Dare to Compare?

Is it the competitiveness?  The talent?  The athleticism?  The showmanship?  The heart-pounding action?  The thrill of the victory?  What is it about sports that draws us in?  For me, sports provide an outlet for debate.  As I stated in my profile, I live for the give-and-take and with sports- the debates never die.  No one ever really wins because if someone wins, the debates end and then we all really lose. 

One of my favorite debates is the “all-time” debate.  “Who’s the best all-time Coach?”  “Which team was the best all-time team not to win a title?”  “What was the greatest play ever from March Madness?”  There’s no right answer to any of these questions (yes there is, of course: Mike Krzyzewski, DUKE 1998-99 and The Shot), but the debating is what makes it so fun.  You could ask 10 people the same question and get 10 totally different, yet equally correct answers. 

James, Ben and I gave each other this initial task:

Let’s get a best one-and-done team.  You have to pick a TEAM, not just the best players.

That didn’t take long enough I guess because within 15 minutes, we had upped the ante to this:

See if you can come up with a team for each class (i.e. one-and-done [freshmen], left after sophomore year, etc.).  If we choose players since 1980 only, I’ll bet there is zero chance the freshmen or seniors win.

Quick sidenote: I have to give ESPN’s Jason King (@JasonKingESPN) credit here because while James, Ben and I debate these kinds of topics day after day, it was Jason’s “King’s Court” from this week that really got this debate going.

This task took us significantly longer, but we finally decided on the following picks:

Freshmen:

PG: Derrick Rose

SG: Tyreke Evans

F: Kevin Durant

F: Carmelo Anthony

C:  Anthony Davis

Sophomores:

PG: Allen Iverson

SG: Jerry Stackhouse

F: Chris Webber

F: Rasheed Wallace

C:  Elton Brand

Juniors:

PG: Jason Williams

SG: Ray Allen

F: Michael Jordan

F: (H)Akeem Olajuwon

C:  Shaquille O’Neal

Seniors:

PG: Bobby Hurley (or Randolph Childress if this team is too much DUKE for your liking.  But for below, I’m using Hurley)

SG: J.J. Redick

F: Christian Laettner

F: Len Bias

C:  Patrick Ewing

Never Played in the NCAA (No NCAA Team)

PG: Tony Parker

SG: Kobe Bryant

F: LeBron James

F: Amare Stoudemire

C: Kevin Garnett

Fighting amongst myself took a great deal of time.  Do I want Kenny Anderson or Allen Iverson?  Do I want Patrick Ewing as my Center and Laettner and Bias as my Forwards? Or do I want to go with a frontcourt of Bias, Laettner and Derrick Coleman?  How do I not have Danny Manning on the list?  And Tim Duncan?  And Chris Mullin? (James, Ben and I decided that even though we are only naming five players per group, we have to acknowledge that while Manning, Duncan and Mullin are technically not on the team, they really are on the team.  It’s our game.  We make the rules.)

So, those are our teams.  The End.

Totally not the end.  What’s the point of making teams if you aren’t going to have them “play”?  (Incidentally, while on this topic; why play little league soccer if no one is keeping score?  I really don’t understand that.  What a waste of 90 minutes.  I digress...) 

When we started this, James hypothesized that there was zero chance that our Freshmen team or Senior team would win.  At first I thought he might be right.  Now I’m not so sure; at least I’m not so sure that there would be zero chance with regard to the Seniors. 

To begin, we must momentarily discount the Never Played in the NCAA team.  Why?  Because they never played in college and we are judging everyone else by what they did in college alone.  Otherwise, I’m taking Jordan’s team and it matters nil who else is on his team.

The first team that I would say is out is the Sophomores.  There’s so much talent there, obviously.  I mean- the trio of Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse and Chris Webber would definitely win if this were a contest based solely on OH-MY-GOD-he-did-NOT-just-do-that-moments.  And halfway through the game, Allen Iverson would need a good five minutes just to walk around and collect all of the ankles he had just broken.  But it is a somewhat smaller team in comparison to the others; and while Rasheed Wallace was/is a maniac and Elton Brand was so crafty and superb in college, in comparison to the other teams, they just don’t measure up.  They do match up better in terms of toughness when compared to the likes of say, the Freshmen team that has Davis and Carmelo and Durant as their frontcourt; but with Carmelo and Durant’s ability to get their shot anywhere at any time, I’m not sure the game would come down to toughness. 

But, speaking of the Freshmen, to me, they are the next to go.  The level of athleticism on that team is out of this world and it’s no coincidence that the only two freshmen to win the NCAA National Player of the Year Award are each on the team (Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis).  This team would score and it would score a LOT.  I don’t watch every OKC game but I can say with conviction that each time I do and Kevin Durant shoots, it’s aut-o-mat-ic, just like when he was in Texas.  The guy is out of his mind.  Plus, Derrick Rose at the PG spot?  Yes, please.  Speaking of Derrick Rose- man, I can’t wait for Chicago to get him back.  His absence is a disservice to the league.  And then you’ve got Anthony Davis protecting the rim.  Who’s going to score on him?  Not many.  Well, actually… let me retract that statement: pretty much the entire Senior team would score on him.

Anthony Davis was a magnificent rim defender at Kentucky in 2011-12 and he was able to pretty much have his way in the paint on both ends of the floor, night after night.  But, and this is not a knock against Davis, who was he playing against?  Was the inside competition really that overpowering and dominant?  I’m not so sure it was.  Now, with the Seniors, you’ve got Bobby Hurley, the all-time assists leader a.k.a. “I’m going to find the best offensive option play after play after play”, J.J. Redick (floor spacing anyone?), Laettner, Ewing and Bias.  Can you imagine Patrick Ewing taking it to Anthony Davis?  It would be reminiscent of Ray Lewis “welcoming” Mark Sanchez to the NFL back in 2009.  In other words; it would be ugly.  The Seniors would have their way down low and then could even pull Laettner out to shoot it (I’ve heard he’s pretty good from about 15 feet out and I think there’s video to prove it too) and God knows J.J. isn’t missing many.  Len Bias is regarded as the best player to never play at the professional level.  I’m not sure we need to say more about him other than- what a shame.  So, this team is pretty unstoppable.  Pretty unstoppable.  But still: stoppable. 

Enter the Juniors.  This team has it all: the PG who can pass it and also shoot the lights out (just ask Maryland, the victims of his “Miracle Minute”).  Speaking of shooting the lights out: Ray Allen much?  Then there’s Michael Jordan.  Normally I would save him for the end and say simply this:  Michael.  Jeffrey.  Jordan.  But, we are talking about his college days, not NBA Jordan, so I can’t go off the deep end about him.  But, the guy, as James told me “was all that and a bag of chips.  He was a freak athlete as a freshman, but then became the total package in his sophomore and, especially, junior seasons.  It was very unusual for a freshman to play that much for Dean Smith.  Times were different.  That’s why he isn’t on the cover of Sports Illustrated when UNC was ranked #1 in the preseason of 1982.  Jordan was too good to keep down.”  Round the team out with Olajuwon and Shaq… ooooooh, that team is good.  That team is so good.  There is no weakness there (just so long as you keep Shaq off of the free throw line) and you have the ultimate clutch players in Jordan, Allen and Williams.  But, with that crop of talent, something tells me there wouldn’t be much need for clutch plays- they’re usually only needed in close games. 

The only thing left to do would be to try to compare the Juniors to the group that we set aside earlier: the guys that Never Played in the NCAA.  Honestly, I don’t have the desire to do this.  Why?  Because you know where it’s going.  Michael Jordan is on one team and LeBron James is on the other.  I refuse to add another dimension to the “Who’s Better?” debate between these two, even if it is pretty obvious who is better between UNC Jordan and NBA LeBron.  Besides, I do not understand how Kobe got bypassed in that conversation to begin with.  Even still, I’m not biting. 

The Man. The Myth. The Legend. The MAN.

Happy 82nd Birthday, Coach Dean Smith.

For all that you did for the game (which would take me over an hour to list) and for so, so, so much more than the game (for which I could spend a lifetime waxing poetic about)... Thank you.

Love,
A DUKE fan

The Bigger Picture is The Better Picture

'

By now, most have heard that the word "if" has been replaced with "when" in terms of Ryan Kelly's return to the DUKE line-up.  Now, the "when" has turned into "when exactly."  It is no longer enough to know that he's coming back.  No, no... now we want to know, we need to know when exactly.  It's Wednesday, February 27th and DUKE has a game tomorrow night against bubble-team-desperate-for-a-signature-win Virginia.  I have not heard any mention of a return for this game so now the question becomes- will it be next Tuesday for Senior Night against Virginia Tech?  Or could it possibly be this Saturday evening in Durham against Miami?

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21780477/dukes-ryan-kelly-returns-to-practice-hopeful-of-returning-within-week

Now, as a DUKE fan first but alas a DUKE fan who also lived through the Kyrie Irving Toe Watch (checking the internet every hour of every day from December 5, 2010 until March 2011 for word of his return), this feels all too familiar.  But, unlike 2011, I have little fear of a disruption to the line-up like we saw when Kyrie took back control of the floor for DUKE.  I know this time it will be different if for no other reason than Coach K is just too good to let it happen like that again.  Plus, it's a different team, Ryan plays a different position and so on and so on.  The question is: Should we hope he plays against Miami?

Losing by 27 points to a team is awful.  Doesn't matter what the circumstances are- it's awful.  Having them mock you in casting the defeat is on a totally different level.  When the Miami players slapped the floor, it really was only appropriate- not because they were right to do it, but more because with Maryland leaving after this year for the Big 10, we will need another team to despise first after UNC.  And slapping the floor?  Well, that will do it. 

For this reason alone, I would love to see Ryan Kelly play on Saturday night.  But there's more to it.  Losing by 27 will also instill the fear of God in you about a team so frankly; I want DUKE bringing out every weapon it has.  But...then again... I don't want to get too ahead of ourselves.  Why?  Because at the end of the day- it's just Miami.  It's not a National Championship and that's what we all really want.  We don't want to be embarrassed by a team, but that damage was done back in January- there's nothing we can do about that now.   Most importantly, we need Ryan Kelly healthy.  Fully healthy.  We've seen what DUKE can do with him (see: first 15 games of the season against top-tier opponents), and we've seen what DUKE has done at times without him (see: end of 2011-12 season including Lehigh; NC State, Maryland and of course... Miami).  They (every.sports.persona) lamented DUKE's season when Kelly went out indefinitely but now that there's word he will be back- the bandwagon is filling back up.  They know what we all know- DUKE can win it all with Ryan Kelly.  So, we need him later.  We want him sooner, but we need him later.  This is DUKE, after all.  We don't pride ourselves solely on accomplishments like one regular season victory or even winning the conference.  Those are goals the Miamis of the world have.  We want one thing: a National Championship.  Correction: a fifth National Championship.  And with Ryan Kelly's return looming on the horizon, I'm liking our chances more every day. 

Krzyzewski's Starting Five

Each week, Jason King of ESPN writes a column entitled “King’s Court” and at the end of the column, he contributes this:

The Starting Five

Each week, I'll pick the top five players -- and three reserves -- to play for a high-profile coach. Disagree with my selections? Let me hear about it. Note: Current players were not considered.

It was only a matter of time before he got to him, and this week he did:

Duke's All-Mike Krzyzewski team

Starters

G: Jay Williams -- Won NCAA title in 2001 and the Wooden Award in 2002
G: Johnny Dawkins -- Duke's second all-time leading scorer was national POY in 1987
F: Shane Battier -- Swept the national player of the year awards after winning 2001 title
F: Danny Ferry -- 1989 national player of the year owns single-game mark for points (58)
F: Christian Laettner -- All-American is the only player to start in four straight Final Fours

Bench

G/F: Grant Hill -- Two-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion
G: J.J. Redick -- School's all-time leading scorer; one of 13 players to have jersey retired
F: Shelden Williams -- Duke's career leader in blocks and rebounds

Looking at this, I can’t outright disagree. But there are some things worth noting.

I sent this to my friend, James (a UNC fan) and asked his opinion and this was his response:

"I think Hill needs to start over Ferry. I know Ferry was very good (I saw him a lot), but Hill was simply a better player. And there is no way I’d pick Shelden Williams. I’d have Brand or even Boozer over Williams. And how can you not have Hurley on the bench?"

I also cannot outright disagree with James. I was only ages 4-8 when Danny Ferry was at DUKE but I will say this: whenever my brother and I would play video games and there was an option for us to pick a number in anything- I’d always pick number 35 because Ferry wore 35. He was obviously doing enough right that a 4-8 year old was picking up on it. But, Grant Hill did win two National Championships at DUKE. Two. That’s gotta be something. You can’t lose with either of these two though, regardless of the rotation.

Any Coach that has had enough good players that J.J. Redick (as a collegiate player) is coming off the bench? That’s just… wow. Full disclosure: J.J. Redick is, and more likely than not always will be, my favorite player to put on a uniform. But, that isn’t without reason. The guy was unstoppable. I saw him drop 41 points on Texas in East Rutherford, NJ like it was nothing. He hit everything, including nine threes that day. Did I mention that it was a #1 (DUKE) vs. #2 (Texas) matchup? The guy was a maniac. When J.J. took off his DUKE uniform for the last time, he did so as the leading scorer in DUKE history, the leading scorer in ACC history, the leading scorer in ACC Tournament History, the national career leader in three- pointers made and the nation’s second best free throw shooter ever. He won the Rupp Award (twice), the AP National Player of the Year Award, the Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the NABC Player of the Year Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy. I suppose it’s fine that J.J. starts on Krzyzewski’s bench but I’d be willing to bet he comes in before the first media timeout.

Now: Shelden Williams. James makes a good point that he’d take Brand or even Boozer over Shelden Williams and in some ways, I agree; in others, I think Shelden deserves to be there. Brand and Boozer only stayed in Durham for two and three years respectively so you have to wonder- had they stayed (this is more geared toward Brand than Boozer, probably), would Shelden still have those records? The way Elton Brand played? I doubt it. But, in Shelden Williams’ defense, like J.J. Redick, he is one of 13 players to have his jersey retired and Shelden Williams had to do something J.J. Redick didn’t have to: he had to play second-fiddle to J.J. Redick. Shelden Williams not only did this, he found a way to carve out his own piece of history. He was a two-time NABC Defensive Player of the Year and was only the third player in NCAA history to score 1500 points, grab 1000 rebounds, block 350 shots, and pick up 150 steals. That’s nothing to scoff at. (What is something to wonder though is how- with the offensive machine that Redick was and the defensive machine that Williams was- this team never won a National Title.) If you’re looking at accomplishments and accolades alone, I’d go Shelden Williams too. But, to agree with James, using the call-it-like-I-see-it-test… I’m taking Elton Brand all day.

The rest is pretty straight forward. You know you’re taking Laettner, you know you’re taking Battier, you know you’re taking Jason Williams (note: I know it’s Jay now but to me, especially when referring to him in that #22 DUKE uniform- it’s Jason) and you know you’re taking Dawkins. The scary part though, as James notes: no Hurley? NO HURLEY? The all-time assists leader? The 1992 Final Four MVP? The two-time National Champion? Who would I put him over? I don’t know. I just don’t know. But I do know that having had a roster of players so good that they don’t put J.J. Redick as one of your top-five and they don’t put Bobby Hurley as one of your top-eight… well that’s a luxury that most just cannot afford.

No wonder that guy is still Kounting.

Winning is never easy. Even at 900 and 901.

First and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS to Coach Vivian Stringer for her 900th victory last night.

Some of us…scratch that- most of us will never get so much as one win as a Head Coach in NCAA basketball- be it men’s or women’s. To think about getting 900? That’s inconceivable. But, as it stands now, with Vivian Stringer’s win last night; seven Coaches have achieved the 900 wins mark. But, there is one very interesting trend when it comes to their 900th win. Check this out:

The seven Coaches to notch 900 wins are as follows:

Pat Summitt (University of Tennessee, 2006)

Jody Conradt (University of Texas, 2007)

Bob Knight (Texas Tech, 2008)

Mike Krzyzewski (DUKE, 2011)

Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 2012)

Sylvia Hatchell (UNC, 2013)

Vivian Stringer (Rutgers, 2013)

Of these seven, four achieved number 899 but went on to lose one game (at least) before getting to 900:

Jody Conradt: In 2007, as she sat on win 899, her Texas team lost to Texas A&M before beating Missouri for her 900th win.

Bob Knight: In 2008, as he sat on win 899, his Texas Tech team lost to Oklahoma State before beating Texas A&M for his 900th win.

Sylvia Hatchell: In 2013, as she sat on win 899, her UNC team lost to DUKE before beating Boston College for her 900th win.

Vivian Stringer: In 2013, as she sat on win 899, her Rutgers team lost to DePaul, UConn, Syracuse and St. John’s before beating South Florida for her 900th win.

That alone is interesting, I think. But what about the other three coaches? Pat Summitt, Coach K and Jim Boeheim cruised from 899 to 900 unscathed. What was more difficult for them, however, was getting to win 901. Now check this out:

Pat Summitt: In 2006, after her Tennessee team beat Vanderbilt for her 900th win, they turned around and lost the very next game to DUKE- halting Summitt’s quest for 901.

Mike Krzyzewski: In 2011, after his DUKE team beat Michigan for his 900th win, they turned around and lost the very next game to Arizona- halting Krzyzewski’s quest for 901.

Jim Boeheim: In 2012, after his Syracuse team beat Detroit for his 900th win, they turned around and lost the very next game to Temple- halting Boeheim’s quest for 901.

And the craziest part about these three losses? They were all upsets.

Winning is never easy- even for those in the 900 club.

End of an Era...

A sad day for USA Basketball:

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8990848/mike-krzyzewski-done-team-usa-coach-7-years

“Anybody could win with a roster full of NBA players”, they said. Well then…why didn’t they? Why didn’t George Karl in 2002? Why didn’t the great Larry Brown in 2004? Because not just anybody could do it. But Coach K could. And he did. Over and over and over again.

Thank you, Coach K.

Love,

The United States of America

Nike. Just do it (at home).

In 2012, Nike released their Hyper Elite Platinum (home) Uniforms to be worn by the following 7 NCAA Men's basketball teams:

UConn Huskies (vs. Notre Dame 1/29/2012)

Kentucky Wildcats (vs. Tennessee 1/31/2012)

DUKE Blue Devils (vs. Maryland 2/11/2012)

Florida Gators (vs. Tennessee 2/11/2012)

Syracuse Orange (vs. USF 2/22/2012)

Arizona Wildcats (vs. UCLA 2/25/2012)

UNC Tar Heels (vs. Maryland 2/29/2012)

Of these seven teams, five won their matchups (only UConn and Florida lost), representing a near 72% success rate for teams wearing the Nike Hyper Elite Platinum Uniform. Not bad.

In 2013, Nike released their Hyper Elite Road Uniforms to be worn by the following 10 NCAA Men's basketball teams:

Gonzaga Bulldogs (at Butler 1/19/2013)

Michigan State Spartans (at Indiana 1/27/2013)

Villanova Wildcats (at Notre Dame 1/30/2013)

USC Trojans (at UCLA 1/30/2013)

Ohio State Buckeyes (at Michigan 2/5/2013)

UNC Tar Heels (at Miami 2/9/2013)

Georgetown Hoyas (at Cincinnati 2/15/2013)

Kentucky Wildcats (at Tennessee 2/16/2013)

DUKE Blue Devils (at Maryland 2/16/2013)

Texas Longhorns (at Kansas 2/16/2013)

Of these ten teams, two won their matchups (Gonzaga lost, Michigan State lost, Villanova lost, Ohio State lost, UNC lost, Kentucky lost, DUKE lost and Texas lost), representing a mere 20% success rate for teams wearing the Nike Hyper Elite Road Uniforms. Not good. Not good for those eight teams and really not good for Nike. I for one like the road uniform about 100 times more than the 2012 home version (and here’s looking at you Kentucky fans that dropped $120 on a uniform that was rendered useless only 3 months later due to the Wildcats adding their eighth star), but do I want a replica of the jersey that my team wore whilst getting beaten? Not really. After one team lost their matchup in the uniform (and lost by 26 no less), one of my friends took to facebook to say “Let’s never wear those uniforms again. They belong in the burn pile.” I’m sure fans of the other seven teams felt the exact same way, which is a shame because those jerseys were oh-so-nice.

(Full disclosure: winning at home is of course much easier than winning on the road. This too may have contributed just a bit.)

Green is the new Blue.

After 11 years in (DUKE and Magic) blue, I am pleased to report that he is just as good in (Milwaukee) green.

Welcome back...

...to the National Championship conversation.

http://sports.chronicleblogs.com/2013/02/24/ryan-kelly-targeting-a-comeback-for-end-of-the-regular-season/

Future

14 R. Sulaimon 10/15 4/4FT  27pts

21 A. Jefferson 5/7 4/5FT 14pts

If that right there is part of the future of DUKE basketball, I for one am sleeping really well.

Ready for Miami but first and foremost- Virginia looms.

24-3. 11-3. 951 and Kounting.