The Curse Strikes Again!!

The
Duke Curse has struck again! Doug Wrenn of UConn is off the team after a
"breach of the peace.". This follows a number
of problems UConn has had since winning the championship:

• A drug arrest (El-Amin)
• Hamilton & El-Amin leaving early
• Two car controversies

And then there's Wrenn, who has caused a ton of problems on his own:

• Suspended for the Duke game
• cited by New Haven police for creating a public disturbance
• investigated for swapping boots for tickets (also cleared)

This underscores the dilemma the Duke Curse presents: is it worth it, is it
really worth it to beat Duke when you end up paying such a severe price? To
recap - and the evidence is getting to be fairly convincing - here's a list of
what has happened to people who beat Duke. Doubt at your own peril:

 

• 1984, Boston College, lost coach Gary Williams soon thereafter to Ohio
  State. Program revived long enough to beat UNC, then self-destructed and
  lost Jim O' Brien to...Ohio State.
• 1985, Washington. The next year they played in Durham so riddled
  with injuries that Detlelf Schrempf had to play point guard. A long decline
  ensued and their German connection dried up. Decline finally arrested
  by....Bob Bender
• 1986, Louisville: A long slow descent followed, complete
  with probation.
• 1987, Indiana: A painful downperiod until 1992 Final Four
  (where they lost to.....Duke). Decline reversed somewhat this year but NCAA
  struggles continue, losing this year to Pepperdine. Knight also under attack
  since tournament.
• 1988, Kansas: Probation, lost coach.
• 1989, Seton Hall: slow decline ensued, finally
  arrested by...Amaker, who very nearly got them into the Final Eight.
• 1990, Vegas. Lost rematch, lost coach, lost most prestige,
  got Rollie Massimino
• 1991 n/a
• 1992 n/a
• 1993, Cal. Probation, lost coach, big scandal, still
  recovering.
• 1994, Arkansas: a small probation, faded for several years,
  just now reviving, but Nolan Richardson is unhappy and muttering about
  leaving.
• 1995 n/a
• 1996, Eastern Michigan: Lost coach (to Cal), faded from view, not heard
  from since.
• 1997, Providence: Program peaked, fell, lost coach to UVa
• 1998, Kentucky: Lost players to hardship in '98, draft,
  transfers at the end of '99, a rash of serious auto related problems, most
  recently including Desmond Allison's arrest. Tubby Smith is unhappy with the
  fans and the way they treat his family and is rumored to be looking around.
• 1999, UConn: El-Amin arrested for marijuana possession, , Hamilton left, two car/image
  problems. Doug Wrenn arrested for alleged shoplifting before the season,
  suspended twice. El-Amin suffers a critical injury in tournament, team loses
  to Tennessee in NCAAs. Wrenn kicked off team after a post-season arrest.
• *2000, St. John's: Erick Barkley is being investigated for serious
  transgressions. Probation is a strong possibility. Agents,
  "dates," money from rappers reported. Barkley leaves for NBA after sophomore year.
• *2000, Maryland: defeated Duke in Cameron, suffered one of the most embarrassing
  losses in NCAA tournament history.
• *2000, Stanford: upset by an underachieving UNC program
• *2000, Cincinnati. On the verge of an NCAA championship, their star player
  breaks a leg on the eve of the tourney. During the tourney (after
  being eliminated by Tulsa), star freshman DerMarr Johnson announces he's
  going pro. Nascent dynasty is toast.
• 2000, Florida: lost their star player Mike Miller to the NBA and their
  most talented player, Donnell Harvey, is set to follow

*Regular season losses