Duke-Wake Forest leftovers

Some thoughts from No. 1-ranked Duke’s 70-68 loss at No. 6 Wake Forest on Wednesday night:

- There might not be a worse call in basketball than a traveling violation after a player grabs a rebound and then falls because there are people underneath him and he has no place to land.
That’s how Wake Forest gained possession for the winning shot. Gerald Henderson did travel, and it was the right call. But in a way, it’s unfortunate the game was decided that way.

- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski joked over the weekend that the only thing a No. 1 ranking guarantees is a big headline when the top-ranked team loses.
He got the headline just five days later.

- While driving into the office this morning and hearing “Welcome to the Jungle” on the radio, it struck me that there couldn’t be two more different people than the late Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser and Axl Rose.
Yet somehow Guns ‘n Roses screamer Rose’s anthem became the theme of cerebral former history teacher Prosser’s pre-game introductions. The whole motorcycle act at Wake Forest is a bit loud, but it gives the Deacons an identity, and that’s not a bad thing.

- Wake Forest reserve forward David Weaver had the game of his life with nine points in three minutes.
The Deacons had been using freshman Tony Woods as the first post player off the bench, but coach Dino Gaudio said he trusted Weaver’s experience and defensive ability.

- Speaking of defense, it was interesting that in an extremely well-defended game Duke was able to score with 11 seconds left to tie it.
It was even more interesting that the normally well-prepared Blue Devils completely botched a defensive assignment right in front of the basket after a timeout.

- Against extremely talented big men, Duke might not get more from center Brian Zoubek than the 0-for-3, two-rebound, 13-minute effort he produced against the Deacons.
That’s not good. But despite that, the Blue Devils nearly went into overtime on the road against one of the most talented teams in the nation. That means Duke might be better than a lot of people think.