Jesus that was intense.
A fantastic Duke-Carolina game was played at Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night. Really, it was two games: The Tar Heels absolutely dominated the first half, killing Duke inside (Tyler Zeller was phenomenal, as was Plastic-Man John Henson, man that kid is athletic) and going up by 14 at the break.
Then, after I spent most of halftime bitching and moaning about the first half to my friend Tony (who was sky-high because his Georgetown Hoyas beat Syracuse Wednesday), Duke showed great heart and toughness coming back, and pulling away for a six-point win.
Bunch of quick-hit thoughts from the game:
– Carolina is going to be scary good. And soon. Kendall Marshall at the point, the big guys inside, and a whole lot of athleticism coming off the bench. I just don’t think the young Heels were ready to win a game like this.
– Seth Curry, we’ve been waiting. All Duke fans have been waiting for you to explode and show us why you were so hyped as a transfer two years ago. Tonight, you earned your place in Blue Devil lore.
– The Plumlee brothers are destined to frustrate Duke fans for their whole careers. How you guys played in the second half? Do that all the time!
– Nolan Smith, sensational tonite. Just fabulous. Carried Duke for long stretches. He and Jimmer are the Players of the Year.
– Harrison Barnes was rendered invisible by the Duke defense in the second half. Very disappointing effort for the big-time UNC freshman.
– Thought Cameron was as loud as its been in years tonight, and I was just watching on TV. A few others have said it was especially deafening, too. Great job, Crazies.
– What a rivalry. Such intensity. So many incredible games over the year. Every win over Carolina is special. They play again on March 5.
Can. Not. Wait.
**I love this story all kinds of a lot. For decades, college administrators have employed students on their campuses to “check up on” athletes to make sure they were going to class, doing their work, etc.
But Kansas University has taken that process to a whole new level. According to this story in the Wall Street Journal, the school has hired senior citizens to check on their stars.
The Grandmas and Grandpas must be quite a sight strolling around the Lawrence, Kans., campus, and I’m envisioning a septugenarian grabbing a teenager by the ears while muttering “You think you’re getting out of sociology class today, sonny? I don’t think so.”
There are some occupational hazards, one of the senior citizens said; he waited around for hours one time for a kid to show up, until he realized he had the wrong classroom.
Apparently, though, the practice is working; Kansas hasn’t had any players flunk off the basketball team lately.
