With 75 years under the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s belt, there are certainly some unforgettable sports moments. From players including Michael Jordan to Bobby Hurley, March has produced outstanding basketball. With all the madness currently taking place the Indianapolis Recorder wants to take you down memory lane, where it all began.
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In the 1979 national championship game. Larry Bird, who was named the national player of the year, led Indiana State to a 33-0 record with only Michigan State standing in its way of a national title. But in what became the most-watched college basketball game ever at the time, Earvin “Magic” Johnson used an MVP performance to lead the Spartans past the Sycamores in what would be the start of a long, spirited rivalry between Magic and Bird.
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Though the Miners finished the 1965-66 regular season at 23-1 and with the nation’s No. 3 ranking, they were considered significant underdogs against top-ranked Kentucky in the national championship game. That didn’t matter to Texas Western coach Don Haskins, who made history by starting five African-American players for the first time in a title game against Adolph Rupp’s all-white team. It was a coaching move that proved to be more than just culturally significant, as Haskins’ team went on to upset the Wildcats and win the tournament in shocking fashion.
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Steve Alford scored a school-record 2,438 points in his career, none more memorable than the 23 he scored in the 1987 NCAA championship game win over Syracuse. It was the first season of the three-point line and Alford took advantage of it by burying seven of his 10 attempts. That put the Hoosiers in position to win the game with one of the most memorable shots in tourney history, a baseline jumper by Keith Smart.
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If college basketball had a shot heard around the world, then Christian Laettner’s would be it. After upsetting University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to win the national title in 1991, Duke was primed for another championship run the following season. But Kentucky gave the Blue Devils all they could handle in their East Regional final, leading by one with 2.1 seconds left in overtime. Inbounding the ball behind his own basket, Grant Hill hit Laettner with a pass down the court – and the rest is history. Laettner faked one way and then spun back for a fade-away jumper that hit nothing but net and propelled Duke into the Final Four.
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Tyler Hansbrough was the first player to be named first-team All-ACC four straight years. He remains the all-time leading scorer in the ACC, all-time leading rebounder at North Carolina, and the first player in ACC history to lead his team in scoring and rebounding for four straight seasons. Hansbrough twice turned down a chance to be an NBA first-round draft pick to return to Chapel Hill, and his loyalty paid off when he led the Tar Heels to the 2009 national championship.
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With Bobby Hurley dishing and scoring, the Blue Devils made three NCAA championship games and won twice. Hurley had nine assists in Duke’s title game win over Kansas in 1991 and seven assists in a 71-51 victory over Michigan in the 1992 final, after which Hurley was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
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Manteen Cleaves was the Spartans’ only three-time All-American and was named Big Ten Player of the Year twice. Cleaves holds the Big Ten record for career assists with 816 and set the single-season record as a junior with 274. But it was his leadership that mattered most as Michigan State won the 2000 NCAA championship. After taking a nasty foul from Gators guard Ted Dupay, Cleaves had to leave the game and it looked like he would not return after suffering a sprained ankle. However, he hobbled back onto the court in the second half, finished with 18 points and four assists in the win, and wept as he leaned on crutches and watched “One Shining Moment.”
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During Larry Johnson’s two years at UNLV, he averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also set a school record by making 66.2 percent of his shots his senior year. Johnson’s time with the Runnin’ Rebels marked the peak of the program as UNLV won a national championship in 1990 and followed that up with a Final Four appearance, losing to Duke after winning its first 34 games that season.
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When Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson agreed to take their talents to Ann Arbor in the fall of 1991, Michigan’s Fab Five was like no college basketball recruiting class anyone had ever seen. And after reaching the national championship game in 1992 as freshmen, the Wolverines’ super sophs were right back in the spotlight a year later when they returned to the NCAA final to face North Carolina. But with time winding down against the Tar Heels, Webber mistakenly called for time with his team out of timeouts. The request resulted in a technical foul against Michigan, paving the way for UNC’s third national title.
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In his 21st season as North Carolina’s coach, Dean Smith had yet to win a national championship. That all changed, however, with the help of a star freshman from Wilmington, N.C. Trailing by one in the 1982 national championship game, Michael Jordan knocked down a jumper from the left wing with 17 seconds left to put his team back up by one. But unlike UNC, Georgetown opted not to call a timeout, pushing the ball up court. And with the pressure rising and the game clock ticking down, Hoyas point guard Fred Brown mistook James Worthy for a teammate, passing the ball right to his opponent and handing the title to Smith and the Tar Heels.
Sources: Sports Illustrated and MSN Fox Sports
