The Ultimate Truth - Hokie Pokie THIS, Jimmy Dykes!

Hello, Ultimate Faithful!

On this March Eve, Duke traveled down (no Elliot Williams/Jon Scheyer jokes please) to Virginia Pyrotechnical Institute for a game with the Virginia Tech Hokies and their extremely angry coach for BIG ACC game... would Tech pull off an important win, or would Duke continue playing strong after a mid-season letdown? Well, settle down with your favorite drink and allow The Ultimate Lord to wow you with...

...The Ultimate Truths!!

* Uh, okay, that VT cheerleader had HUGE boobs. Is that a terrible way to start The Truths?

* Did anyone else see that ad courtside and immediately think "Sexchange? Huh?!"

* Dykes takes the game REALLY personal. Frustrated? Really? As an announcer? Let's not get carried away, James.

* Gerald didn't woof all *that* much on that tech... it seemed it was just the look. However, his emotions have been a bit more obvious recently, both in post-dunk celebrations (he has come down excited a few times recently) and in yawping at the refs. He should pay heed.

* Really nice to see Jon on track (and as a PG at that!) Everyone knew he would come around, given how damn smart he is. Seriously, when the ball is in Jon's hands The Ultimate Lord has no concern at all.

* Every productive minute for Brian is a positive. And he did get a productive minute this game!

* Great batted-in-tip by Dave McClure!

* The low angle shot of Delaney and Jon really helps one appreciate how much bigger Jon is than many of the PGs he is facing.

* Kind of B.S. about Gerald not being able to beat you with the 3, although The Ultimate Lord understands the point.

* Poor Gilbert the English tutor.

* Nolan with the ear plugs? Heh, was that Jon teasing him about pulling them out?

* Speaking of Nolan... could this in some weird way actually be a positive for him? It forces him away from playing for a few games and away from the frustrations he has had of late, and gives him an emotional "break," which he can come back from as if starting from scratch.

* Brian loves the spin to the baseline. He doesn't suck at it, but unfortunately he doesn't get to use it often (and sometimes when he does gets called for hooking.)

* Hm, rather enjoyed the "blind resume" bit, although it really didn't pay off; expected the team with the better "blind" resume to be Coppin State or something "unexpected." Instead, it just sort of went according to expectations.

* Elliot still makes The Ultimate Lord cringe just a touch when he is handling the ball. Sure he can drive, but at times Elliot still looks a touch out of control.

* Heh... "For those of you who read lips..." Yeah, Seth doesn't hold back.

* You know, for all the folks talking about Duke getting outrebounded... The Ultimate Lord can't help but feel some of this is just residual from the last few years, because Duke is not rebounding that badly this year.

* "Hope that's on ESPN!" Love to see a crack in the corporate armor... and loved the follow up:)

* Geralds dunk at the break near the end of the half was very understated... a little "comment" on the tech?

* Great catch by Lance for the slam... ordinarily (and especially in the years before this one) those go off his hands.

* J.T. Thompson has a LOT of lip. The Ultimate Lord almost wants to send in a quarter towards the guys cleft lip surgery.

* B.S. call on that foul on Email when defending that Delaney drive. You could tell by Elliot's expression that he knew it, too.

* Speaking of Email, glad to see him hit a few threes, and get away from that nervously wild shot he sometimes took earlier in the year.

* Holy christ Jimmy, enough with the damn hokie pokie!

* The Ultimate Lord is enjoying the two-coach reaction split screen shot actually. For once a gimmick actually improves the viewing experience!

* WHOA! WTF is with the game announcers doing a demonstration with the damn game ball!?!? Where on EARTH did that come from!? Seriously?! BTW, anyone else want Nessler to take Dykes to the hole and slam it home a la cheesy "The Naked Gun" special effect?

* Wow what a cheap *** elbow on Singler. Inadvertant or not? Are you kidding? The guy looked at Singler and then threw an elbow in his face. The Ultimate Lord really doesn't buy that the guy was just trying to box out.

* That Pacific Life ad SUCKS. The combo of whales and stupid music... and someone got paid to come up with that. Holy crap.

* "Outstanding by VT!" Argh... is Brad back?! Ah nope, wasn't said with a good ol'boy accent.

* 22% shot and he'll miss it one out of five times? Hey, give The Ultimate Lord a 22% shot all day long!

* Angel Daniel Vassallo? Awesome. He sounds like a gangbanger.

* Hm, you ARE a hokie, and The Ultimate Lord would be happy to kiss you!

* Damn those are some TOUGH close losses by Tech. Too bad Duke is about to hang another one on you, Seth.

* Great cut by Kyle at the end there.

* The Ultimate Lord doesn't understand the guy on the bench yukking it up when his team is down a few points with under a minute to go. Who gives a crap if you have a cold, get your goddamn head into the situation.

* Love Virginia Tech's hot whiteboard carrier there. Why, hellooooo there!

* ARGH that Scheyer walk video will be everywhere now, on the Heels of the Elliot walk video. Do announcers pull this "call them out" crap with other teams, or is it just us?

* 9th best free throw shooter in ACC history? Not bad for Jon.

* Heh, speaking of Jon, he is REALLY enjoying teasing Nolan about those earplugs.

And finally...

* Congrats to the Future Frankels, as a former Tent #1er celebrates a Duke win by getting engaged to a smart girl with big boobs!

Some few select Ultimate Truths

Hello all!

First off, allow The Ultimate Lord to rain His blessings and good wishes down upon all of the Flock. It has been Some Time since He spoke the Truth... to be honest, as things had been difficult recently, and the shadows had been dark, even His Gracious Heart had taken a beating, and the Truth became harder to come by. Plus, there were a lot of late games, and His bedtime is really like 11:00. Once it gets past 11:00, The Truths are usually snored into a very comfortable pillow.

Having said that... given the win against The Saint John's Redmen Johnnies Red Storm, The Ultimate Lord thought He would once again share... some limited Ultimate Truths!


* Love Bob Knight. Between his sharp insights, acidic wit, and fantastic stories (the Cosell one was funny, interesting, and poignant all at once) he is just the best on TV. However... could he have called us "The Dukes" any more often?

* Anyone notice on that Singler drive about 2:20 into the second... as Email came over into the post, not only did Singler wave him off, but Paulus on the bench also waved him off?

* Very nice to see Elliot and Miles get some minutes. The Ultimate Lord has definitely been in the "Give the young guys minutes" camp, and while He realizes some of it was because Dave was unavailable, He still think these minutes, regardless of the stats (good for Elliot, not as superb for Miles) will go a LONG way towards forging a stronger team in the future.

* Speaking of Elliot, it was very refreshing to see him out there early, make two quick blunders, and not get yanked. There is something to be said for allowing a young guy to get his mistakes in and still grow. In The Ultimate Lord's own years in D1 sports and the pros, He has seen a lot of young guys who get the time grow past early fumbles and become important contributors; hope that Elliot is moving that way because he can bring a lot to the table for our team.

* Speaking of Miles, despite his stats being underwhelming, it was nice to see some of his leaping ability, particularly on a block near the end where he went up for the fake, came back down, and got back up in time to block the shot.

* Loved seeing Jon at the point. Very funny timing, too; just earlier today around lunch The Ultimate Lord was talking with a fellow former Tent #1 guy discussing next year, and The Ultimate Lord put forward the idea that Jon would take the primary point responsibilities while they moved Nolan more over to the 2. Who knew it would actually be a discussion about THIS year? Jon is just so smart with the ball, it actually seems like a no-brainer to put it in his hands. Plus his length and D are fantastic.

* Speaking of Jon, he and Gerald have a great connection out there. They look to each other a lot, both in play and after the whistle. Maybe a bit of a roommate connection, maybe a bit more. They really seem to enjoy each other.

* Speaking of Gerald; glad to hear someone else mention his carping to the refs on a missed call. He has a small tendency to do that that The Ultimate Lord has noticed previously; he really should ditch it. It hasn't really hurt us yet, but mentally it is just a flaw.

* Brian seems to be pretty deep in the bench, and unfortunately didn't show a lot of cause to get higher up. Wish he would just stay between his man and the basket and get those hands in the air.

* Loved seeing Chris Duhon in the house! And speaking of Chris and the house, his crib as featured on Blue Planet was pretty understated. Guess a lot of these guys don't spend a lot of time home and so don't get it too lavish... and anyway, he is young, he has time

* That movie with Nick Cage and the end of the world is only PG-13? Maybe The Ultimate Lord is just a post 9/11 softie, but even the commercials seemed R to me.

* Some very chippy play tonight; a lot of woofing. Kyle really got CREAMED on that one screen down low.

* Anyone else notice the girl behind the announcers in the first half. She was so happy to be on TV but trying SO hard not to make it obvious. She was a bit different than that kid a few games back who kept ducking his head into the shot while his dad kept pulling him back up and scolding him!

* Lance has become a lot more vocal... nice to see that. Heck of a dunk there too... and that pass from his tush; wowzers!

* Maybe the rest of this year will be a bit more enjoyable now that some of us have more realistic expectations, rather than over-the-moon type stuff? Those first-half streaks that Duke has gone on the last few years always gets hopes SO high that it becomes more difficult to enjoy what is accomplished... maybe this year we all can just enjoy it for what it is?

* Lastly, The Ultimate Lord liked that we seemed a lot more patient on offense, looked to drive more, and stopped chucking up 3s. We had seemed to settle into a lazy offense during our recent slump, an offense that has made some Duke fans cringe over the years, where we simply toss up 3s. This team seems to feature a lot of good 3 point shooters, but the reality is we are not as good as we seem (or even COULD be) so it was nice to see us move away from that and try to score in a bit more of an old fashioned manner.

Anyway... fellow Duke fans, it is a delight to be back among you, sharing The Truth for all to hear!

The Ultimate Truth - Wahoooo!

* Oh Josh McRoberts... remember that McDonald's All-American game with Greg Paulus, when the two of you looked like a Title Delivery System? Now The Ultimate Lord just cringes when He sees you.

* "Life begins at 40oz," by the whowhat Freemasons? THAT is the intro music video for a Duke game? Ugh, never thought The Ultimate Lord would say this, but bring back Opera Steve. DUUUUUUUKKE!

* Will Ferrell MUST play the G-Man in the movie.

* That WAS a sick reverse dunk by G at Wake. Very VinceCarteresque.

* Jenn Hildreth has a LOT of mouth.

* Western Kentucky Hilltoppers? Uhhh... is this an inside joke that The Ultimate Lord isn't getting?

* Yes, G-Man! We DON'T give a crap about the Superbowl if there is a Duke game! Thank god someone said it.

* UVa is a YOUNG bunch of Wahoos.

* Great aggressive move by Lance early on. Why can't he ever do that consistently?

* So glad to see Gerald's midrange back in his arsenal; to paraphrase the film Troy, "Gerald, it (the midrange jumper) is yours, take it!"

* Been waiting for a Troy joke ALL DAMNED YEAR.

* Speaking of Gerald, he does have to be a tiny bit careful about harping to the refs after he thinks he is fouled; that has happened a few times, and while it only takes a second, it isn't a great habit.

* That felt like Nolan's first drive to the hoop in a few games. Really nice to see him be more aggressive this game.

* 3:40 in and we get us some Email? Nice! Now where is Miles?

* This Golden Corral "Wrap all our meat in bacon!" thing is righteous. Man, The Ultimate Lord misses the G.C.!

* Real nice block from behind by Kyle on that play where Dave drew the charge; you could see Kyle running down the entire length of the court judging the UVa player speed and momentum and planning, planning...

* Being consistent is SUCH a huge key to being great in ANY sport, and is really one of the hardest things to achieve as an athlete.

* Man Zoubs is so soft. A 7'1 guy should be able to dunk, should not get blocked by guards, and should not try to tip so many damn rebounds. Playing like that should get you on the zench.

* Interesting G-Hill/reluctant star comparison by the G-Man.

* Lots of "G"s in these Truths.

* Cute little blond kid behind the UVa bench in among all those mountain children.

* David McClure must be SO underappreciated by non-Duke fans.

* That UVa flop on the 3 attempt was one of the worst The Ultimate Lord has ever seen.

* Everyone knew that Greg's 3 point percentage last year was an anomaly and wasn't likely to stay that high. This feels more like Greg's realistic level.

* Pizza Hut lasagna? *In a terrible Italian accent* Nooooooo!

* That balding blond 20 year old Crazy is NOT helping out our Dork image. But since he might invent the cure for cancer, it is okay. No pressure or anything, baldy.

* David really does have such an awkward push shot. Having said that, The Ultimate Lord would like to see him shoot just a little more often.

* Heh... "Must have been Virginia fans." Zing, G-Man.

* Wow... even The Ultimate Wife, who doesn't watch anything sports unless there is a birth involved, commented on the Pizza Hut Leading Scorer and asked, in a most dismissive tone, "God, isn't there ANYTHING that isn't sponsored anymore?" No, my dear, there is not. Now go back to "John and Kate Plus 8."

* Is the crowd mic turned down, or are the Crazies a bit quiet today?

* Kyle and Laettner? Uh... as the G-Man said much more nicely, win a few titles and then we'll talk.

* Speaking of 20 point games by a frosh; wonder where Dukies fall in this? The Ultimate Lord would guess "not often," given that K traditionally goes with older guys.

* Man, that Wahoo got that cramp and took that long walk back for help, and NO one on that bench gave a CRAP.

* When did Zoubek start hesitating again? The Ultimate Lord thought he got that out of his system this year.

* Dave Leito's overjoyed look is not quite Gary Williams overjoyed look...
No, Dave's eyes are a lot less clouded-over. Oh, and there is less gnawed chicken wing and college-age titties involved.

* BTW, the G-Man is a funny guy.

* Zoubs seems to have a bit more fire in the second. Still shouldn't be guarding guys at the damn half-court line...

* TERRIBLE push call on Plumlee. TERRIBLE.

* Hm, Miles with a real strong finish in close; stronger than anything Zoubek has done in his career, for sure.

* Plumlee with the alley-oop from Email! Frosh powers activate! Form of... a tall athletic white boy dunking! Shape of... a bucket of water?

* And with that, three Miles Truths in a row. Sweetness. Get that man more playing time!

* UVa has some GREAT names... Farrakhan and and Soroya and Tunji and Zeglinski and Assane Sene and Solomon Tat. Sounds like an African team of superheros... with one guest-star from Europe.

* BTW, of those guys, which is most likely, by name, to play for Duke? One guess.

* FINALLY Email hits a 3. 16%?!?!?!? Well, that is maybe less accurate than Greg's 43%.

* And Greg is at the end of the handshake line again. Love that... last face you see at Duke, is Greg Paulus's mug.