Duke and UNC... A Tale of Two Programs

So the 2008 NCAA Tourney is underway.  The Heels absolutely dominated in their first game last night.  I think its was the largest point margin in the first round of the tourney by any team.  And of course, Duke almost lost in the their first game.  The beat Belmont by one point.  That's right sports fans, Duke almost lost in the first round... a one point victory.

Now, I said when Roy Williams came back to coach the Tarheels that Duke University would continually get worse and worse with each passing year.  I made the prediction that they would never win another national title under Coach K.  That they would look back at the fall of the great "Duke Empire" and realize that Roy Williams came, saw and conquered.

The media and Duke fans alike have had a love-affair with the Duke program that has been based on unrealistic predictions and flat-out lies.  Yes, they have been one of the all-time great programs.  But come on, they are not that good.  They had a nice run of recruits and domination from mid-90's to say, early 2000's.  And how many championships do they have from those times?  None!  Zero!  Zilch!  How many final fours lately for the great and powerful K?  None!  Zero!  Zilch!  How many embarrassing defeats in the NCAA tournament recently?  EVERY YEAR!

And here it is folks.  The truth that I see written plainly on the wall:

Duke will never win another championship while Coach K is the basketball coach. Duke Basketball will continue to slip year after year, falling from grace with each defeat.

Teams around the country don't fear the big, bad Blue Devils like they used to.  Refs don't fear Coach K and his vulgarities like they used.  K and his teams have to play real basketball these days, now that they Blue Devil Myth has been destroyed.  They get called for the fouls that they are notorious for.  They get beaten by run-of-the-mill "shoot 1000 3's" kind-of teams.  These same average teams match-up perfectly with the Blue Devils.

Duke isn't getting the crazy recruiting classes like they used to.  They're getting the typical whining, ball-hog, 3-point crazy guards that no other program wants, but that's it.  No big men.  No swing men.  No hot-shot recruits.  Just the typical, loathsome guards that Coach K loves.  The kind of player that fits into Coach K's one-dimensional, 3-point crazy offense.

Man, that's a tired routine.  Duke is a tired routine!  Their days are over.  They won't flee in the night.  They'll linger around.  They'll have their typical good seasons.  They'll get their typical recruits.  DICK Vitale will continue to profess that they are the best program to ever have been.  But we'll all just yawn as we watch the has-beens do their tired routines...

The Duke Myth is dead.  They will continue to fade.  They will continue to lose early.  They will never again win a national championship under Coach K.  

That's it, friends.  The tired program known as Duke Basketball reached it's peak and now we are all witnessing the slow and laughable death.

Ain't it great?!  Wait... Coach K?  Who?