For everything that made the loss to North Carolina a brutal validation of the old adage “it’s the hope that kills you,” there was just as much if not more that made me optimistic about this team’s future.
To be entirely honest, I stand ready to call this season a wash. But the reason that it feels like this team has dipped so low on the metaphorical roller coaster is just because it started so high.
What people mean when they say that Duke is a basketball school is that it is a men's basketball school. The Cameron Crazies have not kept up with the increasing interest in women's basketball across the country.
After being battered, bruised and limited by now-surgically repaired hips for most of last season, Filipowski is back for another round in Durham. And this time, he's keen to make sure he's the one doing the bruising.
That’s the beauty of Countdown — an event to bring together the Durham community, connected by a shared love of all things Duke. A chance for those who aren’t season-ticket holders or can't afford to make the trip to Durham for a regular-season game.
The reality is simple: Belin is fine. He played a solid game against N.C. State, working within a scheme that did not hinge on the sort of heroics that only someone as talented as Leonard can execute. But Duke is going to need every weapon it has against the Seminoles.
There’s a reactionary, emotional response that tends to rise up in fans after a game like that. That said, I think it’s important to have some perspective.
I’m here to say that the wins against the Leopards and Wildcats were demonstrative of more than some might be willing to admit, and that the Blue Devils are absolutely trending in the right direction to challenge Notre Dame in a few weeks.
Suddenly, and perhaps only temporarily, there is stability for the ACC and commissioner Jim Phillips, but there is also more cause than ever to question whether the conference has finally lost its path (or maybe its marbles).
I must be the bearer of bad news. Duke has been here before. In fact, an almost identical situation played out in the 90s under the direction of Fred Goldsmith — and it didn’t go so well.
For the Blue Devils to truly contend in the ACC, or even fight for the top spot in that second tier, they need to keep their first game close.
In a vacuum, Elko’s extension is nothing more than a just reward for an incredible, if not wholly unexpected, season. But I think there’s a second, more existential reason for Duke’s renewed faith in its head coach.
Despite Duke's lofty expectations heading into 2023, the program fell well short of them. As a result, it's time for the Blue Devils to turn a new leaf.
Conventional sports wisdom states that certain teams always choke in the postseason, certain teams always beat certain other teams, and whatever else has been levied against a team with a vague gesture to history as evidence. Monday afternoon proved exactly why conventional wisdom fails so often in sports.
While Duke has shown its capability to compete against any team in the country, the margin of error for this team is razor thin.
The men made headlines for the referees’ misstep in that infamous game, but just two weeks earlier, an arguably more catastrophic blunder was committed.
If there were any questions remaining as to Duke's status as a national contender, the Blue Devils answered all of them in Friday's win.
As Duke's season met its end Monday night against Colorado, the full story of its turnaround season came into view.
The backcourt duo is behind much of the offensive growth that is driving Duke's late-season success.
Duke has lost back-to-back games, head coach Jon Scheyer is 'pissed' and the ACC has admitted an enormous error. Where does it all leave the Blue Devils?
