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Closet Duke Fan: The time has come.

By johnnyrico, Section College
Posted on Fri Nov 17 2006 at 6:07 PM EST
More on: basketball, college basketball, Duke, hoops (all tags)

You know you love 'em.  Somewhere deep inside yourself, in places you don't like to talk about, there grows a strong and profound love of Duke basketball.  I know, I know.  There was a time when I too shared this shameful secret.  I joined the groans that came with every Blue Devil win, year after year.  I feigned disgust every time I saw Christian Laettner drop in that famous fade away. I cursed Coach K and made wild accusations of referee tampering and tournament committee bias with the rest of the Duke haters.  Then, on one fine March evening, I realized that I liked the Dukies because of the way they focus on team basketball, the way they hustle on defense, and the way they always, always, ALWAYS win.  It was that day that I stood up and embraced my inner Blue Devil, that little voice inside my head telling me what I already knew---I am a Duke fan.

It's easy.  With the flood of players that Coach K has been able to bring to Durham in just the past five years, Duke has won 30 games in three of those seasons.  The lowest win total in those seasons? 26.  Duke doesn't "rebuild", they reload.  Paulus and McRoberts are sure to improve under Coach K's watchful eye, and DeMarcus Nelson may be the most underrated player in the ACC.  Add to that the plethera of incoming talent, including a freshman slasher in 6'5 Gerald Henderson, versatile and tremendously gifted blue chipper Jon Scheyer, and a potential star beside McRoberts at forward in 6'9 Lance Thomas, and this team has as much a chance as any at making a championship run through the tournament.  Why not?  As I mentioned earlier, Duke hasn't won a national title in five years.  Sice 1991, the Blue Devils have won three national championships, a rate of one national title every five years.  Coach K and his young Duke squad may not be experienced, but they are due.

Also, last year's team depended too much on Player of the Year J.J. Redick, a flaw which ultimately ended their season in the tournament.  This year's team will be forced to move the ball and get contributions from everyone on the floor.  This means that by early 2007, Coach K will have taken this young, inexperienced group of underclassmen and sculpted them into a typical Duke basketball juggernaut.  And the beauty of it all is that no one seems to see it coming.  My advice to you is this: jump on the bandwagon now, and you can brag to your friends about how you picked Duke all along, how you just had a strange feeling that this was the Blue Devil's year.  And after another incredible basketball season, you can look yourself in the mirror and say what you've always wanted to---I am a Duke Fan.