On the Storming of Courts, Etc.

Last night whilst I was comfortably jetting across the country from Dallas, the Wahoos beat Duke.  Yes Duke.  #3 in the country Duke.  Duke--4 time national champion Duke.  The team (Duke) that beat UVA every single time we played during my four years at UVA.  That Duke.  I followed the last two minutes of the game on my Blackberry savoring every second.



After the win, Wahoo fans stormed the court, as you can see in this video.  Coach K (I refuse to try and spell the name) had some thoughts after the game about the safety/security of players and coaches in the midst of such bedlam.  I'm sure he's tired of these things, as every time Duke loses, it is the game of the season for the other side.

I have some thoughts of my own on the subject.

I am quite positive that if we had beaten Duke even one time while I was in college, I would have been right there with my fellow Wahoos.  You can't even begin to understand the height of my envy of the success of their team, and my frustration with their mastery of our team.  Duke was The Yankees, General Motors, and Apple all rolled into one. 

But this is not that time.  Duke is good, but they are not great.  The "one and gun" rule in college basketball--in which players come in for a freshman year and the great ones leave for the NBA--has created parity in the game to a degree I have never seen, while simultaneously diminishing the quality of play.  These developments have to some degree, benefited UVA Basketball.

Beating Duke is a big deal, a huge accomplishment.  But it should no longer be a "court rushing" event.  As a matter of fact, I don't think ANY ACC opponent should merit that honor.  My new rule is that the only acceptable court rushing is when you 1) beat a #1 ranked team and 2) they are an out of conference opponent.  Like the Hammer says, make it seem like you've done it before, that beating Duke isn't such a big deal.  Maybe then, it will begin not to be.