G to disrupt our offense. Off the 3rd reset – Nolan does a drive-by – but misses! Singler is there for the key rebound – but NO! Push-off! FOUL! Crap! 3rd on Kyle! Then on the other end – Scheyer exacts revenge, draws a charge from Ruoff – his 3rd. “Nobody wants to go home!” The announcers cry over the noise.
Singler drives on Alexander – but is BLOCKED! The cameras capture Alexander talking smack to the freshman as well – but WHY is Singler getting blocked on every drive he attempts nowadays???? Is it because he’s lost his foot speed? Oh, Scheyer with a beautiful pull-up jumper! Smooth as butter! Ties it up, 40-40, 13:25 to go. DAMN! Alexander gets free from McClure, and hits a THREE! Then – Nelson is BLOCKED! By Alexander! This dude is everywhere!
Oh, no, no, no – Singler with his fourth foul??????? 12:43 still left? C’mon! You know they’re calling every stupid little thing! Arrrrgghh!
SHIT. But the trouble does not end there. Nolan cannot hit the 1 and 1. They grab every offensive board known to man, and they make their bonus attempts too. 40-45, Scheyer is now at the point, advancing up the ball, we need to stop the bleeding – but, WTF? Whistle? LANCE?????? Awww, offensive foul? And as the ball swings quickly the other way – the crowd is just baying for blood, their throaty roars drowning out the frustrated looks on the Duke players’ faces. This cannot be it. This cannot be our last stand. If our 3s aren’t falling, then attack! attack! and attack! They are calling every single thing, WVU is in foul trouble, and you have to take advantage of that! They are not deep. If you can get Mr. Golden Boy over here in foul trouble, or get Smith off the floor too, then at least we may be able to wear them down. And Nelson. You’ve got to try harder. By that I mean less forcing shots and dropping that shoulder, and more using all your wiles and all your 4 years of experience to help us out. You know that we suck when you don’t come to play? Oh oh oh . . and then they blow right through our defense for a layup. Classic. 40-47, and Coach K has seen enough. Timeout, Duke, 11:43.
There it is. Smith with his 4th foul, 11:04. But we don’t capitalize. I mean – C’MON! You get two timeouts, and you come out of them with nothing better than Paulus trying back-to-back long threes? To run our tally up to 2 for 13? That’s our answer?
Nice! Nelson with the rebound, is immediately double-trapped and shrink-wrapped down against the baseline, gets so frustrated waiting for the whistle to blow that he leaps into the air and bounces that ball hard out of bounds off the WVU player. There. Now go to hell.
THERE IT IS! 3rd foul on Alexander! And it was Scheyer, doing what he’s been doing better and better nowadays, driving into the lane and then finishing despite a whack on the arm from Alexander. AND ONE! Oh, Greg hugs him! The Duke section standing up and cheering for him! That was our first bucket since – god, when? 4 min ago? 43-47, 9:23.
Whoa . . Nelson is only 3 for 16 today????? That is beyond morbid. Makes 1 of 2 at the line . . and then on the other end, picks up 2 fouls in a hurry. Shit. That Mazzulla kid too quick for him? A frustrated, shut-down Nelson is NEVER good for our team. 44-51, 8:36, and the bleeding continues. If we somehow win, with these kind of numbers? It’ll be nothing short of a miracle.
Awwww, G! G answers with a quicksilver baseline drive – and REVERSE! Awesome! Then Lance quickly reverses that smile off our face with a foul on Alexander, trying to tie him up. Uh, no – that’ll be a reach-in. Three on Lance. Shit – everything is going WVU’s way. Everything. If they’d wanted a genie in a bottle, they would get that too. Alexander only makes 1 of 2 at the line? No prob-lemo. They’ll just grab the offensive board. LANCE!!!!!!! C’MON! Foul #4 on you? Do you WANT to go home?????
So now Kyle must come back in, earlier than what Coach K wanted. Let’s hope to God that he does not foul out. This is not a good strategy. We are cold from 3 point land – woefully, bewilderingly, disgustingly so – so what do we do? Shoot some more threes?????? Oh, let’s!! Nelson with one. Cling! Scheyer with one. Cling! Singler is in there – can we please get him a touch or two before he inevitably fouls out? We have missed 13 consecutive shots from beyond the arc! Please grab a score sheet the next time you want to chat with your coach and read up!
Hey, G with a great STEAL! Tries to save it in vain but can’t, as it flies out of bounds. Great, great effort though. It’s a weird noise level right now: a mix of “Let’s Go, Duke!” commingling with boos. The Duke section behind the bench is on their feet, clapping and cheering, trying to rally the Blue Devils on, but it’s a small contingent by far.
Can we cut this s**** out????? No one wants to drive, so Paulus takes yet another long three – and once again, it’s short. “Tired legs,” the announcers say ominously. This is starting to look like Illinois in the 2005 championship final, so stymied by Carolina’s big inside presence that they prayed to God to bail them out with threes. It didn’t work then, and – despite WVU not having any kind of similar inside presence – it’s not working out now. We’ve never made a comeback without hitting our 3s. Never. And now with every tick of the clock winding down . . and with no appearance from the Blue Devils in changing their ways – I am sagging deeper and deeper into the couch. They are about to shoot themselves out of this tournament. Not just this ballgame – but this tournament, this great Madness of March, this whole season. Nelson will end his career with 3 alarmingly bad games. The whole team will end this season with 3 terrible games from beyond the arc. And it will be to a 5 seed, a 15 seed, and a 7 seed. Embarrassing. Do you not even want a crack at 3 seed Xavier? At 1 seed UCLA? . . . Kyle?
Remember how giddy everyone was when the brackets came out? Giggling with glee at the thought of sidestepping such intense 3 seeds as Louisville and Stanford, then smiling when Xavier had to fight for its life against 14 seed Georgia? Remember? That was all of 6 days ago. How can you tell me now . . that we’re already done? In none of our dreams, did we dare imagine this. Down 46-54 to a 7 seed with 5:43 left, and seeing no hope. None.
Because WVU is now laughing at us. Yet ANOTHER backdoor??????? The antidote to our pressure D!$&@#*&*$#%! Heartbreaking! Then – a backbreaking three by Ruoff! It’s over. It is clearly over. 49-60???????? And, now, finally, the notion of rescuing ourselves by our 3s are kaput. G drives!! Promptly gets fouled. WVU is very smart, fouling G every time he gets anywhere near the basket to stop our momentum and confidence. If he’s our only hope – and he starts getting frustrated at not being able to finish – then we have no hope of making a comeback. Heehee! Lance is frowning like a demon right now from the bench. Glad to see some anger from him – though why does it NEVER translate onto the court? 51-60, 4:23.
Oh Jesus Christ. Perfect timing. With such a commanding lead, WVU plays stallball, and though we defend our tails off, they grab offensive boards like they have magnetized paws, hogging an entire minute and then some of our precious clock to themselves. It is beyond over at this point. I mean – we are hopelessly being outrebounded, 26-43. No turnover advantage whatsoever. 3 point shooting down the drain. And the most frustrating thing is that it’s not like WVU is a brilliant club that’s doing anything spectacular defensively. It’s us that’s the problem. Those are WIDE OPEN shots. They’re just not going down! And then, on top of that, we take some more long jumpshots, with no offensive boards in sight if we miss. I just . . I don’t know what to say. It is so, so heartbreaking. If the team that you love goes out of the tournament . . then I could care less, frankly, what any other team does. The whole beauty of March just goes right down the tubes.
I think desperation calls for desperation, don’t you think? Zone? Full court pressure? Zoubek? We are down ELEVEN. How are we gonna get back into it without 3 point shooting? HOW????????
Oh no. Another foul on Duke. More points for them to build onto their lead. And they don’t miss a thing from the line. When he hears the whistle, G covers his face with his hands in despair. But look! Look at Kyle with a nifty spin move in the lane and a double-pump to draw the foul, the 4th on Alexander! NICE!!! Can he leave the game now, please? Singler at the line, but we’re still down 51-64, 2:50 left.
Full court pressure now – but they beat it pretty easily with high passes, looking to run away from us for an easy bucket – but OH! Ill-adviced decision to reverse it out, trying to milk the clock – and Scheyer with the STEAL! G knows what to do with it – push, push, push! – and after his heroics in the Belmont game, they are not going to let him finish one iota. Fouled, on his way to the bucket. Well, bye bye Da’Sean Butler. You’re gone.
But Gerald does not make a single free throw. Meanwhile, the shortest guy on the floor, Mazzulla, gets his mitts on his 150th rebound, and Paulus fouls him. Of course, he makes both free throws. Oh, finally. About 10 minutes too late. G with a three pointer that finally goes in. So there is no moving basket, huh? It really is there? 55-66, right back to where we started, oh, 5 min ago. But now, there’s just 1:54 left. No chance in hell. Timeout to drag out the pain a little bit more.
The crowd is on their feet. They play keep-away, and Paulus is forced to foul. And now Nelson comes off the floor from his final career game. To the stinging ring of cheers for the opponent in his ears. Terrible day. Terrible shooting. Terrible performance for him. But Greg is still on the floor, still fighting. Races up the court and drills a three from the top of the key, 25 feet out, in about 4 seconds flat. Very thankful for that, but we are still parked at 58-68, 55 seconds left.
Ok, so now the 3 point shots fall? How cruel is fate? Nolan with another one, despite a hand in his face. A forced turnover. A nice offensive put-back. But yeah, it’s over. 67-73, no quit in the end to at least close the gap a little in the score, but . . it is way, way too late. So. The Belmont scare was not an anomaly. The NC State scare was not an anomaly. The Clemson loss . . this loss . . 5 losses in our last 11. All not aberrations. The bench gave us no lift. Mazzulla had a career game for them. Kyle with some untimely fouls that really limited him . . and oh, oh – DeMarcus Nelson. The look on his face, as he walked the post-game line, was just – awful. Blank. Almost expressionless, closed off – but wrestling with monumental hurt and disbelief. I want to cry. But I can’t. I won’t. These kids played their hearts out today. They really wanted to prove something. But the shots just did not fall. And the rebounding differential: a heartbreaking 27-47. This, when the other team was not a big team at all. Not by far. O, my kingdom for a center!
Oh, you know the vultures are circling in already. The lion has fallen. Doug Goettieb on ESPN News: “Stunning? Is it really stunning? I think there’s several levels to this. Since winning the championship in 2001, Duke has yet to be a top 4 seed (talent-wise). Whether its because of recruiting, or players leaving early . . ” WVU players, as reported by The New York Times, when told there’s 8 McDonald’s All-Americans on the Duke roster: “Really? Who???” The headline on SI.com: “Down Goes Duke”. And I don’t even want to touch the boards.
I understand the concern. This is our second quick exit in 2 years now, and this year was especially puzzling because we had such a red-hot start, 22-1, 10-0 in the conference. Usually after a loss I can write an entire term paper on why we lost and what we need to do better. But, this one? Our very last game? Let me just say that no other game this year has so prepared me for the bitter result at the end than this one. I could see it from a mile away. I knew it by the 8 minute mark. And thus, I’m not as bitter/angry/sad as I usually am when we lose. I don’t feel like dissecting it too much either. I’m just going to let it go.
Watching the post-game presser . . my God, the look on G’s face . . or the 2 seconds I could see of it, he had it down for the majority of the time. Here was our hero from the Belmont game, and he could not even lift his head to face the reporters. It was so heartbreaking. And suddenly, I didn’t care anymore. I mean . . who cares how they got all those rebounds? Who cares about strategy, rotation, who should’ve played over whom . . .
Our season is over. It’s the worst feeling in the world. And I have nothing but thanks for our players. To see Gerald, with so much talent, not even look up from the podium . . C’mon. Let him go. Just – let this one go. We don’t need to dissect it to death. It’s fine. It’s a game, and it should stay that way.
My heart goes out to DeMarcus Nelson, our senior captain. Thank you for leading the team to a most memorable, 28-6 season – and good luck, on whatever you do in the future. I am sure you'll make it to the NBA!
