Tim Ellsworth

Duke tops first basketball poll

October 28th, 2005

The Duke Blue Devils are the top-ranked team in the first ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll of the season. Here’s how the top 10 looked:

1. Duke
2. Connecticut
3. Texas
4. Villanova
5. Michigan State
6. Oklahoma
7. Gonzaga
8. Louisville
9. Arizona
10. Kentucky

Illinois came in at 17th.

24 Responses to “Duke tops first basketball poll”

  1. Jim Toms says:

    As a lifelong Kentucky fan, and never, repeat never having been an Illinois fan (despite never having lived anywhere else) I’m happy to see Illinois come in at 17th, of course 67th would have been better.

  2. Tim says:

    Jim,

    I don’t take kindly to blasphemy. What the heck kind of lifelong Illinois resident roots for Kentucky????

  3. Steven says:

    How about a mention of the Memphis Tigers’ at 12th.

    And my poor unranked defending National Champion Tarheels.

  4. David B. says:

    The ‘Heels might have been ranked; if the whole team hadn’t entered the NBA draft….

  5. Jim Toms says:

    Careful, Tim. My boss used to rip me over being a Cardinals fan (also since birth) instead of the Cubs which are actually in Illinois, unlike St. Louis which she loved to point out. What say you to that?

  6. Tim says:

    I say that I spent six years of my childhood living in St. Louis.

  7. Sarah says:

    Jim, I have lived almost my entire life in Illinois but when it comes to basketball, UK is my team. (That may have to do with my parent’s growing up in KY.) Anyway, I say that to say, dish it to him Jim! :)

  8. Tim says:

    Somebody ask her to name one player on UK’s team and see how big of a fan she is.

  9. Sarah says:

    Patrick Sparks from Central City, KY. And I didn’t even have to ask my dad. So there!

  10. Tim says:

    Name another.

  11. Sarah says:

    You just said to name ONE and I’m preoccupied with your son right now to think. I could name some of the past players.

  12. Sarah says:

    Rondo, Crawford, Akeim, Morris
    Past players - Travis Ford, Cameron Mills, Jeff Shepherd, Jumal Mashburn, Pat Riley, Dan Issel, Sky Walker,

    Do I need to go on.

  13. Tim says:

    Nice that your dad’s there to help you out.

  14. Sarah says:

    OK, so he did help me with the last comment but that was it.

  15. Jim Toms says:

    Tim, never make your wife mad. It’s just not a smart thing to do. I know because I’m “better” at it than anyone you know. I think my attraction to UK began when I was about 10 or so. The NBC station in Paducah would show the games on tape delay Saturday nights (before there were games on several channels like now) after the ten o’clock news. To name some other classic players from UK’s past, I got to know Jim Master, Charles Hurt, Derrick Hord, Dickie Beale, and Melvin Turpin, with Joe B. Hall playing the role of coach.

  16. Brad Roberts says:

    If you take a poll in Southern Illinois, I think you will be suprised to know the UK fan base is large. On any given telivised schedule in our area, you will find the Wildcats playing. I, too, grew up with a heavy dose of UK basketball. It was as popular as HEE-HAW when I was a kid.

  17. Jim Toms says:

    Your mention of Hee-Haw just brought back a flood of wonderful memories from my youth.

  18. Scott Gladin says:

    How come my boys from Georgia Tech are unranked? Actually, to tell the truth, I pay absolutley no attention to basketball, but still.
    I just realized something. I must be the most random person on this site. Everyone else seems to have a connection and live around the same area, but me, I’m just some high school student in Richmond Hill, Georgia. So hey, I’ll take this time to officially introduce myself, even though I’ve been posting on here for a while. I came upon this site when Tim Cash, the Atlanta Braves team Chaplain told me to contact Tim (Ellsworth). Sooo… long story short, here I am. Hello Everyone.

  19. Tim says:

    Thanks for the introduction, Scott, but don’t feel like you don’t belong. A lot of the people on here don’t know each other. I haven’t even met some of the most regular contributors.

  20. Jim Toms says:

    You’ve met me and I’m irregular…..I mean an irregular contributor….that is…..yeah.


  21. Jim,
    Let me recommend Metamucil. It helps out in that department. You probably just need more fiber.

  22. Scott Gladin says:

    Lol, well ok. So, I guess this blog is more diverse than I thought.

  23. Di says:

    You have NO idea, Scott G.!

    : )

  24. David B. says:

    Hey Scott G.!! I know your area very well…. I was stationed at Ft. Stewart for 2 years…. BTW, there is nothing wrong with the “Ramblin Wreck” from GA TECH!! I hope you feel at home here!!!