Duke assassinates another quality opponet

Of course Duke will lose “a” game this year, probably three or four of them, that’s what the three point shot and the shot clock does, give weaker opponets a chance to knock of clearly stronger opponets if the stars align correctly during a game, but Duke’s methodical and fearless handling of Memphis in the NIT/National Inivitational Tournament’s championship game makes you wonder.

To Memphis’ credit, they hung tough, giving The Dookies all they wanted for the entire game, it was tied 67-67 with 41 seconds to go in the game before Duke qietly and without even touching the gas slipped into their fifth-gear overdive and before Memphis knew what happened, Duke cut their heart out of their chest and handed it to them on a platter, in the most effecient and cold-blooded manner possible, another basketball “assassination” at the hands of The Hassassin’s Guild Of Durham N.C. otherwise known as the Duke men’s basketball team.

Since Coach K came to the program they’ve taken on his personality more than any team in America has assumed the personality of their coach -ever- with the possible exception of Dean Smith when he was coaching ‘Carolina and Coach K has the mindset of the penultamet assassin, someone who studies their opponent endlessly before striking, someone who trains himself in mind and body endlessly too so that neither body nor mind will fail, someone who trains their soul to be fearless by accepting things as they are and not as he would wish them to be, someone who although a good Catholic is the embodiment of a true Zen master-warrior crossed with a ninjitsu-master-of-the-night as well, some and some-team that simply knows and accepts their position in life and carries out their assigned tasks with emotionless, piano-wire-garotte-around-the-throat effeciency.

Such coolness under pressure, especually when down however many points during a game before seemingly slipping into a higher gear at the last possible moment and winning has lead to very quiet whispers never published in the mainstream sports media about some Duke players in the past possibly “shaving points”. I’ve said it before in previous blogs and will say it again here: nothing could be further from the truth! Coach K is simply too honest and too honorable a man and too knowledgable a coach for him to tolerate even a hint of any player at any point in any game not giving 100% of their abilities to the team effort. Considering that Duke’s bench, even their third-string bench, is stronger than most other teams’ starting five, even the mere thought of any Duke player trying to negatively influence the outcome of a game by giving less than 100% at all times is simply impossible, simply impossible.

Duke’s one of those teams that everyone loves to hate and for sometimes good reason, with supreme confidence often does come the parallel perception of supreme arrogance and hubris as well, and Duke’s rope-a-dope resilency and not kicking into their shadow-fifth-gear-overdrive quick enough has indeed cost them some games, but, and I’m not a Duke alum or anything close, Duke shouldn’t be castigated because they have the best and most talented active coach in men’s college basketball nor because they continually re-load their roster with the nation’s top high school talent year after year.

Just remember “the law of balance” and that with success of their men’s basketball team, comes “the balance” of Duke’s men’s football team, a team which couldn’t beat most JV high school football teams even after being spotted nine-and-a-half points and pray that the current coach of said team, Ted Root, finds some sort of job after Duke’s football season mercifully comes to an end while the Duke’s glory basketball team quietly takes the focus off the misery gridiron team until next year at least.