Foul Territory
A sports blog with no specific focus, though I like wrestling and baseball
2.01.2005
Duke vs. UNC
We made our way to Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight to see Duke host Carolina in an ACC tilt. Our seats were fantastic, center court, four rows from the floor. We could hear every shoe squeak, every shouted instruction. We even walked around on the court afterward.
Of course, this is because it was a wrestling match, not a basketball game. Duke-Carolina wrestling isn't quite the high profile affair it is in basketball. There are a few reasons for this. First off, neither team is ever anywhere near the top of the national rankings, and neither team will win the conference either. Duke is probably slated for a bottom half finish. Secondly, Duke has no scholarships. None. Zero dollars available for potential Duke recruits. At a school this wealthy, it's a crime. Their assistant coaching budget is also less than that at Messiah College, and their overall budget makes me sick (I'll keep that number to myself, but suffice it to say you would throw up every time you saw Duke Basketball on television if I told you). The third reason that it's not quite up to basketball standards is that wrestling just isn't the same down here in the South. The best high school wrestlers head to the Iowa States and Minnesotas, while the ACC is left to pick up mostly second tier guys, if they have scholarships to spend them on, that is.
None of this kept the match from being enjoyable to watch. UNC has a young team that will only get better, and Duke has a national champion coach who does his best with the limitation placed upon him by the university. Many of the matches were close, but Carolina predictably prevailed over a shorthanded Duke squad, who has been without their ACC champion 125 pound wrestler since he suffered a season ending elbow injury. Duke's younger wrestlers were not on par with their opponents, but the older wrestlers on the team were able to hang in and win a few matches based on superior experience, if not talent.
Two things stood out to me tonight. First, the classless behavior of the UNC assistants. C.D. Mock seems like a good guy, but his two assistants left a lot to be desired. There they were in a match they were winning handily, complaining to the official all the time. The match was not close for a lot of the night, and yet they complained. I wanted them to back it off a little bit and focus on their wrestlers and not the officiating, which was not a problem. Second, the Duke announcer did a horrendous job. He obviously knew the sport, and may have been a member of the team who wasn't competing tonight, but he was terrible. He felt the need to explain every little thing like he was doing play by play and color commentary for a television broadcast. He talked strategy, rules, told us the score, which we could read off the scoreboard. He also talked about differences between high school and college wrestling. Lastly, he kept referring to the Duke wrestlers by their first names, talking about what they were trying to do and how they scored. It was too much talking. A little explanation is fine for the obviously uninformed crowd, but he went way, way over the line.
I've seen Carolina wrestle three times in the last week, at three different venues, and I'd say they're at least a year or two away from taking a shot at the ACC title, and a lot depends on what NC State and newcomer Virginia Tech do in the next few years, but they have some good young wrestlers that should improve. C.D. Mock's skills as a technician will be easy to evaluate in a few years after seeing the progress, or possible lack thereof, in his young wrestlers.
Of course, this is because it was a wrestling match, not a basketball game. Duke-Carolina wrestling isn't quite the high profile affair it is in basketball. There are a few reasons for this. First off, neither team is ever anywhere near the top of the national rankings, and neither team will win the conference either. Duke is probably slated for a bottom half finish. Secondly, Duke has no scholarships. None. Zero dollars available for potential Duke recruits. At a school this wealthy, it's a crime. Their assistant coaching budget is also less than that at Messiah College, and their overall budget makes me sick (I'll keep that number to myself, but suffice it to say you would throw up every time you saw Duke Basketball on television if I told you). The third reason that it's not quite up to basketball standards is that wrestling just isn't the same down here in the South. The best high school wrestlers head to the Iowa States and Minnesotas, while the ACC is left to pick up mostly second tier guys, if they have scholarships to spend them on, that is.
None of this kept the match from being enjoyable to watch. UNC has a young team that will only get better, and Duke has a national champion coach who does his best with the limitation placed upon him by the university. Many of the matches were close, but Carolina predictably prevailed over a shorthanded Duke squad, who has been without their ACC champion 125 pound wrestler since he suffered a season ending elbow injury. Duke's younger wrestlers were not on par with their opponents, but the older wrestlers on the team were able to hang in and win a few matches based on superior experience, if not talent.
Two things stood out to me tonight. First, the classless behavior of the UNC assistants. C.D. Mock seems like a good guy, but his two assistants left a lot to be desired. There they were in a match they were winning handily, complaining to the official all the time. The match was not close for a lot of the night, and yet they complained. I wanted them to back it off a little bit and focus on their wrestlers and not the officiating, which was not a problem. Second, the Duke announcer did a horrendous job. He obviously knew the sport, and may have been a member of the team who wasn't competing tonight, but he was terrible. He felt the need to explain every little thing like he was doing play by play and color commentary for a television broadcast. He talked strategy, rules, told us the score, which we could read off the scoreboard. He also talked about differences between high school and college wrestling. Lastly, he kept referring to the Duke wrestlers by their first names, talking about what they were trying to do and how they scored. It was too much talking. A little explanation is fine for the obviously uninformed crowd, but he went way, way over the line.
I've seen Carolina wrestle three times in the last week, at three different venues, and I'd say they're at least a year or two away from taking a shot at the ACC title, and a lot depends on what NC State and newcomer Virginia Tech do in the next few years, but they have some good young wrestlers that should improve. C.D. Mock's skills as a technician will be easy to evaluate in a few years after seeing the progress, or possible lack thereof, in his young wrestlers.
Andy, 10:07 PM
