Most beloved non-title team

[em0526]

Since the team won the title in April, I have read posts from several fans saying that they were VERY emotionally attached to this team because of the group of seniors and what they had been through to that point.

With the 2010 team getting it done and winning a title, which past Duke team are you most upset for because they didn't win a title?

1986 - that group of seniors built the Coach K era for Duke
1994 - Grant's last stand
1999 - Elton and company dominate ACC play
2002 - JWill and company don't complete the repeat
2004 - Duhon, Deng and Redick get to the 4
2006 - Redick and Shelden's senior year

Finally - I know the mix of players is different, but do the expectations you have for the 2011 team match or exceed the expectations you had for the 2002 team?

In 2011, we bring back Singler + Smith + add Curry and Irving.
In 2002, we brought back JWill, Duhon, Dunleavy, Boozer and add Dahntay. (didn't Tark say that JWill and Duhon were going to be the best backcourt in NCAA history?)

[arnie]

1986 - we were the best team all year and of course, at that point, had not won a title.

[sagegrouse]

Your list didn't start early enough. :) ;)

1. 1964 - These were "my guys," and I was sure we were going to beat UCLA, after dispatching powerful Michigan the night before. (Yep. The FF was played on Friday and Saturday nights.) Neither team had ever won a title, and UCLA had no player taller than 6-5.

2. 1986 - For the reasons stated above. We were #1, and it was ours for the taking. Didn't happen. The only positive development of the final game was that I stopped smoking cigars.

3. 1999 - I was 100% certain we were gonna win, and I was there to see it. I learned a big lesson about Final Fours: Anything can happen. Go if you can; have fun; and hope -- not expect -- to win.

4. 1966 - Bob Verga, our best player, had the flu and was totally ineffective against Pat Riley and Kentucky. IMHO (where the H is usually silent) with a healthy Verga, we would have beat Texas Western and, perhaps unfortunately, changed history.

5. 2004 - The worst refereed Final Four game in history, according to NCAA insiders. Refereeing affected UConn as well, in that Okafor had to sit out most of the first half. Anyway, all three Duke centers fouled out, mostly on ticky-tack calls; then, with an ability to tie the game with two certain FTs, a flagrant mugging of JJ by Okafor was never called. A win over UConn and Duke beats GT for the NC.

6. 1994 - Would have been wonderful, and unexpected. Duke had a ten point lead with seven minutes left. Then, after an Arkansas rally to tie the game, Duke had totally locked down Arkansas in its last possession, and I knew we were gonna get the ball for the last shot. Then there was a tipped ball that Antonio Lang briefly went for, leaving Scotty Thurman open. Chris Collins's shot at the other end went down and came back out. End of story.

sagegrouse

[moonpie23]

hmm....my dish of sour grapes contains '99 and 04. I won't watch a game that has rick hamilton playing in it.......and the scene of K screaming "you're killing us" from 04 plays over and over in my head as soon as we get past the sweet 16...


ugh,.......

[4decadedukie]

Very good inputs thus far . . . and, yes, excellent Duke basketball existed before the fabulous Coach K era.

To avoid duplication of any suggestions already made, I would only add 1978. That team -- most unexpectedly and with great excitement -- made it to the National Championship game, having defeated Digger's Notre Dame squad in the National Semifinals. Banks, Spanarkel and G-Man were our superstars. The end-of-season run was terrific and so much fun, largely because expectations were never elevated.

[jjh1080]

There are no sour grapes for me. You learn early on in life there is no for sure thing, no matter how good things look. You still need to go out there and finish the job.

That is what I like about Coach K. There is no room for a lose and when you loose you need to learn from it (and not winn, right Roy). Life in full of loses and you need to learn from everyone of them. By learning you only get better and the loses come less frequently.

I've learn this in life and, from reading his books, Coach K lives by this philosophy. He wants to win every game and when he loses he learns a new thing from the lose that makes him better. He doesn't wallow in his self pitty (dam gum it).

This past year is probably the best example of this philosophy. No one even gave Duke a shot at the title (any non-Duke fan). Just watching Coach K make adjustments and do different things you could tell he was testing things, things that he learn along the way. He took this team to the top because he learned from his past loses.

I cheer for Duke because of Coach K. Just following Duke this past season you should have learned a lot of life lessons. And the final lesson, thru hard work, time and past lessons you can come out on top.

Coach K 101.

[Cockabeau]

Most upsetting was Brand,Avery,Maggette loss to UCONN because we got out hustled that game.

2006 did not disappoint me because I knew deep down that the JJ-Shelden dominant teams were inherently flawed. Quite simply we didn't have the PG or the SF to create opportunities for JJ and Shelden after Duhon and Deng left.

[Cameron]

Probably 2006 for me. Mainly because J.J. was so damn fun to watch. Even through all of the national championship teams, all the national players of the year, all the great moments, J.J. Redick games were the most fun I've ever had watching basketball. Games involving Redick weren't just basketball; they were theatre. It was like watching a modern day Pistol Pete glide about the floor, snaking in and out of defenders and dropping point totals more reminiscent of pinballs than basketballs. We'll never see another scorer like him at Duke. For that I am sure.

Our 2004 edition also holds a dear place in my heart, though. It was the senior season of Chris Duhon, my all-time favorite Blue Devil. I can't believe this winter will mark eight seasons since Chris last played with DUKE stitched across his chest. I miss him.

[OldPhiKap]

1986.

Retire Alarie's number.

[ElSid]

Probably 2006 for me. Mainly because J.J. was so damn fun to watch. Even through all of the national championship teams, all the national players of the year, all the great moments, J.J. Redick games were the most fun I've ever had watching basketball. Games involving Redick weren't just basketball; they were theatre. It was like watching a modern day Pistol Pete glide about the floor, snaking in and out of defenders and dropping point totals more reminiscent of pinballs than basketballs. We'll never see another scorer like him at Duke. For that I am sure.

Our 2004 edition also holds a dear place in my heart, though. It was the senior season of Chris Duhon, my all-time favorite Blue Devil. I can't believe this winter will mark eight seasons since Chris last played with DUKE stitched across his chest. I miss him.

Agree 100%. I loved Redick 2006 because he was so hated, because he was such a lethal weapon, because it was the culmination of several years of dramatic improvement as a player for him. He was simply awesome. I cheered as hard for that team as any because I wanted Redick to be able to stick it to the rest of the Duke-hating world. And I still love rooting for him in the NBA for this reason. No offense to Williams or the rest of the team, but it was Redick that made this team for me.

Overall teams, I still prefer the Battier/Williams/Dunleavy/Boozer/James/Sanders/ 2001 champ team. Battier for President of...something, 2016.

[Indoor66]

Your list didn't start early enough. :) ;)

1. 1964 - These were "my guys," and I was sure we were going to beat UCLA, after dispatching powerful Michigan the night before. (Yep. The FF was played on Friday and Saturday nights.) Neither team had ever won a title, and UCLA had no player taller than 6-5.

2. 1986 - For the reasons stated above. We were #1, and it was ours for the taking. Didn't happen. The only positive development of the final game was that I stopped smoking cigars.

3. 1999 - I was 100% certain we were gonna win, and I was there to see it. I learned a big lesson about Final Fours: Anything can happen. Go if you can; have fun; and hope -- not expect -- to win.

4. 1966 - Bob Verga, our best player, had the flu and was totally ineffective against Pat Riley and Kentucky. IMHO (where the H is usually silent) with a healthy Verga, we would have beat Texas Western and, perhaps unfortunately, changed history.

5. 2004 - The worst refereed Final Four game in history, according to NCAA insiders. Refereeing affected UConn as well, in that Okafor had to sit out most of the first half. Anyway, all three Duke centers fouled out, mostly on ticky-tack calls; then, with an ability to tie the game with two certain FTs, a flagrant mugging of JJ by Okafor was never called. A win over UConn and Duke beats GT for the NC.

6. 1994 - Would have been wonderful, and unexpected. Duke had a ten point lead with seven minutes left. Then, after an Arkansas rally to tie the game, Duke had totally locked down Arkansas in its last possession, and I knew we were gonna get the ball for the last shot. Then there was a tipped ball that Antonio Lang briefly went for, leaving Scotty Thurman open. Chris Collins's shot at the other end went down and came back out. End of story.

sagegrouse

I agree with your list - but would add in the '78 team. They played together and enjoyed each other. A great group that caught the proverbial lightning in a bottle.

[ice-9]

If the question was "Which non-title team do you wish won the title" it would have to be 1999, one of the most dominant teams ever.

But if the question is which non-title team is most beloved, for me it would have to be the year after, the 2000 team featuring C-Well, Battier, Nate James and a trio of great frosh in JWill, Boozer and Dunleavy. Man what a team that was! To the upperclassmen visiting Coach K in the hospital telling them Duke was going to be OK after an unprecedented number of NBA draft entries (for Duke at the time), to the emergence of an awesome freshmen class, all the close games that season (DePaul!), the team gelling like a team and finishing #1...it was a season to remember and a team to love even though we lost in the Sweet 16 to an underrated Florida team.

[Olympic Fan]

No sour grapes here either ... but I also understood that this is a list of the most beloved Duke teams not to win the title ... not necessarily a list of the best non-title teams (that honor has to go to the '99 team team, easily the most dominant ACC team not to win it all).

But love is in the eye of the beholder -- and everybody sees it differently. So every one of these lists should be personal. Believe me, I have no problem if your list differs from mine. But I offer you:

1. (tie) 1978 and 1986 ... it's hard to remember what the '78 team meant to a long-time Duke fan who had endured the previous decade of mediocrity. They were so young and so enthusiastic and seemed to be having so much fun that it was hard not to have fun watching them. Gminski and Spanarkel were so intelligent ... Banks was such an overblown personality ... Dennard was so daggum crazy. The '86 team was a lot like the 2010 team in that it was a bunch of veterans who had clawed their way up from the bottom to become a great team. Indeed, they came from a lot father down than the '10 team. It was heartbreaking that they ran out of gas in Dallas and came up just short of a title.

3. 1958 -- Only us old farts remember this team, but it was the most overachieving Duke team in history. They were small, starting two 6-5 forwards in the post, along with three guards who stood 6-2, 6-0, 5-11. They had been 13-11 (8-6) ACC with basically the same team in 1957. They opend the '58 season 6-5, but one night in late January No. 1 West Virginia with Jerry West came to Durham and Duke somehow beat them (the first Duke win ever over a No. 1 ranked team). That seemed to spark something and they won 13 of their last 14 regular season games, losing only at Virginia in triple overtime. They TWICE routed North Carolina's defending national champs. They swept Everett Case and the Woklfpack. They won the ACC regular season title When they rallied to beat Wake Forest for the fourth time in the season in the ACC Tournament opener, Bones McKinney called them the fightingest Duke team he had ever seen -- and he'd been around since before WWII. Unfortunately, the next night, they ran into a redhot Maryland team in the semifinals and fell behind 16 points with six to play -- true to form, they fought back and forced OT -- finally losing to the eventual ACC champs. Still, a great Duke team -- the first Duke team ever to finish in the top 10 --that deserves better in our memory -- I'll bet not one fan in 10 can name a single player off that team without looking it up.

4. 1994 -- Gutsy team, led by a gutsy player. Maybe the greatest single-season performance by a Duke player ever. What I loved most was how all season, the Tar Heels were sure that they were going to win the national title on their "home" floor in Charlotte. Then they didn't get there, but thanks to Grant -- and his defense on the Big Dog -- Duke did!

5. 1960 -- Duke's first ACC championship team. Just 13-12 entering the ACC Tournament, but in the semis they beat a UNC team that had beaten them three times by at least 22 points. Then in the finals, they beat a Wake team that had beaten them twice by 17. Vic Bubas was in his first year and everything about Duke basketball seemed new and fresh. They even had a great NCAA Tourney run, winning twice before falling to NYU in the East Finals. I was 11 years old and Howard Hurt was my first hero.

6. 2000 -- Anybody remember how down we all were in the aftermath of 1999? Elton, Avery, Maggette all turn pro early, Trajan graduates ... Burgess bolts ... K is laid up after hip surgery when his only three returning players visit him and promise him that they would make sure Duke doesn't drop. Carrawell, Battier and James -- what a great group of guys. Then freshman Carlos Boozer breaks his foot in preseason and Duke loses two heartbreakders in the Garden to open the season -- could anybody have predicted that group to win 29 games, go 15-1 in the ACC and finish the season ranked No. 1. Love to have seen how far that team goes if Dunleavy doesn't get mono late in the season.

I could add a lot more teams -- I loved them all, even the ones that frustrated me. But those six mean a lot to me.

[cspan37421]

I'd like to wax rhapsodic for a bit on the 1986 squad, to set some context for those who weren't there.

I was a freshman at Duke that basketball season. Though I came from a HS in KY, I had only been there 3 years and for the most part, was a football fan from Big Ten country. I grew up more in Michigan, but my parents (and stepfamily) were all OSU Buckeyes. In HS I started to notice how big basketball was in KY, and in IN (which was just across the OH river from my town). At the end of my senior year I saw (on TV) Duke play for the first time, getting beat by BC in the NCAAs. correction: I had known I was going there, at that point, but seeing them play was just a curiosity at that point.

Arriving at Duke still a football fan, I was in for a 4-7 season, with an agonizing close loss to West Virginia early. Among my fellow freshmen - the main group of Dukies I knew - expectations for the basketball team seemed good, but not great. Most of us had no recollection of the 1978 title game; indeed, I was overseas discovering the game of futbol. Returning students knew, of course, that we were senior loaded on a team that won over 20 games the year prior. And it appears the polls had us in the top 10 (interestingly, with GT and UNC at the top - the only teams what notched a win against us that year, before Louisville).

The enthusiasm for the games was exciting ... winning the pre-season NIT (with the "core of success" t-shirts - anyone remember those?); national television; a #1 ranking; big wins over big programs. The campus united behind the team. This was a particularly ebullient feeling for a freshman like me, trying to find his place at the big fancy university. For upperclassmen, especially seniors, it was a culmination of a building process that began with the recruitment of Johnny Dawkins & Co. It seemed like an inevitability - we were too good, too loaded, no one could really beat us (except as a fluke - we did avenge the GT and UNC losses).

Obviously this wasn't the case - and the variety of reasons aren't for this thread.

The point is, we loved those guys for coming to Duke, they played their hearts out in return, they were part of our student body - they didn't just stop for a cup of coffee on their way to the NBA or Europe. They wanted to win it so bad for Coach K - if you've ever seen one of those TV specials on Duke basketball (WRAL?) in which Jay Bilas is interviewed, he chokes up about it.

We also loved the fact that we could compete in sports and know that our guys were in class, too. They weren't hired guns, and this was a major source of pride (justifiably so).

We have probably had better teams - 1999 comes to mind - but no one from the 1986 team left early. I think they all graduated. And though they lost the title game, they were great - they went 37-3, the best team in the land over the course of the year. They were nice guys. And the campus became as one. THAT is why they are, in my book, far and away the most beloved team in my memory.

[gw67]

The 1986 team and it isn't close for me. Dawkins, Alarie and Amaker were special players and, along with Ferry, are among my favorite Devils of all time. There were a number of other teams that I rooted particulary hard for - particularly, 1978, 1964 and 2000 for all the reasons previously stated in this thread. The 1999 team was very talented and I basically saw them in the context of a favorite.

gw67

[Bob Green]

For me, (1) 1986 and (2) 1978 are the favorite teams.

As the final seconds clicked off the clock in the 1986 Championship Game, I sat on the floor in my San Diego apartment with tears trickling down my face. So close but so far away...

In order to grasp how much joy the 1978 team brought to Duke fans, one had to endure the 1974 season; specifically the infamous 17 seconds.

[killerleft]

Very good inputs thus far . . . and, yes, excellent Duke basketball existed before the fabulous Coach K era.

To avoid duplication of any suggestions already made, I would only add 1978. That team -- most unexpectedly and with great excitement -- made it to the National Championship game, having defeated Digger's Notre Dame squad in the National Semifinals. Banks, Spanarkel and G-Man were our superstars. The end-of-season run was terrific and so much fun, largely because expectations were never elevated.

Beating Digger allows me to smirk every time I see him on TV. He's pretty hard to take as is - with a national title he'd be intolerable.

[Big Pappa]

Probably 2006 for me. Mainly because J.J. was so damn fun to watch. Even through all of the national championship teams, all the national players of the year, all the great moments, J.J. Redick games were the most fun I've ever had watching basketball. Games involving Redick weren't just basketball; they were theatre. It was like watching a modern day Pistol Pete glide about the floor, snaking in and out of defenders and dropping point totals more reminiscent of pinballs than basketballs. We'll never see another scorer like him at Duke. For that I am sure.

Our 2004 edition also holds a dear place in my heart, though. It was the senior season of Chris Duhon, my all-time favorite Blue Devil. I can't believe this winter will mark eight seasons since Chris last played with DUKE stitched across his chest. I miss him.

I agree as well. 06 and 04 were the toughest for me because of JJ. He was such a hard worker and a Duke guy all the way. It was tough to see him fall short every time.

[blazindw]

Our 2004 edition also holds a dear place in my heart, though. It was the senior season of Chris Duhon, my all-time favorite Blue Devil. I can't believe this winter will mark eight seasons since Chris last played with DUKE stitched across his chest. I miss him.

It'll be only 7 seasons since my class (the greatest class that Duke ever produced ;)) walked at graduation...we're not that old...yet!

[4decadedukie]

Beating Digger allows me to smirk every time I see him on TV. He's pretty hard to take as is - with a national title he'd be intolerable.

Yes, indeed; further, Digger intentionally deprecated Duke and ACC basketball prior to the game. Not only is that strategically foolish -- opponents always thrives on demonstrating just how wrong you are by attempting to humiliate your team -- but it also creates a perpetual monument to your arrogance and stupidity.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Since the team won the title in April, I have read posts from several fans saying that they were VERY emotionally attached to this team because of the group of seniors and what they had been through to that point.

With the 2010 team getting it done and winning a title, which past Duke team are you most upset for because they didn't win a title?



I agree with your list - but would add in the '78 team. They played together and enjoyed each other. A great group that caught the proverbial lightning in a bottle.


No sour grapes here either ... but I also understood that this is a list of the most beloved Duke teams not to win the title ... not necessarily a list of the best non-title teams (that honor has to go to the '99 team team, easily the most dominant ACC team not to win it all).

But love is in the eye of the beholder -- and everybody sees it differently. So every one of these lists should be personal. Believe me, I have no problem if your list differs from mine. But I offer you:

1. (tie) 1978 and 1986 ... it's hard to remember what the '78 team meant to a long-time Duke fan who had endured the previous decade of mediocrity. They were so young and so enthusiastic and seemed to be having so much fun that it was hard not to have fun watching them. Gminski and Spanarkel were so intelligent ... Banks was such an overblown personality ... Dennard was so daggum crazy. The '86 team was a lot like the 2010 team in that it was a bunch of veterans who had clawed their way up from the bottom to become a great team. Indeed, they came from a lot father down than the '10 team. It was heartbreaking that they ran out of gas in Dallas and came up just short of a title.

As I read the thread title, my first thoughts were 1978 and 1986. But in reading the bolded qualifier, I can't include 1978 on the list. No way was the 1978 team expected to win the title. Being in St. Louis for the Final Four was an amazing accomplishment, and then to beat Notre Dame and face Kentucky in the final was incredible! Way above and beyond expectations, so I can't include them in the list. It was a team a year ahead of itself. Which brings me to the 1979 team. THAT team was a huge disappointment. Same exact players, less John Harrell but plus Bob Bender. Spanarkel, Gminski, Banks and Dennard were a year older and experienced, and were ranked #1 from preseason until their disastrous tournament in NYC in December. That team was supposed to win it all, but lost on Black Sunday in Raleigh. Huge disappointment. 1986 is the most beloved non-title team. Great team, great guys, loved by almost everyone, except carolina fans.

[chadlee989]

Mine has got to be JJ's senior year. Watching what he did was so fun. When we(JJ) beat #2 Texas on espn worldwide was one of the best games i have ever watched. JJ holds a special place in every duke fans heart.

[hengr]

86 by far for me. verga team second. 86 we were the best team. We had to fight so hard to beat Kansas there was nothing left for Louisville. Kansas and Duke were the best teams. If we had been in different brackets, it would have been Duke defeating Kansas in the finals. In 64 with Verga, I was only 13 and it was heartbreaking to see Bob Verga light it up all season and Vacendek fight so hard, to see Verga be a shell of himself with the flu.

[Tom B.]

I'm a little surprised that nobody has mentioned the 1997-98 team. Maybe they're not at the top of the list, but I think they deserve to be in the conversation because they were the last year of the "bridge" between one of the program's lowest points and its return to glory.


Three years earlier, with its leader sidelined, the program had collapsed.

Two years earlier, Coach K had used duct tape, baling wire and chewing gum to get a young and injury-riddled team back to the NCAA Tournament.

One year earlier, Coach K went small and surprised everyone by winning the ACC regular season championship (breaking four-year losing streaks to UNC and Wake Forest along the way), before running out of steam against Providence in the second round of the NCAAs.

But 1997-98 was the year that Duke would be back for real. For the first time in a while, all the pieces were there. Deadeye shooting from Trajan Langdon. Tenacious defense, steady ballhandling and veteran leadership from Steve Wojciechowski. Depth on the wing from Roshown McLeod and three promising sophomores, including a tough-as-nails kid from East St. Louis who'd spent much of the previous year guarding guys anywhere from four to seven inches his senior.

And a hell of a recruiting class that featured not one, but two future Players of the Year.

SI picked Duke as its pre-season #1.

In the Maui Invitational in November, Duke knocked off Arizona, the defending national champs who returned all five of their starters.

Duke went 15-1 in conference play, won the ACC regular season, and on its last day avenged an earlier loss to UNC with a thrilling comeback from a 17-point deficit in the last 10 minutes that saw Cameron at its absolute best -- hot, stifling and unrelentingly loud.

In the NCAA Tournament South Region final against Kentucky, Duke had a 17-point second-half lead of its own. A trip to San Antonio was there for the taking. Duke's 1998 graduating class would not go down as its first in 13 years without experiencing at least one Final Four.

And then it all.... came.... apart. Kentucky mounted a furious rally, scoring 26 points over the last 8:41 (over 40 minutes, that's a 120-point pace), while Duke could only manage 13.

Kentucky won by two, and just like that, the season was over. No Final Four. Duke went home while Kentucky went on to beat Stanford and Utah to win the title.

I've always felt there's a special bond between Duke and that 1998 team, because of what they went through as freshmen and how close -- how agonozingly close -- they came to carrying the team back to the Final Four as seniors.

To be sure, Trajan Langdon had another year of eligibility, and would go on to represent the entering class of 1994 in the Final Four (only to suffer another gut-wrenching loss, and we won't go there).

But the lasting image of the 1997-98 season will always be that of Wojo running into the arms of his coach after the comeback against Carolina, four years of pent-up blood, sweat, floor burns and Lord knows what else spilling out of him in one moment of ebullient catharsis.

It was raw. It was beautiful.

And it was the last plank in the bridge.

[basket1544]

I was almost 5 when the '86 team was playing. It was quite literally my first team. I loved JD and the whole team. So that's my favorite team.
The team that I remember best and love was the 1998 team. Wojo and Trey and company.

[Starter]

Co-sign on the 97-98 team and the 99-00 teams, my freshman and junior years. I really thought that first team was going to do it. They had a perfect blend of youth and experience, and they were just loaded. A freshman Battier, Brand and Avery, Wojo and Langdon in the backcourt, McCleod, and enormous depth. I still think that if Wojo isn't stretched by Jamal Magloire, they win -- he just wasn't the same after that. To think, they had a 17-point lead in that game. I liked them so much more than the uber-hyped team that followed.

And the 99-00 team was simply remarkable -- three freshmen, two upperclass leaders, lowered expectations. After losing their first two games, they lost one game the rest of the year until Dunleavy got mono and they got run off the floor by Florida. Probably the best thing that happened to them both short-term and long-term was Avery and Maggette leaving for the draft. As a result, Jason got thrown into the fire that year and his learning curve accelerated exponentially. And Maggette wasn't around to suck the air out of the ball, so Battier could blossom into the player his talent level and court sense dictated, and Carrawell could become a true leader and cement his Duke legacy.

[Edouble]

If the question was "Which non-title team do you wish won the title" it would have to be 1999, one of the most dominant teams ever.

But if the question is which non-title team is most beloved, for me it would have to be the year after, the 2000 team featuring C-Well, Battier, Nate James and a trio of great frosh in JWill, Boozer and Dunleavy. Man what a team that was! To the upperclassmen visiting Coach K in the hospital telling them Duke was going to be OK after an unprecedented number of NBA draft entries (for Duke at the time), to the emergence of an awesome freshmen class, all the close games that season (DePaul!), the team gelling like a team and finishing #1...it was a season to remember and a team to love even though we lost in the Sweet 16 to an underrated Florida team.

Great post, but just a small point... the conversation in the hospital actually went in the opposite direction. The players didn't tell Coach K that the program would be OK, Coach K told the players that we (Duke) were going to be OK. Cwell's famous reply: "If you say it Coach, I believe it."

[G man]

As soon as I saw this I thought about Duhon hurting his back. I loved this team more than any other team we have had! I still hate Uconn to this day. Even though we lost that final four game think about all the pro's in that game. That game cemented my love for Duke ball even though it was a loss.

[NashvilleDevil]

8 years old and heartbroken when they lost to Louisville. Johnny D is still my favorite Duke player to this day.

[CLT Devil]

I would have to agree with earlier posts about the '98 and 2000 teams being my favorites, although they really weren't as favored to win it all as some other years. Both brought Duke back into the spotlight after a down period on the court and a shocking time off of it, respectively.

I loved the way C-Well took over the 2000 team and loved the way he played...he might also turn out to be our best recruiter, along with Nate Dawg. He sealed it for me in the Duke v. UNC HBO special when he said something to the effect of "playing in Cameron was worth at least 10 points a game. Kids are going to go crazy, why not do it at the Basketball game?" Right on Chris!

As far as title teams, of course 1999 will be the most disappointing, but personally 2004 hurt more. I never have, and likely never will watch a replay of those last 5 minutes. We had Okafor down and out for a whole half due to fouls and built a nice lead with just a few minutes left. All of our big men foul out (paging Michael Thompson - we could use you right now) and we have Tricky Nicky guarding Okafor. Oak goes nuts and rattles off point after point, as well as Ben Gordon, and they are up. I just remember being there and all of the smug Uconn fans cheering for their team.

If we had one more big guy (paging Mr. Thompson) just to be a big body and have fouls to give, and if JJ gets that call at the end we go on to win. GT goes to the final and we handled them during the reg. season...on to another Championship.

Luckily I found some good watering holes in San Antonio to drown my sorrows, but that was the longest ride back in traffic from a stadium I've ever been in. This game hurts like '99 because we had it in hand, ultimately the Refs played a part in the outcome and it was just so close. Never seen the replay, but the Refs inserted themselves into the game and ruined what could have been a fluid game between two highly skilled teams.

2002 was hard as well because we fought back at the last second and then J-Will hit the shot that could have tied it for us (and also the IU player would go down as having committed one of the dumbest fouls in NCAA history), but I just knew he was going to miss that FT. We won the year before so it would have been a 'bonus' NC in my mind.

1986 - Just like everyone else has said, the beginning of the K era, as well as my understanding what was Duke Bball at the time (I was 7 years old).

Lastly, 1994 because I live in Charlotte and we had such a great chance with what I would consider a limited roster, as well as Grant giving an all-time great performance over the season...what a player.

I guess the ones that hurt the most are games we had won if only we could hang on to the lead; 2004, the 2005 UNC game at C-Hell, 1994 - those hurt the most to me. That's just the way it is to pull for a perennial acheiver.

When I think of all of these games, and all of the FF's that K took Duke to I realize how blessed we are to have such a great Coach. So many more we could have won...and one where we weren't supposed to do much but ended up winning it all anyway:D

[rasputin]

For me, the most beloved non-title teams are 1986 and 1978, in that order. Yes, the '78 team came out of nowhere, but they had a great run as a team. The famous picture of Banks and Dennard embracing (I wish I could link it) says it all.

With a team that was so young, you figured we'd be back again soon; obviously that didn't happen. That was what made '86 such a crusher, because there were a lot of seniors and you figured, we might not make it back. (Wrong again.)

[Edouble]

My most beloved non-title team will always be '99. I know many have the bad taste of the exodus in their mouths from that team, but c'mon, we all know everything worked out really nicely.

I feel like people tend to concentrate on the bad with that team and forget the good. At the time, that team really delivered what we all needed and wanted. Sure, after the '98 season Duke was back, but we weren't the dominant team that we craved... a second coming of the Laettner/Hurley/Hill teams. The '99 team brought us back to that place. A place that I had to endure watching Carolina enjoy the year before with 'Tawn/Vince/Coda/Willliams.

When we stepped onto the court that year, we dominated people. It wasn't a question of "if", but "by how many points". That's why it hurt so much when we didn't win the NC.

I love Trajan, I love Shane, I love Chris, and damn did I love Avery that year. To me, that was the first team that truly made Duke feared again. And I love them for that.

[amat1129]

despite how confident i was in the 2002 team the 1999 team was just amazing and the loss to uconn was so painful so i have to go with 99'. The Redick teams will always have a place in my heart but 99' wins out

[ScreechTDX1847]

97/98 and JJ's senior season.

[em0526]

I didn't start following Duke basketball until the 89-90 season so I was not personally vested in the 86 team but I can understand why they are beloved.

That 1990 team was the first Duke team I followed so I recall them fondly but I think they overachieved by reaching the finals.

The 99 and 02 teams were great and I was disappointed they didn't win it all because of the expectations that were tied to them.

The 94 and 04 were also good because they were spirted runs to the Final Four led by great seniors (Grant and Duhon respectively).

I am a big fan of the four year guys that go through the entire Duke experience and I feel for them the most when they go out without getting their title. Guys like Chris Collins, Wojo, Capel, Langdon, Carawell, Redick, Shelden, Paulus. These guys gave their heart and soul to this program and although rewarded in other ways (friendship, brotherhood, etc.) - it would have been nice for them to walk away champions.

As a result, my most beloved teams are the following:

1996 (the "bridge" team beween two great Duke periods). At the time, they were frustrating to watch, but historically they were very important. They weren't the most talented team but think about the future coaches (Wojo, Capel, Collins). With Langdon, that's a lot of basketball IQ on that team.

2000 was also special because how they overcame the the 1999 exodus to accomplish so much. It blended a strong freshman class with outstanding leadership. It was tough to see Chris Carawell walk off the court for the last time.

2006 (although inherently flawed as pointed out by a few posters) had a wonderful set of seniors (JJ, Shelden, Lee, Dock). Given the venom that was directed at them by Duke haters, I would have loved to see them end their careers as champions as well.

[watzone]

Easily 86 when Duke lost the title game to Louisville. That season was the start of the K era and Duke being a Final Four mainstay in years to come.The team won 37 games and the pain from coming up short is something I feel to this day. It was the team which put Duke back in the final game and set the stage for a program that would soon go back to back.

[PADukeMom]

For me it has to be the 1990 team, those were the Cinderella years.

The most painful was the 1999 team. Trajan will always be my favorite Duke player but whyyy did he bring the ball up the court on that last possession???? Avery should have brought that ball up with a pass to Trajan in the corner, Trajan launches as the buzzer sounds & swish...SCORE....well at least that is the way I would have preferred it happen...sigh.

[Billy Dat]

I wasn't a Duke fan until I matriculated in 1990 so 1999 is the most painful for me. Elton Brand is from my hometown and they would have gone down as one of the greatest teams of all time had they won.

2004 is tough, too, as I really feel like K got out Xed and Oed by Calhoun in both 99 and 04. Calhoun had the stones to sit Okafer for most of that first half and, as a result, he had his horse when he needed him while K went with Shelden and Shav despite their foul trouble and had their company on the bench as UConn closed out the game by dominating the boards. In the '99 game, he kept creating mismatch after mismatch with those high screens and, I thought, kept his guys fresher with a better substitution pattern. But, it really is splitting hairs, we lost both games in the final minute.

[Tom B.]

GT goes to the final and we handled them during the reg. season...on to another Championship.



Actually, Georgia Tech had beaten us once in 2004. We split with Georgia Tech in the regular season, each team winning on the other's home court. But we also beat them in the ACC Tournament.

[G man]

We are all sharing our memories from our fondest teams. Most of these memories are of us just coming short. I think it is important to point out that these crushing endings are what make everyone fans. With out the huge let downs we can not experience the ultimate high of winning. Lets say Duke won every year I doubt that we would all be so vested in our teams success. As tough as these memories are they are what forge great fans.

[dyemeduke]

We are all sharing our memories from our fondest teams. Most of these memories are of us just coming short. I think it is important to point out that these crushing endings are what make everyone fans. With out the huge let downs we can not experience the ultimate high of winning. Lets say Duke won every year I doubt that we would all be so vested in our teams success. As tough as these memories are they are what forge great fans.

I completely agree. I did not attend Duke, but I started becoming a fan after UNLV destroyed Duke. I was in 3rd grade at the time, and I remember rooting for this underdog team that I had never heard of before. Next year though, I remember watching Thomas Hill and Brian Davis in particular, helping Duke stage one of the biggest upsets of all time. I didn't understand the importance of the game back then, but at the time, it instantly made me a Duke-lover for life. If it weren't for the first UNLV-Duke go around though, I'm not sure I would have started to become a Duke fan.

[CEF1959]

77-78. We came so close. It was my freshman year at Duke. Gene Banks on the cover of SI (before SI started doing lots of regional covers). After more than a decade of mediocrity, it put Duke back on the CBB map nationally, making it possible for Bobby Knight to recommend, and Duke to hire, Coach K a couple years later. Three future NBA players in Banks, Spanarkel, and Gminski. To lose in the NCAA title game to UK hurt badly. Damn you, Jack Givens!!!

[darjum]

Was strolling through some old threads during the off season and came across this thread, fantastic! I've often thought about this question, which is my favorite Duke team that didn't win a national title.

For me it was 93-94.

You looked at what Carolina was returning from a national championship team and then they added Stackhouse and Wallace (and the only player of significance they really lost was George Lynch-from memory?) and it would be easy to overlook Duke who in successive years had lost Laettner and Hurley.

But Grant Hill was sublime. I still feel it is the greatest season I have seen from a player in college. He literally did everything that was needed to ensure that they won. He only averaged 17.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg & 5.2 apg, but sometimes numbers don't reflect the impact one player can have on a team. I recall the game against UNC (which they lost) and thought to myself that he was head and shoulders above every other player on the court, but sometimes the sheer weight of talent is hard to overcome.

I recall Collins, Capel and Clark all coming though in big moments and they would always seem to hit 'that shot', often assisted by G.Hill.

Parks, Lang & Meek's also played above their talent levels and the number of times Lang would just seem to be in the right spot defensively or Parks would grab a desperate rebound, Meek's takes a charge, great stuff.

I also feel it was one of Coach K's best coaching jobs. Taking component parts and fusing them into a well drilled and efficient team. Highlighting his players strengths and enhancing them by fostering Grant's greatest skill, the ability to make others better.

It was also a wonderful tournament run (combined with UNC going out to BC in Rnd 2) and the game against Purdue was great. It highlighted why Grant had spent the entire year concentrating less on scoring and more on making his teammates better and giving them confidence. Compare that to Glenn Robinson, who was a a scoring machine & had to be for that team, but in the end was really a one man team; Duke's entire roster showed the Big Dog what the word 'team' actually meant. I also recall from the tournament just how physically big Dametri Hill was from Florida and thought how can he still move that way, amazing footwork for his size. A few years later Robert Traylor (R.I.P.-way to soon) came on the scene and Hill looked like a midget! The game against Arkansas was like pushing up a hill (pun intended). It just seemed it was Nolan Richardson & Corliss Williamson's time.

Well, there's my answer. Great team, great player, great coach...just didn't win it all; sure doesn't diminish my opinion of the 93-94 Duke team.

P.S. Really enjoyed reading the sections that people posted regarding teams from pre 1990's as I only started watching college hoops in 1989-90 season. Would loved to have been able to see Dawkins and the like, from everything I've read the 86 team was great.

[Nugget]

My Duke experience only goes back to the late 70's, so for me this is a fairly easy question -- the most "beloved" non-title teams are:

(1) 1986; and (1-A) 1978.

The difference between those teams and some of Coach K's later squads in the 90s and 2000's is that the rides in 78 and 86 were newer, less expected, slightly more joyful and more tinged with the doubt that we might (i) ever win it all and/or (ii) maintain a level of excellence over an extended period to compete equally with Carolina.

All of which combined, at least in my view, to heighten the relationship between those teams and Duke students and fans and to make their falling short in the title games more devastating and bitterweet (plus Kenny Dennard served the beer).

From the later parts of the Coach K era, I think the others mentioned most frequently above get it right -- I've got very strong feelings, for all the reasons stated, for 1993-1994, 1997-1998, 1999-2000 and 2005-2006.

I have a hard time seeing how people can rate the 1998-1999 team as more "beloved" than any of those others, especially knowing what we know now about Corey Maggette's eligibility issue.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

I really loved the 1993 team with Hurley and THill as seniors. Hurley was my idol in middle school and I was lucky enough to get invited to a ton of home games that season to see him in person. I remember him tearing it up passing towards the end of the season when he was approaching the assist record he still holds. There were several games with double digit assists, which seemed so easy for him, but has been rare at Duke since. If I remember correctly Erik Meek got the dunk for the record breaking assist.

I really wanted that team to do well in the NCAAs that year, and with the team having gone to Final Four after Final Four, the early exit to Jason Kidd's Cal team really hurt. I was happy that Kidd won the title the other day, but I still hold a grudge from that day in 1993.

[burnspbesq]

On the men's side, I would say 1978 and 1999. On the women's side, 1999, the first trip to the Final Four.

And let's not forget the 2007 men's lacrosse team. The year after the lost year. Beat Carolina three times, including a demolition in the NCAA tournament. Got all the way to the final, got way down, came almost all the way back, and missed forcing OT by inches.

[Jason W]

1986.

Retire Alarie's number.



Best thing I've read all day.

[jv001]

my favorite non-championship team has to be the 65-66 Blue Devils. We had Bob Verga and Jack Marin avg. 19ppg, Mike Lewis 14ppg, Steve Vacendak 13ppg and Bob Reidy 9 ppg. Verga and Marin were our leaders but Mike Lewis will always be one of my all time favorites. At 6'7" he was our low post player and had a great low post game. Sort of reminds me of Junior Burroughs at Virginia in later years. We lost to Kentucky in the semi-finals of the the ncaa tournament. From what I remember Verga had the flu and was not close to 100% in the game. Our four losses that year were by: 2, 4, 1 & 4 pts. This was the year that we beat unc 21-20 and the heels did not score in first half. Always one of my most fond memories. Go Duke!

[dukelilsis]

"Retire Alarie's number."


I've been calling for that since 1986--and I was only 15 at the time!