K Academy Day 3

I can't tell if I am being annoying (which is probably a strange way of starting a blog post) with my friends / family, but this is truly amazing. I just walk around here with a smile on my face. It's hard to keep up with everything that happens in one day. It's almost like a full year+ of experience all in one day. And then doing that again. And again for 5 full days. Here are some highlights from today:

• We had film session in the Duke locker room to check out our games from the previous day. One of the plays was a 3 pointer I hit. I am not saying it looked exactly like my time at St. Andrew's, but it looked close enough. 
• In the locker room they put up signs. And really these two signs should not be in the same locker room

• Team went 2-0 again to bring our record to 4-0. We have two really good post players and a few capable shooters. We were lucky in our second game to play a team that was down 3 players due to injury. That made things much easier because they were very, very tired since they couldn't substitute anyone.
• Injuries are a big topic of conversation at camp. I guess when you get a bunch of 35+ players who are high on adrenaline and want to push themselves there is a good chance a lot of them will get injured
• I had one somewhat major scare in the early game at Cameron. The opposing team stole the ball and was going down for a 2 on 1 fast break. I sprinted back to try and either steal the ball (which was likely impossible because I started from so far behind) or foul the guy going up for a layup. I accomplished the second goal and in the meantime got tangled up and banged my head very hard against the floor at Cameron. The sound was very, very loud and immediately the Duke trainer and Chris Duhon (our coach) rushed over to check me out. They had me not move and asked me a few questions about being dizzy. Thankfully I was fine. My favorite question when they were evaluating me was when they asked who this was and pointed at Duhon. I immediately replied "that is Chris Duhon. He hit the game winning reverse layup against UNC in 2004. I think I even quoted the score (84-82), which now that I looked it up I was actually off. Duke won 83-81. Below is a picture before the game of Coach Duhon giving us advice

• I hit some shots....mainly in the second game. I scored 10 points with a couple 3s. Also, I had 4 assists and look forward to seeing where I stand on the assist leader board. M and some friends have said I pass too much (probably true), but I enjoy getting everyone involved.
• At the end of the game (when were up about 20) I tried an Nba range 3 and missed it completely. Chris Duhon asked me to do 5 push-ups so in the middle of the game I did them. When 2001 National Champion and one of Duke's greatest players ever asks you do pushup during a game you do them.
• The afternoon was all about Minnesota. The team we played (and beat) was Team Minneapolis and before / after the game I did some shooting competitions with Matthew Hurt (from Minnesota). He is the 11th ranked recruit in the nation and I am happy to report that I was hot and actually beat him in the first two around the world 3 point contests. He did end up winning the series by winning the next 3.  We also played Horse and it was somewhat similar. I won the first (partly thanks to some fluky shots I use against one friend back home). He won the next two. he seems like a great guy and I am excited to see how he plays for Duke
• During lunch I was behind Coach K in line for shrimp and cheeseburgers. He asked how I was doing and I said "great - my team is 3-0. Winning is pretty fun." He replied "That's excellent. Winning is really fun." I then thanked him for this camp, which he then gave credit to his wonderful staff
• I met and talked to Justise Winslow (one of my favorite players from the 2015 national title team) while wearing a shirt that Justise's name on it. Of course I got a picture 

Off for drinks / dinner. One game tomorrow at 9:30am at Cameron. To watch the game go to:

http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&catid=0&id=1922332&db_oem_id=4200

K Academy Day 2

Last night we had our draft and I was picked by Team San Antonio coached by Chris Duhon, Cherokee Parks and Alex O'Connell. It was pretty cool to hear your name announced and go up and meet your new coaches / teammates. That set everything up for today where the games started.

We had two games....one at 12:30pm and then against at 4:30pm. Here were the main highlights from the games

1. Our team went 2-0
2. My first shot was a wing 3. I made it. What a great experience to hit a 3 in Cameron Indoor Stadium
3. I made a few decent passes and ended the day with a team high 7 assists
4. I took a charge. The fact that it was uncalled doesn't make it less of a charge. I set my feet, waited for my guy and did my best Wojo / Battier.
5. After a particularly good run by my team I slapped the floor. It was a pretty aggressive slap, but I felt like I had to do that at some point in the camp
6. M and others were able to watch the games online, which was pretty cool. I got a pretty extensive analysis from two friends watching online

Anyway here are some cool pictures from the day

All-time Duke great and one of the few with his jerseys in the rafters: Shane Battier

The freshmen year class for Duke with my K Academy friend Sarah. Wendell Moore was my evaluation game coach and is going to be the best of the group

Duke great and also future Jazz star Grayson Allen

More pictures to come tomorrow....and for the few of you following the live stream below is our schedule:

• 10:30am at Cameron
• 2:15pm at the K Center

This whole thing is just amazing. Truly amazing

K Academy (Day 1) Part Two

I finished day 1 from a basketball perspective. What an amazing experience. I shot the ball pretty well in our "evaluation game." Coaches (which are current and former players) watch the games and then draft even teams based on how people perform. It was a 12 minute game with substitutions, which ended up resulting in me playing the final 9 minutes. My first basket was on a fast break where Luke Kennard's Dad threw me a nice pass for a layup. Besides that I went 2-4 from 3.....and yes it is really nice to make a 3 in a game at the same place where Duke practices.

After the games I stayed around to get a few more shots up and ended up talking to former Duke starter Matt Jones from the 2015 National Title team for a little bit. I didn't realize it at the time, but the photographer ended up getting two pictures of that conversation:

K Academy Day 1: Matt Jones (1st one)

K Academy Day 1: Matt Jones (2nd one)

Obviously you are welcome to check out all of them if you want to get a glimpse of what K Academy is like

K Academy (Day 1)

So I made it! I am sitting here at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club and I just went and officially checked in for K Academy fantasy camp. It still doesn't feel completely real - even with the bag of Duke merchandise filled to the brim with shirts, shoes, sweatshirts, etc. Maybe the best part of it all are the two jerseys. I was given 94, which will do me just fine considering I loved the 1994 Duke basketball team and it is only one number off from the number (14) I wore in high school. Maybe a picture will do it more justice:

I am about to go down for lunch and try to see what other crazy people do something like K Academy. I am pretty hungry considering I had a small Starbucks breakfast at 5am thanks to my 6 am flight from Columbus. The great news is that the early time was the only negative from the flight. It was cheap, on-time, allowed me to celebrate M's bday last night and I had an entire row to myself since only 18 people were on the flight. That allowed me to sleep on the plane, which will hopefully positively impact my performance this afternoon during open gym (1:30pm - 2:30pm) and then evaluation games (3:30pm). Then tonight I have "Cocktails in Cameron" followed by dinner and the K Academy draft. I should know my team (and therefore my more detailed schedule including game times) after tonight.

K Academy

It's been a long time since I wrote for this blog, but I wanted to provide a spot to collect my thoughts on what is one of the most exciting things I have ever done. Before I get started on actual thoughts below is brief (2 minute) announcement

So yes - I am going to the K Academy basketball camp exactly one week from now. In preparation I have tried to increase the amount of time playing basketball (about 2X a week) and tried (probably unsuccessfully) to thank my amazing wife for watching the kids next week and encouraging me to actually go. I am not sure many wives would agree to this and she is the favorite to win wife of the year for many, many consecutive years.

Anyway, I will try to provide updates on this blog, but here is some key info:

• When: May 29th - June 2nd
• Where: Durham, North Carolina....time split between Cameron Indoor Stadium and Washington Duke Inn
• Who: 80 people with an age minimum of 35. I don't know who the coaches / former players will be. Last I heard from Duke was "We are not able to release our list of coaches yet as our list depends on the NBA Playoffs" 

Where to watch / follow?

• My thoughts - this blog
• How to watch: The Blue Devil Network will stream all games from the K Academy live online.  Access is available from any web browser:  www.goduke.com/KAcademyLive
• Where to view pictures: www.kacademyphotos.com Password "Duke" 

Camp Highlights (taken from the website)

• Live a week as a Duke Basketball player
• Play in historic Cameron Indoor Stadium
• Receive exclusive swag bag of NIKE branded apparel and gear
• Compete in basketball games, tournaments, and contests
• Receive elite basketball instruction from current and former Duke players and NBA stars
• Participate in networking and social events with Coach K throughout the week
• Access to "Team Only" areas of Duke basketball facilities (locker rooms, team lounges, film rooms)
• Access to world-class sports medicine/rehab facilities
• All meals & hotel accommodations included

I am beyond excited for this experience. It doesn't even seem real.  More to come....

2015 NBA Draft Preview

I'm running out of time to do my NBA Draft Preview, so this is going to be short. Here are my thoughts:

• I know it makes sense from an advanced metrics perspective and from a skill standpoint (better outside shooting and better defense), but it still is crazy to me that Karl-Anthony Towns is likely going over Okafor. Okafor was truly outstanding all year long and while Towns might have more potential it does worry me that he was a good but not critical player for Kentucky. I think it might be easier to be produce better advanced numbers when you are less of a top option (Towns played 21.1 minutes per game) than it is for someone who was constantly double-teamed like Okafor.
• All this hype about the "new-NBA" after the Finals is a little bit overblown. Yes, this year was more about small ball and less about the traditional center position. However, just last year the Spurs won the title thanks in no small part to Tim Duncan. There are big advantages to having a dominant post player. 
• D'Angelo Russell seems to be universally loved, but I never was that impressed the few times I watched Ohio State. I know his numbers are pretty good and that the highlights of some of his passes were truly impressive, but he didn't seem too athletic, that great of a shooter or someone who can take over a game. I could see him as a starter, but never a star. 
• This is a homer take, but Justise Winslow is amazing. I would be shocked if he wasn't a productive starter. He could be the best player in the draft.
• For the Jazz I want them to take Tyus Jones. I could see him challenging Exum for the starting point guard position, complimenting Exum like Trey Burke was supposed to do and worst case scenario being a good backup point guard. I haven't completely given up on Burke, but I wouldn't pass on Jones.
• It's hard to have an opinion on the players I haven't seen - that seems obvious.
• Jerian Grant is worth a shot in the middle to late first round. He was just so good at Notre Dame last year. Same thing about Delon Wright. I saw him play a couple times and he just seemed to have complete control of his team.

We will see what happens starting in one minute.

2015 Duke National Champions

College basketball is probably my favorite sport, which makes the Monday of the National Title game almost like a holiday for me. And considering most holidays mean a day off from work, I normally aren't able to concentrate that well on that specific day. That is especially true on the rare days that Duke makes the national title game. One would think this might even be more the case this past Monday, since not only was it a title game, and Duke was playing, but also I was attending the game.  However, for this past Monday I actually had a very productive day. I think part of that had to do with wanting to leave early in order to drive to Indianapolis to go see the title game, and the other part had to do with getting ready to on a work trip to Texas. Up until I got in the car to leave work it was just a normal day, but everything after that was beyond surreal. I had invited one of my friends (who happens to live down the street) to go to the game in Indy after finding tickets on Sunday. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy tickets that were more than 50% less than previous prices because all of the fans of Kentucky were selling the tickets for a very reduced rate. However, despite the *discount it didn't feel like any hype was lessened when we arrived in Indianapolis. There was literally music in the streets as countless waves of people walked by with smiles on their faces. I have been to many sporting events, but the feeling walking around Indy before the basketball title game was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. 

*The prices were still high

We walked around for a little bit, picked up our tickets from Stubhub and then went into Lucas Oil Stadium to watch warmups. At this point I was getting a little bit nervous. I had invested a ton of time, money and emotions into this one game, and it was being projected (by Vegas and many commentators) to be a close Wisconsin victory. Also, there was the little issue of having a 6:30am flight leaving from Columbus the next morning. The one really good sign was that in a stadium made up of about 85% Wisconsin fans, the people in section 153 were more of a 50/50 mix. That included this one diehard Duke fan who had flown in from Orlando to see the game by herself. A new friend that (spoiler alert) I found myself hugging during some of the game's more dramatic moments. 

The game itself was absolutely transcendent, and that isn't hyperbole. It was 70k people whose emotions were tied to every single play, and were standing the vast majority of the game. I have never been to a Super Bowl, but I heard that was more of a corporate crowd, and that the game wasn't for the common fan. This game seemed completely different from that because the people in the stadium just seemed normal - if you define normal as people who act like me when watching basketball games.

The game followed a familiar pattern for anyone who had watched Duke all year. This game was almost exactly like the St. John's game or the UVA game or either UNC game. Unlike last year's team this year's team almost seemed to offended when teams would take seemingly overwhelming 2nd half leads against them. This game was no different, but the one thing that was different was that the 8th man (on a team with 8 scholarship players) was the one that closed the game by hitting a 3, creating a turnover and then having a 3 point play. Grayson Allen (the 8th man) took a 9 point Wisconsin lead and cut it to 3, and this year's Duke team had a new hero.

After that it was time for Tyus Jones and somewhat surprisingly considering his struggles all game Jahlil Okafor to step up. Jones hit what seemed to be truly impossible shots (from my viewpoint they looked like really poor, low percentage decisions) and Okafor had two extremely important field goals with 3 minutes to. And before I knew it, it went from making excuses (it's ok they are about to lose....Wisconsin is just a really good team....and this has been a fun experience) to really thinking Duke was going to win it all. It is hard to describe, but it all seemed to happen in the matter of seconds. I nervously watched the final few plays (the Tyus Jones missed layup and then the free throws) before celebrating the final few seconds counting down till Duke's 5th National Title.

This might all seem a little bit silly, but for those of who know me it isn't. I watched 97% of the minutes played by Duke this year in basketball, and actually attended three games. I normally like Duke, but this year's Duke team just seemed different. I loved watching how they played, and will likely be complaining in future's years about how future Duke teams don't have the post player of Okafor, the defense of Winslow or the leadership of Cook or the overall brilliance in the biggest moment of Tyus Jones. Regardless of what happens after this (and almost definitely all four of those players will gone from next year's team) it was an amazing team, and I am beyond thrilled to have been in attendance when they won the title. 

After attending the game, I finally got on twitter to see what people were saying as we drove back from Indy. I didn't get to sleep until around 4am, which gave me a whole 1.5 hours of sleep before waking up and rushing to the airport. I have probably never been more happy/tired (most of the times for me tired does not equal anything close to happy) in my life. I was actually able to make it till 10pm on Tuesday, which put my awake hours at 30 out 32 hours. It was worth it. The whole thing was worth it. Monday night was one of the reasons why I became a sports fan.