WH

Watched the Charlotte game on the DVR this morning. Very impressive. The defense keeps getting better, PG Pierria Henry is blossoming, the frontline is tough and physical and the Niners might have even found their shooter in Ivan Benkovic.

Any fan who was penciling down a win for their team over Charlotte had better rethink the idea. The makeup of the Niners will give them the chance to beat any team in the A-10, especially on their own home court.

antboy

Well, maybe nothing we can do as just a few fans. But it is possible for the folks who manage the officials to change how Duke games are refereed. It's also possible for fans to pressure those folks managing referees to make changes, if enough of them communicate their displeasure effectively. The fact that we have basketball analysts on t.v. debating whether Duke gets the calls is a start, but also a sign that not enough fans have made their observations known.

They get good defensive position sometimes and rightfully get the call in most of those cases. They also don't get every single call. But a lot of times they don't get position and yet still get the bs offensive foul call by exaggerating and who knows why else. They do a good job acting to get fouls called on the defense too. Coach K clearly teaches both of these things, then gets away with riding the refs hard when they aren't given every advantage. I suppose if you think this is what should be a part of good basketball and you don't mind your team playing every game with headwind, then you don't mind that Duke is considered a better team in part because Coach K is a good acting coach. I'd rather see other things rewarded.

WH

I'd rather see other things get rewarded too, but flopping doesn't account for the success of coach K's teams. VCU lost because it could not hit open shots and free throws.

I don't see anything resulting from a national campaign to persuade refs that Duke players flop. Any coach who complains sounds self serving and it comes across as sour grapes.

NinerAdvocate

Thanks for the praise. Am wondering how long it will take to cut down on the silly unforced TOs and develop some consistent offensive chemistry.

We're not awful by any means - we're good for about 70/night I think against all but the best D's, but the TOs keep some of these teams in games that should be over earlier.

How about Mayfield's 14-16 from the FT line last night? Encouraging to see him turn it around after his struggles last year.

antboy

Of course it's not the only reason Duke has success, if that's what you meant by that comment. I don't see anyone arguing that. They have good players who are usually well-coached, in acting and other aspects of modern basketball. The point is preference from the refs gives them an unfair edge in addition to the other factors that make them good. VCU might have still won by hitting more open shots and ft's, but why should they have to hit even more open shots and ft's than they would playing other teams? I.e. why should you have to effectively beat Duke by 11 if calls were fair in order to beat them by 1 when calls aren't fair?

A truly national campaign to stop this Duke and Coach K preference would not come across as sour grapes. If only one coach does it, sure, but if they and most of the fans are all doing it then it would appear entirely differently. Just accepting that it's Duke so they'll naturally be harder to play b/c they get preferential treatment without questioning why they should get preferential treatment is bizarre to me. I think every close Duke win should get an asterisk until this gets adjusted.