Not defending DM at all. But last night was two things that were pretty obvious. First, the game plan if executed well by our players was actually ok for most of the first half. Second, as our players continued to exhibit their deficiencies ( poor shooting, physical weakness, lack of confidence, and poor overall defensive toughness) we were simply overrun by a vastly superior team in every respect. Somebody commented earlier about Brown and Smart being the only strong bodies. That's a fact. And against the Duke players last night we were simply outclassed by bigger, stronger, faster athletes who are also to a man better basketball players, and coached by one of the best of all time. I thought we "competed" pretty well considering. But players like Torry Smith, Olivier Sarr, and ikenna Smart really have no business being in a game like that. Childress was a warrior, but over-matched in every respect by anybody Duke matched up with him. Hoard is talented enough to compete, but played soft as usual, and clearly isn't comfortable or confident enough to play consistently well at this level. You can't rely on him to carry the team yet. Mucius and Chaundee Brown are all about potential, not reality, at this point. Frankly, the one guy besides Childress who impressed was Sharone Wright, and he's just trying his guts out to do whatever he can. His fire, aggressiveness, and confidence are what's lacking in Hoard and Brown. Overall for me, the result was expected, and I think could have been a lot worse except for the fact that we 'tried" to execute a plan. It's pretty clear that Sarr is a huge disappointment so far, in a position where we need the most help. I hope he gets better, because without good interior play we don't stand much chance. I kept thinking the whole game that had Crawford and Moore been on the court we would've had much better matchups, and at least a better chance to compete doing exactly what we were trying to do. If you want to slam Manning and the coaches, do it for not being able to recruit enough players who can score the ball and contribute in rebounding and defense by their sophomore year, or as incoming freshmen.