Commentary: Forget unselfishness, let athletic glory shine
(04/21/04 4:00am)
Here's a riddle for you jokers who can't pay attention on the last day of classes:
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Here's a riddle for you jokers who can't pay attention on the last day of classes:
It was a thrilling weekend in Atlanta, as Duke survived two of its toughest tests of the season to advance to the Final Four. A few thoughts from I-85:
ATLANTA -- Duke has a lot of experienced players it can turn to with the game on the line: senior captain and leader extraordinaire Chris Duhon, shooting guards J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing and All-ACC center Shelden Williams. But with its season hanging in the balance Sunday evening in Atlanta, it was the youngest player in Duke's rotation--freshman sensation Luol Deng--who put the Blue Devils squarely on his shoulders and carried them to the Final Four, showing everyone from Durham to Sudan that he may indeed be The One.
Duke dismisses Illinois — All photos by The Chronicle's Anthony Cross
A sign in the crowd behind Marquette's bench read, "All the Pressure's on Duke," and for most of Tuesday night's second-round NCAA Tournament matchup between the top-seeded and first-ranked Blue Devils and the 9th-seeded Golden Eagles, both teams played accordingly. But like countless teams before it, Marquette got a little more Alana Beard than it could handle, and as a result the Golden Eagles will head home while the Blue Devils travel to Norfolk, Va., for their seventh consecutive Sweet Sixteen berth.
The first half was winding to a close, and Duke's early stream of buckets had run dry. The Blue Devils had shredded Seton Hall's man-to-man defense in jumping out to a 37-19 lead, but the Pirates' switch to a zone defense left Duke scrambling for a basket.
If it hadn't already become clear in the previous two weeks, the Blue Devils discovered Wednesday night just how indispensable Luol Deng really is. For all the talk about Duke's experience and senior leadership, the Blue Devils' most critical--best?--player may well be the one less than 12 months removed from his high school prom.
The Thrill in Chapel Hill this Thursday will be a date with the Devil from the other side of town, as Tobacco Road's fiercest rivalry is renewed. Head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and the top-ranked Blue Devils travel a few miles down 15-501 for a head-on collision with the No. 17 Tar Heels in the Dean Dome tonight, looking to post their 16th consecutive victory and continue their recent dominance over their arch-nemesis.
The Thrill in Chapel Hill this Thursday will be a date with the Devil from the other side of town, as Tobacco Road's fiercest rivalry is renewed. Head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski and the top-ranked Blue Devils travel a few miles down 15-501 for a head-on collision with the No. 17 Tar Heels in the Dean Dome tonight, looking to post their 16th consecutive victory and continue their recent dominance over their arch-nemesis.
J.J. Redick couldn't help himself from breaking into a grin.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For 13 minutes, Georgetown had top-ranked Duke on the ropes, and it appeared as though the hangover from an emotional win at Maryland might be too much for the Blue Devils to overcome. Then the Chris & Shelden Show took over, and Duke got well in a hurry. With Chris Duhon hitting three-pointers and penetrating the lane
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The offense was struggling to put up points, a once-commanding lead had been whittled to three late in the game, and the hostile Maryland crowd--the self-dubbed Red Army--had finally found reason to explode. It was a recipe for disaster that had done in the Blue Devils in recent years. But good teams find ways to win, and despite their offensive struggles in the second half, the Blue Devils scratched, clawed, and held on for dear life to emerge from College Park unscathed for the first time in three years.
Eight tumultuous months after the ACC first released its expansion scheme, the conference's plans are finally set in stone. Much to the ACC's dismay, Boston College will not join the conference until 2005, and there will be no football championship game for the 11-team league in 2004.
I'm going to have to admit I'm a bit jealous of my boy Matt Sullivan, who infuriated Duke basketball fans from here to Bangladesh by declaring in this space last week that this year's men's team isn't Final Four material. But in light of the fact that (a) baseball season's over, and I have to think about something--anything--else, and (b) I have the opportunity to ingratiate myself to Duke alumni the world over (one word: job), I'm going to take Mr. Sullivan to task and valiantly come to the rescue of Duke Basketball Nation.
Head Coach: Roy Williams: @ UNC: 0-0, 1st season; Overall: 418-101, 16th year. National Championships: 0; Final Four appearances (at Kansas): 4 2002-03 Record: 19-16 overall; 6-10 ACC (7th) Player to watch: Like Duke, North Carolina has a superlative sophomore class, which is highlighted by Felton, one of the nation's best point guards. He has a swift crossover dribble, an improved stroke and exceptional vision.
I think I speak for the majority of the civilized (ie, non-New York) world when I say:
Well, on the bright side, the second half was ALL Duke. The Blue Devils valiantly came out of the halftime locker room and showed those big, bad Wake Forest third stringers who's boss Saturday afternoon, chalking up yet another moral victory for a team so awash in morality it should have a halo around its helmets. (Wait, what's that you say? Duke mustered 13 second-half points against a Wake squad that had about as much interest in the final 30 minutes of play as the alumni tailgating in the Blue zone? Details.)
The Major League Baseball playoffs start today, and with the Rally Monkey having mercifully gone the way of social life on West campus, this October promises new intrigue, hopefully revolving more around 200-pound men than three-pound stuffed animals. (Side note: remember when Disney planned on making a movie about the Rally Monkey?? Funny...I haven't seen too many previews for it lately. Maybe Disney did some research and discovered that the Rally Monkey is about as cool as the Duke parking police.)
I didn't want to have to write this.
With one swing of the bat, Jeff Liefer went from goat to hero, and the Durham Bulls pulled to within one victory of their second consecutive championship in the Triple-A International League's Governor's Cup.