Favorite non Final 4 game?

Mac9192

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Great stuff guys, keep em coming! Love strollin' down memory lane!
Ok 2 skers 3, 98 comeback in Cameron, K comes out from halftime with no jacket against the Holes, then Wojo running hard immediately as the game ended to embrace K. Tyus leading the charge against UVA down double digits with minutes to play. The epic comeback against the Holes in 16 in The dean dome with basically 5 1/2 people playing for Duke, and one of those (Plumlee) playing with 4 fouls last 10+ minutes.
 

dukehokie

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I feel like it would be cheap to list UNC games, because pick a Duke/UNC game as 1, 2, & 3. I'll also try not to list something anyone else has put.

So with what's left:

I'll go UConn preseason NIT championship game in 2009 as my number 1, Duke/Wisconsin 2014 ACC/Big Ten challenge and Duke/Temple 2000 preseason NIT championship. Those games all embodied more than most any other game what it means to play at Duke and give your all for your teammates.

 

IPSYCHOSIS

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Couple games come to mind. the Duke vs Texas slaughter with jj. Austin rivers game winner. The 10 point comeback in less then a minute against Maryland ...so many...this is a great thread .. idk if I have a favorite.
Not to old to remember some of the ones y'all are going to say . JJ and JW were some good years though.
 

DukeRulesBasketball

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1. Miracle Minute
2. 2006 ACC Championship Game against BC
3. 2005 Game against Texas in New Jersey
4. Grayson Allen game winner against UVA
5. 2014 At Wisconsin. This was the game when I felt Duke truly had something special that season despite all the 40-0 hype uk was getting and I ended up not being disappointed that season. Was disappointed a little when Duke dropped two straight in the middle of the season, but i knew they would rebound from those two losses and they did.

I know it only said three, but I could keep going though. Lol
 
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IPSYCHOSIS

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1. Miracle Minute
2. 2006 ACC Championship Game against BC
3. 2005 Game against Texas in New Jersey
4. Grayson Allen game winner against UVA
5. 2014 At Wisconsin. This was the game when I felt Duke truly had something special that season despite all the 40-0 hype uk was getting and I ended up not being disappointed that season. Was disappointed a little when Duke dropped two straight in the middle of the season, but i knew they would rebound from those two losses and they did.

I know it only said three, but I could keep going though. Lol
I felt the exact same way with 5
 

IPSYCHOSIS

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Miracle Minute,Tyus 3 to seal win at UVa in 2015,Graysons GW vs UVa in 2016, Duhon GW layup at Unc, and I could go on and on lol
That tyus 3 is also one of my favorites mostly because I'm from va and so many ppl including my dad a Virginia fan were talking smack before and during the game ...that and the fact j Williams I will never forget ripped his shirt off and had a uva jersey on . That was disgusting .idc if ur 50 point underdogs u go with Duke if you played for them .no1 cares about ur pick % right .another I forgot was allens game winner ..same type of things were going on I was in a bar with a Duke hat on full of uva fans barking at me the whole game as I stood silent untill the last shot where I got sweet revenge !!!
 

Dattier

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I feel like it would be cheap to list UNC games, because pick a Duke/UNC game as 1, 2, & 3. I'll also try not to list something anyone else has put.

So with what's left:

I'll go UConn preseason NIT championship game in 2009 as my number 1, Duke/Wisconsin 2014 ACC/Big Ten challenge and Duke/Temple 2000 preseason NIT championship. Those games all embodied more than most any other game what it means to play at Duke and give your all for your teammates.


I like the additional parameters you set, and in addition to all 3 of your choices being great in their own right, they were early on in a national championship season, which was a nice touch, whether intentional or not. It makes sense, too. As great as Austin's 3 in CH was, or as great as our comeback in CH in '16 was, those seasons still ended w/ some regret, bitterness.
 
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dukehokie

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I like the additional parameters you set, and in addition to all 3 of your choices being great in their own right, they were early on in a national championship season, which was a nice touch, whether intentional or not. It makes sense, too. As great as Austin's 3 in CH was, or as great as our comeback in CH in '16 was, those seasons still ended w/ some regret, bitterness.

It's funny as I was picking those games, I started realizing that, and I wondered if the ending to the season dictates the fondness in which we remember individual games.

One of my favorite non-title season games was 2002 beating Maryland at Duke by about 20. It followed a lot of trash talking and complaining pre-game by the Twerps.
 

Dattier

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It's funny as I was picking those games, I started realizing that, and I wondered if the ending to the season dictates the fondness in which we remember individual games.

One of my favorite non-title season games was 2002 beating Maryland at Duke by about 20. It followed a lot of trash talking and complaining pre-game by the Twerps.
Definitely some truth to it. Think about the loss at home to Maryland on Shane's Senior Day where Booz broke his foot. It was disastrous at the time, but it set up one of K's greatest mid-season adjustments and runs ever, so it's merely a variable in a story with a happy ending.

That '02 win was a great one.
 
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Laettner

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Duke-Gtown Elite 8 victory in '89. Huge win as GT was heavy favorite. Laettner owned Mourning.

Duke-St John's elite 8 win in '91. Shut all my SJU friends up.

Duke-UK '98 in Meadowlands. Truly enjoyed watching UK fans meltdown in person.
 

dukehokie

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Agreed...about the same reason I didn't care much for Austin rivers...thought he was all about himself

I think Austin gets a bad "me first" rap. Austin wasn't surrounded with necessarily the best scorers, which is why he existed so well on that team. The biggest issue is that Seth also had the mentality, and those two just couldn't coexist, because one or the other was going to bring the ball up since Quinn and Tyler were having their difficulties.

Make no mistake, and K has said this himself, Austin wanted to win so badly. He is one of those people who is super competitive and that's what drives him. He cared about his time at Duke even if he's not one who comes back often.
 
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Dattier

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I think Austin gets a bad "me first" rap. Austin wasn't surrounded with necessarily the best scorers, which is why he existed so well on that team. The biggest issue is that Seth also had the mentality, and those two just couldn't coexist, because one or the other was going to bring the ball up since Quinn and Tyler were having their difficulties.

Make no mistake, and K has said this himself, Austin wanted to win so badly. He is one of those people who is super competitive and that's what drives him. He cared about his time at Duke even if he's not one who comes back often.
The way I heard it, it was much more about Seth, Dre, and Miles struggling to accept the coaches' decision that handing the keys to Austin was our best chance for that year. I even heard (unsubstantiated) that Seth and Miles showed up drunk for a plane trip somewhere early in the season, like Hawaii or NYC (somewhere we wouldn't be playing right away, right off the plane).

We all loved Austin's swag when he waves Seth off like, "I got this" and sticks a 3 in Tyler Zeller's face, but when your entire Duke career ends on the worst Duke upset loss in NCAAT history, that same swag looks bad.

Josh and Austin's on-court demeanor rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. There was a lot of similarity to Laettner, though, if we're honest about it. The difference is obvious. For that matter, Duke's first ever freshman consensus All-American, Jabari Parker, is as good a guy as they come, but he is very underappreciated, imo. It's no coincidence that he, Josh, and Austin were all the most prominent players on the only Duke teams to lose in the first round of the NCAAT this century.
 

dukehokie

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The way I heard it, it was much more about Seth, Dre, and Miles struggling to accept the coaches' decision that handing the keys to Austin was our best chance for that year. I even heard (unsubstantiated) that Seth and Miles showed up drunk for a plane trip somewhere early in the season, like Hawaii or NYC (somewhere we wouldn't be playing right away, right off the plane).

We all loved Austin's swag when he waves Seth off like, "I got this" and sticks a 3 in Tyler Zeller's face, but when your entire Duke career ends on the worst Duke upset loss in NCAAT history, that same swag looks bad.

Josh and Austin's on-court demeanor rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. There was a lot of similarity to Laettner, though, if we're honest about it. The difference is obvious. For that matter, Duke's first ever freshman consensus All-American, Jabari Parker, is as good a guy as they come, but he is very underappreciated, imo. It's no coincidence that he, Josh, and Austin were all the most prominent players on the only Duke teams to lose in the first round of the NCAAT this century.

Further proving that the way you end your season is a huge determining factor in the way people look at your career. At least in the interim.
 

timo0402

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Feb 24, 2009
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I feel like it would be cheap to list UNC games, because pick a Duke/UNC game as 1, 2, & 3. I'll also try not to list something anyone else has put.

So with what's left:

I'll go UConn preseason NIT championship game in 2009 as my number 1, Duke/Wisconsin 2014 ACC/Big Ten challenge and Duke/Temple 2000 preseason NIT championship. Those games all embodied more than most any other game what it means to play at Duke and give your all for your teammates.


I was at that UCONN game at the garden. Remember thinking that we would lose that game and walking out of there thinking man there is something different about this squad. Came away really impressed and opitmimitic for the first time in years. (Relatively speaking)
 
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timo0402

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Further proving that the way you end your season is a huge determining factor in the way people look at your career. At least in the interim.
It certainly is, and obviously I get that, however it's become an annual offseason tradition for a lot of folks to come in and bash Austin on this board not knowing the full story behind the scenes. As Dat stated above there was a lot of tension where there should have been leadership from guys like Miles and Seth- Andre had his own things going on but clearly his portion really hurt that teams cohesiveness and unity as well. Understandable considering what he went through.
 
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Mac9192

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Austin is somewhat revered because of that one shot. He was good, but to mention him in same sentence with Laettner or even Parker is unfair. Laettner was cocky and rubbed his teammates the wrong way quite often, but here's the difference: he wanted and knew for Duke to win it all, Hurley and Grant Hill had to be really good. His methods may be questionable, but he wanted what Coach K wanted. Austin, I'm not so sure. Parker gets a little bit of a pass imo because I don't think K was as focused. He lost his brother during the season and I think that affected the teams ability. It's either one or two things about Austins one year, either he was a bad teammate/and or K was under par that year by failing to get them to play as a team
 

timo0402

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Austin is somewhat revered because of that one shot. He was good, but to mention him in same sentence with Laettner or even Parker is unfair. Laettner was cocky and rubbed his teammates the wrong way quite often, but here's the difference: he wanted and knew for Duke to win it all, Hurley and Grant Hill had to be really good. His methods may be questionable, but he wanted what Coach K wanted. Austin, I'm not so sure. Parker gets a little bit of a pass imo because I don't think K was as focused. He lost his brother during the season and I think that affected the teams ability. It's either one or two things about Austins one year, either he was a bad teammate/and or K was under par that year by failing to get them to play as a team
With regard to Austins one year why are those the only two options on why things went the way they did that year? Also keep in mind that team went undefeated in acc road play, and had a ton of great comeback wins, that team had fight like you wouldn't believe. That very often gets forgotten when discussing this team bc we lost in the first round to Leigh with a red hot mccollum, without Ryan Kelly who was starting to emerge:
 

hart2chesson

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Oct 13, 2012
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Austin is somewhat revered because of that one shot. He was good, but to mention him in same sentence with Laettner or even Parker is unfair.

The difference was Laettner was surrounded by not only better PLAYERS, but that group STAYED ON one another to push it each other to levels of greatness. No I cant mention Austin or Jabari in Laettner's discussion for another reason: Even though Christian was cocky, he was respected by others I think on team for taunts and criticism he received from fans and media, and he HANDLED IT!
He had been thru the wars and was a leader his jr and sr years.

Austin and Jabari were focal points as FRESHMAN and team revolved around them. So when things began to unravel in opening round games, it was ALL NEW to them...Both are gifted players, but there's only one Laettner!

OFC
 
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Mac9192

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The difference was Laettner was surrounded by not only better PLAYERS, but that group STAYED ON one another to push it each other to levels of greatness. No I cant mention Austin or Jabari in Laettner's discussion for another reason: Even though Christian was cocky, he was respected by others I think on team for taunts and criticism he received from fans and media, and he HANDLED IT!
He had been thru the wars and was a leader his jr and sr years.

Austin and Jabari were focal points as FRESHMAN and team revolved around them. So when things began to unravel in opening round games, it was ALL NEW to them...Both are gifted players, but there's only one Laettner!

OFC
True, Austin and Jabari were gifted. No matter what kind of regular season you have, when you're Duke and the size and talent that K puts on the court, losing to Lehigh and Mercer overrides a solid regular season. No one had heard of those 2 teams before, but people know them now.