Watzone loves old school!  Before Coach K and Foster, there was a heck of a coach named Vic Bubas leading the Blue Devils.  I want somebody to win a six month membership to the Blue Devil Nation Premium Newsletter!  To do so, you must do a little research or have lived as a Blue Devil fan in the sixties.  I realize that many of you were yet to be born in the sixties, so I have made the question one that you can figure out if you dig out the record books.

You are looking at a 1964 Final Four program, signed by the Duke basketball team.  For a closer view, go here!

You will notice that athletes in the day signed their names in a clear manner.  For a three month membership, name the players who signed this program who went on to have a career in professional basketball?  Who were the final four teams and what was the teams record versus arch rival UNC during he 1963-64 season?

The first person to answer the three questions correctly, gets the subscription.  But wait!  You can extend the membership to six months by naming all the players that played professional basketball in this oh-so cool link to a letter from Vic Bubas which is signed by the team?  Can you tell me the year by looking at the names?

Also, can you tell me the assistant coaches name who signed the letter and his claim to fame?

If you get all the questions right, I will gladly grant you a six month membership, so you can keep up with recruiting and happenings in Duke athletics.  You will earn the crown and be the King of the sixties.

Send the answers to watzonebdp@gmail.com

A very young Watzone is reaching out to a player for an autograph in 1964.  Can you name this player and his current occupation?  Do so, and I will give you a month of premium access.  Hint, he was Italian.

Check out the kid waving a Duke pennant Yep!  That's me!  But as I have told an assistant coach, don't call me old if you can't beat me in "horse."

Duke landed a good one in  Krystal Thomas

Incoming freshman Krystal Thomas - "A lot of people are saying we aren't going to be the same Duke, but I think we'll go out and prove people wrong," said Thomas, the girls player of the year on the Orlando Sentinel's annual All-Southern team. "I think Duke can have a great run this year. We're all thinking, 'Tampa '08'; that's our goal: to get back to the Final Four."

In this link, Krystal has been named a Team USA U-19 Finalist!

If you would like a three month pass to the premium newsletter, send your Duke-Maryland pick in!  The closest one to the exact score will take the prize, but you have to be closer than my pick in the preview which will be up shortly:)

The scoring system is simple ... 1)  you must pick the winning team.  2) it will be the total number of points off the score.  EXAMPLE - Duke 69 Maryland 68 is your pick.  The actual score is Duke 76 Maryland 73.  You would be 7 off on Duke and 5 on Maryland for a total of 12 points off.  The person with the lowest total points off wins.

The picks must be in by 6:45 EST.  They may be sent to watzonebdp@gmail.com.  The previous contest winners and answers will be announced tomorrow afternoon, as will the winner of this contest.  Good Luck!

It's contest time again!  The last one featured Kenny "Dogg" Dennard and before that, we visited the early seventies when Randy Denton roamed the middle for Duke.

The contest is designed to spark interest in Duke Basketball history and I assure you, some of the questions are obscure, but fun just the same.

The prize is a 3 month membership ...   more »

Congrats to the winners of the trivia contest, which earned them two free months of premium.

1- What was the nickname of Gene Banks High School team?

A- The Speedboys

2- What NBA team drafted Gene Banks?

A- San Antonio Spurs and ended his career with the Chicago Bulls.

3- What happened after the UNC game on February 28th, 1981?

A- Gene (nicknamed Tinkerbell) threw roses to the crowd.  Earlier, he hit a shot from beyond the top of the key over the outstretched arms of Sam Perkins to send the crowd into a frenzy and the game into overtime.  Duke rode the emotion and went on to upset UNC 66-65.

4- Name the team that ended two of his seasons while at Duke?

A- Purdue beat the Devils in the NIT in Coach K's first season at Duke.  The Boilermakers ended the Devils season the year before, 68-60 in the NCAA Tournament.

Kenny Dennard was drafted by the Kansas City Kings (Sac) and finished his career with the Denver Nuggets.

He still holds the ACC record for steals in one game with 11 against Maryland on 2-3-79.  The closest a Dukie has come to the record is a tie between Grant Hill and Steve Wojciechowski.  Both had 8.

Mannella's was the name of the pizza place they both frequented.

Contest time!

Kenny Dennard was a colorful fellow.  He was a forward on the 1977-78 Duke team which lost in the National Championship game to Kentucky.  Bill Foster was the coach in that game.  Dennard played on a team which was a mix of grizzled veterans, like Mike Gminski and Jim Spanarkel and two brash freshman, one from South Philly and the other from a small town in Western North Carolina

The freshman were Gene "Tinkerbell" Banks (a story for another day) and a young man from King, N.C.

Anyhow, he is the subject of this trivia contest.  The first person to answer correctly wins two months of premium access and your name in lights;)

Here is your first chance.  You must answer both questions correctly.

What sensational record does Kenny Dennard own?  

... and what two NBA teams did he play for?

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Also, the first reader that can tell me the name of the pizza joint he frequented with Gene Banks, which was located on Hillsborough Road ( in Durham, N.C.) at that time, I will give you two months too.

_____________________________________

Heck let's give two more months away! If you are the  first person to correctly name this series of questions about his Dennards teammate Gene Banks, you win too ...

1- What was the nickname of Gene Banks High School team?

2- What NBA team drafted Gene Banks?

3- What happened after the UNC game on February 28th, 1981?

4- Name the team that ended two of his seasons while at Duke?

Good Luck!  You can send your answers in by e-mail or in the comment section below.  You have to answer the questions correctly and be over 18 years old to win.  watzonebdp@gmail.com

If you enjoy the subject matter of the contest, here is an old Flashback from days gone by.

Rusty Marshall was the first reader to ID the three former Dukies in the seventies picture contest and wins a free month on the Blue Devil Nation Premium Newsletter.

Eighty six answers were sent and three readers guessed correctly, but Rusty was the first to answer and happened to know th players personally.

Steve Litz, Rick Katherman and Randy Denton were the answer to the contest question.  Thanks to all who participated.

The players from front to back were Steve Litz, Rick Katherman and Randy Denton.

Litz gave fans fits, many thought he was Dick DeVenzio.  He was a seldom used forward that averaged just under 3.0 per game.

Katherman had a nice shot from outside and was mentioned in one magazine of the day as being one of the better recruits.

The main man in the picture was Raleigh, North Carolina's Randy Denton, one of the best centers in Duke Basketball history.  He was a rebounding sensation that had great games against the like of Dan Issel of Kentucky.

We hope to interview Randy, so stay tuned.  Anyhow, thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer and I will be doing it again soon.

As for Rusty, shoot me an e-mail and I will set you up.  In the end, so many people missed Steve Litz that I doubted my own memory, but confirmed his ID with my pal Al Featherston.

Lastly, I am sorry that there is a glitch in the comment section.  I will contact eponym to straighten it out.