"iffy" play
 

In looking at the play several times over from each of the two inconclusive replays, I think that the play was judged absolutely correctly. Redick's arms went up together at the moment he was dispossessed of the ball, which is consistent with a clean strip. If it had been the obvious hack some (myself and the Duke bench included) thought it was when the play occurred, at least one of Redick's arms would have come out at a much slighter angle to the floor.

The interesting thing about the play, to me, was that the rotation was slow by the trail who administered the throw-in. Olandis Poole, at the lead, rotated smartly and quickly, while the old slot official wisely held his position at the FTLE based on his anticipation of the play. Unfortunately, his angle closed on him when Redick was converged upon in the middle of the lane. By the time Redick was beginning to drive to the lane, the old T might have been able to close down enough to have an open look at the play; but at the time of the contact, he is not even in the picture.


Just to be clear, though, I'm sure they got it right.

While I don't assert they chocked. They did have a decent lead with a few minutes to go and failed to score a <S>FT</S> <FONT COLOR=BLUE>FG</FONT> in the last several minutes (excepting the buzzer shot). They took some ill advised shots. That could, regardles of seeding and the line, be considered choking.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Apr 6th, 2004 at 01:41 PM]

I think "choked" means you were favored to win and didn't, OR you blew a good lead and lost.

tomegun tosses it out there like they had the best team - i don't buy that. I think U-Conn was more talented. They were the pre-season #1 and were favored in this game.

So this leaves blowing a lead. Duke missed some FTs, as have many teams in the tourney. But I think the biggest factor was Duke lost their only true inside presence right before their lead evaporated. Duke is much easier to defend with Williams on the bench. UConn played good "D" and let a freshman take shots - always an advantage.

U-Conn smoked every team they played in the tournament, except Duke. They have more experience than Duke - Duke plays a senior, accompanied by freshman and sophomores. Connecticut benefitted from having two highly talented juniors as well as a senior guard, a rare thing in college ball these days. Give them their props - they earned every win.

I didn't take anything away from UCONN. Duke is the media darling and they lost. Choke or not they lost and I'm like it! People wouldn't feel this way if Duke this and Coach K that wasn't shoved down our throats all the time. I still think Coach K is a little overrated. That is just my opinion.

I would put some money on it right now that Duke will be pre-season #1. They are constantly up there. If I was a Duke fan I would be pissed because I would think "we always have the talent, what is the problem?"

Having reviewded the game film of the UMD - Duke game with my team, I truly believe that COach K was outcoached in that game. Williams anticipated the delay that Duke ran against G Tech and decided to play it inside, denying the back cuts that they got against G Tech. Coach K never adjusted and his team stood with 4 players above foul line extended, and the fifth ouside the 3 point line. They held the ball for 25 seconds and went one-on-one with no viable pass options - MD played help defense and stopped the drive 4 successive times.

Once again, in the national semis, I think that Calhoun outcoached K. He kept Okafor on the bench, while K burned a needless first half foul with Williams in the game. Williams was gone at crunch time, and Okafor dominated down the stretch while Duke had no viable inside presence to help hold the lead.

That said, I don't think that K is over-rated. His teams out perform most teams down the stretch of close games. There are few coaches that can hang with him in close games, which is why Duke so successfully makes the final four while others are on the outside looking in. I watch team strategies during the stretch of games, and I see some teams that tend to leave the door open and win despite it, while Duke usually knows how to close the door.

As a result, you rarely see an early round fold like you have seen from other big name programs (KU, Stanford, Arizona). Duke is not the only team with lots of talent, and they are not always the most talented. But they are the most consistent performers on the court in the tournament, year in and year out. And they were the only #1 seed to validate their seed this year.

I'm certainly no Duke fan anbd i too believe they choked. Up 8 with 3 minutes to go, led the whole game, you should win those games. 6 straight possessions, no score, that's choking.

However, they were not the most talented team. There's not even an AP All-American on the team. Emeka Okafor was a unanimous selection to that team. Connecticut was ranked preseason #1, lost 3 conference games and to Georgia Tech and Carolina. They had Final Four experience that neither Duke or GT had.

You may not like Duke, I don't, but you have to give them their do.

BTW, look for the ACC to be extremely strong next year. UNC and WF lose nobody, Duke, Maryland, and GT lose a total of 5 players, with Duhon being the only one of any consequence. Sorry ACC haters but it'll be even worse on you next year. I predict that the Preseason poll will see 5 ACC teams in the top 10. ;)

I agree that he is a great coach.Probably one of the best of all time. Unfortunately, he combines that with a real propensity to constantly whine at officials. I respect the job that he does with his players. From an official's standpoint however, I have no respect at all for his behavior towards us. During a game, it's almost like he spends more time trying to work the officials than he does actually coaching. I think that we're seeing some of the results of behavior like his right now on this forum. Fanboys see him plying his act along the sideline, and they say "Hey,Coach K is hollering at the refs. They gotta be terrible. I gotta find me an officials' forum and give all of 'em sh*t". And then here they come! Jmo.

Also, unfortunately, he isn't the only coach like that by far. It's almost accepted as normal behavior any more.

[Edited by Jurassic Referee on Apr 6th, 2004 at 04:57 PM]

I am not clear why this trend is associated with Coach K. I have seen this with coaches for years, and for years announcers like Billy Packer have lauded coaches for working the officials. And I am not sure that K does it more than the average, certainly not less. I think what is more noticeable is that little pouty look he gets like a particular call really hurts him and he can't figure out why he has been picked on.

Maybe it's just my perception, but that's how it always looks from afar.

Jurrasic,

Well said. That is the point I was trying to make a couple of weeks ago when we had our little debate :)in the "Tournament Brackets" thread. You just said it a whole lot better than I did. :D

I think he is a great coach. His behavior towards the refs leaves alot to be desired but he is not in this category by himself by any stretch of the imagination. We just see alot more of him since Duke gets so much national exposure.

I do believe I saw Hewitt blow a fuse last night and I know I heard Calhoun screaming "you gotta overrule him, you gotta overrule him...." quite clearly last night. 98% of coaches could improve there communication techniques towards "US"!

That's really what I find amazing anymore. You watch a game - any game- mens/womans, don't matter- and both coaches will be working the refs. It's almost like they honestly feel that they <b>have</b> to, or that the officials will be giving the opposing coach some kind of advantage if they don't. They must know that they can't really influence the guys/gals that they are getting at the D1 level. Most officials that have made it to that level are strong personalities, and sureashell aren't gonna be intimidated in any way, shape or form. If they could, then those people wouldn't be getting any respect at all in the leagues that they're working in, and they'd be gone within a year. Doesn't stop the coaches though. I think that they honestly feel that if they put on an act and get their fans on the refs at the same time, they might come out of it with some kind of advantage.

Watch the Pat & Gino show tonight, and you'll see what I mean. They're a hoot to watch. It's almost like the fate of civilization depends on whether a travel gets called or not. And when the game's over, get your moderator hat on. I can almost guarantee that, if the game is close, the losing fanboys will be showing up. :D

Which is what was kinda nice about last night's games - fewer people complain about a blowout.

Of course, we all know that there's already been a conspiracy to get a UConn-Tennessee Women's Championship Game. And I think we are pretty sure that the refs are going to throw tonight's game to UConn for the merchandising that will come with both a double championship for UConn and a threepeat for the UConn women. :rolleyes: