Duke Never Loses, They Just Don’t Meet Their Standards

General15

While I have a great deal of respect for the basketball program over at Duke, I constantly get the feeling that Duke itself doesn’t have a lot of respect for any program not named “UNC.”  Any time the Blue Devils lose a game, one consistently hears the same excuse rolling out of the locker room:

Duke: ‘We Relaxed Our Standards’

On Monday, players spoke firmly about their eagerness to correct the mistakes that occurred during the 81-73 loss to Michigan.

“We relaxed all our standards,” center Brian Zoubek said, “and that can’t happen.”

Maybe so.  But honestly, after hearing that and similar comments year after year, it starts to come across as annoying arrogance.  Even Roy Williams and his crew over at UNC will be the first to congratulate the opposition when they’re beaten, and when they do, it sounds genuine.  Duke, not so much…in fact, not at all.  And once you notice them doing this, it starts to take on the tone of fingernails across a chalkboard.

General

15 Responses to Duke Never Loses, They Just Don’t Meet Their Standards

  1. Daily Update 12/17/2008 at 8:41 AM #

    Duke arrogant? No way…

  2. LRM 12/17/2008 at 8:44 AM #

    I can’t wait until the day when we’re good enough to be annoyingly arrogant.

  3. choppack1 12/17/2008 at 8:48 AM #

    I guess I’m like you LRM, I look forward to the day when we have a rare loss and our players – knowing they didn’t give every ounce of energy they had available – go “we didn’t play Wolfpack basketball today.”

    Coach K really changed the template of how college basketball is played. I hate his Duke teams – and how they get so many calls – but they play w/ an intensity I’d love to see at NC State.

  4. Alpha Wolf 12/17/2008 at 8:51 AM #

    There’s intensity in the game, and the humility of good sportsmanship after the game is over — win or lose. Duke certainly has intensity, and I too would love to see it. Afterward, however, it is always about them and never any credit to the opposition.

    Even during the days of the 73/74 team, the guys would give props to the team that they played.

  5. Daily Update 12/17/2008 at 8:52 AM #

    Choppack: I was going to point out the same thing. There isn’t a program in the ACC(probably the entire country, but let’s focus on what we all watch closely) that has played with more intensity than Duke the last 25 years. I think part of it is superior conditioning because there have been many years where they don’t have a lot of depth.

    This will be my first game I have seen us play this year and a few of the things I will be watching for is how well conditioned we are, our intensity, and defensive pressure.

    We will probably never have the most talented team, but we should be able to play as hard as anyone in the country.

  6. RickJ 12/17/2008 at 9:10 AM #

    “Even during the days of the 73/74 team, the guys would give props to the team that they played.”

    This team did show a lot of class during the year. Of course, they only lost one game to UCLA in December and they bitched and moaned all the way back from St. Louis to anyone that would listen about the officiating, each other and Keith Wilkes.

    What is the old saying – show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.

  7. Noah 12/17/2008 at 9:56 AM #

    Hasn’t Michigan beaten two top-five teams this year?

  8. Tar Heel Fan 12/17/2008 at 10:14 AM #

    You also get Coach K instructing other team’s players on how they should celebrate.

    I would dispute the Duke has superior conditioning. Maybe in the 80s and 90s but most of the teams over the past few years have been really good until about mid-February then all of sudden the shooting goes south and the team falls apart. JJ Redick was worn out by the end of his seasons there which explained his choking during the postseason. That was allegedly the problem with Singler last season. Yes, Duke teams play with a lot of intensity and I have a feeling the practices are equally intense but I wonder to what extent if affects their ability to play at a top level at the end of the season. K has players he could use but chooses not to which I think ultimately hurts them.

  9. backinpack 12/17/2008 at 10:28 AM #

    Coach K really changed the template of how college basketball is played. I hate his Duke teams – and how they get so many calls – but they play w/ an intensity I’d love to see at NC State.

    Can’t agree more, choppack1. When I watched our team play defense against Davidson, I noted several times where we could have stepped into passing lanes to deflect or deter passes and we just didn’t. Duke does this in a regular basis and it’s a major part of their offensive strategy (yes I typed that correctly).

    I would like to see us move to a scheme that is more aggressive like that and takes more risk. I think we would have to put up with a season of complaining from those who don’t know much (but seem to be all around me at games 🙂 ) about how we can’t play defense, but in the long run I think it would make a huge difference.

  10. wufpup76 12/17/2008 at 11:32 AM #

    “Hasn’t Michigan beaten two top-five teams this year?”

    Yes. Overrated UCLA, and overrated Duke.

    Duke is a good team, don’t get me wrong – but this is once again not a vintage Duke team … They have a little bit of the Notre Dame effect in being rated so high

    This is the same team that Belmont should’ve put away in the first round last season … Singler has improved, Duke has shown some great defense at times – but a great team they are not …

    It’s the same story as the past few seasons for Duke – beat up on the average and bottom teams in the ACC – get a high seed that may or may not be deserved (a 6 seed when they lost to VCU – really?) – run into a physical team and/or quick team in the round of 32 or 16 – lose when don’t get EVERY SINGLE CALL

    Also, I have heard plenty of times from Heels teams that they beat themselves in a given game … This has been better under Roy Williams in not happening as much, but I have heard plenty of “we really beat OURSELVES tonight” from the Heels in the past

    Then again, as others have pointed out – when you don’t lose but a few times a year almost anything you say comes across as annoying arrogance 😉

  11. 61Packer 12/17/2008 at 12:23 PM #

    While Duke is taking on (and almost always beating) the nation’s best, we continue to whine about their perceived arrogance while continuing to dream about no more than just making it to the Big Dance. With a steady diet of home games against the likes of UNC-G, UNC-A, ECU, Towson, Mount St. Mary’s, South Carolina State, Loyola (Md.), Winston-Salem State, NC Central, William & Mary, New Orleans, High Point, Lipscomb, Stetson, Delaware State, UNC-W, Western Carolina, New Hampshire, and Louisiana-Lafayette year after year, who in their right mind believes this is helping us build an ACC-level program? We’re lucky these days to get ANY games on tv, even on ESPN-U. I understand the need to play smaller schools on occasion, but why do we continue year after year to play the bulk of our schedule against these guys in a 21,000-seat facility?

    Absent from our home schedule almost every season are teams from the Pac 10, Big XII, and SEC, despite having a facility and fan base here that rivals anything any of those leagues boast. Seldom do we play anyone from the Big East here. There was no Big Ten opponent this season, despite knowing a year ago we wouldn’t be in this year’s Challenge due to finishing last in the ACC. And if it hadn’t been for the 1974 team, I doubt we’d be playing Marquette here next week. We’d probably be playing Wofford or East Tennessee State. Another game to fill out the schedule.

    So while we endure the home schedule of endless no-names that come and go, Duke (and UNC) continue to take on all comers (usually on national tv, a plus for recruiting), preparing themselves for the upcoming ACC schedule that they usually dominate because tough home and road games have prepared them well, despite the occasional loss like Duke had at UM. Better to lose there than in Greenville if you’re talking basketball.

    And now, Wolfpack Nation is fired up over a home basketball game vs ECU. Criticize Lee Fouler (sic) all you want, but his dumbing-down process definitely works here.

  12. wufpup76 12/17/2008 at 1:07 PM #

    ^Disagree strongly.

    This particular post was aimed at the arrogance of Duke – which is undeniable … Most State fans, however – at least on this blog – readily admit that Duke’s program is in better shape and their schedule is better (though scaled back last season and this season)

    If you take a look at most posts centered on only NC State basketball you will see that most folks are overly critical and the reaction is generally negative … And certainly most on here on not content on “just hoping to make the tournament”

    Most people on this blog want a better schedule in basketball – and last season it was better for the most part. The schedule took a step back this season with the weakness of Winthrop and no pre-season tournament appearance … I’m thankful for Marquette and Florida being on the schedule

    I don’t think Wolfpack Nation is “fired up” for a matchup w/ ECU, either … just wanting to start the road to recovery by repaying them

    Lee Fowler’s “dumbing-down process” does not work here – at least not on this blog … You took an inane post about a rival team and twisted it into a cheap shot aimed at SFN and all Pack fans

    I don’t really see your point – most fans are pretty close to fed up with the basketball program … Why take your vitriol out on the fans?

    If you have a problem with the basketball program and where it stands then Lee Fowler and the athletics department is the first place you should direct your criticism … especially if you’re critical of the schedule

  13. Dire_Wolf 12/17/2008 at 1:58 PM #

    On a side note – I’m not sure if they still do this today – but Duke used to make their athletes take the SAT over and over again even after they were enrolled at Duke. This was done so they could inflate the SAT scores of their athletes to be closer to that of the student body.

    Yeah, undeniable arrogance at its finest.

  14. Paramarine 12/17/2008 at 2:40 PM #

    ^ I have a lot of trouble believing that one.

  15. happypackdad 12/17/2008 at 3:57 PM #

    No need to beef-up the sch until we can beat the team we play now. NCSU plays a tough ACC sch each yr. A much tougher non-conf sch would almost guarente not getting to the dance this yr. As the program builds, than get a tougher group of games, not now.

    No Pack fan is happy with “just going to the dance”. But most are realistic.

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