20 Years Ago Today - Here's the pass to Laettner ...

[1 24 90]

As you probably know, today is the 20th anniversary of "The Shot". I am curious to hear about the experiences of everyone else while watching/attending this game. Please share your thoughts/experiences if you have a moment.

I was 23 years old and was watching the game with my 2 roommates at the time and a few guests. I don't remember too much but I do have a mental image of what our apartment looked like. I do also remember that I have never jumped higher in my life after the shot went through. After soaking it all in for awhile after the game, I remember everyone else watching Robocop and I just sat in the chair thinking about the game. Thanks Grant and Christian and everyone associated with "The Last Great Game".

[roywhite]

As you probably know, today is the 20th anniversary of "The Shot". I am curious to hear about the experiences of everyone else while watching/attending this game. Please share your thoughts/experiences if you have a moment.

I was 23 years old and was watching the game with my 2 roommates at the time and a few guests. I don't remember too much but I do have a mental image of what our apartment looked like. I do also remember that I have never jumped higher in my life after the shot went through. After soaking it all in for awhile after the game, I remember everyone else watching Robocop and I just sat in the chair thinking about the game. Thanks Grant and Christian and everyone associated with "The Last Great Game".

It's certainly the most memorable sporting event I've ever seen in person, and I travelled from North Carolina to attend the game at the Spectrum.

Obviously, it was a great game with many swings in momentum; one team would go on a run, and the other team would respond.

I remember the reactions of each fanbase during the game. Basically, the Kentucky fans were wildly enthusiastic. The Duke fans, myself included, cheered but had a certain worry that this game could be the end of our great two-year run.

The final shot---my recollection was that there was a slight pause before the crowd erupted....did we really just see that?
It was a great event, made even sweeter by falling on my birthday.

[moonpie23]

mine is somewhat odd......my ex and i were driving from columbia sc back to raleigh and we were scanning from station to station on the radio to keep up with the game. When one station would fade out, we'd frantically try to find the next. As we were nearing the end of the game, (about lumberton) the station was fading so much that the static was louder than the announcer. we could barely hear the voice coming through. I searched the entire am and fm dial and could not find another station, so i insisted we pull over on the side of I-95 as the game came to the closing 2 minutes.

We sat there in the car with the static burning our ears as the tension of the moment came through the speakers......i'm sure other motorists thought it odd that two people were going NUTS in a car on the side of the highway as he hit the shot.......


wild...

[aro24]

I was actually in the Dean Dome during this game. I was in 8th grade at the time and was there watching my high school team win the NC 3A state championship. I remember being in the hallway watching the game on one of the small tvs in the concession areas......most of the building boo'd (of course) when "the shot" went in but I remember jumping up and down and screaming and running around the hallway. One of those moments I will always remember.

ARo24

[gus]

It's hard to believe that the player who threw the pass is still putting in productive minutes in the NBA.

[mr. synellinden]

YESSS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4)!!! ... In the words of Verne Lundquist.

17,848 were there. I was one of them. Sitting about 100 feet away. The best sports moment of my life. Which produced the best piece of sportwriting I've ever read (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004691/index.htm).

[BlueDevilBrowns]

I, too, was in 8th grade. I was at my girlfriend's house, stuck watching some dumb video("MRS. DOUBTFIRE" I think?) and totally forgot the game was on. When the movie finally ended and we turned the video off, the game immediately came on because CBS was the "default" channel for the VHS. I saw the Kentucky shot and then THE SHOT. I jumped up and down for what seemed like 30 minutes throwing my duke hat up in the air screaming "DUKE'S #1 BABY!"... It was PURE JOY! My girlfriend, though, thought I was an idiot and not suprisingly, we broke up soon after.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was at my friends' apartment in D.C., as a senior in art school hanging out with other artists..they weren't sports nuts. Nobody was paying attention to the TV except for me, and all I could do was pace back and forth. That shot sunk and I went through more emotions than I thought the human brain could withstand. I jumped up and down, screamed, cried, opened the windows and yelled into the streets. I remember walking to work the next day, grinning from ear to ear every time I passed a sales box for the Washington Post. Even outside of NC, that shot was front page news.

[mr. synellinden]

YESSS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4)!!! ... In the words of Verne Lundquist.

17,848 were there. I was one of them. Sitting about 100 feet away. The best sports moment of my life. Which produced the best piece of sportwriting I've ever read (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004691/index.htm).

I remember the anxiety as the game went to OT - "this can't be happening. we are supposed to win the national championship this year" - before that, I did not feel there was a chance we could lose. Then Kentucky hit a 3 pointer to start OT, and I was terrified. Hurley missed a 3 but we got the rebound and Bobby took another one and hit it. Back and forth. Laettner double pump off the glass. Mashburn, and one. Laettner fouled. Hits the FT's. Less than 30 seconds. Kentucky TO. Duke up 1. Petrified.

On my feet. Woods. I can't believe that went in. How can we lose on that shot? Our season is ruined. I can't believe this.

Duke time out. Sitting dejectedly in my seat. Head in hands. Our season is ruined.

Back on my feet. The ball is in mid-air coming from left to right (same as the camera angle). Laettner catches. Dribbles. What the hell is he doing? "SHOOT IT!!" Then ..

Jubilation like I've never before felt. Screaming. Jumping up and down hugging my friend like little kids. Picture the teenage girls at Beatles concerts. Absolute, pure joy and exhiliration. Why sports are great. Few other things in life can produce such emotions, which are revisited every time I watch the highlight or just think about it.

[Steve68]

It's certainly the most memorable sporting event I've ever seen in person, and I travelled from North Carolina to attend the game at the Spectrum.

Obviously, it was a great game with many swings in momentum; one team would go on a run, and the other team would respond.

I remember the reactions of each fanbase during the game. Basically, the Kentucky fans were wildly enthusiastic. The Duke fans, myself included, cheered but had a certain worry that this game could be the end of our great two-year run.

The final shot---my recollection was that there was a slight pause before the crowd erupted....did we really just see that?
It was a great event, made even sweeter by falling on my birthday.

I was also there and your recollection is perfect - there was a definite pause before the crowd erupted. Sitting there, it felt like it took Laettner an eternity to shoot the ball, then it took several seconds for the Duke fans to realize the ball had gone in and we had actually won the game. I was surrounded by Kentucky fans and they were absolutely stunned. Moments like that don't come many times in a life time.

[jv001]

It's certainly the most memorable sporting event I've ever seen in person, and I travelled from North Carolina to attend the game at the Spectrum.

Obviously, it was a great game with many swings in momentum; one team would go on a run, and the other team would respond.

I remember the reactions of each fanbase during the game. Basically, the Kentucky fans were wildly enthusiastic. The Duke fans, myself included, cheered but had a certain worry that this game could be the end of our great two-year run.

The final shot---my recollection was that there was a slight pause before the crowd erupted....did we really just see that?
It was a great event, made even sweeter by falling on my birthday.

Happy Birthday roywhite. Hope you have many more. God bless.
GoDuke!

[FerryFor50]

I remember listening to it in the car when my father and I were driving back from Durham after being at one of his buddies.

We got home just in time for the end of the game and I stood inches from the TV watching and cheering.

Solidified my stance as a Duke fan (I was only 13-14 at the time).

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Was watching from Wayne Manor and all I recall are tiles being punched out in the commons room as people literally jumped to the ceilings.

[Indoor66]

Was watching from Wayne Manor and all I recall are tiles being punched out in the commons room as people literally jumped to the ceilings.

What did Alfred do?

[bdevil94]

I was a sophomore in college, living in an off campus apartment with 2 morons (actually, my good friends, but non-Duke fans so I'll call them morons for time's sake)... one was a die hard anti-Duke Pitino clone (from Long Island), the other from Cincy. The Cincy guy had 2 buddies in town, and all they could do was talk about how great Cincy was that year. They had a point, as Cincy made it to the final 4. Anyhow, I took heat all game, especially when Woods made his shot. I had 4 guys laughing, pointing at me and gloating about how Duke went down...

Funny how quickly 4 morons can be silenced.

For the record, it takes about 2.1 seconds!!!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

It's certainly the most memorable sporting event I've ever seen in person, and I travelled from North Carolina to attend the game at the Spectrum.

Obviously, it was a great game with many swings in momentum; one team would go on a run, and the other team would respond.

I remember the reactions of each fanbase during the game. Basically, the Kentucky fans were wildly enthusiastic. The Duke fans, myself included, cheered but had a certain worry that this game could be the end of our great two-year run.

The final shot---my recollection was that there was a slight pause before the crowd erupted....did we really just see that?
It was a great event, made even sweeter by falling on my birthday.
Happy Birthday! What a great event to celebrate forever on the same day!

[devildeac]

Found this story on Faux Sports. Great read:

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/christian-laettner-grant-hill-reflect-on-time-at-duke-022512

[mr. synellinden]

Found this story on Faux Sports. Great read:

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/christian-laettner-grant-hill-reflect-on-time-at-duke-022512

Wow, I loved that story - especially the part when Laettner explains to Jalen Rose what happened in the 92 championship game.

[dukelifer]

Found this story on Faux Sports. Great read:

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegebasketball/story/christian-laettner-grant-hill-reflect-on-time-at-duke-022512

Very interesting. Did not know some of that-like dancing on stage at the Dean Dome and particularly Laettner's issues with Hurley in Hurley's first season. Clearly, Laettner was tough and intimidating. No question that helped shaped the team. I liked what he said about JJ and he also admitted it was a stomp ;)

"Redick? He never did anything on or off the court to warrant that reaction from fans. He didn't deserve to be hated. Now, me? I'm a different story. I stomped on a guy's chest. I played a certain way. All J.J. Redick did was play good, sound basketball. Why would you ever hate him?"

The whole story makes me miss those glory days of college basketball- when it was just emerging into the national consciousness .

[weezie]

Happy Birthday roywhite. Hope you have many more. God bless.
GoDuke!

ABSOLUTELY!! Happy Birthday!

I was at Disneyworld and saw it all at the Grand Floridian hotel bar. Several people, myself included, started crying with actual joy.

[1 24 90]

ESPNU is re-airing the 1/2 hour special on "The Last Great Game" tonight at 11 if anyone wants to watch/record.

[DukieInKansas]

YESSS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY-iq58_oz4)!!! ... In the words of Verne Lundquist.

17,848 were there. I was one of them. Sitting about 100 feet away. The best sports moment of my life. Which produced the best piece of sportwriting I've ever read (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004691/index.htm).

Thanks for the links - great article and so much fun to watch the shot again. I can still remember kneeling on my living room floor in front of the tv watching. I got one phone call as it went to OT and then that same friend called back when The Shot went in. What fun memories.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Happy Anniversary Grant and Christian!

I was at a friends house, and we went nuts when it went in, just like everyone else here! :cool::D

[NashvilleDevil]

Isn't "There's the pass to Laettner."?

[Duke76]

I was in Atlanta at a Duke friend's house along with about 10 other Duke grads from 1976, 77 and 78
all in our late 30's with a keg of beer... i think we stayed up all night much to the dismay of our wives
and girlfriends...what a glorious night

[Bojangles4Eva]

Watched it with a friend, his parents, his siblings, their friends (so largely a <12 year old crowd) in a small room. All the kids "lost their filters" in the celebration, both verbally and physically. I can't imagine what it was like to be there.....The Duke blue sola was a good batch that year. I was not in Durham in 2010 but was in 2001, and I don't remember that blue soda being there. Did I miss it, or are they still doing that?

[Kimist]

Somewhere I have a VCR tape of the entire game. Perhaps I need to retrieve it?

BTW: As for the comment about "the stomp" - anyone who actually saw the play (and a similar forgotten foot event by the KY player earlier?) would immediately discern it was not a stomp. The victim even got up smiling. Extremely stupid move by Laettner, but never a "stomp."

Maybe someone even has a link to that sequence??

[Duke_92]

I was was on Central Campus with a bunch of friends I am looking forward to seeing at our 20th reunion next month. We went crazy and then ran to West to dance around burning benches.

I considered it one of the luckiest things in my life that I was born in the same year as Christisn Laettner:) 4 final fours and 2 NCAA championships. My son starts in the fall hopefully he'll have similar luck.

[freshmanjs]

Somewhere I have a VCR tape of the entire game. Perhaps I need to retrieve it?

BTW: As for the comment about "the stomp" - anyone who actually saw the play (and a similar forgotten foot event by the KY player earlier?) would immediately discern it was not a stomp. The victim even got up smiling. Extremely stupid move by Laettner, but never a "stomp."

Maybe someone even has a link to that sequence??

google has a link

[1 24 90]

Somewhere I have a VCR tape of the entire game. Perhaps I need to retrieve it?

BTW: As for the comment about "the stomp" - anyone who actually saw the play (and a similar forgotten foot event by the KY player earlier?) would immediately discern it was not a stomp. The victim even got up smiling. Extremely stupid move by Laettner, but never a "stomp."

Maybe someone even has a link to that sequence??

They show it in the special on ESPNU at 11.

[Newton_14]

It's certainly the most memorable sporting event I've ever seen in person, and I travelled from North Carolina to attend the game at the Spectrum.

Obviously, it was a great game with many swings in momentum; one team would go on a run, and the other team would respond.

I remember the reactions of each fanbase during the game. Basically, the Kentucky fans were wildly enthusiastic. The Duke fans, myself included, cheered but had a certain worry that this game could be the end of our great two-year run.

The final shot---my recollection was that there was a slight pause before the crowd erupted....did we really just see that?
It was a great event, made even sweeter by falling on my birthday.

Happy Birthday Roy! This day also special to me as you will learn from my story below!

I was 25 and single, and had a fun night planned. The PGA Teaching Pro that taught me how to play golf was an avid Duke fan, and he invited me and one of my running buddies (a State Fan) over for steaks and the game with he and his wife. Immediately after the game we were hitting the Raleigh hot spot the Long branch for post game entertainment.

My teacher was a pacer, and high strung as all get out. The kind of guy that breaks not only the remote but a chair or something when things go bad for Duke. This game was no different. As the game wore on his nerves were shot, my nerves were shot, and my State buddy just wanted the game to end so we could hit the road and make the drive from Creedmoor to Raleigh. Once it went into OT, my State bud could no longer take it and said "If you are going with me, the car is leaving now". I stammered around, but he was my boy so I said "Ok" but the radio will be on 620 AM.

As the game got to the final Kentucky TO, I made him pull over into the parking lot of a store so we would not lose the signal. When the Wood shot went in, I was as deflated as I had ever been. Season over. I had taken Duke against the field in a huge bet at work with about 5 other guys. Total dejection. 2.1 seconds later, I was fortunate enough to hear the voice of Bob Harris making the call! From total deflation to unbelievable elation. I screamed loud enough to be heard in Raleigh and Creedmoor.

When we arrived at the Long Branch, I was introduced to a Mississippi Belle that had moved to the Triangle to work for IBM. She had on a lime green top and tight black jeans. I was awestruck. 20 years later she is still hanging around me as the lovely Mrs Newton_14. Celebrated our 18th anniversary on March 12.

[BobbyFan]

I was watching in the downstairs of my parents' house, because I knew if I watched in the upstairs living room, I'd be way too loud and get my mom annoyed. That entire season, in my youthful mind, I thought it was impossible for us to not repeat - until Woods hit that shot. I remember thinking how unfair it is that a nobody like Woods was going to beat my courageous heroes and altogether wonderful human beings like Laettner and Hurley. When Laettner hits the shot, I yelled out my own "YEEEEESSSSS!!!" right after Verne Lundquist yelled out his. My little brother hears me and starts jumping around with me, although he had no idea why.

The greatest sports memory of my childhood, and probably ever considering it doesn't mean as much to me now as it did then.

And has it really been 20 years? It feels more like 8.

[Son of Jarhead]

Great memories, all.

I was watching on a TV behind the counter at the Durham bookstore I co-owned back then. No cable in the shopping center, poor reception, small set. I only lived a couple minutes away, but I didn't want to take the chance on missing anything, so when it came time to close up for the night, I turned off the lights & flipped the sign to 'Closed', then just sat down on the floor behind the counter to watch the finish. The neighbors must have thought I was being robbed or something when I started screaming.

[basket1544]

I was almost 11 years old, and I remember watching the game with my dad. I gained a level of respect for the Kentucky players during the game that stayed with me for several years, but... I never for a minute thought Christian would leave the game without winning! My hero proved himself worthy that night. My dad kept trying to keep me grounded and said that 2.1 seconds isn't enough time to do much. I think he was trying to keep me from being too disappointed if they lost. Duke had been to the final four practically every year since I was five; I knew they would be there again somehow.
Thank you Grant for making The Pass; thank you Christian for making The Shot!
-Basket1544

[magjayran]

For some reason my grandparents were in town. I come from a family of basketball fanatics but we're not all Duke fans. My grandfather was a Wake Law grad and hung onto that allegiance as tight as he could. So much that he used to rock the Wake Forest Golf National Champs stickers on his car. My grandmother was a Duke nursing grad and the true mother of all Duke fans in our family. She used to sing the Duke fight songs as lullabies to her three daughters and later to all of her grandkids. My mother had followed in Granny's footsteps by going to Duke and becoming a nurse. She also sang all the Duke songs to us. Poorly.

That night I settled in with my the grandparents, my mother, and my brother to watch the game. I was 13. I was so confident. Duke had been on an incredible run since I had begun really being able to comprehend basketball around '85 and ever since they beat UNLV in '91 there was nothing you could tell me about them not winning it all every year. An Elite 8 matchup was no big deal. If it got close you could just give the ball to Christian at the end and he'd win it for us like he did against UCONN in '90. But still, the game went back and forth. UK was way better than I thought they'd be and I had a sinking feeling in my gut near the end of regulation. Luckily, we ended up tied with the ball and I was sure that Christian would take the shot to win at the end of regulation. Didn't happen.

The whole time Grandpa watched intently. Maybe he just wanted Granny to be happy, but he watched closely. He was completely engrossed in the game. If you asked him he'd say he didn't care one way or the other. Grandpa was a great man and a lawyer and sometimes he lied.

In overtime I just knew we'd win. I knew someone would tie it with a three. I knew Christian would hit every shot and free throw. I really thought the game would fizzle out when Mashburn fouled out. But that kid Woods hit an incredible shot. His floater is one of those terrible shots that gives coaches heart attacks. But he hit it and when he did the air went out of the room. My mother said, "Duke is gonna lose this game." She had said the same thing in 1990 against UCONN. I reminder her of this. It did not settle her nerves or mine.

We all know what happened next. Pass, catch, dribble, turn, and shoot. Somewhere in there Granny said, "You better shoot it." I jumped high enough to punch the ceiling and scrape my knuckles. My mother, brother, and grandmother were hugging on the couch. Grandpa was on his feet and smiling wider than ever saw him smile before or after that game. He denied it til the day he died but he was happy that Duke won.

Absolutely one of my fondest memories for so many reasons. Most of all I'm happy that I got to watch that game with Granny. She was perhaps the most passionate Duke fan I ever knew and was way on top of recruiting and behind the scenes stuff long before the internet became what it is today. She was the type of Duke fan that never let a discussion of the shot go by without making a big deal of the pass. She was the type of fan that loved Johnny Dawkins but not more than she loved Billy King. She used to call us after every big game and talk to each of us for a few minutes. That night we talked for hours. We watched all the highlight shows and all the local newscasts. The next day we watched all the highlight shows and all the newscasts again. It was that kind of moment. What a night it was.