Duke vs. UNC, a Marlyand Fans Endorsement

As a Maryland fan, my sworn enemy throughout the first part of this decade was the Duke Blue Devils. They tormented me many evenings with names like Brand, Williams, Donleavy and Duhon. I would wake up in night sweats after dreams of Redick and Battier burying me alive with three pointer after three pointer.

Duke has not only beaten us but at times embarrassed us. They knocked us out of the final four after a 20 point halftime lead, and the Miracle Minute taught me to never talk trash until the buzzer. Lost bets found me wearing a J.J Redick Jersey to school, beating Duke became an obsession, even a curse.

Of course we had moments of our own. Gilchrist single handedly won the ACC tournament in 2002, beating Duke at home to finish an impossible stretch that took them from an unranked team to putting them in the top 15 in one week. And what Maryland fan will forget beating Duke on Battier's senior night?

However through all of the hate, the ups and the downs, and all the torment that Duke has caused me, they have earned one thing: My respect. While all those heart breaking shots have done a number on my soul, and while they caused me many sleepless nights, Duke kept it interesting. No matter how good the Terps got I knew that there would be that challenge down in Durham. It gave me something to look forward to, and to dread, but that's the beauty of college basketball.

Duke has been able to do one thing neither UNC nor Maryland has for the last 20 years, constantly stay on top of the NCAA as a potential final four team. As much as I want to beat Coach K every time I see him, I know he is the best coach in the country. In this recent era of one and done basketball players, he has made his team successful by recruiting players who may not be stars at the next level…but fit just perfectly into his system if they stay four years. For Dukes longevity and consistency they again earn my respect.

This season Roy Williams yet again had UNC at the top of the rankings going into the year. The team was everyone's preseason pick to go all the way. They started off with an impressive 18-0 start before they lost to…well you know who. However in this college basketball season filled with early pre-conference blockbuster match ups, I found UNC wasn't part of any big time game. In fact it wasn't until UNC's 15th game that they would play a ranked team(Clemson) and that was a mandatory in conference match up. Was Roy Williams protecting his team? Is there something he knows that the rest of us should be clued into?

Regardless of the reasons for UNC's puppy dog schedule, the lack of ambition, competitive nature, and drive to try and take on the best of the best when you are supposed to be the best of the best loses my respect. Duke, even when in a "rebuilding year," would take on the hardest of schedules. Coach K knew that it would only build the character of his team that would pay off down the road. There's honor in Coach K's approach, and Coach Williams approach will just lead to losses to teams like Maryland.



So as shocking as it is for me to say it, as betraying to the Terp cause as it may sound, I a Maryland fan herby endorse the Duke Blue Devils tonight in what has become the greatest rivalry nation wide in American sports.