Villanova Vanquishes the Devils

Well........let's get a quick show of hands out there and see who thought this one would have ended up a 24 pt shellacking by Nova. No one? Oh, just what I thought. Yes, though, many people did call for Nova to win, but in a blowout? Didn't see that coming. Well, anyway......A Scheyer 3 and Lance's bucket represented the first 5 points of the game, but sadly, it went completely sour from there. The team just looked physically overmatched, Nova played some awesome D. It was a shame we pretty much drew the matchup from hell here has Villanova just caused problems everywhere on defense with their length, athleticism, and depth. It reminded me of the '06 LSU loss, we were completely hounded everywhere we went, and we shot awfully. Gerald sure helped his NBA stock alot by shooting a torrid 1-15. He's still thinking about going to the Association. Well, at least Singler is coming back, he said. That's the silver lining to this huge cloud here, but we are still hoping G comes back. If he does, then we are going to have a helluva squad next year.

Sorry for not talking about the game that much....there really is not that much to say except we were completely handled on both ended of the floor. It's such a shame for the seniors (Greg, Dave, and Marty) to have to go out like this, ending their time here. Especially for Greg, who represented this program so well, gave everything he could to this team for 4 years, and handled his role change so well this year. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors, guys.

Something interesting was that Coach K has actually came out and said that he is acknowledging the fans' and alumni's rumblings about recruiting. It has definitely been painfully obvious that this is an incomplete team. G and Singler are pretty much the only NBA talent on the team. Look back to the late 90's-early 00's. Almost every player in the starting lineups then made it in the NBA. This program no longer is home to the top talent in the nation. No point. While Scheyer performed admirably in that position to close out the year, he is not the long term answer. Hell, we only have one more year with him. No center. Look, the point/center prospects that we recruit/sign (Shaun Livingston) always end up elsewhere. Greg Monroe? At Georgetown. Patrick Patterson? At Kentucky. Greg Echenique? At Rutgers. It is beyond me, why none of these kids would want to play for three teams that were NIT quality or worse this year, over one of the nation's top programs, and more puzzlingly with a vacancy at center. Look, nobody wants to be the center at Duke? With no centers already there? What is this coming to? My hope is that the '10 class will turn into something special with Thornton, Dawkins, Hairston, and hopefully Harrison Barnes. 

Speaking of point guards, the John Wall story, the number 1 PG prospect for next year, who we have been in contact with after Kenny Boynton decided to go elsewhere, has a new wrinkle in the story. He has actually listed Duke, according to ESPN, who was considered a longshot for him, in his final two along with Memphis. He will be meeting with Coach K today, for K to make his pitch and plead for him to join him here. He actually figures to fit perfect at Memphis though, given Memphis' reputation to house one and dones for a year, and him, with Xavier Henry and DeMarcus Cousins would make a jawdropper of a class. Wall, on the other hand has been quoted by a lot of people saying that he is "not a Duke player". Why not? Don't tell me you wouldn't be elated if Wall stepped foot in Durham, if it was only for a year. Wall is actually a good kid. Sure he will probably only spend a year in college. Some Duke fans do not think he would fit the program, his character is an issue. Bullshit. Wall could come here and make a big impact on the team for a year, before the '10 class arrives. One part of the Wall saga has brought to light shadiness in his recruitment in some people's eyes. Dwon Clifton, one of his AAU coaches, was hired away last year to Baylor. Baylor then made an immediate appearance at the top of his college list. Thus rung an alarm in some people's heads that this was a shady recruitment in the making. Since then though, Baylor has pretty much faded away in his college choices. Wall also wants to attend school close to his ailing mother. Waco, Texas is a hike from Raleigh. Not gonna cut it. Durham is a good 10-15 minutes from Raleigh. Close to home indeed. Memphis, our competitor for Wall's services, is half a day away. 12 hours. Will this be a deciding factor though, it remains to be seen. Wall going to Duke would be great. He could prove everybody wrong by coming here, showing that he is his own person, not going to Baylor, where his handler Dwon Clifton, now resides. He would prove everybody wrong by saying he does not simply want to land at Memphis for a year, just to build his draft stock. At Duke, he could do that and more, and also get a nice education for a year (Something i'm sure Mrs. Wall would like.) Some people think Wall is the thuggy type, well prove them wrong, John, and look no farther then Durham. Initially in his recruitment, we were not there. But after the Boynton debacle, we took a look. And he's been to a couple games at Cameron. We were considered a longshot for him, and now I am almost shocked that he has included us in his final two. Memphis may be the favorite for him right now, but Coach K is meeting with him today to make his case. By including Duke in his top 2, that has really spoken to me about his character. He has spurned a father-figure to him (Clifton) at Baylor, and he looks like he will not be going to N.C. State. I never thought we would be this big of a player in the Wall race. Since we've gotten this far, recent recruiting failures aside (Patterson, Monroe, Boynton)why not think we can get him? Come on, John, We'd love to have you at Duke. We NEED you. 

Having John Wall would be HUGE for this program. One step closer in completing the puzzle here. 

Go DUKE!