Verne Lundquist on 'The Shot'

[BobbyFan]

I was asked later why we didn’t mention on the broadcast that Laettner was perfect from the floor and perfect from the line. [He was 10-10 and 10-10.] Well, I didn’t know. I asked my statistician, a guy who had worked with me for years, why he hadn’t told me. He was a bit strange. He said it was in the handwritten notes, which I hadn’t managed to figure out. I believe he ended up getting fired over the incident.

Thanks for sharing. The above was particularly interesting. Having watched the game many times, I had always wondered why Laettner's perfect game was not noted as it was happening.

[CameronBlue]

Not sure what you're driving at either. Len admitted "The Shot" was part of a better game. At least that's what Verne relayed.

Simply this: You seemed to imply that by "admitting" Duke-Ky was the better game he had suffered a great indignity, that a "beautiful truth" had finally been revealed to poor myopic Len. He could have answered "NcState-Md" and have been equally justified.

[weezie]

Ol' Len has often been pretty grumpy when doing color for Duke games, that's something that has been commented on here several times a year.

Actually, who cares what he thinks anyway.

[DevilDan]

So glad to see this thread come up... earlier this week I went on an internet safari for the tape (any replay) of the DUKE-KENTUCKY national semifinal at College Park in 1966. That team (Verga/Vacendak/Marin/Lewis/Reidy) is still my favorite Devils team ever, with 1992 a close second. I still think that the Vic Bubas team in '66 was the best team NOT to win the NCAA Title (tho' if it had, they would have screwed up the historic Texas Western story). Now getting back to 1992 ...

I had become a great fan of Caywood Ledford many years before, when I could (barely, at times) pick up his broadcasts late nite on my "transistor" radio -- yes! I wasn't a big fan of the Wildcats, but was of Mr. Ledford and his style. I taped the 1992 Regional with the TV sound off, while listening the radio play-by-play by Mr. Ledford. I would do anything to get that clip and hear it again, but here is my best recollection of the way it went. With Grant Hill, ball in hand, releasing the pass:

"... There's the lonnnnnng pass from Grant Hill... Laettner's got it ... he turns and shoots ... GOOOOOOD ...
(and after the slightest little pause) THAT's WHY THEY'RE NUMBER ONE"

What a great statement, made in the closing moments of the last Kentucky game he would ever call. I will never forget those words, made with such true CLASS, in what likely had to have been the most emotional, heartbreaking moment of his storied career. GREAT STUFF !

Now we are just days away from the new season ... GO DUKE !

[CameronBlue]

Ol' Len has often been pretty grumpy when doing color for Duke games, that's something that has been commented on here several times a year.

Actually, who cares what he thinks anyway.

The quintessential curmudgeon.

[weezie]

HAHAHAH, me and Len!

[magjayran]

Verne is one of the best, nice story on 'the shot". The Harris call is something special to me though because he actually includes "the dribble" in his call. Putting the ball on the floor for one dribble in that situation with 1.2 seconds on the clock has always amazed me. That takes a little nerve, most players would be just trying to catch it and then get the shot off. To be fair, it may be that Laettner needed the dribble to get his balance and get his feet right, but it looks like he used it to fake to his right before pivoting left and shooting, a perfect post move. So besides making the fake more effective, the defender was in good position for the faked shot, it took the ref out of the play and avoided any question of a travel, which would have been an unfortunate call at that point of the game.

I've always thought the dribble was the key part of the play, has anyone ever heard Laettner comment on that part of the play? Maybe it will be in the book.

Not to nitpick, but it was 2.1 seconds and not 1.2. It's still a really smart move by Christian to realize that he had time to dribble with that little time left and avoid a soul-crushing travel call and yes the call by Bob was amazing.

[SharkD]

I do like Verne's call, but Bob Harris' call of The Shot gives me chills:



I love it that he's so excited and yelling so loudly that his voice is cracking. Amazing!

Which is exactly why I posted it to YouTube.

I watched the game with the TV muted and the radio tuned to WDNC. That's exactly how I remember The Shot -- to the point that seeing it with the CBS audio seems weird to me. (Icing on the cake was The Herald-Sun, the next day, printing the photo that is my avatar, as a two-page, full-color spread.)

I'd never heard the Bob Harris call before. Thanks for posting it. Truly great.

You're welcome.

[alteran]

Unless I'm misreading it, Gene Wojchiechowski quoted K as saying "I knew if I could get the ball to that a**hole in the circle," which came courtesy of Lundquist. Gene told Laettner the quote, and I guess Christian didn't like being called an a**hole from K. But then Verne corrected Gene and told him he actually said "son of a I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this." - I'm not sure why that's so much better though, haha.

I have never met Coach K, but I have read several of his books, and he means different things when he says certain, uhm, colorful phrases. "M-Fer" and "son of a I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this." are Coach K parlance for, "a real hard-nosed player who takes no crap, despises losing, and just gets in there and gets the job done whatever it takes."

"A--hole," on the other hand, is Coach K parlance for, "the spoiled, whiny coach of UNC."

Surely you can see why Christian was upset.