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Thread: Airball video

  1. #1
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    Lewisville, NC

    Airball video

    Check out the link from the front page if you haven't already. Awesome.

    Talk about a way-back machine:
    Jim Thacker and Bones on the broadcast...two of the best
    A youngish looking Dean Smith
    Players in short-shorts
    Bill Foster with plaid pants

    Chickie Yonakor with the jumpshot...AIRBALL

  2. #2
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    Memory and eyesight fail me (as well as video quality) perhaps Kedsey or Jeff Frosh could ID the Crazies in the first student row at the 1:16 mark.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by BD80 View Post
    Memory and eyesight fail me (as well as video quality) perhaps Kedsey or Jeff Frosh could ID the Crazies in the first student row at the 1:16 mark.
    And again at 2:06. I'm pretty sure I saw myself, and there was a guy who looked like you, although do you remember what you were wearing? I didn't recognize Frosh, although I know he was there too.

  4. #4
    At the 2:39 mark right after the foul call if you look up at the corner of the sideline and baseline you will see a guy jump up with arms in the air wearing a white football jersey (#84) and a ball cap. That is me. I remember that game so well, and that I had to sit on the floor since my concession workers pass did not have a seat assigned to it. I was a senior in high school at the time... wow, what a game and a fantastic time!! Thanks for the video!!

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    And again at 2:06. I'm pretty sure I saw myself, and there was a guy who looked like you, although do you remember what you were wearing? I didn't recognize Frosh, although I know he was there too.
    I think I see Nancy ("Coneclutch") Wilkov in the light blue cap, then me in the dark blue (of course) tee shirt and maybe Kedsy in a tee shirt that is blue on the bottom half and white on the top half with a cap on. Too bad the video quality is not better. I was surprised at how well I remember that game. Man we were pi$$ed.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Frosh View Post
    I think I see Nancy ("Coneclutch") Wilkov in the light blue cap, then me in the dark blue (of course) tee shirt and maybe Kedsy in a tee shirt that is blue on the bottom half and white on the top half with a cap on. Too bad the video quality is not better. I was surprised at how well I remember that game. Man we were pi$$ed.
    Yes, you got me, and after you mentioned it I see you and Nancy. Who is on the other side of you?

  7. #7
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    I'm at work right now and can't watch it. Can someone tell me if the "Air Ball" chant is audible in the video?
    Thanks.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by 94duke View Post
    I'm at work right now and can't watch it. Can someone tell me if the "Air Ball" chant is audible in the video?
    Thanks.
    I couldn't hear it, but the video cuts in and out, showing highlights rather than a continuous play. We definitely chanted it, though.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    Yes, you got me, and after you mentioned it I see you and Nancy. Who is on the other side of you?
    Andrew ("Tush") Tershakovic? This is testing these old memory banks. The other thing that I remember (and I invite anyone to correct me) is that when they tried to actually play at the beginning of the second half, we pretty much kicked their butts, and it was only garbage time that caused the final score to be 47-40, which inaccurately made it look like they played us even in the second half (when it mattered).

  10. #10
    What truth-seeking soul, of a certain age, male or female, is honest enough to admit that there were plaid pants always at the ready...and not just for Christmas jollies?
    I certainly rocked a pair that, in retrospect, were entirely too short.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Frosh View Post
    Andrew ("Tush") Tershakovic? This is testing these old memory banks. The other thing that I remember (and I invite anyone to correct me) is that when they tried to actually play at the beginning of the second half, we pretty much kicked their butts, and it was only garbage time that caused the final score to be 47-40, which inaccurately made it look like they played us even in the second half (when it mattered).
    I'm pretty sure they scored the last 7 or so points of the game, so I think you're right.

    Tush lived in Philly for awhile (not sure if he still does), so I've run into him a couple of times over the years.

  12. #12

    Air Ball

    I was in the pep band, though this film does not quite capture us. My kids viewed this video and said they did not hear the "air ball" chant either.

    I recall vociferously participanting in the chant, but can't remember if it happened as Yonaker missed the shot or later in the game whenever he touched the ball.

    Any recollections?

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Atldukie79 View Post
    I was in the pep band, though this film does not quite capture us. My kids viewed this video and said they did not hear the "air ball" chant either.

    I recall vociferously participanting in the chant, but can't remember if it happened as Yonaker missed the shot or later in the game whenever he touched the ball.

    Any recollections?
    I believe it was later in the game whenever he touched the ball.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kedsy View Post
    I believe it was later in the game whenever he touched the ball.
    That is what I remember as well Kedsy. I think you guys wore Chic out each time he touched the ball in the 2nd half. This is one of those games that that will live in our minds forever. I remember being mad as heck (a hot-headed young teen at the time) watching it with my brother, dad, and mom. Dad was a diehard UNC fan, my brother a fellow Dukie, and my mom somehow found a way to pull for Duke, State, and UNC at all times. She just wanted a good game to watch.

    I could not believe at the time that Dean would do that for an entire half. He also did the same thing a couple of years later in the ACC Championship against Ralph Sampson and Virginia. UNC ran out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes and then went into the 4 corners. Folks think this year's National Title game was bad, it was a thing of beauty compared to that ACC Title game...

  15. #15
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    I am waiting for James Armstrong to chime in on this thread with some details/memories. IIRC, he was credited with starting the chant. So, if you still read DBR, James...



  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Newton_14 View Post
    I could not believe at the time that Dean would do that for an entire half. He also did the same thing a couple of years later in the ACC Championship against Ralph Sampson and Virginia. UNC ran out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes and then went into the 4 corners. Folks think this year's National Title game was bad, it was a thing of beauty compared to that ACC Title game...
    That's not quite right.

    Dean's first use of the four-corners was in the 1966 ACC Tournament semifinals against Duke. Dean had lost to Vic Bubas and No. 2 Duke twice during the regular season by fairly lopsided scores (88-77 in Chapel Hill and 77-63 in the regular season finale in Durham). In those days, only the tourney winner got an ACC bid, so he saved his brilliant delay game for the tournament. Smith said he had actually tried it for a few posessions earlier at Kentucky and later against Ohio State. But the true unveiling was against Duke in the tournament.

    Bubas refused to come out of his zone and it was 7-5 at the half. UNC took a 17-12 lead with about five minutes left, but Duke tied the game at 20 and had te ball for one final shot. Bubas wanted to go to Verga, but UNC double-teamed him on the pick and roll, so Bobby V dumped it down to Mike Lewis, who was fouled.

    Lewis clanked the first free throw ... but made the second and Duke won 21-20.

    For the next 20 years, Dean usually reserved the Four-Corners for late-game situations. Phil Ford was virtually unstoppable in it.

    The game you mentioned against Ralph Sampson and Virginia was in the 1982 ACC Tournament finals, but you have the details wrong. Dean didn't go to the Four Corners early ... the game was played at a fairly slow pace, but there was no slowdown -- it was 34-31 UNC at the half. Carolina led by two (I think it was 43-41) with about 10-11 minutes left when Dean went to the four corners to pull Virginia out of its zone. Terry Holland, like Bubas in '66 and Foster in '79, elected to stay back in the zone and shorten the game. Virginia finally came out with about two minutes to go -- but Matt Doherty made four clutch FTs down the stretch and UNC won 47-45.

    That game had a lot to do with increasing pressure for a shot clock -- the spectacle of all that talent -- Sampson, Worthy, Perkins and a freshman named Jordan -- standing around for almost 10 minutes had a lot to do with the adoption of a shot clock a couple of years later (the ACC adopted an experimental clock and 3-point line the next year).

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    That's not quite right.

    Dean's first use of the four-corners was in the 1966 ACC Tournament semifinals against Duke. Dean had lost to Vic Bubas and No. 2 Duke twice during the regular season by fairly lopsided scores (88-77 in Chapel Hill and 77-63 in the regular season finale in Durham). In those days, only the tourney winner got an ACC bid, so he saved his brilliant delay game for the tournament. Smith said he had actually tried it for a few possessions earlier at Kentucky and later against Ohio State. But the true unveiling was against Duke in the tournament.

    Bubas refused to come out of his zone and it was 7-5 at the half. UNC took a 17-12 lead with about five minutes left, but Duke tied the game at 20 and had the ball for one final shot. Bubas wanted to go to Verga, but UNC double-teamed him on the pick and roll, so Bobby V dumped it down to Mike Lewis, who was fouled.

    Lewis clanked the first free throw ... but made the second and Duke won 21-20.

    For the next 20 years, Dean usually reserved the Four-Corners for late-game situations. Phil Ford was virtually unstoppable in it.

    The game you mentioned against Ralph Sampson and Virginia was in the 1982 ACC Tournament finals, but you have the details wrong. Dean didn't go to the Four Corners early ... the game was played at a fairly slow pace, but there was no slowdown -- it was 34-31 UNC at the half. Carolina led by two (I think it was 43-41) with about 10-11 minutes left when Dean went to the four corners to pull Virginia out of its zone. Terry Holland, like Bubas in '66 and Foster in '79, elected to stay back in the zone and shorten the game. Virginia finally came out with about two minutes to go -- but Matt Doherty made four clutch FTs down the stretch and UNC won 47-45.

    That game had a lot to do with increasing pressure for a shot clock -- the spectacle of all that talent -- Sampson, Worthy, Perkins and a freshman named Jordan -- standing around for almost 10 minutes had a lot to do with the adoption of a shot clock a couple of years later (the ACC adopted an experimental clock and 3-point line the next year).

    While I commend the accuracy of what Olympic Fan summarized above, what I have never hear talked about is the fact that, in reality, Dean Smith copied the original slowdown four corners against Duke from his former boss, Frank McGuire. Duke was running away from most teams in '66, with only an early loss to South Carolina, and later to WVA, prior to the next South Carolina meeting. Vic Bubas has stated publicly that he considered the '66 team his finest. Even though South Carolina had beaten us the first time around (by just 2 points), they and everyone else, knew that we had gotten much better throughout the season, and were considered a prohibitive favorite at home for the second meeting. To everyone's amazement, McGuire came out with a stall game utilizing the four corners of their end of the court to slow down our high-powered offense by denying us the ball as much as possible. Those of us in the stands were shocked and dismayed that a team had the audacity to attempt a stunt like that. Well, it almost succeeded, as we just squeaked it out winning 41 to 38. It wasn't until the 21 to 20 UNC game that we saw it again. By the way, the 21 to 20 game was played in Chapel Hill, and a projection screen broadcast was set-up in the Indoor Stadium to enable us to watch. It was absolutely agonizing watching the blurry UNC images just passing the ball back and forth, while our blurry players just stood there waiting for them to make a mistake. Scary, very scary. Verga prevailed again, however, as our leading scorer-------------with 7 points.

    ricks

  18. #18

    correction

    Quote Originally Posted by ricks68 View Post
    While I commend the accuracy of what Olympic Fan summarized above, what I have never hear talked about is the fact that, in reality, Dean Smith copied the original slowdown four corners against Duke from his former boss, Frank McGuire. Duke was running away from most teams in '66, with only an early loss to South Carolina, and later to WVA, prior to the next South Carolina meeting. Vic Bubas has stated publicly that he considered the '66 team his finest. Even though South Carolina had beaten us the first time around (by just 2 points), they and everyone else, knew that we had gotten much better throughout the season, and were considered a prohibitive favorite at home for the second meeting. To everyone's amazement, McGuire came out with a stall game utilizing the four corners of their end of the court to slow down our high-powered offense by denying us the ball as much as possible. Those of us in the stands were shocked and dismayed that a team had the audacity to attempt a stunt like that. Well, it almost succeeded, as we just squeaked it out winning 41 to 38. It wasn't until the 21 to 20 UNC game that we saw it again. By the way, the 21 to 20 game was played in Chapel Hill, and a projection screen broadcast was set-up in the Indoor Stadium to enable us to watch. It was absolutely agonizing watching the blurry UNC images just passing the ball back and forth, while our blurry players just stood there waiting for them to make a mistake. Scary, very scary. Verga prevailed again, however, as our leading scorer-------------with 7 points.

    ricks
    (1) the 21-20 game was in Raleigh's Reynolds Coliseum, not Chapel Hill. Every ACC Tournment game from 1954 to 66 was in Reynolds.

    (2) Frank McGuire often ran a slowdown (and did in the Duke-South Carolina rematch in 1966), but he didn't run the Four Corners. In fact, the first ACC slowdown was in the first day of the first ACC Tournament. UNC -- coached by McGuire -- faced heavily favored N.C. State in the first round of the 1954 Tournament and in an effort to stay in the game, UNC played a very slow tempo -- so slow that many fans walked out in protest. When State took a four-point lead with 14 minutes to go, Case held the ball ... which infuriated even more fans. State ended up winning 52-51 after a somewhat controversial finish.

    BTW, McGuire also played a slowdown in the 1957 NCAA Championshp game with Kansas (54-53 in three overtimes). Slowdown ... but not the Four Corners.

    (3) Dean Smith, unlike his fans, never claimed to have invented the Four Corners. The tactic was first used by John McLendon, a Hall of Fame coach who first found fame at North Carolina College of Negros (which later became NCCU). Chuck Noe, who coached briefly at South Carolina (and was probably the second choice to replace Harold Bradley in 1959 ... if Bubas had turned it down) also ran the Four Corners before Smith. Smith claims he got it from his coach at Air Force, who learned it from Babe McCarthy at Mississippi State. Smith did tweak it -- McCarthy ran it with Bailey Howell, a good-passing big man, as a high post passer in the middle. Smith usually used his point guard in the middle (although in '66 he sometimes used forward Larry Miller), made his middle-man more of a driver.

    (4) Verga was not the leading scorer in the 21-20 game, with just four points. Vacendak led the team with six -- I think all six came after UNC took its 17-12 lead. His clutch play that night and 24 hours later in the comeback win over State in the finals was the reason he was not only voted tourney MVP, but also voted Player of the Year in the ACC -- even though he only made second-team All-Conference.

    (5) In addition to the early loss at South Carolina and the loss at West Virginia, Duke also lost a late ACC game at Wake Forest ... by a 99-98 score. No slowdown there. Although that was after the rematch with South Carolina.

    I agree that the '66 team was probably Bubas' best ... and I believe would have won the national championship if Verga had not come down with strep throat just before the Final Four. They certainly would have beaten Kentucky in the semifinals and were much better equipped to deal with Texas Western than Rupp's Runts.

  19. #19
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    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    (1) the 21-20 game was in Raleigh's Reynolds Coliseum, not Chapel Hill. Every ACC Tournment game from 1954 to 66 was in Reynolds.

    (2) Frank McGuire often ran a slowdown (and did in the Duke-South Carolina rematch in 1966), but he didn't run the Four Corners. In fact, the first ACC slowdown was in the first day of the first ACC Tournament. UNC -- coached by McGuire -- faced heavily favored N.C. State in the first round of the 1954 Tournament and in an effort to stay in the game, UNC played a very slow tempo -- so slow that many fans walked out in protest. When State took a four-point lead with 14 minutes to go, Case held the ball ... which infuriated even more fans. State ended up winning 52-51 after a somewhat controversial finish.

    BTW, McGuire also played a slowdown in the 1957 NCAA Championshp game with Kansas (54-53 in three overtimes). Slowdown ... but not the Four Corners.

    (3) Dean Smith, unlike his fans, never claimed to have invented the Four Corners. The tactic was first used by John McLendon, a Hall of Fame coach who first found fame at North Carolina College of Negros (which later became NCCU). Chuck Noe, who coached briefly at South Carolina (and was probably the second choice to replace Harold Bradley in 1959 ... if Bubas had turned it down) also ran the Four Corners before Smith. Smith claims he got it from his coach at Air Force, who learned it from Babe McCarthy at Mississippi State. Smith did tweak it -- McCarthy ran it with Bailey Howell, a good-passing big man, as a high post passer in the middle. Smith usually used his point guard in the middle (although in '66 he sometimes used forward Larry Miller), made his middle-man more of a driver.

    (4) Verga was not the leading scorer in the 21-20 game, with just four points. Vacendak led the team with six -- I think all six came after UNC took its 17-12 lead. His clutch play that night and 24 hours later in the comeback win over State in the finals was the reason he was not only voted tourney MVP, but also voted Player of the Year in the ACC -- even though he only made second-team All-Conference.

    (5) In addition to the early loss at South Carolina and the loss at West Virginia, Duke also lost a late ACC game at Wake Forest ... by a 99-98 score. No slowdown there. Although that was after the rematch with South Carolina.

    I agree that the '66 team was probably Bubas' best ... and I believe would have won the national championship if Verga had not come down with strep throat just before the Final Four. They certainly would have beaten Kentucky in the semifinals and were much better equipped to deal with Texas Western than Rupp's Runts.
    Thanks for the clarifications. I thought that Verga was high scorer, and my mind was stuck on the 21 to 20 game being a Duke/UNC game instead of a tournament game. My bad. I am old, and my mind often plays nasty tricks on me. How come your mind has not turned to jelly, yet? The main point that I was trying to make (among my mistakes) was that I have always been irked at the gushing credit that Dean Smith was given for developing the stall game. Thanks for going really far back and setting it all into perspective.

    ricks

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by weezie View Post
    What truth-seeking soul, of a certain age, male or female, is honest enough to admit that there were plaid pants always at the ready...and not just for Christmas jollies?
    I certainly rocked a pair that, in retrospect, were entirely too short.
    No plaid pants, but wore a plaid/madras jacket with a skull cap behind the MD bench for the first Lefty taunting of that genre. Hope there's no old video of that floating around.

    Upstairs for this game. First half was arguably the quietest CIS has ever been. Everyone was pretty shocked that the big, bad baby blues would resort to a total stall.

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