kako
04-03-2019, 03:05 AM
As this year's Final Four is approaching, it seems appropriate to remember the 1988-1989 Blue Devils. It’s been 30 years since that team made Duke’s 3rd Final Four in 4 years. Along the way, they beat SC State, West Virginia, Minnesota and Georgetown to get to Seattle.
(It was my first time seeing Duke in person at a Final Four, so it was memorable. And I admit I'm writing this to take my mind off the loss to MSU)
Roster:
Danny Ferry, Sr, Forward
Quin Snyder, Sr, Guard
Phil Henderson Jr, Forward
Robert Brickey, Jr, Forward
Alaa Abdelnaby, Jr, Forward
Christian Laettner, Fr, Center
John Smith, Sr, Forward
Greg Koubek, So, Guard
Brian Davis, Fr, Forward
Clay Buckley, So, Center
Crawford Palmer, Fr, Center
George Burgin, Fr, Center
Joe Cook, Jr, Guard
Highlights:
All team stats can be found here (https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duke/1989.html)
Duke was ranked AP #1 for 9 weeks in the season, but ended up ranked #9 with a 28-8 record. Biggest out of conference wins were against Kansas and Notre Dame. They finished tied for second in the ACC (9-5 record) behind State, and lost to UNC in the ACC tourney finals (1-2 vs. UNC that year). They were the #2 seed in the East Region.
K was the Naismith College Coach of the Year (his first honor). Pete Gaudet, Tommy Amaker, Mike Brey and Bob Bender were his assistants.
Ferry won the Naismith POY, USBWA POY, UPI POY, ACC POY, and was 1st team All-American and All-ACC. He was the first player in ACC history with 2000 points, 1000 boards and 500 assists, the only player at Duke in top 10 in all 3 categories for a career. He also scored 58 points versus Miami that season, passing Dick Groat’s Duke record of 48. He finished his career with 2155 points, then 3rd on the Duke all-time list. He was the 2nd pick of the 1989 NBA draft. People forget how great a player Ferry was. At 6’ 10”, he could bang inside, and outside he hit the 3 at a 42.5% clip. He could handle the ball like a guard. He was tough and crafty-smart, having grown up around NBA players due to his dad, Bob Ferry, GM of the Washington Bullets when they won the NBA championship in ’78.
Ferry’s 58 point game was amazing, but Henderson’s dunk over Alonzo Mourning in the Elite 8 was IMHO the signature moment of the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbIxFvMmcmc
Even with all the Zion dunks this year, this one is still in my Top 5 Duke Dunks of All-Time. Henderson almost left Duke after this season, thinking about transferring to Illinois. But he returned for his senior year, when he led the team in scoring and made All-ACC 2nd team, which of course went to the Final Four again. He was working in basketball in the Philippines when he tragically passed away in 2013 at the age of 44.
Laettner as a freshman was pushed hard by Ferry, but responded well to the pressure. He blossomed as the season progressed. The Georgetown game was his biggest moment. Mourning, also freshman, was the second coming of Patrick Ewing for the Hoyas, and Georgetown was favored in the game. But Laettner, in the battle of freshman centers, had a huge game with 24 and 9, leading Duke, who won 85-77. Laettner and Henderson made the All-NCAA East Regional team, while Ferry took the MOP. I don’t think I need to write more about Laettner, you all know what he did later. Aw hell, we all need to smile right now! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_IT622Sbc)
Some other roster notes:
- Snyder was the first McDonald’s All-American from the state of Washington. He was a 3-year starter. He was an assistant for K, coach at Missouri, and held a number of assistant coach positions in the NBA. He now coaches the Utah Jazz.
- Abdelnaby was also a McDonald's All-American. He played in the NBA for 5 years. He now does color for the 76ers, as well as college work with CBS Sports Network and Westwood One. He also married the sister of a high school friend of mine, who was also a cheerleader at Duke. Big man on campus gets the girl!
- Brickey was a high flyer, a leaping dunk machine. Some called it “Air Brickey”. Check out some of his acrobatics here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqAZZSqM-Io). The year before he preserved the game for Duke at Carolina (only Duke's 2nd win at UNC in 22 years), leaping to block Jeff Lebo's last second shot at the buzzer, Zion style! He later spent some time with Duke in basketball operations, as well as coaching at Shaw University in Raleigh. He’s now set to coach the Raleigh Firebirds of the new The Basketball League, which is minor league basketball.
- Davis, Palmer, Koubek, Laettner and Buckley all won nattys later. All but Palmer eventually became team captains. Koubek became the first college player ever to play in 4 consecutive Final Fours. He was joined later by Davis and Laettner. Palmer, who transferred to Dartmouth after the ’91 season, won a silver medal with France at the 2000 Olympics.
The Final Four
To this day, when I hear the name “Andrew Gaze”, I flinch. He was Australian, and he led Seton Hall to victory, scoring 20 and hitting 4 treys (when that was a big number for a game). When Jack White joined the team, I couldn't help but think of Gaze then, too. I don't hold it against Jack, but it would help if he captained Duke to a natty next year :)
The Hall was coached by PJ Carlesimo. They finished 2nd in the Big East, final ranking #11, and were the 3rd seed in the West Region. The loss was depressing, as all tourney losses are... like the one I'm trying not to think about now... Duke was up 18 points over the Pirates in the first half, we thought the game was over! But Brickey got injured and did not return, scoring only 2 points. This limited Duke's offense. Henderson and Snyder had poor shooting nights, so Ferry was left to carry the load. He was a warrior and scored 34, but he wore down over the course of the game. Foul problems also plagued Duke, as Laettner and Snyder both were DQ'd. Duke shot 36% for the game - Ferry shot 50%, but the rest of the team shot a combined 30%. Duke lost in a blowout, losing by 17, a 35 point swing. It was then the biggest deficit ever overcome in a Final Four game. The record stood... until Duke overcame that 22 point deficit to Maryland in 2001. Sweet. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJcbvh3rfMk)
Seton Hall played Michigan in the final and lost. Duke went fishing. Really. Snyder, a Seattle-area native, took the team fishing. Why not?
Did you know (#1):
Laettner was 1-1 for 3 all season.
Did you know (#2):
While K was Naismith COY, he did not get ACC COY. That went to Valvano. Incidentally, most of the ACC writers back then were State and Carolina grads :mad:
Did you know (#3):
Duke did not cut down the nets after the Elite 8 win over Georgetown. After losing 2 out of the previous 3 years in the Final Four, they deferred, saying that the only nets they wanted were for the natty. After not working that time, Duke has since then always cut down the nets after winning their region. They've done it a lot. Just not this year... which leads me to thinking back to the MSU loss... Crap.
9F
(It was my first time seeing Duke in person at a Final Four, so it was memorable. And I admit I'm writing this to take my mind off the loss to MSU)
Roster:
Danny Ferry, Sr, Forward
Quin Snyder, Sr, Guard
Phil Henderson Jr, Forward
Robert Brickey, Jr, Forward
Alaa Abdelnaby, Jr, Forward
Christian Laettner, Fr, Center
John Smith, Sr, Forward
Greg Koubek, So, Guard
Brian Davis, Fr, Forward
Clay Buckley, So, Center
Crawford Palmer, Fr, Center
George Burgin, Fr, Center
Joe Cook, Jr, Guard
Highlights:
All team stats can be found here (https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/duke/1989.html)
Duke was ranked AP #1 for 9 weeks in the season, but ended up ranked #9 with a 28-8 record. Biggest out of conference wins were against Kansas and Notre Dame. They finished tied for second in the ACC (9-5 record) behind State, and lost to UNC in the ACC tourney finals (1-2 vs. UNC that year). They were the #2 seed in the East Region.
K was the Naismith College Coach of the Year (his first honor). Pete Gaudet, Tommy Amaker, Mike Brey and Bob Bender were his assistants.
Ferry won the Naismith POY, USBWA POY, UPI POY, ACC POY, and was 1st team All-American and All-ACC. He was the first player in ACC history with 2000 points, 1000 boards and 500 assists, the only player at Duke in top 10 in all 3 categories for a career. He also scored 58 points versus Miami that season, passing Dick Groat’s Duke record of 48. He finished his career with 2155 points, then 3rd on the Duke all-time list. He was the 2nd pick of the 1989 NBA draft. People forget how great a player Ferry was. At 6’ 10”, he could bang inside, and outside he hit the 3 at a 42.5% clip. He could handle the ball like a guard. He was tough and crafty-smart, having grown up around NBA players due to his dad, Bob Ferry, GM of the Washington Bullets when they won the NBA championship in ’78.
Ferry’s 58 point game was amazing, but Henderson’s dunk over Alonzo Mourning in the Elite 8 was IMHO the signature moment of the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbIxFvMmcmc
Even with all the Zion dunks this year, this one is still in my Top 5 Duke Dunks of All-Time. Henderson almost left Duke after this season, thinking about transferring to Illinois. But he returned for his senior year, when he led the team in scoring and made All-ACC 2nd team, which of course went to the Final Four again. He was working in basketball in the Philippines when he tragically passed away in 2013 at the age of 44.
Laettner as a freshman was pushed hard by Ferry, but responded well to the pressure. He blossomed as the season progressed. The Georgetown game was his biggest moment. Mourning, also freshman, was the second coming of Patrick Ewing for the Hoyas, and Georgetown was favored in the game. But Laettner, in the battle of freshman centers, had a huge game with 24 and 9, leading Duke, who won 85-77. Laettner and Henderson made the All-NCAA East Regional team, while Ferry took the MOP. I don’t think I need to write more about Laettner, you all know what he did later. Aw hell, we all need to smile right now! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_IT622Sbc)
Some other roster notes:
- Snyder was the first McDonald’s All-American from the state of Washington. He was a 3-year starter. He was an assistant for K, coach at Missouri, and held a number of assistant coach positions in the NBA. He now coaches the Utah Jazz.
- Abdelnaby was also a McDonald's All-American. He played in the NBA for 5 years. He now does color for the 76ers, as well as college work with CBS Sports Network and Westwood One. He also married the sister of a high school friend of mine, who was also a cheerleader at Duke. Big man on campus gets the girl!
- Brickey was a high flyer, a leaping dunk machine. Some called it “Air Brickey”. Check out some of his acrobatics here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqAZZSqM-Io). The year before he preserved the game for Duke at Carolina (only Duke's 2nd win at UNC in 22 years), leaping to block Jeff Lebo's last second shot at the buzzer, Zion style! He later spent some time with Duke in basketball operations, as well as coaching at Shaw University in Raleigh. He’s now set to coach the Raleigh Firebirds of the new The Basketball League, which is minor league basketball.
- Davis, Palmer, Koubek, Laettner and Buckley all won nattys later. All but Palmer eventually became team captains. Koubek became the first college player ever to play in 4 consecutive Final Fours. He was joined later by Davis and Laettner. Palmer, who transferred to Dartmouth after the ’91 season, won a silver medal with France at the 2000 Olympics.
The Final Four
To this day, when I hear the name “Andrew Gaze”, I flinch. He was Australian, and he led Seton Hall to victory, scoring 20 and hitting 4 treys (when that was a big number for a game). When Jack White joined the team, I couldn't help but think of Gaze then, too. I don't hold it against Jack, but it would help if he captained Duke to a natty next year :)
The Hall was coached by PJ Carlesimo. They finished 2nd in the Big East, final ranking #11, and were the 3rd seed in the West Region. The loss was depressing, as all tourney losses are... like the one I'm trying not to think about now... Duke was up 18 points over the Pirates in the first half, we thought the game was over! But Brickey got injured and did not return, scoring only 2 points. This limited Duke's offense. Henderson and Snyder had poor shooting nights, so Ferry was left to carry the load. He was a warrior and scored 34, but he wore down over the course of the game. Foul problems also plagued Duke, as Laettner and Snyder both were DQ'd. Duke shot 36% for the game - Ferry shot 50%, but the rest of the team shot a combined 30%. Duke lost in a blowout, losing by 17, a 35 point swing. It was then the biggest deficit ever overcome in a Final Four game. The record stood... until Duke overcame that 22 point deficit to Maryland in 2001. Sweet. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJcbvh3rfMk)
Seton Hall played Michigan in the final and lost. Duke went fishing. Really. Snyder, a Seattle-area native, took the team fishing. Why not?
Did you know (#1):
Laettner was 1-1 for 3 all season.
Did you know (#2):
While K was Naismith COY, he did not get ACC COY. That went to Valvano. Incidentally, most of the ACC writers back then were State and Carolina grads :mad:
Did you know (#3):
Duke did not cut down the nets after the Elite 8 win over Georgetown. After losing 2 out of the previous 3 years in the Final Four, they deferred, saying that the only nets they wanted were for the natty. After not working that time, Duke has since then always cut down the nets after winning their region. They've done it a lot. Just not this year... which leads me to thinking back to the MSU loss... Crap.
9F