A mini collection of thoughts from the weekend.
Duke Doomsday Clock
Move the clock back to 11:45PM.
Following the murkiness in the Ivy League and Duke's massive win over North Carolina, Notre Dame alum Eddy Glazener convinced us both Duke and Notre Dame are in the dance.
Of course, there were certainly some moments yesterday when it felt like UNC was primed to ruin everything.
The inherit nature of the rivalry combined with what UNC's basketball team did twice this past season convinced us that UNC was more than capable of upsetting Duke in Durham. And, that was before an hour weather delay.
Just perfect conditions for an upset. Duke has to stay in the locker room for an hour getting worked up to play again. Certainly some players allowed doubt to creep into their minds.
North Carolina had a 5-4 lead after the first quarter and we couldn't have been more ready for the Devils to lose this game.
Duke's middie shuffling was locked and loaded early.
The aforementioned middie was Griffin Catlett. Prior to yesterday, Catlett had appeared in nine games. He scored against Loyola on March 13th. He had an assist on February 11th against Manhattan. He has three total points in his career. Why is he on the field in the first half especially given UNC's strategy of shutting off Brennan O'Neill?
Why are the best players not getting these reps?
Speaking of best players, earlier last week we wondered what version of Nakeie Montgomery was going to show up.
Montgomery didn't generate any points in the first half but he scored the first goal of the third quarter which tied the game. He finished with three goals on five shots, one assist, and one turnover.
During the first half, UNC appeared to be electing to pole McAdorey and leave a short on Montgomery. Sheer panic washed over us for a moment but the Heels were simply managing a substitution package before getting a pole up to Montgomery.
If Joe Robertson is on the field with Dyson Williams and O'Neill, you'd be willing to double the pole the midfield too right?
The shuffling between O'Neill, Williams, Robertson, and Sean Lulley is once again near the top of the list of worries heading into the Notre Dame game.
God help us if the Big Ten gets three teams but the ACC only gets two.
Ohio State should be out following a loss to Rutgers in the Big10 tournament on Thursday.
Transfer Tucker
In other wild ACC news, Tucker Dordevic is on the move.
Per his roster bio, his major will certainly give him some freedom. Majoring in communication and rhetorical studies in the college of visual and performing arts.
Dordevic had no help this spring. Losing is miserable but being the number one option can still be very satisfying. Will he consider a roster that doesn't feature him the way Syracuse had to in 2022?
Tweet of the Weekend
Are You Listening?
We’ve now released eleven episodes of our podcast, LPG Coach’s Companion.
Which one is your favorite so far?
Episode 1 – Brian Brecht (Rutgers) & Bryan Kelly (Calvert Hall)
Episode 2 – Robyn Rooney (Wantagh) & Emily Boissonneault (Pitt)
Episode 3 – Lars Tiffany (Virginia) & Casey D’Annolfo (Tufts)
Episode 4 – Jack Kensil (Byram Hills) & Kelly Gallagher (Tampa)
Episode 5 – JB Clarke (Tampa) & Tom West (Bolles)
Episode 6 – Allison Kwolek (Clemson) & Kate Livesay (Middlebury)
Episode 7 – Joe Alberici (Army) & Johnny Rodriguez (Mater Dei)
Episode 8 – Kerstin Kimel (Duke) & Jack Cribbin (Lindenwood)
Episode 9 – Summer Koepplin (St. Anthony’s), Jenna McNicholas (Taft), and Robyn Rooney (Wantagh)
Episode 10 – Joe Amplo (Navy) & Nic Bell (Taft)
Episode 11 – Tom West (Bolles)
Episode 12 - Holin Axley (Georgia)
Episode 13 - Mike Hungerford (Farmingdale)