Players who wanted to come to Duke but went elsewhere

[jimsumner]

The 1999 championship game is something I'll never get over... Avery is the one who should've taken the shot...

Why Avery? He was 3-12 that game.

[BD80]

Why Avery? He was 3-12 that game.

He was due?

[Pghdukie]

A question that maybe Jim knows the answer. While Duke was recruiting Dick DeVenzio - wasnt there mutual interest in DeVenzio's high school teammate, Dennis Wuycik ?IIRC WUycik had interest in Duke and continuing his career with DeVenzio. Things didnt work out and Wuycik went elsewhere.

[gotoguy]

I heard a story that Billy Packer wanted to play for Duke but Coach Bubas had given his last scholarship that year to a little know guard from rural Wisconsin and miffed Packer went on to star at Wake. That guard only played a year of varsity ball at Duke but it coincided with Bubas's first ACC title for the Devils in 1960. That guard still a practicing cardiologist in Atlanta wrote a memoir. Worth a read. https://www.amazon.com/These-Devils-.../dp/1420861107

[BD80]

I heard a story that Billy Packer wanted to play for Duke but Coach Bubas had given his last scholarship that year to a little know guard from rural Wisconsin and miffed Packer went on to star at Wake. That guard only played a year of varsity ball at Duke but it coincided with Bubas's first ACC title for the Devils in 1960. That guard still a practicing cardiologist in Atlanta wrote a memoir. Worth a read. https://www.amazon.com/These-Devils-.../dp/1420861107

At least Billy didn't hold a grudge ...

[OldPhiKap]

At least Billy didn't hold a grudge ...

Duke didn’t give him the call.

[jimsumner]

I heard a story that Billy Packer wanted to play for Duke but Coach Bubas had given his last scholarship that year to a little know guard from rural Wisconsin and miffed Packer went on to star at Wake. That guard only played a year of varsity ball at Duke but it coincided with Bubas's first ACC title for the Devils in 1960. That guard still a practicing cardiologist in Atlanta wrote a memoir. Worth a read. https://www.amazon.com/These-Devils-.../dp/1420861107

It was Harold Bradley, not Bubas. And it gets worse. After being shunned by Duke, Packer convinced his friend Len Chappell to join him at Wake instead of Duke.

Wuycik? He was a year behind DeVenzio. Duke recruited him hard. But by this point Dean Smith was starting to put it together.

Same thing happened a decade or so later with prep teammates Jim Spanarkel and Mike O'Koren. Duke got the first, Carolina got the second.

[Pghdukie]

Thanks, Jim

[Tripping William]

He was due?

Regression to the mean, because fellow Augustan (hi, OPK!) Ricky Moore wasn’t totally in Avery’s head ....

[Tripping William]

Duke didn’t give him the call.

Duke *gets* calls, it doesn’t “give” them.

[revmel53]

Why Avery? He was 3-12 that game.

create his shot in the lane, or pass off... Though I love Langdon, he could do neither, leaving us with no chance... Just saying...

[Lunchab1es]

Too soon.

If it makes you feel any better, his second NCAAT appearance would have been cancelled due to Covid anyway. It would have been an even worse tease.

[jimsumner]

create his shot in the lane, or pass off... Though I love Langdon, he could do neither, leaving us with no chance... Just saying...

With all due respect, you said you wanted Avery to take the final shot. Not have the ball in his hand or create or pass off or whatever.

"Avery is the one who should've taken the shot.."

Langdon was the only one of the main scorers to have anything approaching his normal offensive game that night. K made the right call.

In an alternate universe one of the refs calls the foul, Langdon drills two freebies and that 38-1 Duke team is lauded as an all-time greats.

[AtlDuke72]

With all due respect, you said you wanted Avery to take the final shot. Not have the ball in his hand or create or pass off or whatever.

"Avery is the one who should've taken the shot.."

Langdon was the only one of the main scorers to have anything approaching his normal offensive game that night. K made the right call.

In an alternate universe one of the refs calls the foul, Langdon drills two freebies and that 38-1 Duke team is lauded as an all-time greats.

Langdon with the last shot would have been the right call if it resulted from a play. He was a great player, but i don’t recall him being a player who created his own shot. I doubt if the play that was made was what Coach K intended.

[jimsumner]

Langdon with the last shot would have been the right call if it resulted from a play. He was a great player, but i don’t recall him being a player who created his own shot. I doubt if the play that was made was what Coach K intended.

Duke didn't do a great job of creating shots through any mechanism that Monday night. Which is one reason they lost.

Frankly I think Calhoun outcoached K. Everybody had been double-teaming Brand that season of course but Calhoun did it differently, fronting Brand and bringing the second defender from behind Brand. Duke didn't adjust.

And for whatever reason K essentially didn't use his bench in the second half. The starters played 176 of the 200 available minutes that game and Corey Maggette was the only reserve to score. But I believe he scored all eight of his points in the first half and barely got off the bench after intermission. UConn got 17 points off their bench in 43 bench minutes. Fatigue had to have been an issue for Duke in those final minutes.

And this was arguably K's best rebounding team. But UConn outrebounded Duke 38-27. Brand had 11 boards but got no help.

Better rebounding and some bench production and it doesn't come down to those final few seconds. But Langdon had 25 points that night and they weren't all from spot-ups. He was the only one of Duke's eight players who equaled his season scoring average. He has to get that final shot and Duke needed to figure out the best way to make that happen.

[wsb3]

The starters played 176 of the 200 available minutes that game and Corey Maggette was the only reserve to score. But I believe he scored all eight of his points in the first half and barely got off the bench after intermission. UConn got 17 points off their bench in 43 bench minutes. Fatigue had to have been an issue for Duke in those final minutes.

I think Corey only played 3 minutes in the second half & I could not agree more with this part of your post.

[Dukehk]

Duke didn't do a great job of creating shots through any mechanism that Monday night. Which is one reason they lost.

Frankly I think Calhoun outcoached K. Everybody had been double-teaming Brand that season of course but Calhoun did it differently, fronting Brand and bringing the second defender from behind Brand. Duke didn't adjust.

And for whatever reason K essentially didn't use his bench in the second half. The starters played 176 of the 200 available minutes that game and Corey Maggette was the only reserve to score. But I believe he scored all eight of his points in the first half and barely got off the bench after intermission. UConn got 17 points off their bench in 43 bench minutes. Fatigue had to have been an issue for Duke in those final minutes.

And this was arguably K's best rebounding team. But UConn outrebounded Duke 38-27. Brand had 11 boards but got no help.

Better rebounding and some bench production and it doesn't come down to those final few seconds. But Langdon had 25 points that night and they weren't all from spot-ups. He was the only one of Duke's eight players who equaled his season scoring average. He has to get that final shot and Duke needed to figure out the best way to make that happen.

Rip hamilton killed us that day. It is still the most painful game I have watched. That team was dominant and would have beaten uconn 9 times out of 10.

[budwom]

Rip hamilton killed us that day. It is still the most painful game I have watched. That team was dominant and would have beaten uconn 9 times out of 10.

I was there, it was excruciatingly painful, but I don't agree we would have beaten them 90% of the time...that team was #1 in the country as much as Duke was that year, and they had a lot of great pieces that fit...a strong PG, a defensive whiz 2G, a capable, large big man, and Hamilton was, as you say, really really good...no one told him how out of vogue mid range games were...I couldn't stand that bunch, but they were good, and tough.

[Tripping William]

Too soon, people. Too effing soon.

[sagegrouse]

I was there, it was excruciatingly painful, but I don't agree we would have beaten them 90% of the time...that team was #1 in the country as much as Duke was that year, and they had a lot of great pieces that fit...a strong PG, a defensive whiz 2G, a capable, large big man, and Hamilton was, as you say, really really good...no one told him how out of vogue mid range games were...I couldn't stand that bunch, but they were good, and tough.

For an all-time great team, we stunk that night (and were pretty flat against Michigan State in the semis). Brand tried to get his shot rather than pass out of triple teams -- brain dead.

I wanted to see freshman Maggette at the end of the game -- there was a big match-up problem. Others here, in other years, have disparaged Corey's play against UConn, but I thought the Huskies couldn't guard him.

The other lesson is, "Don't get behind by ten points early in a game." Didn't we trail 29-19? And although we came back to lead at the half, those ten points were still in the score sheet.