Top 5 Shots in Duke History

[dukeballer2294]

Today in the LA times the featured article on the sports page was the top 5 shots in Lakers history(because of Fisher's heroics in game 3). So i got to thinking what are Dukes most famous shots? Since I am a younger fan I was wondering if you guys could give some input on what you guys think.

5. Jeff Caple's Half court shot 1995: It was a great shot to send the game into ovetime and would be number 2 if we won the game.

4. Gene Banks' turnaround game tying shot at the buzzer 1981: Against unc, wouldve won the game if there had been a 3point line... won the game in overtime.

3. Chris Duhons reverse layup with 2 seconds left: Drove the lenght of the court to be carolina at the dean dome.

2. Sean Dockery: My favorite Duke memory half court shot against VT.

1.Christian Laettner: Need I say more?

[rthomas]

I would submit that Hurley's three toward the end of the 91 semifinal game against UNLV was the biggest.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okNOO...eature=related

[Indoor66]

I would add Laetner's shot against UConn in the regional finals.

Also, all of Freddie Lind's shots against Carolina in THE game.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Terry Chili's FT's at the end of the Maryland home game in 1976. Well, they aren't big in the sense of championship games, but they were mighty important to a downtrodden team desperate for a big win!

[DU82]

Today in the LA times the featured article on the sports page was the top 5 shots in Lakers history(because of Fisher's heroics in game 3). So i got to thinking what are Dukes most famous shots? Since I am a younger fan I was wondering if you guys could give some input on what you guys think.

5. Jeff Caple's Half court shot 1995: It was a great shot to send the game into ovetime and would be number 2 if we won the game.

4. Gene Banks' turnaround game tying shot at the buzzer 1981: Against unc, wouldve won the game if there had been a 3point line... won the game in overtime.

3. Chris Duhons reverse layup with 2 seconds left: Drove the lenght of the court to be carolina at the dean dome.

2. Sean Dockery: My favorite Duke memory half court shot against VT.

1.Christian Laettner: Need I say more?

As somebody else already said, add Laettner's shot against UCon, and Hurley's three against UNLV, which has been described as the most important shot in Duke bball history -- without it, there's no first championship (in'91, at least), probably no second Laettner miracle, and no "dynasty".

While Dockery's shot was great, and answered VT's premature celebration, I don't think it ranks with the others. I'd probably also drop Duhon's from the top five (something has to go, and Capel's shot, even in a loss, is remembered more.)

(BTW, It didn't get quoted, but please update your signature lines to read TEN national championships. :-)

[sagegrouse]

2. Sean Dockery: My favorite Duke memory half court shot against VT.

My own favorite occurred in 1990 against Clemson in Cameron. Duke holds a narrow lead against Clemson (52-17!) with two seconds left in the 1st half. Duke has the ball under the Clemson basket and Dunleavy is waving his arms near halfcourt. He gets the pass and banks it in for a 55-17 lead.

C coach Larry Shyatt said after the game, "Well, we won the second half."

sagegrouse

[dukeballer2294]

As somebody else already said, add Laettner's shot against UCon, and Hurley's three against UNLV, which has been described as the most important shot in Duke bball history -- without it, there's no first championship (in'91, at least), probably no second Laettner miracle, and no "dynasty".

While Dockery's shot was great, and answered VT's premature celebration, I don't think it ranks with the others. I'd probably also drop Duhon's from the top five (something has to go, and Capel's shot, even in a loss, is remembered more.)

(BTW, It didn't get quoted, but please update your signature lines to read TEN national championships. :-)

Thanks for the update on my sig i totally forgot to change it and I was just stating 5 big 1s I wasnt making an official list ive only been a duke fan since 2000

[rthomas]

Battier's tip in against Arizona.

[sagegrouse]

My own favorite occurred in 1990 against Clemson in Cameron. Duke holds a narrow lead against Clemson (52-17!) with two seconds left in the 1st half.

Uhhh. That would be 2000. My error.

sagegrouse

[4decadedukie]

All great choices that bring back so many memories, to which I will add -- and, in fairness, I am not truly certain this meets top-five criteria -- James' last second tip in the 1991 ACC Semifinals (in Atlanta) against Maryland. Having beaten Maryland by the narrowest of margins, Duke devastated UNC the following day in the Finals, and then won the National Championship.

[sagegrouse]

James' last second tip in the 1991 ACC Semifinals (in Atlanta) against Maryland. .

Uhhh. How about 2001? Your error.

sagegrouse

[miramar]

Phil Henderson's in-your-face slam against Alonzo Mourning in the East Regional Finals. Georgetown had closed within 4 and Henderson's dunk took the wind out of their sails.

[4decadedukie]

Uhhh. How about 2001? Your error.

sagegrouse

You are obviously right; Nate’s wonderful, last second tip occurred in 2001, not 1991. I apologize for my sloppiness. Nevertheless, it was a fabulous ending to a crucial game where, at one point, Maryland was ahead by fourteen. I was in “rafter row” of Duke’s section in the Georgia Dome, and I have NEVER seen the fan-base so excited or involved.

[CameronBornAndBred]

They all look good. I could change Duhon's with Wojo running the length of the floor for a score in "2" seconds or so left in the game at State for the win. (Not sure of the year, 2001 maybe? Capped the miracle comeback with 10 down and a minute to go?) The refs were mostly to blame because they screwed the clock up, but we won. I loved watching that replay over and over.
I saw all of the shots in the first list, either live or on TV. (Banks and Capel live). I wonder if any of the old timers (I mean more experienced) know of any before Banks' that could be mentioned?

[jimsumner]

Wojo's buzzer-beater was at UVA in 1997. Chris Collins made a late shot to at State in '96 that helped end a long ACC losing streak. So, all three assistant coaches have signature buzzer-beaters.

I'm not about to try and rank top shots. Too many candidates. But you have to consider context. Capel's shot, as memorable as it was, was in a regular-season game and didn't lead to a win. NCAA Tournament games trump everything, ACC Tournament games trump everything but NCAAT games, and Carolina games trump everything else. IMO.

That said, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Robby West, 1972, v. UNC.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Wojo's buzzer-beater was at UVA in 1997. Chris Collins made a late shot to at State in '96 that helped end a long ACC losing streak. So, all three assistant coaches have signature buzzer-beaters.

While I don't remember the year, it definately was at State. I'm pretty sure it was 2001, I watched it when I lived in the mountains, and I was in Durham in '97. It was a full court run for a layup.

edit--Couldn't have been 2001, we beat the snot out of state both games. JS might be right, but I'd love it to have been vs. state

[jimsumner]

Inasmuch as Wojo graduated in 1998, I'm pretty certain you are misremembering this.

Duke beat State 70-55 at Raleigh in 1997 and 65-49 in 1998, so Wojo could not have won either game at the buzzer. Collins hit the game-winner in '96, although State had the final shot. State won in Raleigh in 1995.

The game I'm referencing was at Charlottesville in 1997. Virginia made a FT late. They had a sub ready to go in. The refs had been alerted but neglected to allow the sub. Duke inbounded quickly, the clock didn't start for several seconds, the horn was blowing. Absolute chaos.

Wojo rushed the ball upcourt. IIRC, he was fouled before he could make the lay-up but made the FTs after a lengthy delay. I can think of no other ACC game involving Wojo that comes close to the earlier reference.

But I guarantee you that Wojo never won a game at State at the buzzer.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Inasmuch as Wojo graduated in 1998, I'm pretty certain you are misremembering this.

I guarantee that you are correct. Sigh. Anyways, thanks very much for refreshing my memory much better, I believe I had Wojo crossed in my mind with Jason Williams and his magic at state. My memory assumed with Wojo getting all the way up the coart, he hit a shot to finish. Oh well. Both games were great wins, but no miracle shots.

[Cicero]

The game I'm referencing was at Charlottesville in 1997. Virginia made a FT late. They had a sub ready to go in. The refs had been alerted but neglected to allow the sub. Duke inbounded quickly, the clock didn't start for several seconds, the horn was blowing. Absolute chaos.

Wojo rushed the ball upcourt. IIRC, he was fouled before he could make the lay-up but made the FTs after a lengthy delay.

I remember that game--Rick Hartzell was the referee who failed to allow the substitution, and Norman Nolan was the player who fouled Wojo. The most amazing thing was that Wojo still made both free throws after a very long delay. Here's a Barry Jacobs article that describes the controversial ending of that game.

[Tom B.]

I guarantee that you are correct. Sigh. Anyways, thanks very much for refreshing my memory much better, I believe I had Wojo crossed in my mind with Jason Williams and his magic at state. My memory assumed with Wojo getting all the way up the coart, he hit a shot to finish. Oh well. Both games were great wins, but no miracle shots.

I think you're getting several games crossed in your memory here. Any game involving Jason Williams and a "miracle comeback" from 10 down with a minute to go can only be a reference to the game at Maryland (not State) in 2001. Jason Williams did indeed lead a miracle comeback from 10 down with a minute to go in that game... but, the game didn't end on a buzzer-beater, nor did it end on a full-court dash.

Jason Williams scored eight points in quick succession from the 1:00 mark to about the 0:45 mark (assisted in part by a turnover in the backcourt by Maryland's Drew Nicholas and two missed free throws, also by Drew Nicholas). Duke then got the ball back after another turnover by (guess who) Drew Nicholas, and Dunleavy had a three-pointer to put Duke ahead, but missed. Nate James was fouled on the rebound, though, and hit two free throws to tie it with about 18 or 20 seconds left on the clock. Maryland had a final possession and a chance to win in regulation, but Duke played excellent defense and Maryland could manage only an off-balance contested three-pointer from the deep corner at the buzzer, which missed. Duke jumped out to a quick lead in overtime on a three-pointer by Shane Battier (I think), and won without the need for any last-second heroics.

Later that season, Duke played Maryland in the 2001 ACC Tournament. That was another nail-biter, and it did include a dash by Jason Williams in the closing seconds, though he didn't score the game-winning points. With the clock ticking down, Williams pushed the ball upcourt, got into the lane and put up a shot. He missed, but Nate James tipped the ball in to give Duke a two-point lead. That didn't quite end the game, though. There were still a few seconds left, and Maryland had one more shot -- a half-court heave by Juan Dixon that almost went in (I think it hit off the back of the rim).

Duke was involved in another buzzer-beater in 2001 -- at Wake Forest. Again, Jason Williams had a role in the game-deciding play. Duke led by three late, but a Wake player (I forget who) hit a long three to tie it. There was still a little bit of time left, though, so Duke had one more possession. Williams penetrated and then kicked out to Chris Duhon on the wing, who faked, got his man in the air, drove into the lane and put up a floater that dropped through at the buzzer to give Duke the win.

The only game against State I can recall in even semi-recent memory that ended on anything close to a buzzer-beater was the one already mentioned -- the 1996 game in which Chris Collins hit a three-pointer with a few seconds left that bounced high and straight up off the rim, then bounced about three more times before trickling in. As jimsumner noted, State still had one more shot at the end to win it, but missed.

The game in which Wojo went the length of the floor in the closing seconds was the Rick Hartzell game at UVa in 1997. That game (and in particular, all of the confusion of those last few seconds) already been described by other posters in this thread. As they've noted, the game didn't end on a layup -- rather, Wojo was fouled and, after a lengthy delay, made both free throws with 0.7 seconds on the clock. UVa had a long heave at the buzzer that missed.

One other game involving a full-court dash by Wojo in the closing seconds was the game at Clemson in January of 1997. Clemson tied the game late, and Wojo pushed the ball up the floor and found Greg Newton wide open under the basket with a perfect pass, which Newton promptly fumbled out of bounds. The game went into overtime and Clemson won.