I would only supplement this by saying they are pretty good at getting to and finishing around the rim as well. But this is the thinking I would like to see more of. We know Wright is an all-American, we know they can shoot, but we can do some things pretty well also.
True, but only about 20% of teams have returned and play significant minutes for this team. Understandable that some are gunshy, but the nice thing about a new team is that they have a short memory. I guarantee Justise, Jah and Tyus don't really have much of a feeling about what Austin or Jabari didn't do.
I also don't necessarily agree with this statement. It's easy to say they haven't played a full game intensity-wise, but first it's a little unfair of a statement, because this team has played their asses off all season, to get some of the wins they notched and lapses in play don't always mean thy aren't giving what they have in that moment. This team has played as hard as any that I've seen in the tournament. I bet we can find quite a few instances of this Utah team not giving it all up and losing leads, etc.
Not to mention the 02 team that had Williams, Boozer, Duhon, Dunleavy, and Jones. Or the 2011 team with Irving, Singler, Smith, Curry , and Plumlee x2. Also lost in the Sweet 16 in 00, 03 and 09. This century, it has certainly been the toughest round for Duke for whatever reason. Of the 13 tournament losses Duke has since 2000, 7 of them came in this round. I would love to hear theories on why that is, it is a strange thing.
Maybe you misunderstood me. I'm not implying Duke played balls to wall every minute of every game. I am saying that I think they are as focused for games as most teams, if not more. You don't win as many games as Duke has without doing so. And if this Duke team has lapses, so does Utah. And so does Gonzaga. And so does Kentucky and Arizona and West Virginia and so on and so on.
I live 30 minutes east of Orem, down Provo canyon, in a small town named Heber City. I'm originally from alaska, but met my wife here, so this is where I ended up. For the most part it's great, a little different then most places I have lived, but the people are nice and the economy was never really effected when thing got tough.
I recall some pretty big three balls falling on that floor!!!!!
I agree. I actually argued this point with a Carolina friend of mine yesterday. He believes that Carolina has a better shot of upsetting Wisconsin, than say, Utah upsetting us. I disagree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. I think we are going to have our hands full and more with this Utah team.
