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Thread: 86 Blue Devils

  1. #1
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    86 Blue Devils

    I saw on the local Carolina network a documentary on the 1986 Duke Blue Devils. I had no idea that the loss to Louisville was so devastating to not only to the players but to Coach K as well. I really feel for those players now. I have never seen Jay Bilas Cry but he sure was choked up. It was a very nice and respectful presentation. Did anyone else see it?

  2. #2
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    And Denny Crum said....

    Quote Originally Posted by dynastydefender View Post
    I saw on the local Carolina network a documentary on the 1986 Duke Blue Devils. I had no idea that the loss to Louisville was so devastating to not only to the players but to Coach K as well. I really feel for those players now. I have never seen Jay Bilas Cry but he sure was choked up. It was a very nice and respectful presentation. Did anyone else see it?
    I didn't see the documentary, but I saw the game and the aftermath. One of the bad memories involved Denny Crum making a disparaging remark about the possibility of any future attempts... seems to me there was to be a change the next season in the minimum SAT scores required by the NCAA. Maybe somebody else remembers exactly what he said.

    The 1986 team meant so much to those of us who lived through the great years with Vic Bubas as the coach.... after he left we were searching for years for a way back to the high level he took the program. Once you've experienced that sort of high level program, it's hard to live with less.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress View Post
    I didn't see the documentary, but I saw the game and the aftermath. One of the bad memories involved Denny Crum making a disparaging remark about the possibility of any future attempts... seems to me there was to be a change the next season in the minimum SAT scores required by the NCAA. Maybe somebody else remembers exactly what he said.

    The 1986 team meant so much to those of us who lived through the great years with Vic Bubas as the coach.... after he left we were searching for years for a way back to the high level he took the program. Once you've experienced that sort of high level program, it's hard to live with less.
    I am going to do some more research on that team. It almost seems that Duke paid thier dues in 86 to become a championship team in the 90's and beyond. I completely agree with "Once you've experienced that sort of high level program, it's hard to live with less."

  4. #4

    No

    No and I don't want to see it. I can't afford the therapy all over again. That loss to Louisville was the worst feeling I ever had after a Duke NCAA loss. (1999 was close, but I was more mad than sad!) I've watched replays of the 1986 title game on ESPN Classic over the years. And every time I find myself screaming at the TV, "no, no, no don't slow it up, just keep playing your game, score"!!!!!!!! That 1986 team was so special and looked like they had destiny written all over them.

    I think the thing that hurt so much at the time was it had been eight years since Duke had been to a Final Four or national championship game. Everyone knew Dawkins, Alarie, Bilas etc. were graduating, and nobody could have known Duke would skip a year then make a run of Final Fours that hadn't been done since UCLA. (Duke lost to Bob Knight's last Indiana championship team in 1987 in the NCAA's, nothing to sneeze at!) So many of us felt like we'd lost our best chance at a title. For life long Duke fans it was agony to watch. I do think Coach K learned a lot from that game. And it's amazing to look back now and see that year as the year Duke became America's lovable losers basketball team. Where exactly we went from being always a bridesmade to the team everyone loves to hate I don't know.

  5. Quote Originally Posted by dynastydefender View Post
    I saw on the local Carolina network a documentary on the 1986 Duke Blue Devils. I had no idea that the loss to Louisville was so devastating to not only to the players but to Coach K as well. I really feel for those players now. I have never seen Jay Bilas Cry but he sure was choked up. It was a very nice and respectful presentation. Did anyone else see it?
    I remember it all too well. Duke was a powerhouse that year and was the clear favorite to win the title (that team and Duke's '99 team still hold the all time NCAA record for most victories in a single season: 37-2 both years). And Duke seemed to have the game won, but things fell apart in the final minutes. It seemed that we didn't have an answer for Never Nervous Pervis Ellison and I recall that many folks thought that Dawkins should have played more minutes down the stretch.

    That title loss, along with 99's have remained the toughest to swallow.

  6. #6
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    I don't remember the game as much as my reaction to the loss. I would have been 16 at the time. We were vacationing in Hilton Head, and I remember yelling at the tv, crying up the stairs to my room, and pretty much being miserable the rest of the trip. I was SOOO sure that was our year to win it all. It would prove to be the first of 4 tries in the Final Four before K finally shed the monkey. But that 1st one in '86 was the worst.

  7. #7
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    Feb 2007
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    Cincinnati, Ohio

    An ESPECIALLY Bad Day

    Curses to whoever decided to reopen this old wound!

    As already noted by others who were at Duke during the Bubas era - seeing the '86 team lose this game was really painful. In my case the pain was inadvertently doubled.

    The morning after the game I was in my office - still not fully recovered from the shock of the loss. All of the sudden a guy I only very slightly knew walks in and sits in front of my desk. He was terribly distressed because his wife had just called him from home where she'd heard on the news that the title had been taken away from Louisville either for a drug or academic violation. Turns out the stranger that walked into my office was a Louisville graduate. And as luck would have it, the first person he bumped into for consolation was me, a Duke graduate. But he had no idea that I had gone to Duke - it was just pure, dumb luck that he found me first.

    He was nearly incoherent in his grief - and obviously I was in no mood to offer him a shoulder to cry on. Plus I couldn't really believe that what he was telling me was true, but being 1986 it was not like I could hop on the Internet to find out what was going on. So after he left my office, I just sat there shocked and confused.

    About half an hour later, my Louisville "friend" strolled back into my office - all smiles. His wife had called back and told HIM, "Ha, ha, ha... got you!"

    For as some may be aware, the 1986 championship game was played on March 31. On the next day - April Fool's Day - this guy's wife had decided to jerk him around with a little trick. Which she did quite well - but she got me, too.

    Thanks for poking the stick back in my eye again - wonderful memory!

    Glen

  8. #8

    Glen, Glen, Glen

    Quote Originally Posted by Ggallagher View Post
    Curses to whoever decided to reopen this old wound!

    As already noted by others who were at Duke during the Bubas era - seeing the '86 team lose this game was really painful. In my case the pain was inadvertently doubled.

    The morning after the game I was in my office - still not fully recovered from the shock of the loss. All of the sudden a guy I only very slightly knew walks in and sits in front of my desk. He was terribly distressed because his wife had just called him from home where she'd heard on the news that the title had been taken away from Louisville either for a drug or academic violation. Turns out the stranger that walked into my office was a Louisville graduate. And as luck would have it, the first person he bumped into for consolation was me, a Duke graduate. But he had no idea that I had gone to Duke - it was just pure, dumb luck that he found me first.

    He was nearly incoherent in his grief - and obviously I was in no mood to offer him a shoulder to cry on. Plus I couldn't really believe that what he was telling me was true, but being 1986 it was not like I could hop on the Internet to find out what was going on. So after he left my office, I just sat there shocked and confused.

    About half an hour later, my Louisville "friend" strolled back into my office - all smiles. His wife had called back and told HIM, "Ha, ha, ha... got you!"

    For as some may be aware, the 1986 championship game was played on March 31. On the next day - April Fool's Day - this guy's wife had decided to jerk him around with a little trick. Which she did quite well - but she got me, too.

    Thanks for poking the stick back in my eye again - wonderful memory!

    Glen
    The ONLY redeeming thing about that loss was that I didn't know any Louisville fans and if memory serves me correctly UNC fans pretty much left us alone for whatever reason after that loss. I'm not condoning murder by any means, but if you'd gone postal on your "friend" I'm pretty sure you could have plead temporary insanity. The thing that stings so much about a loss to UNC for many of us is we know so many UNC fans and the game will be discussed over and over to the point we want to slit our (or their) wrists. The one thing I can say about NCAA losses, usually there aren't many Indiana, Kentucky, UCONN etc fans in state to hear about it from. But that VCU loss seemed like some evil scientist was cloning people to rag Duke fans.

  9. #9
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    Does anyone else remember?

    Doesn't anyone else remember Denny Crum's boneheaded comment after winning? I remember the disgust I felt when he said it, but can't recall exactly what he said.

  10. #10
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    As a Duke sophomore ready to participate in the greatest party the campus (or I) had ever seen to date, it was truly devastating. I remember they had a 50 foot screen set up on the main West campus quad and all of these events scheduled for after the game. After the game, I think they still had some of the events (e.g., I recall a band), but I only remember walking around in a stupor drinking from a champagne bottle.
    Rich
    "Failure is Not a Destination"
    Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show, December 22, 2016

  11. #11
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    Great hope

    One of the memories I have of the '86 season was my father's reaction. He was a member of the Class of '33. He'd had his ups and downs with Duke over a variety of issues over the years. His health was failing throughout that season. When it was clear that Duke was headed to the Final Four, my dad was ready to get in the car and drive to be there... he had no tickets, no hotel. He just wanted to be where the team was.

  12. #12
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    Feb 2007
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    North Raleigh

    pivotal

    The 86 team will always be special.
    It so captivated the local community.

    I was a senior in HS. My dad was in an auto accident. He had a severe head trauma. He was in a coma at DUMC during the final game. One of the things he asked about when he briefly came to was "did Duke win"?

    He ultimately died as a result of those injuries.

    Duke BBall was a bright spot in an otherwise painful year.
    I was too emotionally invested.

  13. #13
    I was also a sophomore at the wide screen on Main West for this game. The feeling of emptiness and confusion permeated that huge crowd, what do we do now? I remember kinda just wandering off to the bus stop to get back to East, stunned, mostly. The crowd welcoming the team back the nexy day or so was nice, though.
    Class of Billy King and Chris Moreland

  14. #14

    Dads

    Quote Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress View Post
    One of the memories I have of the '86 season was my father's reaction. He was a member of the Class of '33. He'd had his ups and downs with Duke over a variety of issues over the years. His health was failing throughout that season. When it was clear that Duke was headed to the Final Four, my dad was ready to get in the car and drive to be there... he had no tickets, no hotel. He just wanted to be where the team was.
    When Duke eventually won in 1991 the first thing I thought of was my dad, a life long Duke fan who never got to see them win the big one. He passed away on January 4th 1990 and when UNLV bashed Duke's collective brains in that year my brother and I both commented we were glad he didn't have to witness that brutality. But the next two seasons of back to back titles made me wish like hell he had been around to see them. The 1992 title IMO was symbolic revenge for the 1986 team that came so close, as well as all the other Final Four teams back to 1964.

    Okay Wilko and DITBD, we gotta stop the sentimental stories, I'm freakin' welling up.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress View Post
    Doesn't anyone else remember Denny Crum's boneheaded comment after winning? I remember the disgust I felt when he said it, but can't recall exactly what he said.
    Was it something about "preppies don't win national championships?" I remember that label being applied to Duke until we got over the hump.
    "There can BE only one."

  16. #16
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    I was on the quad on West, watching the game on the Diamondvision the university brought in for the event. Kegs lined the quad. Yes, you could walk on the grass then.

    It was the absolute greatest party until suddenly it went horribly wrong. Ugliness with some folks from town ensued. Bad ending.

    The 1986 team remains my all-time favorite, and it was a wonderful building block upon which the rest of this sits.


    Edit: Rich, UncleBill -- I was T-88.
    Last edited by OldPhiKap; 02-25-2008 at 01:24 PM. Reason: Finally read the rest of the posts

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Edit: Rich, UncleBill -- I was T-88.
    E'88, KA, NROTC, FAC, and a few other acronyms that escape me.
    Class of Billy King and Chris Moreland

  18. #18
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    Still trying to remember

    Quote Originally Posted by Highlander View Post
    Was it something about "preppies don't win national championships?" I remember that label being applied to Duke until we got over the hump.
    It was a remark that made it sound like a team like the Duke team was unlikely ever to get to a Final Four again... ...

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by UncleBill View Post
    E'88, KA, NROTC, FAC, and a few other acronyms that escape me.
    I'm sure we bumped elbows at the Union or the bar under G-A.

  20. #20
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    Question

    Quote Originally Posted by UncleBill View Post
    E'88, KA, NROTC, FAC, and a few other acronyms that escape me.
    Is that KA as in Kappa Alpha Order?

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