Hall of Fame Candidate - VICTOR BUBAS – Contributor (Finalist in 2003), the 1996 recipient of the prestigious John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, began a lifelong love affair with basketball in his hometown of Gary, Indiana before attending North Carolina State University where he played for, and coached alongside, Hall of Famer Everett Case. As a player, Bubas helped NC State reach the NCAA Final Four in 1950. Bubas then landed the head coaching position at Duke University in 1959 where he led the Blue Devils to three NCAA Final Fours (1963, 1964, 1966) and four ACC championships (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966). His strong work ethic and vision helped put Duke on the national map in basketball and made Bubas the second winningest coach in the 1960s behind Hall of Famer John Wooden. As the Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference from 1976-1990, Bubas played a key role in the NCAA’s adoption of the both the three-point line and the 45-second shot clock.

Duke was a national power in the sixties when Life Magazine did an article on them in a 1966.  Duke was ranked number one at the time and went on to the final four.  Pictured above are players Bob Verga, Mike Lewis, Jack Marin, Steve Vacendak, Bob Reidy, and coaches Chuck Daily and Vic Bubas.

Bubas ran his team in a business like manner which included planning, promotion and even psychology.  He once recruited Durham businessmen to conduct a telethon from Cameron and ran a teaching clinic for women only.  Duke had always been pretty good in basketball, but the crowds were lacking when Bubas came aboard.

He was one of the first coaches to organize his recruiting efforts, keeping a detailed book on every promising high school player in the country.  Bubas was also very insistent that his players performed well in the classroom.

His teams left a lasting impression on fans and those who witnessed the teams of the day will attest to that.  Whether it was an amazing performance by Fred Lind, a jumper from Bob Verga or vision of Art Heyman handling UNC - the memories were plentiful.

I would like to hear your of memories of the Bubas era.  Send your thoughts to watzonebdp@gmail.com and we will share some of them with readers of the Blue Devil Nation.  We would love to hear from former players too.