FanHouse ChrisCollins

Ranking the rankings criticizes the critics as soon as the polls come out.

Headlining: It's obvious, right? Duke tops both polls for the first time since the end of the 2005-06 regular season and we're all depressed ecstatic! I want to say that it's hard to like this Blue Devil team, but when is it easy to like Duke? (Answer: When you're a Duke fan. Or when the Blue Devils are playing Carolina.) That being said, the 2008-09 incarnation isn't nearly as hate-able as previous teams.

The Duke athletic department is set to self-report a recruiting violation that happened over the weekend.

Assistant basketball coach Chris Collins attended the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Tournament in Raleigh on Friday. The problem is that the NCAA's "Christmas dead period" for recruiting ended Friday night. That means Collins wasn't allowed to be in attendance and violated recruiting rules.

When schools become aware of violations, they typically notify the NCAA and propose self-imposed sanctions. The NCAA often classifies inadvertent violations as "secondary" rather than "major," and then imposes sanctions, but it's never clear how the NCAA will rule until it issues its judgment.

Most likely Duke would only suffer a penalty on the number of recruiting trips, contacts or evaluations. That could be for the entire coaching staff and/or Collins, individually.

The game Collins attended was between Ravenscroft Apex and Word Of God-Rocky Mount. Ryan Kelly, who has already committed to Duke, plays for Ravenscroft. John Wall, the top uncommitted lead guard in the country, plays for Word of God.