Undefeated No more

Duke showed everyone in their two home conference games that they were not quite as good as they had been playing to that point in the season. Last night Duke catches a Florida State team that plays well and Duke not quite so good shooting threes and a twenty five game win streak is over.

That win streak was part of a national championship for the ACC. We all are screaming that the ACC is down this year but if you look at basketball in general the state of basketball is terrible.

The NBA I can't stand to watch the regular season when no defense is played and not many players display fundamentals that are required in basketball. A Ten year old watches the NBA and see them do the slam dunks and thirty foot three point shots and want to be just like Kobe.

College players who show that terrific athletic ability are snatched away sometimes without ever playing college basketball. The watered down college basketball of today doesn't have time to teach fundamental basketball.

Boston College's Reggie Jackson lit up the Pack for 29 points Tuesday night carries the ball every time on his move at the top of the foul line on his patented move to the basket. Why does the NBA want to look more like the Globetrotters than real basketball? TV! The amount of dollars being spent in filling up twenty four hours a day air time has lead us all to want our 15 minutes of fame.

The ACC would not have these big TV contracts if they were not winning and being exciting. Who wants to watch a 42-40 basketball game. Because the ACC has traditionally been one of the best every year in basketball the powers like Duke and Carolina have been able to get the best of the lot while everyone else had to settle for the guy who can tear the rim down on his slam dunks but is not sure which end of the court he is suppose to do it on.

The show is more important than winning. The high lights will feature ringing rattling slam dunks instead of assist like the one last night by Duke's Kyle Singler laying on his back and throwing a perfect pass to a team mate for a layup. TV doesn't see that as worth showing on Sportscenter. It takes those type plays to win games the so called in the trenches play. The in the trenches plays just don't make good TV highlites and when TV doesn't show it the younger generation never finds out how important that is to your teams success.

What is gone from any kind of basketball is everytime you move there is a purpose. You screen for the man you threw the ball to. Today it's give me the ball and let me shoot. I'll back up to midcourt if I have to, to get open. I will miss most of the time but when I finally make one it will bring the house down.

I don't think the ACC is any worse than any other conference. What has happened to basketball is what has happened to our world. We have seen basketball played as an art but not any more. It's entertainment! The quality of basketball just isn't there any more. That is just like the world isn't it. I can no longer pull up to a gas station and someone comes up to me and checks my oil and fill my gas tank. Basketball no longer can fill our gas tank.