Vic Bubas up for the Hall of Fame

Mark Watson — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 23:41:00 -0500

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.

Classic Flashback

Mark Watson — Fri, 18 May 2007 10:51:00 -0400

Coach Mike Krzyzewski in his own words on what was said in the huddle with 2.1 seconds left in one of the greatest games in college basketball history -

I met my team, and I told them, "We're going to win," and I looked into their eyes. Then, when they sat on the bench, I looked at them again, I said, "We are going to win." I felt we were connected. Then I asked Grant Hill -- instead of telling him what to do -- I asked Grant, "Can you throw the ball 75 feet?" And he said, "Yes, I'll throw it." And by saying it already, I think he had already done it. In fact, I think if you had interviewed him now, he would say that, "Well, I gave my word that I was going to do it." But if I said, "Grant, you throw it," it would have been me telling him to do something. I asked Christian Laettner, "If they ring you up, can you catch it?" He says, "Coach, if Grant throws it, I'll catch it." All of a sudden, there was that -- some people would call that bravado, or cocky talk, but we had gone from walking off the court scattered, mentally and physically, to now, a minute and a half later, to believing that we were going to win.

I'll never forget where I was when Christian Laettner hit the shot versus Kentucky that allowed the Blue Devils a trip to the Final Four. Duke would later become back to back National Champions.

As the shot went through at the buzzer, I soared in the air, then dropped face first to the floor, sitting there for several seconds ... speechless ... knowing I had seen something special. I turned to fellow fans in the room, unable to talk as I watched Thomas Hill, hands on head in amazement. I thanked God for witnessing such a game which felt like a spiritual experience. It was a natural high that lasted well into the evening. It was a special game with special players and a very special coach named Mike Kyzyzewski motivated his team in a way that will be remembered forever.