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College football season begins tomorrow night! The first full slate of full games follows two days later. In the spirit of the season, we present the ten best rivalries in the game, and give you the corresponding date to circle on your calendar.
This is a football centric list, but we have the best college basketball rivalries on here as well.
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Associate head coach Chris Collins will remain at Duke after having initial discussions with Illinois State Director of Athletics Gary Friedman regarding the school’s head coaching vacancy.
Collins came to the decision to remove his name from consideration after discussions with Friedman on Sunday. He was also rumored to have a strong interest in the Northwestern job (despite the fact that it didn’t open up, and Bill Carmody later received a vote of confidence) and the Illini were rumored to be interested in Collins (of course that didn’t work out either).
So that’s three jobs in the Land of Lincoln that Collins has been linked to.
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Kyrie Irving had to clarify remarks he made Monday night on Mike Krzyzewski’s future with the U.S. Olympic basketball program. The Cavaliers franchise point guard and #1 pick in the #NBA draft this past June, had to back off earlier made comments by saying he spoke prematurely in saying Krzyzewski would coach the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
“I spoke to Coach K (and) he did tell me he was coaching, but I prematurely spoke on that,” said Irving, who played at Duke last season. “But I know he’s going to be part of USA Basketball. That’s the most important thing. That’s what made my decision easier.” He’s going to be part of the USA staff anyway whether he’s coaching or not. That way it’s easy for me,” he was quoted in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
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Duke junior forward Ryan Kelly may not get the headlines of the Plumlees, as he is no Plumlee brother. Or the big name recruits Austin Powers and Quinn Cook, but he is still extremely important to the Blue Devils.
Kelly will miss this weekend’s ACC Tournament in Atlanta after suffering a right foot sprain on Tuesday during practice. Kelly is averaging 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while playing in all 31 contests (19 starts) this season.
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Rasheed Sulaimon, a 2012 Duke Blue Devils signee, is among the 10 elite high school seniors named by USA Basketball today to the roster for the 2012 USA Junior National Select Team, which will take on the World Select Team in the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday, April 7 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.
Duke’s lone 2012 signee, Rasheed Sulaimon, will play on the West team in the 2012 McDonald’s All American Game, March 28th at the United Center; home of the Chicago Bulls. Duke targets Shabazz Muhammad, Tony Parker and Amile Jefferson were also selected to play in the prestigious all-star game. North Carolina signee Marcus Paige will play alongside Sulaimon (ESPNU #14 recruit) in the backcourt. Paige is North Carolina’s only committed player in this year’s event.
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In 1990, I was a grade-school student who loved sports, and had many teams. However, when it came to college basketball, I was at a loss.
I grew up in Chicago. I love Notre Dame football, but beyond David Rivers and LaPhonso Ells, ND basketball left a lot to be desired. In the mid-80’s I loved Dallas Comegys and Rod Strickland, but after their respective departures, DePaul hoops became lost in a vacuum.
So, when Georgia Tech, Arkansas, Duke and UNLV met in the 1990 Final Four, I was a fan without a team. Sure, I rooted for ND and DePaul, and have since, but everyone enjoys cheering for a winning team.
The ’90 Final Four was held in Denver, CO, the boyhood home of my father. And my dad had managed to land tickets to the final round of the tourney.
As my dad and I entered McNichol arena that Saturday night, I was disappointed. I had chosen to root for UConn because my best friend had recently moved to Chicago from Connecticut. But Christian Laettner ended Tate George’s and all other UConn’s fans’ hopes with his first Elite 8 buzzer beater.
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Duke fans can now follow all of their favorite teams on Twitter as each Blue Devil program now has its own accounts. In addition to each program having its own Twitter account, GoDuke.com will also have a social media landing page that will allow fans to see Twitter feeds from the school’s official athletics website.
Check out GoDuke.com on Friday, July 15 to access the new Duke Athletics social media landing page.
Obviously the college basketball page will see a ton of traffic. But college football could get some love too.
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Matchups for the 13th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge have been determined. Illinois will travel to College Park, Md., to face Maryland on Nov. 29 in college basketball’s best pre-conference event
Illinois and Maryland will meet for the fourth time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge – and the third time at College Park – with the Illini looking for their first Challenge win against the Terrapins. This will mark the ninth overall meeting between the programs, with Maryland holding a 5-3 edge in the all-time series.
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The pairings for college basketball’s signature pre-conference event were announced today. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge Nov. 29-30 will be headlined by the Duke Blue Devils at the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers at the North Carolina.
This year has an expanded format to include newest Big Ten member Nebraska. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com will combine to televise all 12 games of the two-day event, one more than in the previous 12 Challenges.
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A sesimic movement was announced today in the college basketball coaching landscape.
Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced two staff changes on Sunday as former Blue Devil Jeff Capel joins the staff as an assistant coach and Nate James is named special assistant.
Capel returns to Duke after spending the previous nine years as the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth (2002-06) and Oklahoma (2006-11), while James has been an assistant coach at Duke for the past three seasons.
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Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving will enter the 2011 NBA Draft with plans to hire an agent, meaning he’s in the draft to say. Mike Krzyzewski announced this Wednesday afternoon. Irving is expected to be among the top three picks, possibly #1 overall in the draft.
“Our whole program is overjoyed with having Kyrie here for one year and that he has the chance now to pursue a dream of being a high draft pick and a great player in the NBA,” said Krzyzewski.
“We are totally supportive of Kyrie, his family and his decision. We look forward to continuing to work with him during the upcoming months leading to his entry into the NBA and afterwards while he is an NBA player. He is a great young man, a terrific student, and a truly amazing representative for our program and for Duke. We love him and are very happy for him and his family.”
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Rivalries. It’s what defines sports and in college basketball, there’s not one bigger than Duke and North Carolina.
To each team, the other is the “Evil Empire”. That’s how it works.
UNC dropped early games this season to teams like Minnesota and Vanderbilt. Harrison Barnes was looking more like Marvin Williams and less like Michael Jordan by the minute.
On the other side, after Duke’s fast start, there was talk of Duke going undefeated.
Well, after a Kyrie Irving season-ending injury and an embarrassing loss to St. Johns, the Blue Devils have been knocked off their high horse.
During that same time period, the Tarheels turned things around with a 7-1 ACC record and a No. 20 national ranking. Barnes has gotten rid of his freshman fears and looks comfortable – more than before at least.
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