Bill Foster-RIP

[jimsumner]

http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/duke/article53605210.html

[jipops]

Truly sad loss. Foster's teams were my introduction to Duke ball as a kid. And if you haven't read Forever's Team, you should.

[NYBri]

He brought Duke back from the abyss. He and Gene Banks.

[sagegrouse]

He brought Duke back from the abyss. He and Gene Banks.

I have good memories of those years and of Bill Foster. Banks, of course, was preceded by Spanarkel and Gminski, who helped fuel the resurgence of Duke basketball.

[weezie]

Godspeed Coach Foster!

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Foster's first team was my junior year at Duke. We were pretty terrible. Next year, Jim Spanarkel was a freshman and there was suddenly a dim light at the end of the tunnel. I made the trip to St. Louis for the 1978 Final Four. The light was very bright then! Foster, along with most of the team, signed a dollar bill for me after we beat Notre Dame in the first semifinal game. Nice guy. Condolences to his family, and to Spanarkel, Banks, Dennard and Gminski.

RIP Bill.

[jv001]

Back in the Foster era, the Duke team would scrimmage at some local high schools and you could have access to the players. That was the good old days for getting close to the team. Coach Foster was a good coach and a gentleman as well. Prayers for the family. GoDuke!

[Indoor66]

Rest well my friend. You led a good life and helped many youth become good men. My prayers are for you as well as for Shirley and the girls and their families. You will be missed and well remembered.

[slower]

Rest well my friend. You led a good life and helped many youth become good men. My prayers are for you as well as for Shirley and the girls and their families. You will be missed and well remembered.
I went to high school with his daughters. Sadly, his beautiful older daughter, Vicki, died in a fire many years ago.

[Atlanta Duke]

RIP - I remember when Coach Foster came in my junior year when the Duke program had bottomed out

He restored the program to the big time - always sorry that for whatever reason he felt a need to move on after the 1979-80 season, although that obviously worked out OK for Duke

[Tommac]

Back in the Foster era, the Duke team would scrimmage at some local high schools and you could have access to the players. That was the good old days for getting close to the team. Coach Foster was a good coach and a gentleman as well. Prayers for the family. GoDuke!

I got to see the team scrimmage at Greensboro Grimsley high school during the Foster years at Duke, in 1978 or 1979.

[ChrisP]

RIP Coach. I was 11 when the '78 team made it all the way to the Finals. My parents went to the Final Four that year and I am pretty sure I still have my ticket stub from the "Checkerdome" in St Louis around here somewhere.

Lots of fond memories of Bill Foster's teams, for sure. Condolences to his family. :(

[MarkD83]

Truly sad loss. Foster's teams were my introduction to Duke ball as a kid. And if you haven't read Forever's Team, you should.

I concur. I reread the book this summer and it is well worth another read.

My prayers go out to Coach Foster's family, friends and his duke teams and fans everywhere.

[-bdbd]

Very sad to hear this news. By all reports he was a very good man. He did great things for Duke.

I was a student when he shocked us and decided to leave, just a couple years removed from an appearance in the National Championship game vs KY.

It only got worse, as the poor Duke Athletic Director eventually had to "settle" for a too-young-to-be-successful replacement from an upstate NY military school with a name nobody could pronounce, much less spell....


RIP coach. And thank you.

[Atldukie79]

Coach Foster was a tremendous person. As a coach, he was a tireless recruiter, but also a promoter. He visited many, if not most living groups on campus and met with students to promote Duke basketball...hard to imagine having to do that now. One of his daughters was a student at Duke with my wife.

As a pep band member, we traveled with the team to each location during the march to the FF in 1978. I remember flying with the team on charters, and Coach Foster was approachable and friendly to all, even while working on the game plan at his seat.

I guess he has become a bit of a footnote at Duke, but his tenure at Duke, though short, was epic in its own way. Having lost the luster of the Bubas teams of the 60's, Duke of the early to mid 70's played in a 7 team ACC with a dominating UNC program, the best Maryland teams ever (sorry 2002), and the best NC State teams ever. Oh, and UVA won an ACC tournament too. And Duke was on the bottom of the conference.

Foster restored the glory for a brief moment, but left rather abruptly.

A good man. Thanks for your part in the Duke basketball storyline.

[gurufrisbee]

Wow. How sad. His Duke time was before I was following, but I actually got Forever Team this year for Christmas and just finished it last weekend. What a loss of a good man.

[arnie]

Coach Foster was a tremendous person. As a coach, he was a tireless recruiter, but also a promoter. He visited many, if not most living groups on campus and met with students to promote Duke basketball...hard to imagine having to do that now. One of his daughters was a student at Duke with my wife.

As a pep band member, we traveled with the team to each location during the march to the FF in 1978. I remember flying with the team on charters, and Coach Foster was approachable and friendly to all, even while working on the game plan at his seat.

I guess he has become a bit of a footnote at Duke, but his tenure at Duke, though short, was epic in its own way. Having lost the luster of the Bubas teams of the 60's, Duke of the early to mid 70's played in a 7 team ACC with a dominating UNC program, the best Maryland teams ever (sorry 2002), and the best NC State teams ever. Oh, and UVA won an ACC tournament too. And Duke was on the bottom of the conference.

Foster restored the glory for a brief moment, but left rather abruptly.

A good man. Thanks for your part in the Duke basketball storyline.
Great post. After suffering through the Bucky Waters disaster and wondering what it would be like if Duke actually made the tourney, Foster takes us to the promised land in a miracle season. What a trip that was.

[ChrisP]

Ok so perhaps this occurred to most of you long ago but...it just dawned on me that, if Coach Foster hadn't resigned unexpectedly, the truly amazing, entertaining ride that Coach K has taken us on for 35 years likely never would have happened. Seems a bit odd to "thank" Bill Foster for doing - what seemed at the time anyway - a not-so-great thing for Duke University but...thanks again, Coach F :)

[wsb3]

Truly sad loss. Foster's teams were my introduction to Duke ball as a kid. And if you haven't read Forever's Team, you should.

Rarely have I ever read a book twice but I have read Forever's Team twice & possibly three times.

What a group of characters that team was.. RIP Coach Foster..

[devil84]

Coach Foster lived down the road from us and I went to high school with his daughters. He was the coach of the Blue Devils when Dad and Mom moved the family down here from Chicago. We were a bit despondent that there was no NHL hockey in the area, but his Blue Devils basketball team won us over in the first half of the first game of the '76-'77 season. We didn't miss the NHL after that, and are still Duke season ticket holders.

Thank you, Coach Foster, for igniting the lifelong passion for Duke Basketball in our family. You'll be missed. My sympathies to his family, friends, team members, and fans.

[77devil]

Ok so perhaps this occurred to most of you long ago but...it just dawned on me that, if Coach Foster hadn't resigned unexpectedly, the truly amazing, entertaining ride that Coach K has taken us on for 35 years likely never would have happened. Seems a bit odd to "thank" Bill Foster for doing - what seemed at the time anyway - a not-so-great thing for Duke University but...thanks again, Coach F :)

While abrupt and suprizing at the time. Coach Foster's departure was consistent with his M.O. at Utah and Rutgers of rebuilding and moving on.

Considering how low Duke basketball had sunk in 1974, the 1978 run was truly amazing. Having experienced the bad times first hand, I appreciate and admire what Coach Foster was able to accomplish so quickly. Rest in peace.

[sagegrouse]

The front page story was a wonderful summary of Bill Foster and his tenure at Duke. From the standpoint of basketball, it was an amazing last-to-first story. As I seem to remember, SI -- the dominant sports pub of that era -- said something like -- "Duke -- there's a grand old name in college basketball that hasn't been heard from in a while."

[jcastranio]

I grew up in Cary as a strong NC State fan. In 1977, I enrolled at Duke. The Blue Devils had finished last place in the ACC for four straight years. And then, we won the ACC Tournament and went to the NCAA Championship game. It was one of the most incredible rides of my life. No ESPN, no internet - just showing up at Cameron for the next incredible game.

Dennard's reverse dunk. Gene's slam over Ralph. The little kid with green shorts. The dunkfest against ECU. The incredible home win against Phil Ford and UNC. The snow at the ACC tournament. That 2-3 zone. Later on, the game in Cameron against UNC that ended up 7-0, Duke, at the half. Bill Foster's Duke teams spurred a passion for Duke in me that lives strong to this day.

(I have to admit, when Foster left and this "K" guy came in my senior year, I was not impressed. I was Bill Foster's guy. I have since repented of my wayward thoughts)

RIP, Bill. And thank you.

[duke blue brewcrew]

Truly sad loss. Foster's teams were my introduction to Duke ball as a kid. And if you haven't read Forever's Team, you should.

Foster was my introduction to Duke Basketball as a kid as well. 40 something years later, I can barely remember those years of Banks, Gminski and Spanarkel, but I remember enough to know they sparked my life long love affair with Duke Basketball! FWIW...Loved me some Vince Taylor back in those days!

[jcastranio]

Foster was my introduction to Duke Basketball as a kid as well. 40 something years later, I can barely remember those years of Banks, Gminski and Spanarkel, but I remember enough to know they sparked my life long love affair with Duke Basketball! FWIW...Loved me some Vince Taylor back in those days!

I played a pickup game in the IM gym against Gene Banks and Vince Taylor. There is a definite basketball difference between them and mere mortals. We got destroyed.

[captmojo]

I'm wearing my blue plaid pants all day today, in his honor.
My sympathies to all his family.
K would do very well to study his design of the 2-3 zone. It was a mastery, which allowed for rebounding like no other.

[jimsumner]

If you weren't around in the middle 1970s, this is going to take some explaining.

It wasn't so much that Duke basketball was bad, it was irrelevant. The ACC was a tough neighborhood. David Thompson was a senior during Foster's first season at Duke. Phil Ford was a freshman. Maryland and Clemson had arguably the best teams in their histories. Wake made the Elite Eight in 1977. Virginia won the ACCT in 1976.

As Foster once quipped to me "We were looking to move up but nobody was looking to move down."

Duke simply wasn't keeping up. Bucky Waters had visits from Bill Walton, Tom McMillen, Thompson, John Lucas (a Durham kid) and Mitch Kupchak, among others. All had Duke on their short lists. But Duke couldn't real in any of them. And transfers were rampant. And corrosive.

Most experts agreed that Duke had serious structural problems that would keep them un-competitive. The academic standards were too high, the fan base was too small, the "Stadium" was old, decrepit and too small.

Perhaps, most seriously, Duke was apparently unable to recruit and/or keep African American basketball players. Willie Hodge was the only black player recruited by Duke before Foster who stayed four years.

Hodge was a good player. But the competition was bringing in the likes of Thompson, Ford, Robert McAdoo, Walter Davis, Kenny Carr, Lucas, Len Elmore, Skip Brown, Rod Griffith, Tree Rollins, Skip Wise, et. al. and it was obvious that Duke was in trouble.

The world was changing and Duke wasn't changing with it.

So, leaving Utah for Duke was not a slam dunk. But Foster loved building programs--more than he loved sustaining them--and he accepted the challenge.

He made friends in the community. He was smart, funny and personable. But don't mistake that for a lack of competitiveness. He just internalized it, sometimes to his detriment. He once almost died courtside, at South Carolina. Literally.

Foster decided to run and run some more at Duke, even when he didn't have the horses to win the races. He once lost to Wake Forest 122-109, lost to NC State 104-95 and 106-101.

He thought that up-tempo basketball would woo back a disaffected fan base and more importantly appeal to recruits and he was willing to take a step back for two future steps forward.

It looked like 1977 would be his break-out season. Tate Armstrong, Jim Spanarkel, Mike Gminski, Mark Crow. This team went to Knoxville and stunned the Bernie (King) and Ernie (Grunfeld) show. Duke beat Washington and Jammin' James Edwards and beat State in the Big Four, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Wolfpack.

Duke went to Charlottesville January 17 and came away with Duke's first ACC road win in five seasons, running the record to 11-3.

Duke was back. But Armstrong broke a wrist, ending his Duke career. Duke careened to a 14-13 record, including losses to State and Maryland that were so gut-wrenching that they still have the power to hurt.

Only two teams from any conference could make the NCAAs in those days, so Armstrong's injury likely deprived Duke of a 17, 18-win team and an NIT berth, which would have been a giant step for 1977.

But days after Armstrong's injury, Foster got the phone call he had been waiting for. Gene Banks was coming to Duke.

I've previously stated my view that Banks was the most important recruit in Duke history. Not the best. But the most important.

Two reasons. At a time when Duke was a national afterthought, the nation's top recruit spurned UCLA, UNC. Notre Dame (Digger's heyday) and Penn. For Duke.

Secondly, he was the first inner-city African American superstar to attend Duke. Banks gave Duke a street cred it had never had before.

1978 was indeed a magic carpet ride. From 2-10 in the ACC to the national title game. In one season. Magic.

The magic eventually wore off. Duke was very good the next two seasons but couldn't get back to the final weekend.

Foster's biggest failing at Duke,IMO, was his inability to leverage that great season and its considerable good will into a recruiting bonanza. Recruiting experts consider the class of 1979 to be arguably the best ever. Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie, James Worthy, Dominque Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Thurl Bailey. Et. al. Foster went hard after Sampson, Clark Kellogg, Steve Stipanoch, John Paxson and Greg Kite and came up empty.

With a perfect storm for a monster class, Foster ended up with Chip Engelland, Tom Emma, Mike Tissaw and Allan Williams, two nice role players and two non-factors.

And Foster didn't have a single commitment from the next class, when he left Duke for South Carolina. That's one of the reasons why K had such an empty cupboard in 1982, his second season.

Why did Foster leave Duke? He once told me he wasn't even sure himself. I think he just had a wandering eye. Like I said, he preferred building programs to sustaining them.

And I do think he--like Norm Sloan--got tired of butting heads with Dean Smith.

But Duke went 73-24 in his last three seasons, with two ACC titles. To put that in perspective, Duke won exactly one ACCT game in eight seasons, from 1970 through 1977.

An amazing reconstruction job.

And one that helped Mike Krzyzewski. Johnny Dawkins told me that he was a fan of Banks and that '78 team when he was growing up. When Krzyzewski was trying to sell Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Tommy Amaker, et. al on the idea that Duke could compete for titles, these guys knew he was telling the truth because they had seen it for themselves.

A wonderful man, a wonderful coach and a critical component of Duke's historical greatness.

RIP indeed.

[Lar77]

I remember Bill Foster as being a friendly, approachable person. He engineered an amazing turnaround for Duke. I also remember that he used to type (that ancient lost art) his own letters, because he was the fastest typist in the AD. And the plaid sports coats (but all the coaches had them back then). He had class as a person and helped get Duke back on the right road.

[devildeac]

If you weren't around in the middle 1970s, this is going to take some explaining.

It wasn't so much that Duke basketball was bad, it was irrelevant. The ACC was a tough neighborhood. David Thompson was a senior during Foster's first season at Duke. Phil Ford was a freshman. Maryland and Clemson had arguably the best teams in their histories. Wake made the Elite Eight in 1977. Virginia won the ACCT in 1976.

As Foster once quipped to me "We were looking to move up but nobody was looking to move down."

Duke simply wasn't keeping up. Bucky Waters had visits from Bill Walton, Tom McMillen, Thompson, John Lucas (a Durham kid) and Mitch Kupchak, among others. All had Duke on their short lists. But Duke couldn't real in any of them. And transfers were rampant. And corrosive.

Most experts agreed that Duke had serious structural problems that would keep them un-competitive. The academic standards were too high, the fan base was too small, the "Stadium" was old, decrepit and too small.

Perhaps, most seriously, Duke was apparently unable to recruit and/or keep African American basketball players. Willie Hodge was the only black player recruited by Duke before Foster who stayed four years.

Hodge was a good player. But the competition was bringing in the likes of Thompson, Ford, Robert McAdoo, Walter Davis, Kenny Carr, Lucas, Len Elmore, Skip Brown, Rod Griffith, Tree Rollins, Skip Wise, et. al. and it was obvious that Duke was in trouble.

The world was changing and Duke wasn't changing with it.

So, leaving Utah for Duke was not a slam dunk. But Foster loved building programs--more than he loved sustaining them--and he accepted the challenge.

He made friends in the community. He was smart, funny and personable. But don't mistake that for a lack of competitiveness. He just internalized it, sometimes to his detriment. He once almost died courtside, at South Carolina. Literally.

Foster decided to run and run some more at Duke, even when he didn't have the horses to win the races. He once lost to Wake Forest 122-109, lost to NC State 104-95 and 106-101.

He thought that up-tempo basketball would woo back a disaffected fan base and more importantly appeal to recruits and he was willing to take a step back for two future steps forward.

It looked like 1977 would be his break-out season. Tate Armstrong, Jim Spanarkel, Mike Gminski, Mark Crow. This team went to Knoxville and stunned the Bernie (King) and Ernie (Grunfeld) show. Duke beat Washington and Jammin' James Edwards and beat State in the Big Four, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Wolfpack.

Duke went to Charlottesville January 17 and came away with Duke's first ACC road win in five seasons, running the record to 11-3.

Duke was back. But Armstrong broke a wrist, ending his Duke career. Duke careened to a 14-13 record, including losses to State and Maryland that were so gut-wrenching that they still have the power to hurt.

Only two teams from any conference could make the NCAAs in those days, so Armstrong's injury likely deprived Duke of a 17, 18-win team and an NIT berth, which would have been a giant step for 1977.

But days after Armstrong's injury, Foster got the phone call he had been waiting for. Gene Banks was coming to Duke.

I've previously stated my view that Banks was the most important recruit in Duke history. Not the best. But the most important.

Two reasons. At a time when Duke was a national afterthought, the nation's top recruit spurned UCLA, UNC. Notre Dame (Digger's heyday) and Penn. For Duke.

Secondly, he was the first inner-city African American superstar to attend Duke. Banks gave Duke a street cred it had never had before.

1978 was indeed a magic carpet ride. From 2-10 in the ACC to the national title game. In one season. Magic.

The magic eventually wore off. Duke was very good the next two seasons but couldn't get back to the final weekend.

Foster's biggest failing at Duke,IMO, was his inability to leverage that great season and its considerable good will into a recruiting bonanza. Recruiting experts consider the class of 1979 to be arguably the best ever. Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie, James Worthy, Dominque Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Thurl Bailey. Et. al. Foster went hard after Sampson, Clark Kellogg, Steve Stipanoch, John Paxson and Greg Kite and came up empty.

With a perfect storm for a monster class, Foster ended up with Chip Engelland, Tom Emma, Mike Tissaw and Allan Williams, two nice role players and two non-factors.

And Foster didn't have a single commitment from the next class, when he left Duke for South Carolina. That's one of the reasons why K had such an empty cupboard in 1982, his second season.

Why did Foster leave Duke? He once told me he wasn't even sure himself. I think he just had a wandering eye. Like I said, he preferred building programs to sustaining them.

And I do think he--like Norm Sloan--got tired of butting heads with Dean Smith.

But Duke went 73-24 in his last three seasons, with two ACC titles. To put that in perspective, Duke won exactly one ACCT game in eight seasons, from 1970 through 1977.

An amazing reconstruction job.

And one that helped Mike Krzyzewski. Johnny Dawkins told me that he was a fan of Banks and that '78 team when he was growing up. When Krzyzewski was trying to sell Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Tommy Amaker, et. al on the idea that Duke could compete for titles, these guys knew he was telling the truth because they had seen it for themselves.

A wonderful man, a wonderful coach and a critical component of Duke's historical greatness.

RIP indeed.

Great, great summary. I bow/genuflect/nod/applaud in your general direction. Brings back many bad/sad/angry/frustrating memories but also a lot of smiles and appreciation for the solid "bridge" he provided to Duke MBB, post-Bubas and pre-K.

[CameronBlue]

Sumner with his usual greatness on display. To re-emphasize one point however: Foster's teams with Banks, Dennard and G-man on board, didn't just merely run. The 78 team was explosive on the break with equal measures of power and artistry. As a teenager I remember waking up to the subtleties of the game because of the 78 team and realizing what "finesse" in sport really meant. It was a term often used by sportswriters to describe Forever's Team. Duke basketball was fun and it reshaped the power structure of the ACC if only for a season or two. That season Duke didn't just replicate UNC's success of prior years. It put a better product on the floor, a more nuanced product than even the best UNC teams to that time that was more captivating to the casual fan.

RIP Bill, you can't imagine the excitement you provided to young fans of Duke basketball.

[Indoor66]

Sumner with his usual greatness on display. To re-emphasize one point however: Foster's teams with Banks, Dennard and G-man on board, didn't just merely run. The 78 team was explosive on the break with equal measures of power and artistry. As a teenager I remember waking up the subtleties of the game because of the 78 team and realizing what "finesse" in sport really meant. It was a term often used by sportswriters to describe Forever's Team. Duke basketball was fun and it reshaped the power structure of the ACC if only for a season or two. That season Duke just didn't replicate UNC's success of prior years. It put a better product on the floor, a more nuanced product than even the best UNC teams to that time that was more captivating to the casual fan.

RIP Bill, you can't imagine the excitement you provided to young fans of Duke basketball.

And I would add, to the older ones as well. He made the game fun. Who could forget the light switch plates?

[jimsumner]

Anybody else remember the bumper sticker Duke had about this time?

The Blue Devil, dribbling a basketball in full stride, with his cape flowing behind him and the caption "Off and Running With Duke Basketball."

A classic. I remember trading for a new car in December 1978 and losing that sticker.

[markbdevil]

Anybody else remember the bumper sticker Duke had about this time?

The Blue Devil, dribbling a basketball in full stride, with his cape flowing behind him and the caption "Off and Running With Duke Basketball."

A classic. I remember trading for a new car in December 1978 and losing that sticker.

I had that bumper sticker too, on the car I drove to high school. At the time, I couldn't believe he would leave Duke for South Carolina. I wanted one of his assistants, Bob Wenzel, to be the next Duke coach. Glad that didn't happen.
I also remember Coach Foster's wife walking around the concourse smoking cigarettes because she was too nervous to watch the games. And yes, smoking was allowed in Cameron then.

[wsb3]

If you weren't around in the middle 1970s, this is going to take some explaining.

It wasn't so much that Duke basketball was bad, it was irrelevant. The ACC was a tough neighborhood. David Thompson was a senior during Foster's first season at Duke. Phil Ford was a freshman. Maryland and Clemson had arguably the best teams in their histories. Wake made the Elite Eight in 1977. Virginia won the ACCT in 1976.

As Foster once quipped to me "We were looking to move up but nobody was looking to move down."

Duke simply wasn't keeping up. Bucky Waters had visits from Bill Walton, Tom McMillen, Thompson, John Lucas (a Durham kid) and Mitch Kupchak, among others. All had Duke on their short lists. But Duke couldn't real in any of them. And transfers were rampant. And corrosive.

Most experts agreed that Duke had serious structural problems that would keep them un-competitive. The academic standards were too high, the fan base was too small, the "Stadium" was old, decrepit and too small.

Perhaps, most seriously, Duke was apparently unable to recruit and/or keep African American basketball players. Willie Hodge was the only black player recruited by Duke before Foster who stayed four years.

Hodge was a good player. But the competition was bringing in the likes of Thompson, Ford, Robert McAdoo, Walter Davis, Kenny Carr, Lucas, Len Elmore, Skip Brown, Rod Griffith, Tree Rollins, Skip Wise, et. al. and it was obvious that Duke was in trouble.

The world was changing and Duke wasn't changing with it.

So, leaving Utah for Duke was not a slam dunk. But Foster loved building programs--more than he loved sustaining them--and he accepted the challenge.

He made friends in the community. He was smart, funny and personable. But don't mistake that for a lack of competitiveness. He just internalized it, sometimes to his detriment. He once almost died courtside, at South Carolina. Literally.

Foster decided to run and run some more at Duke, even when he didn't have the horses to win the races. He once lost to Wake Forest 122-109, lost to NC State 104-95 and 106-101.

He thought that up-tempo basketball would woo back a disaffected fan base and more importantly appeal to recruits and he was willing to take a step back for two future steps forward.

It looked like 1977 would be his break-out season. Tate Armstrong, Jim Spanarkel, Mike Gminski, Mark Crow. This team went to Knoxville and stunned the Bernie (King) and Ernie (Grunfeld) show. Duke beat Washington and Jammin' James Edwards and beat State in the Big Four, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Wolfpack.

Duke went to Charlottesville January 17 and came away with Duke's first ACC road win in five seasons, running the record to 11-3.

Duke was back. But Armstrong broke a wrist, ending his Duke career. Duke careened to a 14-13 record, including losses to State and Maryland that were so gut-wrenching that they still have the power to hurt.

Only two teams from any conference could make the NCAAs in those days, so Armstrong's injury likely deprived Duke of a 17, 18-win team and an NIT berth, which would have been a giant step for 1977.

But days after Armstrong's injury, Foster got the phone call he had been waiting for. Gene Banks was coming to Duke.

I've previously stated my view that Banks was the most important recruit in Duke history. Not the best. But the most important.

Two reasons. At a time when Duke was a national afterthought, the nation's top recruit spurned UCLA, UNC. Notre Dame (Digger's heyday) and Penn. For Duke.

Secondly, he was the first inner-city African American superstar to attend Duke. Banks gave Duke a street cred it had never had before.

1978 was indeed a magic carpet ride. From 2-10 in the ACC to the national title game. In one season. Magic.

The magic eventually wore off. Duke was very good the next two seasons but couldn't get back to the final weekend.

Foster's biggest failing at Duke,IMO, was his inability to leverage that great season and its considerable good will into a recruiting bonanza. Recruiting experts consider the class of 1979 to be arguably the best ever. Ralph Sampson, Sam Bowie, James Worthy, Dominque Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Thurl Bailey. Et. al. Foster went hard after Sampson, Clark Kellogg, Steve Stipanoch, John Paxson and Greg Kite and came up empty.

With a perfect storm for a monster class, Foster ended up with Chip Engelland, Tom Emma, Mike Tissaw and Allan Williams, two nice role players and two non-factors.

And Foster didn't have a single commitment from the next class, when he left Duke for South Carolina. That's one of the reasons why K had such an empty cupboard in 1982, his second season.

Why did Foster leave Duke? He once told me he wasn't even sure himself. I think he just had a wandering eye. Like I said, he preferred building programs to sustaining them.

And I do think he--like Norm Sloan--got tired of butting heads with Dean Smith.

But Duke went 73-24 in his last three seasons, with two ACC titles. To put that in perspective, Duke won exactly one ACCT game in eight seasons, from 1970 through 1977.

An amazing reconstruction job.

And one that helped Mike Krzyzewski. Johnny Dawkins told me that he was a fan of Banks and that '78 team when he was growing up. When Krzyzewski was trying to sell Dawkins, Mark Alarie, Tommy Amaker, et. al on the idea that Duke could compete for titles, these guys knew he was telling the truth because they had seen it for themselves.

A wonderful man, a wonderful coach and a critical component of Duke's historical greatness.

RIP indeed.

Very well said.. That was such a crushing injury Tate's senior year for him & the team. I remember thinking we had turned the corner & when he went down the season followed him.

Tate's Senior Stats..

FG FT REB ASST TP AVG.
136-245 46-59 41 55 318 22.7

[BigWayne]

Why did Foster leave Duke? He once told me he wasn't even sure himself. I think he just had a wandering eye. Like I said, he preferred building programs to sustaining them.



Any truth to the story about him being pissed off about having to park his car in the muddy spot caused by the students lining up for the games in the rain? That lot was magically paved pretty much right after he left.

[Atldukie79]

Anybody else remember the bumper sticker Duke had about this time?

The Blue Devil, dribbling a basketball in full stride, with his cape flowing behind him and the caption "Off and Running With Duke Basketball."

A classic. I remember trading for a new car in December 1978 and losing that sticker.

Yes, And I seem to remember a "Red means go" bumper sticker in the early 80's to promote duke football. (Red Wilson was our head coach at the time)

[Atldukie79]

Thanks to Jim Sumner for his post on what Foster accomplished...and for bringing back memories.

Regarding Tate Armstrong and the broken wrist, I lived that nightmare as a Duke student.
Tate lived in SAE, through a fire door from my room in Buchanan. I would often run into him in the hall or the restroom. He was a very approachable, nice guy who did not moan (to me anyway) about the wrist. But that injury sunk a promising season every bit as much as K's back did in 1995.

I often though Tate was one of the best shooters, if not players, that no one recalls. I believe he was on a roll, averaging close to 30 points per game prior to the injury...and was virtually unstoppable.

[Tom B.]

I often though Tate was one of the best shooters, if not players, that no one recalls. I believe he was on a roll, averaging close to 30 points per game prior to the injury...and was virtually unstoppable.

22.7 ppg (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/logs.php?playerid=10&season=1976-77), actually. He'd had a couple of games where he scored 30 or more, and a few others in the 25-30 range -- but he also had five sub-20-point games.

He actually had a higher scoring average -- 24.2 ppg (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/logs.php?playerid=10&season=1975-76) -- in his junior year.

[jimsumner]

Any truth to the story about him being pissed off about having to park his car in the muddy spot caused by the students lining up for the games in the rain? That lot was magically paved pretty much right after he left.

I asked Foster about that once. He emphatically denied that rumor, saying that it was an insult to him to suggest that he would leave Duke over such a trivial matter.

Frank Dascenzo was a writer for the Herald-Sun. The known candidates for Foster's replacement were Foster assistant Bob Wenzel, ODU coach Paul Webb and Mississippi coach Bob Weltlich. So, Dascenzo guaranteed that Foster's replacement would answer to "Coach W."

When Krzyzewski got the nod, Dascenzo wrote that he was correct. Duke's new coach was Coach Who.

[Atldukie79]

22.7 ppg (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/logs.php?playerid=10&season=1976-77), actually. He'd had a couple of games where he scored 30 or more, and a few others in the 25-30 range -- but he also had five sub-20-point games.

He actually had a higher scoring average -- 24.2 ppg (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/logs.php?playerid=10&season=1975-76) -- in his junior year.

Thanks for the research...I am actually impressed seeing his 55.5% shooting avg. particularly as he often shot from long range and was most definitely a jump shooter.

[Indoor66]

Yes, And I seem to remember a "Red means go" bumper sticker in the early 80's to promote duke football. (Red Wilson was our head coach at the time)

As an aside, remember the billboards: How do you cure carowina fever?

We all knew the answer - Preparation H.

[superdave]

Anybody else remember the bumper sticker Duke had about this time?

The Blue Devil, dribbling a basketball in full stride, with his cape flowing behind him and the caption "Off and Running With Duke Basketball."

A classic. I remember trading for a new car in December 1978 and losing that sticker.

The Duke store should start doing throwback shirts, stickers, logos, etc. That would be fun!

[Tom B.]

The Duke store should start doing throwback shirts, stickers, logos, etc. That would be fun!

The Duke Store already does some throwback stuff -- I got myself a nice 1991-1992 "Back to Back Champions" t-shirt not too long ago -- but I don't know if they go back to 1978.

[Indoor66]

The Duke store should start doing throwback shirts, stickers, logos, etc. That would be fun!

Add in the Plaid trousers that were a Foster feature through the ACC/NCAA Tournaments.

[jimsumner]

The Duke Store already does some throwback stuff -- I got myself a nice 1991-1992 "Back to Back Champions" t-shirt not too long ago -- but I don't know if they go back to 1978.

Remember "The Final Four: The Duke Invitational?'

Or my favorite. "You Can Talk the Talk. Can you Walk the Walk? We can. Duke basketball."

Or something along those lines.

[TKG]

Two vivid memories of Coach Foster: I attended his summer camp and during the 1978 run to the championship I got to sit on the Duke bench and watch the shoot around at the East Regional Finals in Providence.

[Tom B.]

Remember "The Final Four: The Duke Invitational?'

Had one of those back in the day, but it's long since disintegrated.


Or my favorite. "You Can Talk the Talk. Can you Walk the Walk? We can. Duke basketball."


I think it was:


FRONT: You can talk the talk. But can you play the game?

BACK: Duke. We can play.


I always wanted to make a companion shirt that said:


FRONT: You can talk the talk. But can you play the game?

BACK: Michigan. We can talk.

[jimsumner]

Had one of those back in the day, but it's long since disintegrated.




I think it was:




I always wanted to make a companion shirt that said:

I'm positive there was a talk-the-talk, walk-the-walk Duke T-shirt. Take it to the bank positive.

Of course, that doesn't preclude the existence of variants.

[luvdahops]

I'm positive there was a talk-the-talk, walk-the-walk Duke T-shirt. Take it to the bank positive.

I thought it was actually "You can talk the game, but can you play the game?" on the front

[hudlow]

My thanks to Coach Foster for initiating my interest in Duke sports with his teams in the mid-70's.

It's been a great ride.

May his memory be blessed.

GO DUKE!!!

hud

[jimsumner]

Back to Foster.

He kept some sort of aerosol dispenser in his office, upon which he had taped a label that read "BS detector."

Whenever Banks or Dennard came into his office to complain about something or make an excuse about something or whatever, he would take the dispenser down and spray it around. Thus ending the complaining. :)

[Stray Gator]

I thought it was actually "You can talk the game, but can you play the game?" on the front

That's correct. Those were the shirts that the team donned for the post-game trophy award ceremony on the platform in Minneapolis. I still have mine, which I bought from the Duke Store after we returned and have worn only once over the years. On the flight back from Minneapolis, we all wore the "Back-To-Back Champions" t-shirts that were sold right outside the Metrodome -- I still have that one. too. Good memories being resurrected here . . .

[rasputin]

The Duke Store already does some throwback stuff -- I got myself a nice 1991-1992 "Back to Back Champions" t-shirt not too long ago -- but I don't know if they go back to 1978.

I still wear my Back to Back sweatshirt from way back then. It's a miracle that I can still get myself into it.

[sagegrouse]

Remember "The Final Four: The Duke Invitational?'

Or my favorite. "You Can Talk the Talk. Can you Walk the Walk? We can. Duke basketball."

Or something along those lines.

Or during our long run of NCAA successes -- "The Final Three and Duke." I still have one.

[Tripping William]

I am hard-pressed to find anyone who both succeeded and preceded a legend in the way Foster did. Jack Gardner (Foster's predecessor at Utah) was an icon in that state. Just an interesting circumstance to me.

[devildeac]

Remember "The Final Four: The Duke Invitational?'

Or my favorite. "You Can Talk the Talk. Can you Walk the Walk? We can. Duke basketball."

Or something along those lines.

Just pulled the well worn, tattered shirt from the bottom of my Duke shirt drawer:

Front, left upper chest: You Can Talk The Game But Can You Play the Game?

Back:

DUKE

5839


WE CAN PLAY





(Apologies for no photos. After 200 years of posting here, I still can't accomplish that task:o.)

[jimsumner]

Just pulled the well worn, tattered shirt from the bottom of my Duke shirt drawer:

Front, left upper chest: You Can Talk The Game But Can You Play the Game?

Back:

DUKE

5839


WE CAN PLAY





(Apologies for no photos. After 200 years of posting here, I still can't accomplish that task:o.)

It's hard to argue with a 25-year-old T-shirt. You should wear it next summer to the block cook-out and blow your neighbor's minds.

[JStuart]

[QUOTE=devildeac;849540]Just pulled the well worn, tattered shirt from the bottom of my Duke shirt drawer:

Front, left upper chest: You Can Talk The Game But Can You Play the Game?

Back:

DUKE

5839


WE CAN PLAY

My all-time favorite - and long gone from my t-shirt drawer (couldn't fit my IPA gut in it now anyway)- was the one that had multiple Final Four logos from 1988 on. Would that there was an updated -extra-large- version!
Can't get a photo, or upload, anyway.
Sorry.

[devildeac]

It's hard to argue with a 25-year-old T-shirt. You should wear it next summer to the block cook-out and blow your neighbor's minds.

You may well still be correct about the walk-the-walk/talk-the-talk T-shirt but that one's not in my collection and we've bought a lot of Duke Tees over the decades, but not all of them;).

Hmmm, there's not that many "missing cloth areas" (sorry, just can't talk about "holes" in a Duke T-shirt:p) and the collar isn't completely frayed through...

I'll let you know when/if we have one and the first soft drink/iced tea for you will be my treat;).

[devildeac]

Just pulled the well worn, tattered shirt from the bottom of my Duke shirt drawer:

Front, left upper chest: You Can Talk The Game But Can You Play the Game?

Back:

DUKE

5839


WE CAN PLAY





(Apologies for no photos. After 200 years of posting here, I still can't accomplish that task:o.)

Another apology for the logo. Just noticed the small, circled R at the lower right of my copy/paste.

[BigWayne]

Yes, And I seem to remember a "Red means go" bumper sticker in the early 80's to promote duke football. (Red Wilson was our head coach at the time)

I remember those. The one I want from that time is actually a UNC sticker. A friend of mine had one on his car and it was a classic after a bit of scissor play.

The post scissor version read "God is not a Tarheel"

[Tripping William]

Tonight is a good night to watch (or re-watch) "Still Forever's Team."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6j3W_sNd0o

[Indoor66]

[QUOTE=devildeac;849540]Just pulled the well worn, tattered shirt from the bottom of my Duke shirt drawer:

Front, left upper chest: You Can Talk The Game But Can You Play the Game?

Back:

DUKE

5839


WE CAN PLAY

My all-time favorite - and long gone from my t-shirt drawer (couldn't fit my IPA gut in it now anyway)- was the one that had multiple Final Four logos from 1988 on. Would that there was an updated -extra-large- version!
Can't get a photo, or upload, anyway.
Sorry.

I thought every drawer was a tee shirt drawer. :confused::cool:

[devildeac]

[QUOTE=JStuart;849544]

I thought every drawer was a tee shirt drawer. :confused::cool:

Nah, I'm allowed 2 other drawers in our house: one for socks and the other for my Jockey/Hanes/Fruit of the Loom garments:p.

[Native]

RIP Coach Foster. We wouldn't be the program we are today without his contributions.

From someone who wasn't necessarily – ahem – alive back then: how would you compare Foster's revitalization of Duke basketball to what Cutcliffe is currently doing with Duke football?

[Les Grossman]

He was the coach at Duke in my years there.
He was a terrific coach, and helped put us back on the map.

RIP

[sagegrouse]

RIP Coach Foster. We wouldn't be the program we are today without his contributions.

From someone who wasn't necessarily – ahem – alive back then: how would you compare Foster's revitalization of Duke basketball to what Cutcliffe is currently doing with Duke football?

Not really the same. Duke was 8-6 in the ACC in Bucky's first year in 1970-1971. Bill Foster was hired three years later. You could argue that the three years were a "temporary lull," but really they were worse than that, in that Duke was at the bottom of the ACC. But it was only three years of bad results.

In 1994, Fred Goldsmith's team was 5-3 in the ACC and 8-4 overall. Fourteen dismal years later Cutcliffe was hired. Duke was arguably the weakest program in division I-A for that stretch.

Kindly,
Sage
'I spoke with Bucky at homecoming, and he is looking great'