Christian Laettner

Richard Pitino's Ncaa Tournament Debut Comes 25 Years After Christian Laettner's Shot

... Laettner hit the buzzer beater to top all buzzer beaters. As the 25 th anniversary of that incredible shot approaches, Richard is set to make his NCAA Tournament debut as a head coach with Minnesota. The boy who spent his childhood following his coaching legend father from arena to arena, tournament to tournament, through triumph and heartbreak, now striking out on his own. It’s almost poetic, unless you’re Pitino. “No. It’s not a movie,” Pitino said on Tuesday before his fifth-seeded Golden Gophers left for Milwaukee to face 12 th-seed Middle Tennessee State in their opening game. “I woke up this morning and I had coffee and I took my daughter to school. We don’t really do that in the real world. There’s no narrator as I’m driving in or anything.”. It was vintage Pitino, as much as a 34-year-old ...

Reflecting On The Christian Laettner, Kris Jenkins Shots After Witnessing Them Firsthand

... Rick Pitino not putting a man on the inbounder, Duke's Grant Hill. That decision has been second-guessed over the years and rightfully so. It allowed Hill to have a clean line of vision and make an unobstructed pass to a flashing Laettner at the opposite foul line. In an ironic twist, I was also there for the shot that unseated Laettner's as the most iconic in college basketball history. Fast-forward 24 years to last April 4, 2016, in Houston and Villanova's Kris Jenkins hitting a buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat North Carolina, 77-74, in the National Championship Game. I grew up a big Villanova fan, as did my dad before me. His dad went to Villanova and the whole family has pulled for Villanova ever since. We didn't plan to go to the Final Four that year but once Villanova beat Kansas in the Elite Eight, we made the split-second decision to fly to Houston the following weekend. It turned out to be one of the better decisions we ever made. My wife, Amy Fadool, got us game tickets for the national semifinals as well as a flight to ...

Grant Hill Talks Sweet 16, Lonzo Ball, The Laettner Shot

... team UCLA beat earlier this season. A: De’Aaron Fox is more aggressive and asserting himself offensively, Bam [Adebayo] is getting more and more comfortable and getting touches and making [himself] a threat offensively. Malik Monk struggles, but he’s so capable of going off and loves the big game and the big stage. I think through his struggles he’s developed more of a complete game than maybe what he had earlier this year. This game is going to be fun with so much talent on the floor. It feels like a Final Four game. Q: Do you agree with the comparison some have made between Lonzo Ball and Jason Kidd. A: There are some similarities with how he runs the team. Jason was more physical and a stronger guy. Jason was very fast and set the table for his teammates. But both guys are so natural at that position, and at such a young age. Q: Can South Carolina replicate what it did in its victory over Duke. A: We know they are a tough-minded defensive team that plays hard, but what they showed against Duke is that they can score. They just looked like they ...

The Greatest Game Ever Played

... it in the goal. "I was on the ball," Hurley says. "He got me leaning the slightest amount going to his left hand as he was changing direction, and I also got engaged with a ball screen that turned him loose. "I remember at that point being on the ground and him shooting the shot over Christian — that was probably as well-guarded as you can guard it. When players make straight on bank shots, it's generally not a good sign things are going to go your way.". Not that he'd ever lost many, but Hurley had played in enough basketball games, had seen enough of them as the son of Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley Sr., to recognize an impossible circumstance. For Duke to traverse nearly 94 feet in 2.1 seconds and somehow place the ball in the goal seemed to be one of those. MORE: Laettner's jersey from 1992 sells for over $100 k. "Our first reaction: We were all signaling for a timeout," Hurley ...

25 Years Ago Today, Christian Laettner Hit Swish For The Ages

... dictated the pace and tempo of the game and played the game on our terms just about every time we competed. With this game, how they played, their style, the press, they played at their speed. Pelphrey: Their team was so talented that we had to figure out a way to shrink the game. As the game progressed, and it stayed tight, you knew that this was going to be a battle. For us, it was a culmination of three years. We were a devastating offensive basketball team and a devastating pressing team. We just weren’t real big. They had Hurley, Grant Hill and Laettner and on and on and on. The number of wins these guys had? They could come at you like an NBA team. George Laettner: It was so intense, back and forth, back and forth. And it just seemed to build. * * *. Laettner had a bucket inside early in the game to break Elvin Hayes’ all-time NCAA Tournament scoring record. Duke fell behind and needed a 15-2 run to take the lead. Thomas Hill and Hurley ...

From Hill To Laettner, 25 Years Later

... one should be surprised that it was.'. Mike Brey. "What ran through my mind was 'How did he have the presence of mind to take that dribble?' But he was so calculating, such a cold-blooded winner. As soon as he turned, I knew he was clean, and I just thought, 'We're winning this game.' He drilled it. There's never been a more clutch guy in the history of the NCAA tournament.'. The Aftermath. Rick Bozich. "My biggest concern was we had to dial a seven to get out [from the courtside phones to file his story]. I was freaking out because our computers were pre-set, and we couldn't figure out how to use a seven. I was deathly afraid we weren't going to be able to file.'. Tim Higgins. "When it went, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I knew it was going to be a mob scene, so I wanted to get the hell out of there.'. Thomas Hill. "My expression ...

Duke’s Christian Laettner Shouts Out North Carolina’s Luke Maye On Twitter After Winning Jumper Over Kentucky

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Christian Laettner Decided To Troll Kentucky After Their Loss To Unc Photo

... as Kentucky beat UCLA in the Sweet 16 to avenge the earlier loss — along with a team-high 165 assists. Sophomore guard Isaiah Briscoe (12.1 points) improved in many areas and had emerged as a leader on and off the floor. Hawkins and Willis provided experience and became key contributors down the stretch. Kentucky’s defense had also improved in recent weeks, but foul trouble was a factor in losing to UNC. Now, next year’s core group could have a much different look — as it usually does in Lexington. Freshman forwards Wenyen Gabriel and Sacha Killeya-Jones seem likely to return along with 7-foot sophomore Isaac Humphries and 6-10 redshirt freshman Tai Wynyard. Freshman Hamidou Diallo (6-5) will play next season after practicing and watching this semester. They must mesh quickly with ...

Laettner's All-time Moment Turns 25, Sec Tempers Flair And Faux Sportsmanship, Cleveland Hurting, True Or False Tuesday

... the under this simple description. If you had to pick a Rushmore of sports moments, and that definition meant you remembered exactly where you were and everything about it, what's your Rushmore. And to be true to perspective, you likely need to only pick one from your absolute favorite team. For example, we could have a dozen Rushmores of Auburn football moments we remember every detail down to what shirt we wearing (normally a navy blue AU golf shirt) and what we were drinking (almost always a gentleman named Jack on football Saturdays). For us, the sports moments that take us beyond just the athletic magic and recreate the scene in our life were. * Laettner (at Auburn, watching the end, bracket in hand, and when the shot when in, hysteria ensued and I contemplated naming my first child Christian Laettner Greeson, and yes wiser heads prevailed for the 5-at-10 tots). * The US Hockey win in '80 (it ranks as one of my first hard and true sports memories, watching on tape delay with my mother on what I thought was the biggest TV in the world and by today's ...

Remembering Christian Laettner’s Shot Against Kentucky

... that situation, “ said Hill, as much in admiration as in awe. “He wants the ball. He feels like he is going to make it.”. Hill said the thought of losing never entered his mind. “There was time, “ he said. “Crazy things can happen in a finish like that. It’s a real joy to win this game. Kentucky is a great team. They fought so hard to beat us.”. No one outside Kentucky gave the Wildcats a chance. They have a little team, blessed with good outside shooters but little else. But Kentucky played like a champion. The ‘Cats never quit. “We are not losers, “ Coach Rick Pitino said. “I am very proud of this basketball team.”. But Coach K was a proud man, too. His Blue Devils, the heavyweight champions, were on the ropes, glassy-eyed, about to be dispatched to the sidelines. But Laettner hates to lose so much that he just refuses to do it. Laettner and Duke will play ...