***DUKE VS VIRGINIA OFFICIAL GAMEDAY THREAD***

[OldasdirtDevil]

Unreal post man, i don’t even know where to begin but saying KD is more physically gifted than Kobe or MJ is beyond wrong.

I'm speechless....well, almost. MJ possessed athletic abilities I had never seen at the time, and Kobe much the same. Don't know where Patrick came up with that.

OFC

 

[dukesince91]

I'm speechless....well, almost. MJ possessed athletic abilities I had never seen at the time, and Kobe much the same. Don't know where Patrick came up with that.

OFC

I agree OAD. He seems like a very intelligent guy, but sometimes he just over analyzes and ruins his posts. I'm just happy no one is diving for loose balls.

 

[dukiejay]

We shot 62% from 3. Last game, a 41% team from three (they hit there average last night) shot 3-17. And that wasn't the defense. They just missed threes.
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I don't feel bad, at all, for not accurately predicting the occurrence of two separate, WILDLY improbable, EXTREME statistical anomalies. They had their worst shooting night vs Duke, and we needed every miss, to win by 4 (pointless, unguarded final 2 notwithstanding).
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Last night RJ hit his first 5 threes. I'm not sure he could do that in a shooting drill. More power to him, and good for us, but I don't feel bad for not predicting the exact time and place of a lightning strike. I essentially said, "lightening probably won't strike at this exact time, in this exact place" and folks are stroking themselves, and each other, because lightening did strike at the perfect time, in the perfect place.
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What I will admit too is underestimating this team's ability to step up in big moments. For the majority of the OAD era at Duke, I've predicted that our guys would play better in tournament settings, or other big games, because that was a close approximation of the game they've played for most of their careers (and would play again in the NBA after their 1 year anomaly in college). For most of these guys, 80% or more of their games up till now "didn't matter." I mean, they did matter, but the guys would go at about 50% effort and cruise to wins most nights. They played better in big games vs other top opponents, and they stepped up their effort and focus once elimination games started. And, for most of the OAD era, I'd been wrong about that. 2015 as the lone exception, but Jones and Cook were responsible for most of that through Jones's clutch shooting, and Cook's leadership. So I sort of thought that the OAD's wouldn't step up in clutch moments, and that Tyus was an anomaly.
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This team does step up in big moments. Cam and Zion noticeably so. With Zion, I think he's got too much of LeBron in him, in that he's always been told to be nice and not to hurt or embarrass his opponents. As such, he always holds a little back, until he needs it. Cam's effort seems proportional to team need, which is why I understand the complaints he got in this regard on the recruiting trail. He does some things, and seems to see the game, in a way that very few players with his measurables and skills and athleticism can match. He should be unstoppable, all the time, but isn't for some reason.
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Then there is RJ, who has more than a little of the low grade sadism that Kobe and MJ seemed to possess. RJ wants to win, for the team, his teammates, himself, and the fans. But there is a tiny part of him that likes winning because it hurts his opponents. That they feel the pain of loss, of knowing that they are lesser compared to RJ. Kobe and Mike, as athletic and gifted as they were, never had the athletic gifts of other top players. They were close, but in a world of LeBron's, KDs, and Zions, the Kobe's and MJs and RJs are just not in that elite top tier of raw athletes. But their drive to win makes up for it. You can tell that RJ likes it when the other guy realizes that he's just not good enough. MJ loved it, indeed he reveled in it, in a low key manner. So did Kobe. They weren't demonstrative in their scorn, they just quietly basked in the pain of their defeated opponent. I think RJ has some of that, which is a good thing when channeled properly, as it almost certainly is with RJ.
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This could be the year when the OADs really step up their play come March, or in big games. The two UNC games, and the ACCT, will be telling in this regard.

There is so much wrong with this post.

The thing I’ll say is....you’re not popular here and you’re insistent on talking down to everyone else. Your smugness rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

Three weeks ago you made a really stupid post. Everyone on planet Earth knew it was stupid and called you out before the game. When the game was played and your post was proven ridiculous, rather than owning up, you grabbed a shovel and created some other-world fantasy to cover your tracks. It made you look more stupid. The easy thing to do would have been to just say, “I was wrong”....but you’re not capable of doing that. Your pride (and ego) gets in the way.

 

[dbav]

This thread got really entertaining at the end, haha.

 

[Jnood]

Sounds like he had an out, but wouldn’t dive for it, in fear of injuring his ego. :/

 

[timo0402]

There is so much wrong with this post.

The thing I’ll say is....you’re not popular here and you’re insistent on talking down to everyone else. Your smugness rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

Three weeks ago you made a really stupid post. Everyone on planet Earth knew it was stupid and called you out before the game. When the game was played and your post was proven ridiculous, rather than owning up, you grabbed a shovel and created some other-world fantasy to cover your tracks. It made you look more stupid. The easy thing to do would have been to just say, “I was wrong”....but you’re not capable of doing that. Your pride (and ego) gets in the way.

Bingo

 

[retiredsoldier]

Pride can be a dangerous thing when mixed with the I know it all mentality. Stated for a friend that lost his Internet at the moment.

 

[jwill133]

Can we take a moment and recognize Bolden for his FT shooting. He has been over 75% for a month now. He looks confident, and the stroke is great.

It's a free point or 2 each game.

 

[retiredsoldier]

Can we take a moment and recognize Bolden for his FT shooting. He has been over 75% for a month now. He looks confident, and the stroke is great.

It's a free point or 2 each game.

Yes Sir, Bolden has quietly been playing outstanding. He has been extremely key to this teams success in my opinion. It's just so much wow moments with the other guys that he gets overlooked. His defense and hustle alone is outstanding.

 

[DukefanKY]

Can we take a moment and recognize Bolden for his FT shooting. He has been over 75% for a month now. He looks confident, and the stroke is great.

It's a free point or 2 each game.

I remember someone made a comment during the game about how well he was shooting them. ..and I agree, when he goes to the line, I am fairly confident in them

 

[SoCal_Dukie3]

Sounds like he had an out, but wouldn’t dive for it, in fear of injuring his ego. :/

Well freaking played.

 

[dukehokie]

Sounds like he had an out, but wouldn’t dive for it, in fear of injuring his ego. :/

Well freaking played.

@Jnood Super underrated post.

 

[df64]

Bolden, Cam, and Tre all shooting better from the stripe. RJ too, I think. Very nice development.

 

[Jnood]

@Jnood Super underrated post.

That thread brought me back to a time, when my coach would line us up in two lines and roll the ball down the court. He would blow the whistle and it was one on one to the loose ball. If you didn’t dive for it, if you didn’t compete, you didn’t play. It was really important that you went all out, in fear of being considered a pussy. I just couldn’t imagine being competitive, and not diving on the floor. Honestly, i think it would be impossible to turn off.

 

[jwill133]

Just rewatched the game and not sure what my favorite play is. The block or Jack Salt’s free throws.

 

[skysdad]

Just rewatched the game and not sure what my favorite play is. The block or Jack Salt’s free throws.[/

I don't like Jack Salt and loved his free throw shooting. OFC

 

[Hurley22]

Just rewatched the game and not sure what my favorite play is. The block or Jack Salt’s free throws.

Not sure which block was better...Zion on Hunter or The Backboard on Salt.

 

[dukehokie]

Just rewatched the game and not sure what my favorite play is. The block or Jack Salt’s free throws.

Not sure which block was better...Zion on Hunter or The Backboard on Salt.

Hack-a-Salt

 

[retiredsoldier]

Just rewatched the game and not sure what my favorite play is. The block or Jack Salt’s free throws.

Salt shot that second free throw like he was drunk and saw 3 backboard's and decided to aim for the middle one. Making contact was a success to him.

 

[dbav]

Salt shot that second free throw like he was drunk and saw 3 backboard's and decided to aim for the middle one. Making contact was a success to him.

I actually thought he missed it intentionally. To hear he was not is amusing to me.

 

[Canadian Dukie]

He's definitely not Evelyn Salt

 

[retiredsoldier]

I actually thought he missed it intentionally. To hear he was not is amusing to me.

Lol, I know right. I bet I watched it 10 times and could not stop cracking up. The ball ended up hitting way up by the top of the square with some serious velocity.

 

[SoCal_Dukie3]

Lol, I know right. I bet I watched it 10 times and could not stop cracking up. The ball ended up hitting way up by the top of the square with some serious velocity.

Hilarious!!

 

[PixelDevil]

I was wondering why this thread kept going. Of course it was Patrick and his novels that manage to say absolutely nothing at all.