Because Avery was a better three point shooter than Trajan was a penetrator.
Avery was obviously rattled having to play again Ricky Moore, but I also would rather Avery have hoisted one for the game winner. He was wide open.
They weren't really, back then though.
Huge problem all night. He did not shine on the biggest stage. He could have probably had a triple double with assists.
He did. I always wonder what would have happened if K had let Quinn coach instead. I know Coach was in a lot of pain.
Hard at work making beautiful things.
Those are exactly the two points I was going to make. I haven't re-watched the game (and I don't intend to), but I recall several instances of UConn setting a high ball screen which left Elton struggling to guard El-Amin. The use of ball screens to get favorable matchups is common these days, but I don't recall it being as common in the late 90s. If I recall correctly, then I give Calhoun a lot of credit for that aspect of his gameplan.*
The other point which worked against Duke from a gameplan perspective is that Duke was such a juggernaut in 1999, I expect nearly every major coach spent a fair amount of time during the season thinking about how what tactics he would try vs Duke. So, in a way, it was almost as if Calhoun had been scouting Duke for the entire season while Duke had a single day to scout UConn. It would have been fascinating to see what adjustments Coach K would have made if it had been a multi-game series.
FWIW, I suspect that Tom Izzo benefited from a similar asymmetrical scouting advantage against the 2019 Duke team. The odds are pretty good that Izzo spent more time over the course of the season thinking about he would try to limit Zion than Coach K spent thinking about how he would try to limit Cassius Winston. Conversely, I suspect Coach K spent more of the 90-91 season thinking about how he would handle a rematch with UNLV than Tarkanian spent thinking about a rematch with Duke.
*I don't know who should get "credit" for the refs suddenly changing how they would handle the block/charge call/no-call with Shane, but that is a whole different issue.
Hard at work making beautiful things.
Feeling bummed all over again
Nothing incites bodily violence quicker than a Duke fan turning in your direction and saying 'scoreboard.'
I also think Calhoun "out refereed" K that night...but that's another story. On Quinn....as a side note....I remember a startling comment from 850's Adam Gold at the time (and I find him normally pedantic and opinionated beyond his understanding...) - but this was quite the statement, in mid season, in context to K's health issues.....it was something to the effect of "for anyone under the impression that Coach K is coaching this team...they don't understand what Quinn Snyder is doing..."
Snyder has proven to be quite the coaching genius...the issues at Missouri notwithstanding...at every level, he tends to shock people with his basketball IQ...and I mean the players and coaches who work with him day to day.
That 99 championship against UConn absolutely left the most bitter taste in my mouth than any Duke defeat EVER! Even now, I still can’t believe that Duke team didn’t take care of business. Sad.