March Madness - Final Four is set

That last game production confirmed to the world that k was a Christ-like figure in Derm.

Maybe it was just the media all those years but it at least seemed like the fans were all-in on the k worship.
The last one in Durham? Sure - his last game after 40 years, that's a special moment no doubt for him. So people come out to show thanks, etc. Marks the end of an era. So yeah the fanfare made sense.
But to most fans, does HIM losing his last one matter than any other loss to UNC? Not really.... I am not him. I care more about winning my last game as a student against UNC. And we did :)
 
One of my biggest pet peeves about college basketball is how coaches are allowed to constantly harangue the officials. I get that it happens in other sports too, but I feel like CBB is at another level. Hurley is the obvious extreme example, but a lot of other coaches are bad about it too.
 

I've been saying this for a few years now despite being ridiculed for eschewing 5 star OADs. Why waste time and resources chasing 5 star OADs that you may or may not get when you can use your time and resources figuring out who your targets will be in the transfer portal and which 4 star recruits might stay and develop over 3-4 years ?
 
I think UNC fans overestimated how "important" K was to most Duke fans. He was appreciated, but also many of us knew he was pretty well past his prime as far as being a coach. Amazing coach with an amazing career no doubt. And "omg it ended K" was not even on my metrics...I didn't care if that was his last game or not. I didn't like losing a final 4. But in terms of painful losses, 1999, 2004 and 2025 hurt WAY more for way longer, because those years each of those teams were the best and should have won the title. Ultimately that's what sticks. I really thought losing to UNC in the Final 4 would have been like the worst thing ever....lingering for years. But it didn't. It sucked for a few days no doubt. It was really helped by the choke in the final game, absolutely.

And some of it is that I am grown from really focusing on sports as being the nexus of my well-being and concerns. So wins and losses alike are more fleeting as far as emotional impact. A few days, sure. Then I move on either way cause life happens. The only two games that ever have lingered for years have been 99 and 04 final fours.
Interesting perspective. Did K's politics color how you viewed him in the context of being a fan of Duke basketball? When I think about being a UNC fan, part of my connection is to having these much beloved figures, both on and off the court, in Dean and Roy. That's especially the case with Dean. I know that would be a different experience for me if it was someone like K at the helm. And I'm not saying his a terrible person (putting fan rivalry aside for a moment). But I can't imagine viewing him as some great figure, beyond being a basketball coach, like a do with Dean.
 
I've been saying this for a few years now despite being ridiculed for eschewing 5 star OADs. Why waste time and resources chasing 5 star OADs that you may or may not get when you can use your time and resources figuring out who your targets will be in the transfer portal and which 4 star recruits might stay and develop over 3-4 years ?
Case in point the Final Four, how many 5 star OADs are playing in it?
 
Interesting perspective. Did K's politics color how you viewed him in the context of being a fan of Duke basketball? When I think about being a UNC fan, part of my connection is to having these much beloved figures, both on and off the court, in Dean and Roy. That's especially the case with Dean. I know that would be a different experience for me if it was someone like K at the helm. And I'm not saying his a terrible person (putting fan rivalry aside for a moment). But I can't imagine viewing him as some great figure, beyond being a basketball coach, like a do with Dean.
Not really. I thought he was a great coach. I also got to know him while I was a student, with the job that I had, so he was always really nice and loved to joke, needle, etc..I didnt know of his politics until the 2000s, when it seemed to be more prevalent with the Bush/Iraq/9-11 era. I thought it was gross, but it made sense with the whole military thing. He also never seemed to have an issue with the lesbian basketball players (Coach G, however, had some rumors of some bad comments but I dont know that for certain). But then, what made me feel less bad, is when he was open about disliking Trump. So he was probably more in that Romney conservative vein vs our current Magafolk. It was always weird to me how you could lead and care for so many Black men, do so much community stuff, and be "conservative." Now if he had been a Huggins-like Maga? Oh then fuck him.

Also I think it's cool that he, Dean (in the later years esp post-Dean retirement) and Roy were all friends. I wonder if any of them were friends with State coaches after Valvano...doubt it.
 
Case in point the Final Four, how many 5 star OADs are playing in it?
I think 2-3?

Difference in getting a 5-star OAD (a singular figure) and building your team around that freshman with them as the focal point, go-to person in the crunch etc. That's what doesnt work. Even 2 OAD freshmen don't yield success by themselves cause rarely do they hold up to the pressure if the supporting cast isnt great
 
Case in point the Final Four, how many 5 star OADs are playing in it?
Best I can tell:

Michigan has zero 5 stars on its team
Illinois has zero 5 stars on its team
UCONN has one 5 star and potential OAD on its team ( Mullins )
Arizona has two 5 stars and potential OADs on its team (Burries and Peat )
 
Also - kind of sucks both of our blue blood programs blew 19 point leads this year in the tourney.

I pray Jason Capel becomes your coach


Also it's weird. That loss sucked for a week but it's really never stuck with me like I feared it would. I bet it would have been worse had y'all won it all. But it's really not an overly painful memory

IDK why but last Sunday was way worse.
 
I've been saying this for a few years now despite being ridiculed for eschewing 5 star OADs. Why waste time and resources chasing 5 star OADs that you may or may not get when you can use your time and resources figuring out who your targets will be in the transfer portal and which 4 star recruits might stay and develop over 3-4 years ?

I didn't take Dusty's comments to mean 5 star OADs aren't worth recruiting
 
Everybody is saying the real championship game is between Arizona and Michigan. That tells me whoever wins that game will have a let down game on Monday leading to Illinois or UConn winning it all. (Probably Uconn getting #7).
 
Everybody is saying the real championship game is between Arizona and Michigan. That tells me whoever wins that game will have a let down game on Monday leading to Illinois or UConn winning it all. (Probably Uconn getting #7).
7 since 1999 if they win this year
I assume that is about as many as all the Blue Bloods put together the last 25-30 years
 
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