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.

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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.