Lance Thomas designs scoreboard graphics for Senior Night in Cameron

PHOTO GALLERY: LT’s Senior Posters

Lance Thomas’ Senior Night involved more than the traditional senior introduction, intense game, and post-game speech, and started unofficially several weeks ago when he went to work on Photoshop.  The New Jersey native designed customized tribute posters for each senior (Jordan, Zoubs, Jon and himself) that were displayed on the Cameron scoreboard as each senior was announced prior to the game.

Said LT, “I wanted to do something special for the senior class.  I love my teammates, especially the guys that I came in here with and went to battle with.  We’ve been through a lot to get to this point and I wanted to do something special for the guys.   I made a poster for each senior for the scoreboard with their name and number on it.  I did it through Photoshop.  I was very happy with the way it turned out and I actually got to see it on the scoreboard and how it looked.  It was a great moment.  It was a part of an independent study class so I got some credit for it too.  It was all for the guys and I was happy I was able to do it.”

Here are Lance’s designs and his comments about each one…

“For the one with me dunking the ball, I wanted to accentuate the emotion.  I had back-to-back pictures, so I put them together.  I put a cloud in there to go sky high.”

“With Jordan’s, I wanted to show how quick he is.  Jordan is a blur on the court so I put four images as a blur to represent speed.  His turned out really cool.”

“Zoubs’ has a big Z in the background.  I wanted to accentuate the Z because the fans love him and do the Z for him in the stands, and that support has propelled him to play really well.”

“For Jon’s, I put Chicago in the background, the Chicago skyline.  Jon’s one of my closest friends on the team so I wanted to make sure his was special.  It also has stars coming from behind him to represent that he is a trailblazer.  It was nice.”

Brian Zoubek, Ryan Kelly named to 10-member 2010 ACC All-Academic Team

Brian Zoubek and Ryan Kelly were among the 10 student-athletes selected to the 2010 ACC All-Academic Team.  To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.

Given the rigors of Duke academically, the extensive time demands of hoops, and the mental and physical exhaustion each season brings, it takes a special effort to make the All-Academic Team.  Zoubs and UVA’s Jerome Meyinsse are the lone three-time selections this year.  Congrats to both Brian and Ryan!

ACC All-Academic Team Facts & Figures

*Duke has had a player on the ACC All-Academic Basketball Team for 16 straight years.  Clemson has the second-longest streak going at eight years.

*Since 1985, Duke has had at least one person on the ACC All-Academic Basketball Team in 23 of the 26 years for a total of 46 selections in that 26-year period.

ACC All-Academic Selections since 1985

Duke: 47

Virginia: 34

Wake Forest: 32

UNC: 30

Clemson: 25

FSU: 20 (joined ACC in 1992)

Georgia Tech: 20

NC State: 14

Maryland: 9

Miami: 7 (joined ACC in 2005)

Virginia Tech: 4 (joined ACC in 2005)

Boston College: 0 (joined ACC in 2006)

ACC All-Academic Selections since 1997

Duke: 31

Clemson: 20

Virginia: 18

FSU: 16

Wake Forest: 16

UNC: 12

Georgia Tech: 8

NC State: 7

Miami: 7

Maryland: 5

Virginia Tech: 4

Boston College: 0

2010 ACC All-Academic Team

Antoine Allen, Miami

Ben Boggs, Virginia Tech

C.J. Harris, Wake Forest

Luke Loucks, Florida

Ryan Kelly, Duke

Jerome Meyinsse, Virginia

Glen Rice, Jr., Georgia

Will Sherrill, Virginia

Tanner Smith, Clemson

Andre Young, Clemson

Tyler Zeller, North Carolina

Brian Zoubek, Duke

Steve Johnson merges interest in sports and finance in an independent study project

Hello Duke fans! For this month’s issue, I thought it would be interesting to share Steve Johnson’s independent study project that examines the economics of the four major professional sports leagues.  Steve has worked closely with Professor Lori Leachman from Duke’s Economics Department to produce a detailed, 36-page paper that combines his interest in both sports and finance.  I recently talked to Steve about the project, his passion for sports and his economics background.

Steve’s Research Paper Summary

This paper examines the workings of the four major American professional sports leagues in the broader context of American business. These leagues differ from traditional firms due to special legal status and market power that has been consolidated and confirmed by American courts. An analysis of the professional sports industry structure and origin in addition to a discussion of labor markets, labor unions and payroll ceilings is provided. Additionally illuminated are the media and revenue sharing systems in professional sports leagues and their effect on the competitive balance of leagues. Lastly, a speculation as to league’s optimal practices as well as an inquiry into the reasoning behind why these procedures differ between leagues is provided.

Steve on His Project & Finance Interests

Talk about the independent study and how it came about.

I had Professor Leachman for Econ 51 during my freshman year and I obviously learned a lot in her macro economics class. I got the idea to explore labor markets in professional sports because I am interested in potentially working in the sports industry and pro sports generate a lot of revenue. Working with her, she is really knowledgeable, she helped me develop the three main topics I wanted to research, which were the structure of professional sports and how they act as monopolies, labor unions and salary caps, and market devices that impact the labor market overall.

How have your experiences in sports helped you with the paper?

I had a basic, working knowledge of all the professional sports leagues. Being a sports fan, I know about labor contracts. Having that basic knowledge gave me a leg up over someone who has never watched ESPN or knows anything about it.

How did you do your research for the paper?

There are so many econ sports journals because it is such a lucrative industry. There is literature everywhere about it so I did most of my research through the Duke library website.

Did Professor Leachman know a lot about sports and its labor markets before the paper?

No, so that was where I came in and we learned together. She ended up learning a lot along with me.

Steve on Sports & His Athletic Interests

You were a high jumper in high school and were actually recruited to Duke by the track team. Who do you think would make the best high jumper on the team?

Probably Mason and Miles, both of those guys are incredible athletes. I think Miles jumped 6’10” in high school so he would make a great high jumper.

What is the key to being a great high jumper other than incredible hops?

You have to be really flexible, have a lot of back bend, and great timing too.

In the paper you looked at the four major sports. Give me a rundown of your favorite team in each league.

Basketball- Nuggets. Football- Broncos. Hockey- Avalanche. And baseball- Rockies. All my Colorado teams.

Having played all four sports, which would you say is the toughest and which Colorado team is the best?

Probably football, you take a pounding and that beats up your body. The Broncos had a couple of great years in ’98 and ’99, won a couple of Super Bowls. Those guys all got injured, Terrell Davis ended up having to retire, John Elway too.

Who is your favorite player on your Denver teams?

Melo on the Nuggets, Troy Tulowitzki on the Rockies, Joe Sakic on the Avalanche before he retired, Champ Bailey right now on the Broncos.

Steve on His Future Goals in Sports/Finance

“Next year I hope to enroll in the MMS Masters program at Fuqua like Jordan.  I’d like to advance my understanding of finance and all it’s real-world applications.  After that, I plan to work in business, ideally for a firm with a sports-related focus.”

Working with Steve

“I really enjoyed working with Steve and getting to know him a bit.  We converged on the economics of the professional sports industry for our independent study.  We met weekly and used those meetings to review what he had read over the week, discuss ideas and how they might fit into the paper, and shape the direction the paper was taking.  By the end of term, our weekly meetings led to a completed piece that was informative and lucid.  I found Steve is be responsible and always on task and enjoyed working with him.  It is always a win for me if I learn something from my students and in this case I did.”
Lori Leachman
Professor of the Practice and Director of Research in Practice Program, Economics

Jordan Davidson Pursues Business Interests in Fuqua’s New MMS Program

Hello Duke fans!  This month I wanted to highlight the Fuqua School of Business’ new “MMS: Foundations of Business” program and one of the first students to ever enroll in it… our own Jordan Davidson.  Over the course of nine months, Jordan and his classmates will learn the fundamentals of finance, accounting, marketing, strategy, operations, decision analysis, and management, expanding their career options with a broad skill set.   The MMS program is taught by Fuqua’s No. 1-ranked faculty (according to BusinessWeek) and students have access to Fuqua’s world-class Career Management Center.   To give you a better idea about the program and Jordan’s experiences so far, our fifth-year guard answered a few questions…

What have been the biggest differences between your undergrad work and your experiences in the MMS program?
It’s been the time that is necessary to dedicate to out-of-class work.  My professors expect you to be really prepared for every class.  Not that they didn’t have that expectation in undergrad, but it is paramount in this program because of “cold calling.”  You have a name tag in class and you don’t raise your hand to participate.  They just call on you randomly.

How have you adjusted to the MMS curriculum?
Fuqua has the No. 1 faculty of any business school in the country so that’s great.  Since we have so many students who have majors like mine (psychology) that don’t necessarily involve a business background, they baby-step you through the curriculum first and then they take you to a Master’s level.  In other words, they start out explaining the fundamentals and then they take you pretty deep into the intricacies of finance, marketing, strategy and different aspects of business.

You’ve taken six courses now.  Which has been the toughest and which have you enjoyed the most?
The toughest one has been finance.  It’s one of the three I am in this term.  Being a psychology major, I never focused much on quantitative studies and finance is almost solely quantitative.  It has been the biggest challenge but it has been great learning about managing portfolios and things like that.  My favorite class is also one I am in this term called “Business Strategy.”  Will Mitchell teaches it and we look at different case studies involving domestic, European, and some Asian businesses.  We look at their strategies for expansion and breaking into new markets so it’s been interesting.

Students in the MMS program come from a variety of backgrounds and majors.  How has that impacted your studies so far at Fuqua?
They do come from all kinds of different backgrounds and schools.  I think we have about 60 Duke graduates and 40 from Ivy League schools and various other colleges.  They come from Econ backgrounds to psychology backgrounds like myself, to anthropology backgrounds, and more.  That makes for a diverse classroom and an interesting set of experiences.

How does the program challenge you to be a leader and how have your basketball experiences helped you in that capacity?
Fuqua is what they call a “team school.”  You are divided into five-person teams.  You do half your course work in those teams and the other half on individual basis.  Being able to collaborate in these teams in a productive manner is important, and the team leader switches every project.  Being able to lead your team when it comes time is a lot like this team setting and what I’ve learned from Coach.  The skills that he and the program have equipped me with really help in those settings just getting everything done and organized, and being able to motivate your team to work productively together.

Have you guys done any interesting projects or events to help build leadership and camaraderie?
We went to a campground and did various leadership-oriented physical challenges.  We did the ropes course and different relay races and things of that nature.  It was a fun day.  You got to know your teammates better.

Where will we see Jordan Davidson five years from now?
Hopefully I will be partnered with one my teammates and will have opened my own business by then, maybe with Zoubs, and hopefully making some money somewhere.

If Coach K were to teach over at Fuqua as part of this program, what would you name the title of his course?
Leadership 101: Just Get It Done.  He would be an unbelievable businessman!

“The MMS program, like all of Fuqua’s programs, places a huge emphasis on the ability to work in teams. Fuqua’s students are a team in every sense of the word: the program design and rigor of the academic experience require them to work together; they share a common goal for success; they understand individual achievement enhances the entire team; and they fully embrace placing the good of the team before their own self-interest.

Having a student like Jordan in the program clearly is a tremendous asset to the MMS experience, as he brings an outstanding sense of teamwork to the program.  As a student and an athlete, he models the behavior Fuqua aspires for in MMS students.  Further, Jordan is an extremely generous and collaborative member of the Duke community, making an outstanding contribution as a teammate in the classroom as well as on the court.”

Kathie Amato (Associate Dean for MMS Program)

Hello Blue Devils fans!  I wanted to highlight one of the most successful and popular community service programs in our athletic department — Read with the Blue Devils.  The program, which was created eighteen years ago, strives to promote the importance of reading to elementary school students in Durham.  Our student-athletes spend time sharing personal stories and answering questions before reading a book (as selected by the kids) to an entire class.  There are currently 15 schools participating in the program and the list continues to grow.

Leslie Barnes, Director of Student-Athlete Development, oversees the program while former field hockey standout and Student Athlete Development and Championships Assistant, Shayna McGeehan, masterfully coordinates the schedule across all 26 sports.  I’ve included a quote from Shayna that speaks to the impact of the program on our student-athletes as well as some recent pictures from our current players….

“Coordinating the Read with the Blue Devils program has been a great pleasure for me. As a former Duke Student-Athlete who has participated in the program, I understand the importance of the program to both the Duke Student-Athletes and local Durham children. This program provides Duke Student-Athletes with the opportunity to be more visible role-models with our community’s youth and to share the importance of literacy and working hard to achieve goals. Duke Student-Athletes are always inquiring me about the date of the next Read with the Blue Devil visit to a local Durham Elementary School. One of my favorite experiences from the program is to watch the children’s faces light up into a huge smile every time the Duke Student-Athletes walk into their classroom. The Read with the Blue Devil program is loved by both the Durham youth and the Duke Student Athletes, and is a great way for the two to learn and grow together.”  vShayna McGeehan, Student Athlete Development and Championships Assistant

PHOTOS: Read with the Blue Devils 2009