12/5: (10) North Carolina vs. (5) Kentucky

• hoops23

  

  Just giving you a hard time Rec
• reclegend22

  

  No, I know.
  
  Believe you me, I'd be doing the same to you
  
  My self-awareness, as I said, is starting to grow wearisome. This "ACC true champion" campaign I have forged is even tiring me out. Lol.
• hoops23

  

  lol, I honestly don't pay it any mind. Trust me, I feel the same way you do about the ACC title, as I'm sure ANY true fan of an ACC team does, but as long as they keep playing for (and winning) National titles, I have no quarrels about losing in the ACC Tourney!
  
  Now, under the Doherty regime, that was the worst tenure possible. My best friend is a Duke fan and I heard it for a long time during that stretch...
  
  I shiver thinking about Kris Lang, and even though Jason Capel gave 110% every game, he was not talented enough to be a difference maker. Especially against those stacked Duke teams. I remember that year starting off terribly before the season even begun, due to Julius Peppers and Ron Curry opting not to play basketball, and instead getting ready for the NFL draft. I knew right then we were in DEEP shit, for lack of a better word lol..
  
  But, one thing I will always remember, even though we were blown out in Cameron that year, Jason Capel received a standing ovation from the Cameron crowd after he had about 5 or 6 straight offensive rebounds on his own misses. He was determined to get that basket, but alas, it never went in... His dream of getting that basket was crushed, just as our season was that year. Worst season imaginable.
• reclegend22

  

  That Capel lay-up sequence is a favorite moment of mine in the rivalry for some reason. Every time I watch that game -- I used to watch it all the time; Jason Williams was playing in an alternate world that day -- I get chills when the Cameron crowd starts applauding for Capel. It's a combination of Capel's effort, which anyone could admire, and the power and emotion of the rivalry. There is nothing like Duke-Carolina. Even with all the hate, each side knows how badly the other wants to win and the beat the other's ass. That's respect in its highest form. (Scratching Duke's '95 and Carolina's '02 season anomalies from the books) Both sides know the other is great, and the only other team in the country worthy of being their true adversary. It's late and I'm stopping there because I fear I might try to turn this into a hoops poem or something. Lol. If I start rhyming, please shoot me.
  
  With that said, even when we do get back to winning titles in Durham (whenever that may be), I'll still want the ACC championship first and foremost (number one, because that title comes before winning an NCAA title, and number two, because winning the best conference in basketball in college basketball history is just something I always want. Once that's wrapped up, then I'll lick my chops for Monday Night. Damn I miss that night so much. Nothing beats that first Monday in April, when you wake up on a crisp spring day and know your team is playing for the national championship.
  
  And as for tough seasons, I suffered through '95. I was young, but 13-18 is still brutal. Although nowhere near that or 8 and 20, 2006-07 was a harsh year to watch Blue Devil basketball. The four losses in a row in the ACC, the games scoring in the 60s almost each and every night, the four losses to end the season, just awful. Not that the team was really that bad -- we still finished with 22 victories -- but the way in which we played was mind numbing, especially when realizing in November that there wouldn't be a change in that style for 12 more months. And Josh McRoberts. How I hate memories of him in a Duke uniform, dribbling behind his back...
• Lucky_leroy

  Obviously Calipari has again shown his strength as a GM er coach by putting a killer line-up on the floor & still remaining under the salary cap!! Wait till next year, if UK isn't on probation by then, I believe they'll have 2 mid-level exceptions kicking in with Wall & Cousins moving on in the Cal "one-and-done" philosophy. Cheer up, at least there's no waitress on the table routines!! Go Cats!!
• ironman02

  All this talk about '95 Duke and '02 Carolina got me thinking. I honestly don't have that many vivid memories of the 2002 season. I remember bits and pieces, such as the Capel sequence mentioned above, but apparently I have successfully blocked out most of the painful memories. I guess that's probably a good thing.
  
  I was reading a thread on one of the Carolina forums a couple weeks ago that mentioned some really interesting stories about Doherty and his time at Carolina. Some of the stories just blew my mind. It's hard to imagine that the Carolina program went downhill so fast after Dean left, but as quickly as that happened, Roy turned things back around in a short period of time too.
  
  Roy has taken a lot of heat recently for some of the comments in his new book, especially about the Delvon Roe situation, but on the whole, I couldn't be happier to have him as the head coach in Chapel Hill. I understand the dislike for him from opposing fan bases because I feel the same way about their coaches as well. It's just part of being heated rivals. Carolina's program has now won two titles in the last five years and appears to be in good shape to add another one in the near future. I said all of that to basically say this. It's hard to believe that just 8 years ago Carolina was 8-20 and now they're coming off a second title in just a few years. I suppose that can be attributed to having an overall basketball tradition that is second to none, as well as having a great coach/recruiter running the program.
• hoops23

  

  Well stated^
  
  By the way, have you read his book ironman02?
• ironman02

  No, haven't read it yet. I've seen a few excerpts online (basically the one about Roe and about he and Guthridge not speaking for a while), but I need to buy it soon. From everything I've heard, it's basically a "tell-all, don't hold anything back type of thing, which is always pretty interesting since you get a lot of behind the scenes info.
  
  Have you had a chance to read it yet?
• hoops23

  

  Not yet, I was looking over it in Borders today though and it's definitely interesting. Almost bought it, but decided to wait until Christmas.
• reclegend22

  

  Speaking of books (ones that I'd actually read), has any one of you read Four Corners or Tobacco Road? If so, which one is better?
  
  To be fair, I do own A Coach's Life. Or at least it sits on my bookshelf. Can't remember ever reading it, though.
• ironman02

  Haven't read Four Corners or Tobacco Road, but I need to.
  
  Apparently I have a pretty lengthy Christmas list when it comes to books.
• reclegend22

  

  Same here, iron. Basketball books I want this year include: The two mentioned above, "Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure," "Duke Basketball: A Complete Record," "Maravich" (even though I own about 14 Pistol Pete books), "My Life on a Napkin" and "The Smart Take from the Strong" by Pete Carril.
  
  I love reading hoops books, and just reading in general.
• hoops23

  

  reclegend22 wrote: Speaking of books (ones that I'd actually read), has any one of you read Four Corners or Tobacco Road? If so, which one is better?
  
  To be fair, I do own A Coach's Life. Or at least it sits on my bookshelf. Can't remember ever reading it, though.

  I have read A Coach's Life, it's a great book...
  
  I haven't read the other two however.