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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.
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