Most demoralizing Duke moment ever?

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
So thankfully it is sounding like it isn’t serious, but was Zion’s injury the most demoralizing moment in Duke history? I’m trying to think of anything else that would qualify, and the closest I can get isn’t even a Duke injury, but rather the Kevin Ware injury. But this player, on this stage, right at the start, as big a game as i can remember... is there anything worse than it? (Note: I mean moment. Obviously his injury overall doesn’t look as serious as Kyrie or Harry.). Am I forgetting one?
 

dbav

All-American
Mar 14, 2014
8,042
5,875
0
Good lord. It was a loss after a young team didn't recover from a psychological hit at the beginning of a game. It was our 3rd loss of a season where we have a handful of wins against top 10/ranked teams.

The most demoralizing moment? I think a number of posters on here could use some perspective. It's kids playing basketball.

He sprained his knee. Life moves on. He'll likely play again. It's basketball!
 

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
Good lord. It was a loss after a young team didn't recover from a psychological hit at the beginning of a game. It was our 3rd loss of a season where we have a handful of wins against top 10/ranked teams.

The most demoralizing moment? I think a number of posters on here could use some perspective. It's kids playing basketball.

He sprained his knee. Life moves on. He'll likely play again. It's basketball!

Right, nobody is saying it is as bad as my wife's cancer diagnosis.

And I specifically wasn't talking about the eventual outcome of the injury (hence me mentioning it not looking that bad.)

But within the context of a Duke basketball forum, and within the context of an in-game MOMENT, not a game outcome, is it the worst?

I might agree with Thurman. I hated that moment. But at least there were still some seconds of hope...?

Can't agree with UConn, because that was a GAME... there wasn't a single moment where it was like "Oh god."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Duke Blu

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
The Louisville game in 2013 certainly had a similar feeling. I remember thinking that I didn't even care about the game anymore at that point.

That was the only one I could think of, in terms of a single moment... that just absolutely ended the game in some ways. And its strange that the most UGH moment I could think of not including last night didnt even involve a Duke injury, but I suppose it is more about the emotion and not the actual event?
 

dukedevilz

Heisman
Apr 3, 2002
15,637
19,600
0
That was the only one I could think of, in terms of a single moment... that just absolutely ended the game in some ways. And its strange that the most UGH moment I could think of not including last night didnt even involve a Duke injury, but I suppose it is more about the emotion and not the actual event?

I think so. I was really amped-up for the Louisville game in 2013 - and the game last night. And then you see something devastating like a traumatic injury or a fall in the opening minute of the biggest regular season game. All of those excited emotions instantly leave you and you feel kind of empty inside.
 

youngman42

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2003
6,787
1,339
0
I think that far and away the most demoralizing loss in Duke history was the 1999 title game. Duke was so dominant and should have won.

Last night was truly disappointing though.

However, can you imagine if you were one of those who paid $2000 plus to see the game and Zion goes out only 30 seconds into the game?

The whole air left the building. The crazies and everyone just seemed deflated.
 

dukiejay

Heisman
Mar 2, 2005
11,293
16,311
0
Losses to end a season certainly sting most, but I don't think that's exactly was Dude was asking.

Heck, when Kyrie got hurt, it wasn't believed to be all that serious. But it just went on, and on, and on.

I'll say this....I haven't felt like I felt last night during a Duke game in a long, long time. It's hard to even put into words what I was feeling.
 

IPSYCHOSIS

All-Conference
Dec 22, 2016
4,095
1,828
0
Losses to end a season certainly sting most, but I don't think that's exactly was Dude was asking.

Heck, when Kyrie got hurt, it wasn't believed to be all that serious. But it just went on, and on, and on.

I'll say this....I haven't felt like I felt last night during a Duke game in a long, long time. It's hard to even put into words what I was feeling.
Wasn’t even close to what he was asking....:rolleyes:
 

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
Losses to end a season certainly sting most, but I don't think that's exactly was Dude was asking.

Heck, when Kyrie got hurt, it wasn't believed to be all that serious. But it just went on, and on, and on.

I'll say this....I haven't felt like I felt last night during a Duke game in a long, long time. It's hard to even put into words what I was feeling.

Yeah, it is that "in the moment" moment, like you said at the end. I can't remember one like the one last night, because of when it happened in terms of how far into the game, what game it was, what hype there was for this particular game, WHO it happened to... all of it.

Kyrie actually came back in the game after he got hurt. It definitely wasn't looking as bad as it was... even when they said "turf toe" people thought it would be fine soon. How'd THAT turn out?
 

bleediteveryday30

All-American
Jan 24, 2013
7,778
9,491
0
Definitely in the game moment I can not think of anything other than, as others have stated, the Louisville game in '13. Which didn't happen to us. But it changed the game and I knew in my gut we weren't winning. Last night the same thing happened. I no longer cared about the game. Only cared that Zion was going to be alright. I am still in that mode as of right now. Just want the young man to be okay moving forward.
 

BeerPoisoning

Senior
Feb 17, 2019
1,260
980
0
Losing to Carolina makes me just as upset as everyone else. Assuming it’s a mild sprain and he returns to action, I wouldn’t even consider this a significant demoralizing moment.

Not that I think we can’t beat Carolina without Zion or that I’m cool with us losing... But given the fact that the situation happened on the first play of the game and we had 3 unprepared freshmen and a handful of non-leadership roleplayers with no gameplan... I’m a little unphased. Not at all happy with last night’s performance, it didn’t need to be horrific but given what I just mentioned, I’m willing to look past it.
 

BlueDaveil

Senior
Nov 25, 2017
541
704
0
Losses to end a season certainly sting most, but I don't think that's exactly was Dude was asking.

Heck, when Kyrie got hurt, it wasn't believed to be all that serious. But it just went on, and on, and on.

I'll say this....I haven't felt like I felt last night during a Duke game in a long, long time. It's hard to even put into words what I was feeling.
100% agree. I can’t recall ever paying so little attention to a Duke/UNC game or having to try so hard to care about what was going on. Basically spent the entire game looking for Zion updates.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheDude1

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
Losing to Carolina makes me just as upset as everyone else. Assuming it’s a mild sprain and he returns to action, I wouldn’t even consider this a significant demoralizing moment.

Not that I think we can’t beat Carolina without Zion or that I’m cool with us losing... But given the fact that the situation happened on the first play of the game and we had 3 unprepared freshmen and a handful of non-leadership roleplayers with no gameplan... I’m a little unphased. Not at all happy with last night’s performance, it didn’t need to be horrific but given what I just mentioned, I’m willing to look past it.

Oh, I'm not talking about the game at all; posting entirely about that single moment of Zion going down.
 

BeerPoisoning

Senior
Feb 17, 2019
1,260
980
0
Oh, I'm not talking about the game at all; posting entirely about that single moment of Zion going down.

Ahh! Misunderstood.

TBH, I thought he was fine. Walked off the court checking out his shoe and wasn’t grimacing in pain. Kinda figured he’d be swiftly looked at and check back in.
 

Austinduke

Junior
Oct 11, 2018
390
284
0
Yes, last night after Zion went down and then I heard he wouldn’t be returning all the excitement/energy I had for this game just disappeared and I was drained.. hard to describe the feeling
 

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
It is pretty amazing that so many people are describing the same damn thing that I felt; like, everything just drained out of you and you went numb. I felt the same way. I don't think I have ever felt that like that before in a game.
 

bouxdag

Redshirt
Apr 7, 2011
8
6
0
I just think this was so bizarrely unique.

You have all the hype about the tickets costing so much, largely because of Zion. For him to go down 30 seconds into the game, because of a shoe, is just crazy.

The Scotty Thurman shot sucked, but it just kind of seemed like a relatively normal thing (rainbow arc aside) that happens in games.

The Zion injury is one of those couldn’t make it up even if you tried things.
 

dukehokie

All-American
Jun 27, 2005
19,624
6,220
0
Obviously they turned out ok, but I remember feeling last night like I felt when Hurley and Boozer both went down. Both had the same initial feel of A.) Gone for the season and B.) Crushing to team makeup. #overreactions haha
 
Mar 10, 2016
872
708
0
It was such a scary sight. You just see a quick image of Zion reaching for the back of his knee as the ball begins getting advanced up the court. I was devastated for him because immediately I thought that he tore something. Even if I wasn't a Duke fan, I would have had the same reaction. He's an athletic specimen like we haven't seen before. Even if he did tear his acl, there's a great chance he would still go first overall in the draft. However, I want to see a player like him be given every chance to reach his fullest potential. If news came out later that the injury was more serious, then that really may have been the most demoralizing moment for me as a Duke fan.
 

OldasdirtDevil

Heisman
Nov 16, 2009
19,469
15,753
0
Maybe this isn't an exact fit, but I was totally demoralized when Coach K had to leave the sidelines in '94-95 due to his back problems with all the accompanying pain, exhaustion, and depression that went with it. It was a bad time for Duke fans, and especially so since the Heel fans all made fun of it (I've never forgot that, and never will).

OFC
 

TheDude1

Heisman
Apr 15, 2010
8,726
11,199
0
Obviously they turned out ok, but I remember feeling last night like I felt when Hurley and Boozer both went down. Both had the same initial feel of A.) Gone for the season and B.) Crushing to team makeup. #overreactions haha

Ohhhh, the Boozer one especially sucked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukehokie

nets on nets on nets

All-American
Jun 4, 2015
4,162
5,515
0
Watching Zion grab his knee was terrifying. However, when he walked off on his own, I assumed everything was okay.
I got more upset at around the 12 min mark when it was obvious he wasn't coming back, that is when I thought something serious had occured.

My most demoralizing moment as a Duke fan was the Jay Williams missed FT against IU at Rupp in one of the biggest tournament upsets ever.
 
  • Like
Reactions: dukehokie

QC Dukie

All-American
Apr 16, 2014
6,598
9,060
0
Good lord. It was a loss after a young team didn't recover from a psychological hit at the beginning of a game. It was our 3rd loss of a season where we have a handful of wins against top 10/ranked teams.

The most demoralizing moment? I think a number of posters on here could use some perspective. It's kids playing basketball.

He sprained his knee. Life moves on. He'll likely play again. It's basketball!
And we make fun of thr and rump rafters after a loss......
 
  • Like
Reactions: dbav

SwatX1

Heisman
Jan 4, 2011
8,336
10,579
68
Losses to end a season certainly sting most, but I don't think that's exactly was Dude was asking.

Heck, when Kyrie got hurt, it wasn't believed to be all that serious. But it just went on, and on, and on.

I'll say this....I haven't felt like I felt last night during a Duke game in a long, long time. It's hard to even put into words what I was feeling.

100% agree. I can’t recall ever paying so little attention to a Duke/UNC game or having to try so hard to care about what was going on. Basically spent the entire game looking for Zion updates.


Both of these replies pretty much echoes my feelings and thoughts.
The worst I've ever felt AFTER a game was 99 title game
 

Oriole Way

Redshirt
Aug 30, 2008
52
30
0
Boozer breaking his foot against Maryland at the end of the regular season in 2001 was WAY more demoralizing.
 
Jul 28, 2010
7,841
6,980
0
Injury wise, Zion takes the cake in initial reaction and fear.

A noninjury game one was 02. A double dose of JWill missing the FT and Boozer missing the tip in.