Thoughts from the Final Four
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
--Calvin Coolidge
BOSTON--This post was almost titled, "Why Duke Will Win This Weekend." Or "Why Virginia Won't." But I don't like making predictions. And even if I did like doing so, it wouldn't make me good at it. (Just check out my NFL predictions on the NFL Gameday page. Or my picks for the basketball final four.)
Anyway...What makes Duke so good--and why I can't see it losing this weekend--is that is plays with heart. It has tons of talent. But look at the other stats of its top players: Tony McDevitt, Matt Danowski, Max Quinzani, Nick O'Hara, Michael Ward. Check out their groundball numbers. Qiunzani has 57. O'Hara has 86. McDevitt has 52. Parker McKee has 70.
Meantime, Danowski is considered one of the best riding attackmen in the game. And he's an amazing passer. Those aren't traits of someone who is selfish. Ward was an offensive midfielder at a top high school program. Yet he has made himself into one of the top shortstick defenders in the nation.
My question about Virginia: It has a roster full of high school all-Americans, but do any of them play with heart? Who on the team does the dirty work?
You have to wonder. Virginia was out-groundballed 19-2 against Maryland in the first half last week. 19-2. In a vitally important playoff game against ostensibly one of its biggest rivals.
If that doesn't tell the world that something is seriously wrong with UVa., nothing ever will.
Coach Dom Starsia certainly felt it. He later said he got after the team in the locker room, which is a rarity for him. (He also later said he regretted having made that public.)
Ben Rubeor definitely has heart. He is an excellent riding attackman and he scores short-handed goals. Kenny Clausen has heart, too. He is excellent on the wings on faceoffs. Bud Petit, Matt Kelly and Ryan Nizolek on the defensive end play hard and kept Virginia in the game against UMd.
Anyone else? No one comes to mind, at least not leading to this weekend.
If having talent were enough, Georgetown would be in the Final Four (or at least in the NCAA tournament). For all the hard work Georgetown does in recruiting, there is no question it lacks an intangible that the four top programs possess: That of not only wanting to win, but hating to lose.
Duke is showing signs of possessing it that mindset, at least this year. Which is why I can't see it losing this weekend.
Hard work is always the one trait that Sir Alex Ferguson looks for most in his players at Manchester United. Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe had similar skill sets in the 1990s--each was a speedy winger blessed with good looks, too.
They were different though, too. Giggs tracked back on defense. He chased loose balls. Sharpe partied. He did Three Amigos-inspired celebrations following goals.
Giggs recently played a club record 759th game for Man United, in the Champions League final against Chelsea on Wednesday. In his 758th appearance, he scored the goal that clinched the Premier League title. His penalty in the shootout on Wednesday was the clinching kick.
Sharpe was out of top-flight soccer by the late-1990s.
By Christian Swezey |
May 24, 2008; 7:54 AM ET
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Posted by: clockwork bluejay | May 24, 2008 6:15 PM
Interesting. Hundreds of words on the final four, and none of them were "Johns" or "Hopkins".
Posted by: Andrew | May 24, 2008 6:19 PM
Why Duke couldn't win it?
1 Pressure- All the pressure was on them to win it since a few days after the 2007 final. They can't handle pressure
2. Coaching Third time now Petro has outplanned and outcoached his Duke counterpart
3. It's Hopkins in May- Forget about March and April
4. Strength of schedule- Annually Hopkins plays the toughest schedule. The Mount is our only Patsy and that's cause Duke U cancelled their game with us in 2006.
5. Success on the big stage- It's what Huntley thrives on. Get to May and get to the big stage and you might not recognize a Hopkins team. You see things like a clutch goal from George Castle. Only his second. The bench is deep and they step up. Last year it was Tom Duerr with key semi and final goals
6. Culture- We expect to win. Petro expects his players to expect to win. The alumni expect the team to win. Danowski doesn't set that expectation for his players at Duke. Listen to his interviews. He's a nice guy and probably a great person. Petro or Desko would have been devasting with the Duke teams of the last 4 years. And I know for a fact a Duke lacrosse team under Petro would only be known to the media and the world for lacrosse.
Posted by: Bluejayfan2 | May 24, 2008 9:04 PM
Just so happy . . . so very, very happy for our Jays.
Posted by: DomsMom | May 24, 2008 10:26 PM
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