I just dubbed a couple of VCR tapes to DVD for a couple of our big victories on the 'glory years' of our MBB program.
The first was our win over Wake Forest and Tim Duncan in an NCAA R2 game - a game characterized as the 'hack-a-Duncan' strategy. Monty used Young, Madsen, Van Elswyck, Seaton, and Sauer to be physical on Duncan and prevent him from easily scoring regardless of fouling. Billy Packer was the color guy and repeatedly emphasized the strategy and its success.
Watching the game, I was reminded what a magician Brevin Knight was with his ballhandling, passing, steals, and overall control of the game. The announcers noted that in the last 4 games (vs UA, ASU, and Oklahoma and WF in the tourney), Brevin 34 assists to only 4 TOs - wow!. Packer noted that WF wasn't able to press us even when we had a big lead, because Knight could so easily break the press by himself. He also noted how Brevin was so valuable when the shot clock was getting short as he could create regardless of the D. some of Brevin's passes were a thing of beauty.
Notably Madsen showed his signs of future greatness and even made 4 of 4 FTs before missing 2 late. Similar for Art Lee's performance hitting a key three and making a critical put back on an O rebound late. But perhaps the real star was the late Peter Sauer. He hit 2 clutch jump shots and 2 clutch FTs late in the game that assured the W for out guys. By the way, Duncan still had 18 and 20 despite the extra efforts on him. I was at the game and it was a great game to witness, although the only seat that I could get was in the nosebleed section where a wall blocked action on part of the court.
The second game that I viewed was the huge win over Duke in the Pete Newell challenge back in 2000. I was also at this game and it was exhilarating! I vividly recalled being so excited that before the game my heart was pounding so hard that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest. The court was littered with future NBA players and we had terrific depth.
What I didn't recall so well was how much Duke dominated us for the bulk of the game. We were down by 15 with 6:53 let in the game and it looked hopeless until the good guys rallied and made the dramatic comeback to win by one. Most will remember Casey Jacobsen's bank shot that won the game. Down by one with 7 seconds left, the ball was inbounded to Casey who curled left and was able to get off the shot. Jason Williams then made a dash down the court and got off a shot over Collins that missed before the clock hit zero.
I also forgot about Michael McDonald getting into foul trouble. He had foul trouble in the first half and picked up his fourth early in the second half. As a result, Monty had to go to Julius Barnes and Tony G. who both played significant minutes. Tony actually played ok, but didn't have a significant impact. But Barnes did with excellent defense including his huge block of a Nate James lay up and scored some key baskets. His fearless and intense play helped also to inspire the team.
I noticed that Bob Murphy and John Platz called the game on the radio - would have loved to have heard their call. Interesting to see Dawkins and Wojo flanking Coach K on the Duke bench while Monty's assistants included a stellar group that included Blaine Taylor, Eric Reveno, Russ Turner, and Tony Fuller. Lots of celebs at the game; Pete Newell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Condi, Plunk, and of course a younger untroubled Tiger whose leap on Casey's game winner became an iconic photo.
This was a great team and IIRC, we sadly lost to MD the Sweet 16, as this team had FF potential. I sure miss the excitement and joy of those 'glory years' in MBB. They sure were fun!
The first was our win over Wake Forest and Tim Duncan in an NCAA R2 game - a game characterized as the 'hack-a-Duncan' strategy. Monty used Young, Madsen, Van Elswyck, Seaton, and Sauer to be physical on Duncan and prevent him from easily scoring regardless of fouling. Billy Packer was the color guy and repeatedly emphasized the strategy and its success.
Watching the game, I was reminded what a magician Brevin Knight was with his ballhandling, passing, steals, and overall control of the game. The announcers noted that in the last 4 games (vs UA, ASU, and Oklahoma and WF in the tourney), Brevin 34 assists to only 4 TOs - wow!. Packer noted that WF wasn't able to press us even when we had a big lead, because Knight could so easily break the press by himself. He also noted how Brevin was so valuable when the shot clock was getting short as he could create regardless of the D. some of Brevin's passes were a thing of beauty.
Notably Madsen showed his signs of future greatness and even made 4 of 4 FTs before missing 2 late. Similar for Art Lee's performance hitting a key three and making a critical put back on an O rebound late. But perhaps the real star was the late Peter Sauer. He hit 2 clutch jump shots and 2 clutch FTs late in the game that assured the W for out guys. By the way, Duncan still had 18 and 20 despite the extra efforts on him. I was at the game and it was a great game to witness, although the only seat that I could get was in the nosebleed section where a wall blocked action on part of the court.
The second game that I viewed was the huge win over Duke in the Pete Newell challenge back in 2000. I was also at this game and it was exhilarating! I vividly recalled being so excited that before the game my heart was pounding so hard that I thought it was going to leap out of my chest. The court was littered with future NBA players and we had terrific depth.
What I didn't recall so well was how much Duke dominated us for the bulk of the game. We were down by 15 with 6:53 let in the game and it looked hopeless until the good guys rallied and made the dramatic comeback to win by one. Most will remember Casey Jacobsen's bank shot that won the game. Down by one with 7 seconds left, the ball was inbounded to Casey who curled left and was able to get off the shot. Jason Williams then made a dash down the court and got off a shot over Collins that missed before the clock hit zero.
I also forgot about Michael McDonald getting into foul trouble. He had foul trouble in the first half and picked up his fourth early in the second half. As a result, Monty had to go to Julius Barnes and Tony G. who both played significant minutes. Tony actually played ok, but didn't have a significant impact. But Barnes did with excellent defense including his huge block of a Nate James lay up and scored some key baskets. His fearless and intense play helped also to inspire the team.
I noticed that Bob Murphy and John Platz called the game on the radio - would have loved to have heard their call. Interesting to see Dawkins and Wojo flanking Coach K on the Duke bench while Monty's assistants included a stellar group that included Blaine Taylor, Eric Reveno, Russ Turner, and Tony Fuller. Lots of celebs at the game; Pete Newell, Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Condi, Plunk, and of course a younger untroubled Tiger whose leap on Casey's game winner became an iconic photo.
This was a great team and IIRC, we sadly lost to MD the Sweet 16, as this team had FF potential. I sure miss the excitement and joy of those 'glory years' in MBB. They sure were fun!
