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Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-13-2016, 10:03 PM
Well, it is the offseason officially. I am watching Duke v UNLV on YouTube after getting pumped from the Hurley E:60 special.

First half thoughts...

Duke comes out TOUGH. Amazing tone set to contrast from the previous year. Must have made a huge confidence boost for our guys.

Koubek and Laettner's defense under the hoop is stunning. The amount of contact off the ball 25 years ago was really something. Completely different game.

Hurley knocks down a few very smooth 3's. I had forgotten what a nifty shot he had developed by his sophmore year.

Freshman Grant really laid out one of the Rebels at midcourt near the end of the half with his shoulder. Don't forget his toughness.

This UNLV team is so reminiscient of UK 2015. Amazing talent and flash, great on breaks, slick defense.

Most importantly... Christian Effing Laettner. 20 points in the first half, lots of boards, and geez his toughness and determination cannot be overstated. Involved on every play, reams Ackles and builds up 3 fouls on him. It is so easy to forget what Laettner was like on the floor. Could not believe when they announced he was a SECOND team All-American. Who voted on that crap?

Anyways, thanks for indulging my musings on this. I have seen the last few minutes of this game so many times, but I don't think I had rewatched the first half since it was live.

This was a damn good team.

Doria
04-13-2016, 10:07 PM
Ha, I watched that game before the final four last year. Great memories, and at the time, it somewhat washed away the disappointment from the previous year for me.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-13-2016, 10:10 PM
Seems like the narrative over the years has been "when it got late in the game, you could see Duke look like they believed they could actually win." Rewatching, I disagree. Duke came into this game hot and ready to go. They take it directly to them from the tip, and look confident, physical, and unintimdated.

What a team.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-13-2016, 10:30 PM
Things I miss from 1991

-Hard physical D underneath without foul calls
-Not "going to the monitor" every four minutes breaking rhythm
-Grant's stache
-The weird foam shark mascot

Things I don't miss from 1991

-Only showing the score on screen every few minutes
-Cocky UNLV players and Tark
-The insinuation that Duke will never win the big one ;)

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-13-2016, 10:37 PM
I will stop posting this thread, but one last comment... "The Amoeba Defense?" Isn't it just the same thing as an aggressive box and one that I learned in rec league long before UNLV?

BandAlum83
04-13-2016, 10:52 PM
My impressions after re-watching


Duke got destroyed by UNLV offensive rebounds. I guess not much has changed.

K had 9 players in rotation. Granted, Crawford Palmer didn't have a lot of minutes, but we were DEEP.

I remember Hurley being whiney, but I thought he had gotten over it by then, lol. It was a lot worse earlier in the year before he was shown the video.

Larry Johnson seriously choked down the stretch. The "man among boys" didn't want to be the man. Missed free throws and passing up the open shot.

Toughness and heart are a trademark of K teams.

The crowd was really loud fate the win. I think maybe there were fewer Duke haters back then, or something. It wouldn't think Kansas and Carolina fans were cheering for us at the end.

Laettner was ice!

Even though it was 1991, the UNLV cheerleaders had seriously residual 80s hair

Stray Gator
04-13-2016, 11:35 PM
[B] . . . The crowd was really loud fate the win. I think maybe there were fewer Duke haters back then, or something. It wouldn't think Kansas and Carolina fans were cheering for us at the end. . . .

Most of the Carolina fans cleared out fairly quickly after their team lost the first game to Kansas, while most of the Kansas fans stuck around and cheered for Duke in the second semi because they didn't want to face Vegas for the title on Monday. As is often the case in the tourney, the "neutral" fans largely supported Duke as the underdog.

Avvocato
04-14-2016, 01:33 AM
Most of the Carolina fans cleared out fairly quickly after their team lost the first game to Kansas, while most of the Kansas fans stuck around and cheered for Duke in the second semi because they didn't want to face Vegas for the title on Monday. As is often the case in the tourney, the "neutral" fans largely supported Duke as the underdog.

I agree with this. I was at the game. Great atmosphere that day. Duke fans cheered with Kansas during the first game against UNC (the student sections were near each other). Then, in the second game, Kansas definitely wanted Duke to win to avoid playing UNLV, and as you stated, the neutral crowd rooted for Duke. At that time, after being crushed by 30 the year before, Duke was the underdog and a bit of a Cinderella that game.

One other point about the post above about Grant landing a shoulder on Greg Anthony before the end of the first half. Billy Packer made a big deal about that. At first, he thought Grant should be thrown out of the game. He made up some story of Grant taking all he could handle on one end and popping Anthony with his shoulder coming down the court. Of course, then CBS showed the replay and all it really was was Greg Anthony accidentally running into Grant Hill. No mean intentions by Grant. And no show of toughness by Grant either. Good times though.

gumbomoop
04-14-2016, 08:50 AM
Well, it is the offseason officially. I am watching Duke v UNLV on YouTube after getting pumped from the Hurley E:60 special.

Duke comes out TOUGH. Amazing tone set to contrast from the previous year. Must have made a huge confidence boost for our guys.

Good observation.

Apparently they were confident enough going in. In the run-up to the game, Brian Davis said in an interview, firmly but calmly, "My guys won't back down." That's the way it played out.

JasonEvans
04-14-2016, 10:01 AM
Most importantly... Christian Effing Laettner. 20 points in the first half, lots of boards, and geez his toughness and determination cannot be overstated. Involved on every play, reams Ackles and builds up 3 fouls on him. It is so easy to forget what Laettner was like on the floor. Could not believe when they announced he was a SECOND team All-American. Who voted on that crap?

Welllll...

The first team was:

Stacey Augmon and Gramama from UNLV - They were the defending national champs. Augmon was the greatest defensive player in the land, the anchor of a D that seemed to flummox everyone it faced while Larry Johnson was averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game even though he didn't even need to try in the 2nd half of most games because the Rebs were blowing folks out by halftime.
Billy Owens of Syracuse - He only averaged 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds that year. He also shot almost 40% from three. He was the #3 pick in the NBA draft at the end of the season.
Shaq - 27.6 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. He was a man playing with boys.
Kenny Anderson - 25.9 ppg and almost 6 assists and rebounds per game. He was pretty darn good that season.



So, in retrospect, Christian's 19.8 ppg and 8.7 rebounds per game sorta pale by comparison. Christian wasn't even that great of a 3-point shooter as a junior, hitting about 34% of his 3s.

-Jason "2nd team All-American was the right place for him that year" Evans

cato
04-14-2016, 11:10 AM
Welllll...

The first team was:

Stacey Augmon and Gramama from UNLV - They were the defending national champs. Augmon was the greatest defensive player in the land, the anchor of a D that seemed to flummox everyone it faced while Larry Johnson was averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game even though he didn't even need to try in the 2nd half of most games because the Rebs were blowing folks out by halftime.
Billy Owens of Syracuse - He only averaged 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds that year. He also shot almost 40% from three. He was the #3 pick in the NBA draft at the end of the season.
Shaq - 27.6 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. He was a man playing with boys.
Kenny Anderson - 25.9 ppg and almost 6 assists and rebounds per game. He was pretty darn good that season.



So, in retrospect, Christian's 19.8 ppg and 8.7 rebounds per game sorta pale by comparison. Christian wasn't even that great of a 3-point shooter as a junior, hitting about 34% of his 3s.

-Jason "2nd team All-American was the right place for him that year" Evans

Sigh. College basketball just will not reach that level again.

wsb3
04-14-2016, 11:26 AM
One thing among many that always stands out to me is immediately after the game-players celebrating- Coach K palms down...Reminding them they came not for 40 minutes but 80..

Henderson
04-14-2016, 11:53 AM
One thing among many that always stands out to me is immediately after the game-players celebrating- Coach K palms down...Reminding them they came not for 40 minutes but 80..

In the E:60 film, you can see Bobby Hurley right after the game in the tunnel reminding everyone loudly that there was still a game to play. Cool.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
04-14-2016, 12:29 PM
Welllll...

The first team was:

Stacey Augmon and Gramama from UNLV - They were the defending national champs. Augmon was the greatest defensive player in the land, the anchor of a D that seemed to flummox everyone it faced while Larry Johnson was averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game even though he didn't even need to try in the 2nd half of most games because the Rebs were blowing folks out by halftime.
Billy Owens of Syracuse - He only averaged 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds that year. He also shot almost 40% from three. He was the #3 pick in the NBA draft at the end of the season.
Shaq - 27.6 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. He was a man playing with boys.
Kenny Anderson - 25.9 ppg and almost 6 assists and rebounds per game. He was pretty darn good that season.



So, in retrospect, Christian's 19.8 ppg and 8.7 rebounds per game sorta pale by comparison. Christian wasn't even that great of a 3-point shooter as a junior, hitting about 34% of his 3s.

-Jason "2nd team All-American was the right place for him that year" Evans

Oh, come now... let me be indignant about his exclusion. Quit adding "facts" to the discussion.

:)

Olympic Fan
04-14-2016, 01:21 PM
Welllll...

The first team was:

Stacey Augmon and Gramama from UNLV - They were the defending national champs. Augmon was the greatest defensive player in the land, the anchor of a D that seemed to flummox everyone it faced while Larry Johnson was averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game even though he didn't even need to try in the 2nd half of most games because the Rebs were blowing folks out by halftime.
Billy Owens of Syracuse - He only averaged 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds that year. He also shot almost 40% from three. He was the #3 pick in the NBA draft at the end of the season.
Shaq - 27.6 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game. He was a man playing with boys. Kenny Anderson - 25.9 ppg and almost 6 assists and rebounds per game. He was pretty darn good that season.


So, in retrospect, Christian's 19.8 ppg and 8.7 rebounds per game sorta pale by comparison. Christian wasn't even that great of a 3-point shooter as a junior, hitting about 34% of his 3s.


Except that in his head-to-head matchup with Laettner, the "man" Shaq was sent to the bench in tears after being dominated by the second-team All-American Duke center (24 pts on 10 of 16 shooting, 11 rebounds vs. Shaq's 15 points 10 rebounds) in an 88-70 Duke win.

A year later, the two met again in Baton Rouge. Duke was without Hurley and Shaq had a good game (25 pts, 15 rebounds), but Laettner (22 pts, 10 reb) hit back-to-back 3's late and led Duke to the 77-67 victory.

79-77
04-14-2016, 01:28 PM
Seems like the narrative over the years has been "when it got late in the game, you could see Duke look like they believed they could actually win." Rewatching, I disagree. Duke came into this game hot and ready to go. They take it directly to them from the tip, and look confident, physical, and unintimdated.

What a team.

Abso-freakin'-lutely. That's something Coach K gives his players (among many other bequests). Kinda like the highlight from the 2015 season of Quinn Cook telling his teammates "Duke is never an underdog."



I agree with this. I was at the game. Great atmosphere that day. Duke fans cheered with Kansas during the first game against UNC (the student sections were near each other). Then, in the second game, Kansas definitely wanted Duke to win to avoid playing UNLV, and as you stated, the neutral crowd rooted for Duke. At that time, after being crushed by 30 the year before, Duke was the underdog and a bit of a Cinderella that game.

One other point about the post above about Grant landing a shoulder on Greg Anthony before the end of the first half. Billy Packer made a big deal about that. At first, he thought Grant should be thrown out of the game. He made up some story of Grant taking all he could handle on one end and popping Anthony with his shoulder coming down the court. Of course, then CBS showed the replay and all it really was was Greg Anthony accidentally running into Grant Hill. No mean intentions by Grant. And no show of toughness by Grant either. Good times though.

Deeply envious.

I was at the Kentucky game in 1992 after turning down the opportunity to go to the Final 4 in 1991. If I could go back in time, I'd trade my attendance at the Kentucky game for attending the UNLV game.

I apologize for possibly repeating myself, but for me personally, the Vegas game was the greatest game in the history of sports. I will never be that euphoric after a win again. And it was worth it.

Tom B.
04-14-2016, 01:51 PM
Except that in his head-to-head matchup with Laettner, the "man" Shaq was sent to the bench in tears after being dominated by the second-team All-American Duke center (24 pts on 10 of 16 shooting, 11 rebounds vs. Shaq's 15 points 10 rebounds) in an 88-70 Duke win.

And about half of Shaq's points came late, after the game was effectively over. I was at the game, and I recall he was stuck on eight points for a long time. Then he threw in a few baskets in the closing minutes (including a couple of thunderous, but ultimately meaningless, dunks) to make his scoring total not quite so embarrassing.

Back to the 1991 UNLV game -- I was there too, and I agree with what others have said about the atmosphere and the crowd. Duke fans cheered for Kansas in the first game, and Kansas fans returned the favor in the second game. And as the game got deeper into the second half and stayed tight, the neutrals in the crowd started cheering for the upset. So it ended up being a rather pro-Duke crowd.

At halftime, Duke trailed by two, 43-41. As the teams are heading to the locker rooms, the CBS camera caught Coach K as he was walking off the floor. He's got this steely, ultra-focused glare on his face, and he claps his hands together hard and says, "Come on!"

During halftime, the TV guys (Nantz and Packer) talked about how a few teams over the course of the season had managed to stay with UNLV for a half (including Seton Hall, whom UNLV had beaten in the previous round), only to get blown out in the second. Duke had the ball to start the second half, and on our first play, we ran a pick-and-roll that ended in any easy basket for Laettner. The normally placid Jerry Tarkanian was visibly pissed. Any potential for a second-half blowout by UNLV went out the window with that play. That's when you really knew it was on.