How Long Have You Been A Duke BB Fan?

[flyingdutchdevil]

Found it.my first duke shirt.

Wow. What a gem. Those are some terrible haircuts

[oldnavy]

I grew up in Durham, and from the age of 8 or so worked concession stands almost every Duke home basketball and football game until I left for the Navy in 1989, hundreds of games over about 20 years!!

Favorite memories: WOW, where to start?

Robbie West, beating UNC on a buzzer beater... has to be one, especially since I remember my normally very stoic father jumping up and down like a kid (I have no other memories of him EVER moving that much or that quickly!!)

The "air ball" game. We didn't have seats so we would squeeze in where we could. This game I was sitting on the floor opposite the Duke bench about baseline in front of the Crazies. In fact there is a video that was posted on DBR where I could see myself (wearing my old high school football jersey, white with red numbers, guess which school...) jumping up when we scored early in the first half. That was a GREAT game!!

And so many more... God has blessed me in so many ways, this being just one example...

[sagegrouse]

He actually started in 1964 alongside Jay Buckley, giving Duke a pair of 6-10 starters in an era when many teams started 6-5 guys at center. Mullins was the 3 and sophomore Jack Marin came off the bench believe it or not.

Ah yes, the "incredibly shrinking twin towers." Jay Buckley was listed as 6-11 as a freshman and Hack Tison, a year later, was listed at 7-0. By the time both were on the varsity, they were listed as 6-10, a phenomenon that may have been the fashion of the day -- minimize the size of really tall basketball players.

[throatybeard]

My mother tells me I was pretending to be Mike Gminski with a nerf ball and a piece of pottery as the hoop in 1980, when I was three and a half.

I generally find that there's no percentage in contradicting her.

[budwom]

Ah yes, the "incredibly shrinking twin towers." Jay Buckley was listed as 6-11 as a freshman and Hack Tison, a year later, was listed at 7-0. By the time both were on the varsity, they were listed as 6-10, a phenomenon that may have been the fashion of the day -- minimize the size of really tall basketball players.

Living in Connecticut (that's a small state in the Northeast!) in 1964 I must confess to being a Husky fan, and first really focused on Duke in the NCAA tourney that year when the heroic Huskies, led by Wes Bialosuknia and Toby Kimball (the best bald player in America back then) faced Duke and sustained a horrific 101 to 54 beatdown. Three years later I was in Derm.

[throatybeard]

Ah yes, the "incredibly shrinking twin towers." Jay Buckley was listed as 6-11 as a freshman and Hack Tison, a year later, was listed at 7-0. By the time both were on the varsity, they were listed as 6-10, a phenomenon that may have been the fashion of the day -- minimize the size of really tall basketball players.

My mother was friends with both of those dudes, plus Buzzy Harrison. She has a funny story about someone trying to fit Buckley into a VW Bug.

For years, Duke fans accused Dean Smith of some vast conspiracy to minimize the size of his seven footers. Even then, I was like, this is the worst of the dude's sins against us? C'mon.

[jimsumner]

My mother was friends with both of those dudes, plus Buzzy Harrison. She has a funny story about someone trying to fit Buckley into a VW Bug.

For years, Duke fans accused Dean Smith of some vast conspiracy to minimize the size of his seven footers. Even then, I was like, this is the worst of the dude's sins against us? C'mon.

Smith thought that being listed as a seven-footer led fans to have unrealistic expectations. So, seven-footers like Rusty Clark and Brad Daugherty were listed as 6-11 3/4 or some such. We used to joke that Daugherty was 6-11 15/16.

[throatybeard]

Smith thought that being listed as a seven-footer led fans to have unrealistic expectations. So, seven-footers like Rusty Clark and Brad Daugherty were listed as 6-11 3/4 or some such. We used to joke that Daugherty was 6-11 15/16.

Smith thought a lot of things. Like playing chicken keepaway for five minutes at a time was an honorable thing to do.

[jimsumner]

Smith thought a lot of things. Like playing chicken keepaway for five minutes at a time was an honorable thing to do.

Lots of coaches did it. it was legal and if executed properly was a good way to win games. Smith didn't start it. He just perfected it.

Check out some of Duke's scores from K's first seasons, when there was no shot clock and Duke was a bit undermanned. I once saw Maryland beat Duke 40-36 in Cameron and Dean Smith was nowhere to be seen.

[Tripping William]

Smith thought that being listed as a seven-footer led fans to have unrealistic expectations. So, seven-footers like Rusty Clark and Brad Daugherty were listed as 6-11 3/4 or some such. We used to joke that Daugherty was 6-11 15/16.

Making Serge Zwikker, what, 6'14"? 😄

[Henderson]

Lots of coaches did it. it was legal and if executed properly was a good way to win games. Smith didn't start it. He just perfected it.

I guess scoring zero points in a half evidences a certain type of perfection.

[chrishoke]

Living in Connecticut (that's a small state in the Northeast!) in 1964 I must confess to being a Husky fan, and first really focused on Duke in the NCAA tourney that year when the heroic Huskies, led by Wes Bialosuknia and Toby Kimball (the best bald player in America back then) faced Duke and sustained a horrific 101 to 54 beatdown. Three years later I was in Derm.

Ha. That was my first NCAA tournament game - thanks dad. It was the Eastern Regional Finals and was played in State's Reynolds Coliseum. I was 10 and kept a scrapbook of Duke's season that year - I still have it - including a picture of baldy Kimball and the UConn team posing after their regional semifinal win. Duke beat Villanova in the semis - Jeff Mullins had 43 and hit a half court shot to end the first half. Great memories.

[jimsumner]

Ha. That was my first NCAA tournament game - thanks dad. It was the Eastern Regional Finals and was played in State's Reynolds Coliseum. I was 10 and kept a scrapbook of Duke's season that year - I still have it - including a picture of baldy Kimball and the UConn team posing after their regional semifinal win. Duke beat Villanova in the semis - Jeff Mullins had 43 and hit a half court shot to end the first half. Great memories.

The NCAA didn't seed teams in those days. The de facto title game was Duke's win over a very good Villanova team in the semis. That team had two future NBA starters, Jim Washington and Wally Jones and a future ABA star named Bill Melchionni. Bill's younger brother Gary attended the game and was bitterly disappointed at the Duke win. But when Villanova declined to recruit him, he remembered how impressed he was with Vic Bubas and his program.

Ironically, by the time Gary Melchionni was ready to sign on the dotted line Bubas had retired. So he never got to play for him. But he was a very good player for Bucky Waters.

UConn's semifinal win was over Princeton and Bill Bradley, who famously changed from Duke to Princeton on the day he was supposed to start orientation at Duke.

Another Duke connection. UConn was coached by Fred Shabel, a former Duke player for Harold Bradley and assistant coach under Bubas. A few years later Shabel became AD at Penn, where he hired another former Duke assistant, Chuck Daly, as their head coach.

[royalblue]

Jim,
I would defer to you 99% of the time but I do have a much different perspective on the slow down game issue. I think all coaches have used it at one time or another over the years but Dean takes the cake. He used it more when the talent level was close or he even had the edge in talent than any coach I can remember. I'm not as wise as you and will never claim to be but I would like to know any HOF level coach in the last 60 years that used that cowardly type play over and over like Dean did. From my take if your talent level is not on par with the team you are playing I understand and accept it. If it is on the same level I see it as playing scared.
Maybe I am too much antidean to give him any credit but no credit for stall ball with his teams full of talent will come from me.

[jimsumner]

Jim,
I would defer to you 99% of the time but I do have a much different perspective on the slow down game issue. I think all coaches have used it at one time or another over the years but Dean takes the cake. He used it more when the talent level was close or he even had the edge in talent than any coach I can remember. I'm not as wise as you and will never claim to be but I would like to know any HOF level coach in the last 60 years that used that cowardly type play over and over like Dean did. From my take if your talent level is not on par with the team you are playing I understand and accept it. If it is on the same level I see it as playing scared.
Maybe I am too much antidean to give him any credit but no credit for stall ball with his teams full of talent will come from me.

I just don't see it as cowardly. It was a tactic designed to win basketball games and Carolina ran it with unaccustomed efficiency. As often as not, the four corners was designed to pull teams out of zones, designed to force teams to chase superior ball-handlers like Phil Ford, designed to generate mismatches and lay-ups.

Opposing teams always had the option to come out and play defense away from the basket. The famous Carolina-Virginia game in the 1982 ACC Tournament title game helped lead to a shot clock, which was a good thing. But just as much as Smith made the decision to go to the four corners, Terry Holland just as much made a decision to keep his team back in a zone and let them. Vic Bubas made the same decision against NC State in 1968, Bill Foster against Carolina in 1979. Both thought staying back maximized their chances of winning. It took two to turn a delay into a stall.

Sometimes it was designed as an end game. Superior teams with leads use stratagems to shorten games all the time. Football teams run out the clock. Soccer teams kick the ball in the corner and try to keep it there. Hockey teams clear their zone with no intention of trying to score. Even with a shot clock, K goes into a delay darn near every chance he gets, even with superior talent, sometimes because he has superior talent.

I just can't fault a coach for using a legal tactic to help win games. Entertaining fans may be part of the job description but winning games always is.

[Stratrat]

Sagegrouse recently mentioned that he's been a Duke basketball fan for 55 years. That's pretty impressive to me, and a lot longer than most marriages last. Anyway, it made me curious about the group.

So let's take roll.

And let me say off the top that longevity of fandom has no bearing on quality of insights. Historical perspective is good, but there are a lot of younger fans here with much better insights than us old farts, or at least than me.

The father of a friend of mine, McAfee, worked for Jefferson pilot and took us to Duke games. Players a lot you will not know but we had 2 twin towers back then-- Jay Buckley and Hack Both 6 ft 11 . Bob Verga, Steve Vacendeck, Dick Groat.
Glory days. Fell in love with Duke way back then while every friend I had were Tar Heels.

I remember the press conference when Coach K was introduced. He had to spell his name. I was dissappointed that we
didn't get a big name coach. Shows u what I know.

I was also recruited by Duke football but their teams were not good back then,

Go Blue Devils!!!! THis is our year.

[-jk]

I just don't see it as cowardly. It was a tactic designed to win basketball games and Carolina ran it with unaccustomed efficiency. As often as not, the four corners was designed to pull teams out of zones, designed to force teams to chase superior ball-handlers like Phil Ford, designed to generate mismatches and lay-ups.

Opposing teams always had the option to come out and play defense away from the basket. The famous Carolina-Virginia game in the 1982 ACC Tournament title game helped lead to a shot clock, which was a good thing. But just as much as Smith made the decision to go to the four corners, Terry Holland just as much made a decision to keep his team back in a zone and let them. Vic Bubas made the same decision against NC State in 1968, Bill Foster against Carolina in 1979. Both thought staying back maximized their chances of winning. It took two to turn a delay into a stall.

Sometimes it was designed as an end game. Superior teams with leads use stratagems to shorten games all the time. Football teams run out the clock. Soccer teams kick the ball in the corner and try to keep it there. Hockey teams clear their zone with no intention of trying to score. Even with a shot clock, K goes into a delay darn near every chance he gets, even with superior talent, sometimes because he has superior talent.

I just can't fault a coach for using a legal tactic to help win games. Entertaining fans may be part of the job description but winning games always is.

It's not quite time for my annual "Dr. K: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Stall" post, but it'll come after some nail-biter or other...

-jk

[DevilFalcon]

Some of my first words were 'go Duke', so about 30 years. I really started paying attention and have memories from JJ's years though.

[moonpie23]

I'm a gamecock, moved to raleigh in 1982. I've detailed my hatred for the heels more than once on DBR. As SC's bb program was fading, i was drawn to what was becoming the sharpest thorn in UNC's side....Duke...

once i began "following" Duke, my son and i became the most steadfast of fans.....It was even more cemented when coach K took personal time (on a number of occasions) to single out my handicapped son, and take him back to the locker room for one-on-one time with the players and coaching staff. (the story of my son, Sam, and his Brian Zoubek fascination, and support, is chronicled on DBR around may, 2010..

we bleed royal blue...

[RPS]

I became a fan when I visited the campus as a prospective student 37 years ago. After enrolling, I never missed a home game as a student (Spanarkel, Gminski, Banks, 7-0, 1981 OT). I've seen many games since, mostly in the NCAA Tournament (included the Mark Macon game and "Special"). Perhaps this year I'll get to my first Final Four...