Day III
Sometimes, you've got to take the bad with the good. Today, the bad side of the location of the ACC Tournament bit me.
Once again, I assume you all know the scores by now, so I'll just write about the environment. The Tar Heels are gone. There's still some faded blue around the place, but they're irrelevant. Duke's concern was an up and down Wake team, and clearly Wake was recently on an upward swing. On the other hand, we still have Mike Krzyzewski on the bench, and we've got the leadership of Cwell and Shane. Down 8, I had no worries. As I said to one of the people sitting next to me, "Wake's strategy of shooting 70% seems to be working." At the time, I knew it couldn't last.
Down one at halftime, I heard enough doubts. I know Coach K has forgotten more basketball than the vast majority of us will ever know. Besides, why second guess? I'm ecstatic with how the team has performed this year.
We were hot enough in the second half, and there were no doubts in my mind that we would win.
Met up with some DBR folks between games, and hearing that there weren't many seats booked, I
iopted to pass on dinner. This was a mistake. Charlotte is really not a good site for an ACC Tournament; traffic is bad and the Coliseum is isolated from almost everwhere. Orin Day, his wife Karen, and I went looking for a place to eat, and were usually greeted with 75-90 minute waits for tables. We opted for takeout...
Back to the games. Maryland vs State was the second game, and our hopes for the game were for a lot of overtime. We nearly got it, a possible tying shot rimmed out in the last seconds. It looked fairly physical, and it would be nice if Maryland was beat up.
The Charlotte Coliseum bit me again at the start of the second game. The rows of seats in Charlotte are really packed tightly. I can't really seat with my knees forward without hitting the seat in front of me, and I'm not very tall. Anyway, I was carrying in a soda, and handed it to my neighbor to hold as I tried to squeeze past. Well, I jostled his arm, and my soda went down my back, and on the people in the two rows in front of me. If you are readying this, sorry...
Anyway, the ACC Tournament belongs in Greensboro.
Here's to beating the Terps tomorrow.
Oh, before I forget, cheerleader ratings:
Wake even Duke
NC State > Maryland
Day IV
Well, I am home after an exciting weekend of basketball in North Carolina. Many thanks to those people who arranged the ticket for me, and it was great to see the DBR crowd again. I guess I've got to go to work in a few...
This time the day started with breakfast with Julio's family; Julio is still handling some top secret business for the President, but should be back any day now. I managed to get what I thought would be a decent parking space, and ambled in for the one game of the day.
Did anyone here really have any doubts? I guess I felt confident that a team with Coach K on the bench and C-well on the floor would find a way to win. And, despite a piss-poor first half shooting effort, they did. If you ever get the chance, join in the fun of celebrating the awarding of the ACC Championship to the winning Blue Devils!
Best cheer: Drive home safely (clap clap clap-clap-clap)
Glad to see Boozer play well. Overall, it was good to see Mike Dunleavy back, and he doesn't look like he missed a step.
Managed to get to my flight on time, although the guy sitting next to me was a St. John's alum and razzed me for the DBR. I hate St. John's. A couple Carolina students made some comment about beating us in the tournament, to which I responded, "But we're not going to the NIT." (Stupid, stupid selection committee.)
It's good to be the king.