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Thomas Morgan
Here's what I'm thinking guys...things are looking pretty good right now for
our boys. I didn't get to see the game last night, but from what I heard
and read, Mike D. is ready to start contributing again in a major way.
That's huge. I think we've definitely got enough to win the ACC tourney,
and hopefully pay back Maryland for that home loss. I think that Duke has
as good a shot as anyone to cut the nets down in Indy...other than Duke, I
see Temple, Michigan St., Arizona, Stanford, Iowa St. and maybe one of those
SEC teams causing lots of trouble. I think that Kenyon Martin took his
injury with a ton of maturity and perspective, and he will be sorely missed
in this tournament. And I think that you guys are doing a fantastic job,
and I'm looking forward to your coverage the rest of the way!
NDGoodwin
I really love the confidence level of duke and the team chemistry that has
helped produce it. We have quality people and quality players and a coach who
has reached his absolute pinnacle in terms of harnessing his own, and his
team's, best qualities. What a ride we are having! May it continue and
continue and continue.
Boyd Blackburn
Well it looks like if Duke wins the ACC Tourney that they've stumbled
into the end-of-the-season #1 ranking in the polls. Not bad for a
down year. As far as the NCAA goes, I'm suddenly very optimistic
about Duke's chances of making it to the Final Four and perhaps
winning it all. Dunleavy really completes this team. All of a
sudden, Carrawell doesn't look like he's tired and pushing to do too
much, and nobody has to play all 40 minutes. This will help
especially on keeping up their defensive intensity. The only warning
flag is Duke's dependence on their 3-point shooting to score so many
points. I'm hoping that lesser teams like Clemson have decided that
their best chance of beating Duke is to cut off the inside game and
pray Duke is cold from outside. When Duke hits a Michigan State that
isn't going to give them those easy looks from outside, I hope they
haven't forgotten how to take it inside and convert. These days it
seems like Boozer has a little celebration every time they get it to
him for a layup or dunk because he's had to work hard for it and it
happens so seldom.
Nick Wanderscheid
I think this NCAA and NIT tournament has been shaken up more in the last 36
hours then any other short period of time I can remember. First, the Pac-10
is going crazy. Stanford is sliding into the tournament, and is in some
danger of losing the #1 seed that they have owned all year. Arizona is
getting healthy and again appears to be a major force. UCLA has played their
way back into the tournament. The 3 of the 4 #1 seeds are totally up in the
air at this point in my opinion. Duke is the only team that has solidified
it's claim for a #1 seed and will have it no matter how the rest of this ACC
tournament goes. Not much else can be said about Kenyon Martin that hasn't
been said already. What an awful peice of luck for cincinatti. With their
loss, and stanford's loss to arizona last night, Duke, should they win the
ACC tournament, will enter the NCAA tournament as the #1 team in america. I
don't think this hurts or helps us. The top 5 hasn't been consistent all
year. Seems like every week it changes in a major way. So I don't think their
is that mindset of "We are the team with the bullseye" like last year. I do
really really like our chances in the NCAA tournament. I like our leadership
on the floor and on the sideline. And now with Dunleavy back, and healthy it
appears after last nights performance, I like this team. The Depth has
improved over the past couple weeks playing without Jr. Christensen has been
giving quality minutes, especially his great game vs Carolina, and Horvath,
after not playing much through the middle of the year, appears to be ready to
contribute some much needed minutes for C'well and Battier. All that said
this team is also a team that could lose in the 2nd round. Although I don't
think that will happen, it's always a possibility. Should be a wonderful
wonderful tournament, and here's hoping the Blue Devils hang a third banner
in cameron!
Frank Peters
While spending the Winter in warm and sunny Tucson, I got lucky and got
a ticket to the Arizona-Stanford game at the McKale Center at the U of A
last night. I had the pleasure of watching our old friend and would-be
Blue Devil Casey Jacobsen of the
Cardinal. Arizona won 86-81 and led by as much as 15 for a substantial
portion of the 2nd half before Stanford's furious but futile rally to
try to pull it out. And I might add the Wildcats defeated the Cardinal
for the 2nd time this year and will most likely win the Pac-10
championship if they can beat Cal at home tomorrow. This would mean
that U of A, rather than Stanford, may well get the no.1 seed in the
West. Pasrticularly if Loren Woods comes back, they certainly deserve
it.
Jacobsen looked very good in this game, even though Stanford lost.
During one stretch in the 1st half he hit 3 consecutive 3-pointers; then
as the game was winding down, with Stanford trailing, he hit a big
3-pointer from NBA 3-point range
in a futile attempt to keep the Cardinal alive. But I take it that
Dunleavy too is playing well and appears to be none the worse for the
wear from his bout with mono. Perhaps K made the right choice in
holding out for Dunleavy; hard to say, both are such outstanding
players. I might add that after seeing Jason Gardner play for U of A, I
have to concur with Dickie V's analysis
that he's the national freshman of the year; I had not wanted to believe
that, preferring to think that our own Jason (Williams) might deserve
that honor. But Gardner played with greater maturity that Williams, not
looking like a freshman at all, which Williams sometimes still does;
Gardner is a truly outstanding defensive player, breaking up play after
play, by getting his hands on Stanford passes. He couldn't always come
up with the steal, but he would often disrupt their offense by knocking
the ball out of bounds. And at 5'10" the kid can dunk the ball! Either
of these teams would be a tough opponent if we should face them in the
Final Four. Ah, but I'm looking along way ahead.
One final note on the U of A-Stanford game: I saw Chris Carrawell's old
friend and high school teammate Loren Woods on the Arizona bench, albeit
in civvies. You may know that he's out with back injury and has missed
several weeks in a row now, but
is expected to play in the NCAA tournament. You will recall his unhappy
stint at Wake; he was playing very well for U of A before hin injury,
having tied the NCAA single-game record for blocked shots at 14 in one
game.
Doug Cutchins
Hi guys--
It's lonely being a Tar Heel fan in Iowa, since they know wrestling and
football out here, and not much hoops -- but that's changing. For anyone
who hasn't seen Iowa State's Marcus Fizer play, you have missed a show and
a half. Look what he did this afternoon -- 38 points. Ok, it was against
Baylor (the Big 12's version of Northwestern), but still, 38 points is 38
points. I hope fans across the country make time to see this kid play this
week -- he's something special. I saw Kenyon Martin take apart my beloved
Heels in Chicago earlier this year, and I'd say that Fizer at least matches
if not surpasses Martin in most areas.
--Doug
Doug Cutchins
"The biggest Tar Heel fan in Iowa"
Grinnell, IA
Mark Beall
I do not envy anyone who is on this years selection committee. It's always
going to be a tough assignment, but now that Cincinnati has lost the grand
Kenyon, the upper echelon is tougher than ever to seed. This part of the
process has usually been relatively easy compared to dealing with the always
difficult process of elimination near the bottom dozen or so. Do you
reward Cincy for a remarkable season by giving them a high seed, or do you
realistically seed them as a team that just lost their cornerstone? OK,
just for arguments sake, lets say they end up as a 3rd seed. Who are the
number 1's? Duke, Stanford, Arizona, Michigan St., Ohio St., and Temple
come to mind. Duke is a lock. The rest are not. I suppose it will sort
itself out. The selection committee members have to be secretly pulling for
Temple to dominate the Atlantic 10 tournament. Then the PAC 10 champion
will join the Big 10 (11?) champion as the other top seeds leaving the PAC
10 and Big 10 runner-ups as #2 seeds along with Maryland and - Oh for cryin'
out loud! - this is why I began this ditty. Anyway, as an avid Bluedevil
fan, my heart says Duke, but my head says the Spartans will be magical
again. Realistically, if Duke makes it to the final 8, no one will be
disappointed. Think about it. If some one told you last November that Duke
would be in the final 8 wouldn't you be impressed. Expectations have risen
because of past success, and because this group of freshmen is darn good.
Cory who? What is most intriguing though is the possibility that if Duke
sweeps in Charlotte, and then makes it to the elite eight, Coach K will have
499 victories. Chris, Shane, Nate, and the boys will be determined to give
him number 500 by going to the Final Four. That would be the most fitting
way to have this particular coach reach that plateau. The gang wouldn't let
Chris lose on Senior day, and I can see them doing it again for Coach K.