** Let’s just cut to the chase. We are BACK! There is NO doubt about it.
** I’m not getting ahead of myself. I’m not saying this is a great team. And I’m not thinking we should make Final Four plans.
** But we are once again relevant. Important even. We are now once again contenders. We are BACK!
** We will be able to once again argue about whether Joe Lunardi’s seed for the Panthers is as high as it should be.
** We should again be watching other tournament level teams from across the county so that we can start thinking about matchups in March.
** We can turn on college hoops shows on Saturdays and listen to them talking about how the Panther’s might be a tough out in the Dance.
**
@NTOP even wants to start planning Gamewatches!
** It’s been awhile since we have been able to do these things. But we are BACK. And it’s GLORIOUS!
** I won’t even say we are back ahead of schedule. Hell … I don’t even care about the schedule anymore. I’m just so freaking happy to be here. Did I mention that we are BACK!
** OK … OK … OK … I’ll calm down now and talk a little bit about the basketball game that truly signaled we are back.
** There’s so many things to note about this game, so I’ll start with one that I don’t think others will. Coach K doesn’t play zone defense all that often. But he played it almost the entire game.
** Coaches played zone against the Panthers last year more than any other team in College Basketball except one.
** It would seem to me that Coach K came into this contest not believing this Panther team had turned the corner. He believed we were the same team we’ve been for the last two years.
** Turns out Hall of Fame K was wrong.
** For the first 45 minutes of this game, the Panthers ripped the Duke zone to shreds with penetration, execution, and a certain Panther named Justin who looks like he’s pretty good at this game of basketball.
** That’s as an impressive of a stretch as I’ve seen played by a Panther Team in quite some time. At least since a guy named Patterson strode the court. Probably before that even.
** But there’s a reason Coach K is a Hall of Famer and he countered by extending his zone much further out. I’m wondering if he actually switched to a 3-2 instead of a 2-3.
** Right around the same time, Xavier Johnson took a breather with his third foul and our 15 point margin soon after became just a bucket.
** Of course, Duke’s prize freshman recruit, among the 10 best in the country, had much to do with that. For the record, Jalen Johnson is really good.
** For most of the game, the Panthers defended really, really well. But there were times Jalen was better than the best we had to offer.
** But as good as Jalen Johnson is, he wasn’t even close to the game’s best player. Not even close.
** Ask yourself this. How many times didn’t you just shake your head in amazement watching Justin Champagnie today?
** If your answer is 5 or 6, you are either lying or you are really hard to impress. I think I lost count when I reached double digits.
** We’ve already marveled at Justin’s rebounding this year, and this game was no different. But today, he was nothing short of an offensive juggernaut, scoring in almost every way possible. There was not one thing Duke was able to do to stop him. In fact, I suspect that’s why Duke extended their zone, hoping they could keep him from getting the ball altogether.
** I’ve probably watched a little less College Basketball this year than I typically would have to this point. But nonetheless, that was the best offensive game I’ve seen any player play this year. Justin is playing for All-American at this point, and that’s no exaggeration.
** If there is any shame in Justin’s evening, it’s that it overshadowed one of the most hard-nosed, ultra-workmanlike Panther performances we have seen in a long, long time. Au’Diese is going to need to speed some time in whirlpool tonight. He’s got to be hurting, well beyond the cramp that scared the crap out of me in the final seconds.
** I remember some performances that really showed toughness. Think of Nasir and Brad at Villanova in 2011, Chevy at the Dome in 2005, or almost any game played by Jaron Brown. This was up there with any of them. Maybe beyond them all.
** Despite Justin the Superhero, AD scored 7 of our last 14 points, mostly just by powering to the rim and getting fouled.
** Rounding out our Big Three was another big effort by the guy who has clearly moved among the top point guards in the ACC. I suspect that Xavier made a few too many errors for some people’s tastes, but his aggression set the tone for the Panthers. We will continue to win lots of big games if he plays like this.
** And this year, he’s been making the plays when they count the most in crunch time.
** Let’s also give a shout out to our center “combo.” Terrell Brown had a nice impact in the first half, and AKC was really quite good in the second half.
** Of course I must mention my only real regret, which was that we couldn’t be there at the Pete to watch it. This game would have been right up there with the handful of great ones at the Pete we have been able to experience over the past 18 years.
** Side question --
@Atch … have you been invited to watch this or any other game in person? I hope so.
** While I’ve already stated that we are back, I’m hoping there’s one more poster who might chime in on the subject – that being
@17-15 . Back in 2001-2002, early in that season he proclaimed “22-7 … at least” before so many of the rest of us saw such success. I wonder what he sees now.
** Of course, predicting an actual record for the season might be the hardest task at all, not knowing how many games we will actually be able to play. But I hope 17-15 and others will join in the idea that we are BACK!
** I’ll close with a short but meaningful thought to the man who promised be would bring us back. Thank you Jeff!
** One more time -- We’re BACK!
