Whelp, it's the next morning.
- Thread starter TheDude1
- Start date
the day after is even worse b/c truly realize the season is over.
Yea it’s always a weird feeling waking up knowing basketball season is over because the season last so long and we devote quite a bit of time to basketball, and when it ends, it’s just a weird feeling.
I have the great misfortune of having four or five boys in my class this year who are HUGE Duke fans. They've been wearing Duke stuff since 1st grade. And they love to talk ball. Like... a lot. They are going to have to understand... today is NOT the day to talk basketball.
BTW, I actually took the time to take photos of those pages this AM. That's how sad and mad I am.
Ehh the day after puts things into perspective for me. I’m sad still but overall okay. The initial gut punch is always the worst for me. With the exception of 06
Boys not going to lie.... This one hurts, with all this teams faults they still were the best team in the field. This title was theirs to lose, and the short comings finally caught up to them.
Unlike years past there is just so much to love about thia group of kids and very little to dislike. Everyone from top to bottom was all in and you just hate to see it end for them like this.
Unlike years past there is just so much to love about thia group of kids and very little to dislike. Everyone from top to bottom was all in and you just hate to see it end for them like this.
Feels like the day after the 99 loss to uconn, I'm always ok with losing to a better team but dang imo we were far better
Yup, I have that lousy feeling in my gut. Depressed. A "friend" suggested I was way too emotionally invested in a game I don't even play. I call it be passionate.
Funny enough, when we were up 3 with a minute to play, I was sure we had it. Then it slipped away as State made shots and we didn't.
Anyway, it will pass, and I'll do it all again next year. It's called being a fan I guess.
Funny enough, when we were up 3 with a minute to play, I was sure we had it. Then it slipped away as State made shots and we didn't.
Anyway, it will pass, and I'll do it all again next year. It's called being a fan I guess.
It still hurts. Will for a while. But hey....things could be a lot worse.
This one stings especially the way the bracket opened up. We didnt have to go through gonzaga and unc or uk to win it. We probably would have been 5 point fav in both games next weekend
Losing is the worst part but it doesn’t help that I was overly confident. We always handily wipe MSU in the tourney, I think B1G basketball is overrated too. We always seem to start slow so i was unphased initially. Then we took off and went up 30-21. In my head I was 110% certain that we were advancing. This was solidifying my pre-game thoughts.
Then I just endured a long excruciating losing experience. Blah
Then I just endured a long excruciating losing experience. Blah
I wish I could have slowed down and paused when we went up 30-21. It looked like we could have blown their doors off at that point. But alas, we didn't.
When Zion picked up his second foul the team dynamic completely changed. I mean, completely. It was like it was in the back of everyone's mind that last four minutes.
Listen, I get there's going to be points in the game where you don't look good. Michigan State is a good team and they're going to play well, too. But it surprised me how we played maybe our most impressive four-minute stretch of the season (save the UK game), and followed it up with what was easily the most dysfunctional six-minute stretch of the year. At halftime I felt like a boxer who had been dazed and confused.
Yeah that stretch was where we lost the game. If we played even or so the last 5 mins we go to the half up 10 and thats a different second half. I felt when we went up 9 we were about to play our best game since uva
I'm not overly saddened by this as compared to other years. It sucks, as all exits suck. But these guys did what they could and at the end of the day it was not enough. They were certainly good enough to win the championship, but their flaws became too much to overcome.
The thing I respect most about this team as opposed to the other OAD squads is they played defense with a lot of energy and purpose. Truth is, we just didn't have enough horses for our carriage.
Was a fun year, but also an agonizingly stressful year at the same time. Will definitely miss watching Zion. On to next year.
The thing I respect most about this team as opposed to the other OAD squads is they played defense with a lot of energy and purpose. Truth is, we just didn't have enough horses for our carriage.
Was a fun year, but also an agonizingly stressful year at the same time. Will definitely miss watching Zion. On to next year.
Dude no kidding. Even aside from the fact that the shots fell, our half-court offense looked healthy during that run. Everyone was constantly moving and screening. We penetrated and kicked the ball out to the open player rather than battling traffic. Tre came off a nice screen and pulled up a sweet baseline middie. Our defense looked pretty good all game, but the intensity during that stretch was NBA-playoff level.
Our offense 95% of the time is passing around the perimeter until someone gets a small-window 3PT look or RJ / Zion ISO. Those 2 drive the ball so dang well but relying on contested shots all games isn’t a recipe for success. The constant movement, cuts, penetration and kick, on and off ball screening during that stretch was picture perfect. I just wish we always had that player movement. We would have been unstoppable.
Yup that's been our song and dance all year long. So frustrating to not see it change throughout the year.
We basically finished the season like we started our Canadian tour, 2 guys carrying the bulk of the offensive load.
We played sloppy and young at too many points during the game. I think we looked young during the entire tournament. If you flashback to the ACC tournament I saw a much looser team that wasn’t afraid of the moment. I know K said our guys were never afraid, I don’t agree with that. We didn’t pee down our leg but we also didn’t play the same type of Duke basketball that we did most of the year.
It’s understandable that a group of freshman would be tight, I don’t criticize them for this. It’s one of the shortcomings of having such a young team. We were careless with the ball. On the other side we played great defense, but we also didn’t take enough gambles to force turnovers which was our biggest strength. We played a half court game, which was more suited to MST than it was us. And when it was all on the line, we again made too many mistakes to put our opponent away. We can pinpoint so many specific events throughout the game, but overall we played sloppy and young. We were the better team, but not by a tremendous margin. We went up 3 with 1:30 left. From that point on MST played winning basketball and we didn’t. That’s why we are going home.
It’s understandable that a group of freshman would be tight, I don’t criticize them for this. It’s one of the shortcomings of having such a young team. We were careless with the ball. On the other side we played great defense, but we also didn’t take enough gambles to force turnovers which was our biggest strength. We played a half court game, which was more suited to MST than it was us. And when it was all on the line, we again made too many mistakes to put our opponent away. We can pinpoint so many specific events throughout the game, but overall we played sloppy and young. We were the better team, but not by a tremendous margin. We went up 3 with 1:30 left. From that point on MST played winning basketball and we didn’t. That’s why we are going home.
Generally this morning I just feel like most other years..I don’t think we can win with the constant influx of new players every year..
Players that are pretty good and need to develop leave over playing time..the ones that stay don’t play much and are not that good. K refuses to develop a bench..we go 5-7 deep always..and then he complains we are not deep every single year...
So it’s cylical every year..Drool over the prospect of how much talent we have only to watch it go up in smoke during the tourney..rinse and repeat year to year..
A loss of general conectiveness with who is on the team is also disappointing because they are just in and out...
It’s almost hard to get excited about what the prospects are for the year because you pretty much know what the ending will be with all the freshmen...
We pissed away that game yesterday...pissed it away..we could of easily won by 10+...easily
Players that are pretty good and need to develop leave over playing time..the ones that stay don’t play much and are not that good. K refuses to develop a bench..we go 5-7 deep always..and then he complains we are not deep every single year...
So it’s cylical every year..Drool over the prospect of how much talent we have only to watch it go up in smoke during the tourney..rinse and repeat year to year..
A loss of general conectiveness with who is on the team is also disappointing because they are just in and out...
It’s almost hard to get excited about what the prospects are for the year because you pretty much know what the ending will be with all the freshmen...
We pissed away that game yesterday...pissed it away..we could of easily won by 10+...easily
Please don't take this the wrong way, or me trying to preach....but why watch and put yourself through that if that's really how you feel? I mean....that's one of the more depressing posts I've ever read. If I were you, I would get a new hobby. Move on. Find something that gives you a little bit of joy.
Watching Duke does give me joy...but I’ve accepted how how we will develop and turnover both during the season and into the next..so getting to upset about it really doesn’t do anything..,I’m disappointed how it ended...but am I surprised? Nope...totally expected...
Easy answer is if we would of won this morning I would have great joy, but us losing and how we lost doesn’t deflate me like it used to...the connection to the program erodes year to year...we have become less of a team and more of a factory for talent...this years team gave some hope just because they seemed more connected in a team sense than in years past and that was at least refreshing...
I’m just going to add we have only made two Final Fours in the last Fifteen seasons..I mean we all pretty much already know the chances we will make it are very very small...so it’s pretty much the norm...after some time you just become more numb to it...the joy is great but the disappointment becomes less disappointing every season..
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No team in history is perfect. Every single team has bad games. I just watched the Suns (worst team) beat the Warriors like 3 weeks ago with full lineup. It happens. The NCAA T being single elimination is the reason why the best team rarely wins. Anybody can get hot, out of rhythm, whatever and the sad reality is the fact that a season full of greatness can be wiped away. The system is ruthless. Typically the best NBA team comes out on top because 7 games leave room for hiccups.
We all wanted a title this year, but you have to look at the big picture. Only 6 schools have won a national championship in the past decade. We are lucky enough to have done it twice. This isn’t the 70s, there’s no UCLA and Sam Gilbert. We aren’t going to win it every year, March is way too wild for all that.
I gotta agree with @dukiejay though. If you’re invested in the expectation that we should win every single year, college basketball ain’t the best hobby.
I bet you give one helluva toast at a party.
We have won 3 national championships since 2000. Nobody has more, UNC and UConn both have 3 as well. So we are tied at the top of the totem pole this century.
If you are more thrilled with F4 appearances this century, Michigan St (prior to today) has 6 appearances with 1 title in 2000. Kansas has 5 appearances with 1 title. Go get on the bandwagon.
He better be glad he is not a Kentucky fan, we have had to deal with bad letdowns like this a few times. It sucks for awhile, but like you said, could be alot worse..
Lol...you can keep coming at my quotes all you want..
You just reached back two decades to 2000...might as well go three then and go back to 1990...lol
Everything I wrote is totally accurate...seeing it laid out hurts...I’m sorry...
It’s the morning after thread...just saying once you lay it all out you are used to it...that’s all...doesn’t mean winning wouldn’t have been joyful..it would have...losing doesn’t hurt as much as it used to with their being less connectivity to the program...That’s me...anyone is allowed to feel differently..
I grew up with K and teams of the 80s and 90s...K is a lot different, so are the teams...it’s not close to the same.....not close
I worked during every single one of our NCAAT matches (and vs UNC in the ACCT). I have this Saturday off and the fellas planned a sportsfest BBQ. I had already lined up a co worker to cover for me on Monday
Whooshhhhh
Whooshhhhh
You’re accurate but your perception is demented. Every tournament loss stings, what you laid out actually makes me feel better. In the past 5 seasons we have won a national championship and reached 2 E8’s. Yeah, we had the talent to go further but nobody skates there regularly. We are pretty lucky to be at the top of the list with a couple others. Less than half of #1 seeds make the F4, welcome to March.
Isn’t every fan used to it when you lay it all out? Teams might have a couple back to back good seasons, but nobody just cuts nets all the time. It’s a little irrational to be upset that we aren’t the exception.
Yes the teams of the 80s and 90s are different from today. Johnny Dawkins in this day and age wouldn’t have stayed 4 years. Neither would Christian Laettner. Among a plethora of others. We had a 7 man rotation in ‘91 and ‘92 when we won. Same with ‘01 too. Your hatred for lack of depth is pretty deep, how have you managed to remain a Duke fan? This is typical Coach K basketball. I don’t think I could love a team and hate the coaching every year.
Bleacher Report is having fun with this. They put out a tweet saying Zion is taking this loss hard and is considering a return to Duke. Check the calendar folks.
I was sad when I woke up. Then walked in my office at work, already dreading it being monday, sit down, and there is the team poster hanging on one wall, and the sports illustrated Fabbest Five cover hanging on the other wall. Man it tore me up for a second.
ESPN's John Anderson did a segment on SportsCenter called "End of the Line" which summarized our year. My kids watched while eating breakfast through tears before school and my wife is like "the kids didn't cry when Nova lost". Wife is Nova alum.
I drove to work in dead silence.
I drove to work in dead silence.
My oldest said she was still bummed this morning, too. Every day I take my kids to school and this morning had to run into the school office for something. When I left the office I spotted her down the hall laughing and skipping away with her friends before class. Sometimes I wish I could be that resilient. I haven't wanted to skip or laugh for the last 20 hours.