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Wed Jan 21, 2009 10:39 am EST

Poll Dancing: Duke is No. 2! (Happy, Coach K?)

By Chris Chase

-- Mike Krzyzewski is upset that his team isn't getting more recognition from a local newspaper for earning a No. 2 ranking. This would be akin to Barack Obama complaining that MSNBC didn't cover his inauguration with enough enthusiasm.

Coach K is likely just upset that he had to spend the entire off-season hearing about how great North Carolina was and now he's stuck listening to everybody fawn over Wake Forest. Really, he should be upset that he actually scheduled a true non-conference road game this year (at Michigan) and lost, which is the main reason his team isn't as "celebrated" as he'd like.

The week got rougher for Duke: Not only did the Blue Devils have to suffer the indignity of not having their No. 2 ranking honored with headline sizes normally reserved for moon landings but they had to play an ACC game last night that was telecast regionally on Raycom Sports. Regionally! Expect a strongly-worded letter to appear on ACC Commissioner John Swofford's desk within the hour.

-- Coach K can take solace in the fact that our favorite AP voter, Jon Wilner, voted his team No. 1 this week while slotting the overall top team, Wake Forest, at No. 4. (Of the 72 voters in the Associated Press poll, 68 ranked Wake No. 1. The other three voters had the Deacs at No. 2.) This concludes all mentions of Jon Wilner on this site for the rest of the season.* Looking at his latest ballot, it's become apparent that the only reason anybody would possibly rank teams so carelessly is for attention. And since we've given Mr. Wilner plenty of attention in the past three weeks, the time has now come to ignore him.

--  Voter of the Week: Michael Vega (The Boston Globe) -- Vega had Syracuse ranked higher (No. 5) than any other voter in the AP poll. He was also the only pollster to leave No. 12 Georgetown off the ballot completely. One week ago, Georgetown defeated Syracuse, 88-74. 

* This may be an empty promise. With the way Wilner is going it's only a matter of time before he ranks Tennessee at No. 1 and something like that would be impossible to ignore. 

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  1. russ.carter55
    1. Posted by russ.carter55 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:56 pm EDT

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    I hate that Rat Faced Crybaby! Him & WoJo crying at recruits in home visits, Constant crying to the Game officials (& never gets T'ed up) just a loud mouth punk.
  2. Kyle D
    2. Posted by Kyle D Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:52 pm EDT

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    dude your coloumn is a joke anybody that hates on a guy that does things the right way and brought the gold medal back to the us is a total hater of coach k. duke is back and they are legit this year maybe if you would watch some more games you would be able to see that then sitting on hear like the computer nerd you are hating on the best coach in college basketball.
  3. dheffner98
    3. Posted by dheffner98 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:42 pm EDT

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    Who are you to call the greatest coach ever a crybaby. Until you have credentials like his you need to give him the respect he so rightly deserves!
  4. James G
    4. Posted by James G Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:34 pm EDT

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    It ain't easy being a true number one. Coach K has nothing to prove but if you give 5 or 6 more years at the win rate he is always on he will be the winningest coach ever. As for now Duke did decide to take a vacation in Michigan and let one get away but, if they continue to get stronger as they appear do be doing I wouldn't want to play them especially at home. Rant all you want about Coach K and Duke for now but in the end the only one's laughing will be them. As for the number one ranking, who wants that monkey on your back this early in the season. Duke is perfectly placed in the rankings for now.
  5. Grammy
    5. Posted by Grammy Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:38 pm EDT

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    Really, don't you have anything more interesting to write about? And aren't these your exact words?
    "Coach K is likely just upset that he had to spend the entire off-season hearing about how great North Carolina was and now he's stuck listening to everybody fawn over Wake Forest". Where were you in the "off-season" when he coached the Olympic team to a gold medal? Do you really think that he was thing about North Carolina at that time? Come on!!!! It seems that you want to get attention like you say Jon Wilner does. Why don't you write something on a different subject. Everyone and his uncle dislikes Coach K and writes about it. The heck with all of you. go Duke!!!!
  6. Peter S
    6. Posted by Peter S Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:42 pm EDT

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    Duke's non-conf sched matches up with any Top25+ team -- with the noted exceptions of brutal non-conf slates by Gonz, Davidson and Tenn. At Mich, at #18Purdue, neutral site vs. #15Xavier, Mich (should've been #13UCLA, but the Bruins failed to get to the 2K Tourney final), and beat #12Gtown and Davidson at home. Duke's SOS is 6th, non-conf SOS is 17th. Let's compare that to, say, Pitt (at Fla St by 8, neutral vs. nobody w/a decent RPI); or L'ville (who lost their one true non-conf road game to Minn).
  7. Craig R
    7. Posted by Craig R Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

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    Well seeing as how Wake is presently in the process of getting its ass beat in its own house by Va Tach, I'd say he just might have a point.
  8. Ryan H
    8. Posted by Ryan H Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    go tech over wake
  9. O.J. C
    9. Posted by O.J. C Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:11 pm EDT

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    You my friend must be a UNC fan. Or are you like the rest of the non-Duke world and have Duke-Envy? Either way I feel sorry for you.
  10. duke supporter
    10. Posted by duke supporter Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:49 pm EDT

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    i am a very big duke fan have been for a long tyme. When duke has good teams people talk about them and one they have bad teams they talk about them. it doesnt matter people hate on duke cause of their prestige in college basketball. when duke has a weak roster someway they still seem 2 get into the top 5. Coach K is a hell of a coach not 2 mention a hell of a person. he took the us 2 china and came home with gold dude. duke is duke nothin more and nothin less. yea unc and wake are good but duke is just as good. we will fly under the radar all this year and fly on up 2 detroit come april!!!!! we got a new presient!!!!
  11. catfish_youbet
    11. Posted by catfish_youbet Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:19 pm EDT

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    I am a unc fan, but I cant help admire coach K and the way DUKE is playing, I reather watch them play,because they know how to play the game. There defence is the key,makes the offence look easy ,they have player that attack the basket. go Coach K and Duke
  12. Sean
    12. Posted by Sean Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:08 pm EDT

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    Love the blog, but I think you missed K's point--he's saying that the kids on this current team aren't getting enough praise for their accomplishments because they're being measured against previous Duke teams rather than other programs this season. You could argue that anyone who goes to Duke has to deal with high expectations as a matter of course, and that would be a valid point--but, I don't think he's out of line in saying that this particular group of players deserves to be praised for its accomplishments to date without having to speculate on how they will do in the tournament or ranking them against past Duke powerhouses. Appreciate them for what they are in the here and now--a very, very good college basketball team that's one of the best in the country this season.
  13. johns
    13. Posted by johns Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:30 pm EDT

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    number 1 has to be a maryland fan. they are the only idiots who talk that way about Coach K. Terps fan want to be Duke's rival, but Duke doesn't care about them. Gary Williams sucks and will never win a title again.
  14. stu
    14. Posted by stu Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:46 pm EDT

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    The bad thing about Duke fans is that they seem to turn a blind eye to Coach K ranting about every call they dont get. That is the coaches job, but he does get a way with more than most coaches. Thats just a fact. As for the UNC tard, I hate Duke but Williams is no where near Coach K.
  15. Bounder Bob
    15. Posted by Bounder Bob Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:45 pm EDT

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    All I have to say is the crap I read and hear about Coach K is that some of you so called sports writers are just amateurs. I have been following coach K since 1971 when I came back from the Nam deal. Coach K and Bob Knight are the best there is in there bussiness, Roy Williams is another great coach, Watched him in Kansas, But give credit due where credit is due. Say some thing nice about the Blue Devils..Look up the history of the past Blue Devils. the ones that went on to NBA . Go Coach K and the Blue Devils.
  16. Duke Hater
    16. Posted by Duke Hater Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:52 pm EDT

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    How long will Yahoo Sports continue to publish these types of stories? I mean, an article like this every once in a while is tolerable, but this is a regular occurence on Yahoo. It's a joke and so is your column.
  17. D S
    17. Posted by D S Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    I guess if Coach K spent less time complaining about the calls he thinks the other team got and his team did not I would agree with all the comments but he is constantly on his feet blistering the officials. What does bringing the gold home have to do with his whining in games during the season?
  18. Freddie
    18. Posted by Freddie Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:03 pm EDT

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    For all you Coach K bashers, just simply look at what Kobe, Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, or Carmelo Anthony have said about him. If you do check, you'll never say another negative word about Coach K again (unless of course you're a UNC fan or have no clue when it comes to college basketball).
  19. Andy K
    19. Posted by Andy K Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:49 pm EDT

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    Chase you are a dipstick. if you had a clue you would know that duke is located in tarheel country and no matter how often they win they will be in tarheel country. thus the media there, yes their hometown media, is somewhat biased against duke. the obama/msnbc metaphor is so dumb and such a non sequitur you need to find another calling.
  20. Jeff P
    20. Posted by Jeff P Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:10 pm EDT

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    this comment is for No.1 (What a dumbass). That sports writer Wilner might know a little bit more than you give him credit for, Wake will be happy to be No. 6 next week. Wake is too young to be a No 1, they got caught reading all the hoopla about them being number 1. good team, but needs more maturity. Coach K is a better person than he is a coach, that I know from experience. You need to find a subject that you know something about before you spout off at the mouth. Go ACC and yes Duke.
  21. rural52
    21. Posted by rural52 Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:55 pm EDT

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    Roy Williams a better coach than K - give me a break. Roy can't even get his jerks to play defense! Typical UNC, all hype and no bite!! Duke and Coach K are first rate year after year. UNC is hit and miss at best! Go Duke!!
    PS- Sorry Wake!! Hahahahahaha
  22. gerald b
    22. Posted by gerald b Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:26 pm EDT

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    Wilner is smarter than most!
  23. Jeff
    23. Posted by Jeff Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:36 pm EDT

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    It does not surprise me to see so many haters and so much negative media when it comes to Duke. I understand that with so much dominance comes the haters. It's one thing to not want to see Duke win and hope that they lose every game, but it is another thing to say Duke sucks and Coach K is a baby. I hate UNC as much as the next Duke fan, but to say they suck would be absolutely rediculous! Ex. I would agree with any UNC fan that they (UNC) are good because it's called giving respect where respect is due. Duke and Coach K have more than earned it. I don't know of any sport where there has been so much dominance by one team for so many years. I love the fact that every year I can watch my team play knowing they have a legitimate chance to win the title. Most of you haters out there don't know what that feels like.
  24. Pat C
    24. Posted by Pat C Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:01 pm EDT

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    are you really making fun of coach k?
    HAHAHAHA..heres a man who probably had no friends in high school..
    How can you say he was tired of hearing about UNC in the off-season?
    the man was bringing the gold back to the USA
    Someone needs to stop writing about basketball and move home living or something
  25. Issa
    25. Posted by Issa Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:48 pm EDT

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    Chris Chase YOU are a douche!

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