OT - Watching 1990 Elite 8 vs. Duke

[Tenspro2002]

Since I have a hard time getting into this year's Tournament with us not in it, I pulled up the full game tape of our 1990 Elite 8 game vs. Duke. I was too young to watch it at the time, and this is my first time watching it straight through.

I'm curious if my observations match the, ahem, older crowd's recollection:

- Despite our later reputation for playing tough man-to-man defense, our reputation at the time -- according to the announcers -- was not only our press, but our zone defense.

- The officiating was atrocious early in the first half, with 6-7 bad calls in a row going against us. The crowd and JC were going bonkers. The crowd was mostly in our favor, which would be shocking these days. It evened out a bit later in the first half, but got bad again in the second. Duke at one point had shot about 15 more free throws than we did.

- Amusingly, Toraino Walker was listed as a 6'6 center. In this day and age, he'd be listed at 6'9 regardless of how tall he actually is. He looked like a tough SOB. OTOH, Rod Sellers was a dud, aside from the block at the end of regulation.

- We took a number of bad shots -- 17-foot long 2's. In general our half-court offense was pretty bad in the first half.

- Abdelnaby killed us on the boards; we basically didn't play a center. It's actually pretty impressive how successful we were, enough to earn a 1 seed with basically a gimmick lineup and defense. It's further impressive how JC succeeded over his career with many different styles of play.

- John Gwynn was electric in the second half

- Dan Cyrulik looked like he should be a stiff, but provided some good minutes and a few key buckets when our offense was going cold

- Bobby Hurley was a whiny b****

- K looked young. JC still (always?) looked old.

- Weird that they awarded free throws for offensive fouls

- It's a real shame we only got Henefeld for one year, though to be fair his "freshman" year he was already the age of a senior.

- Up 5 at the 4:00 mark, it really felt like we had this. Somehow over the next 3:30, we surrendered the lead, and Duke was up 2 at the FT line at :17, it felt like game over the other direction.

- Mega-onions by Chris Smith to tie it on a 3 after not doing much for most of the game.

- Hurley should have been called for a charge at :06, which would have given us a chance to win in regulation.

 

[Towney007]

Yes, I firmly believe we were the team that should have lost to UNLV by 80,000 in the final, too.

 

[David 76]

I have no recollection of us ever being known for zone defense.

My memory is that Walker blossomed in that tournament but did less for us afterword and left angry. I remember him as a tough power forward.

Sellers, y o u are under rating. That may have been a lesser game for him, put his lunch pail work ethic was amazing. He stood his ground against some bigger, greater talents. Plus in 91 he smashed Laetner's head to the floor

You are totally right about Hurley

You are right about Smitty. I think that shot gets forgotten because of
THE shot that ended the previous game, and
Because we lost the game
We should have won. We would have been destroyed by UNLV. They were that good.

That team is beloved. There was so much more excitement across the state about getting to the elite 8 than in any of our championship teams. We played a lot of freshmen. The team was really good, especially their defense. Lots of good players and Henefeld was the glue. But nothing close to an NBA all-star on the team. Smith, George (because of that run) and Burrell went to the NBA but didn't excel there.

 

[mauconnfan]

Here goes, you wanted older :

- I can't remember too much zone being played by that team but there could have been a little. That was press dropping into man most often with a mix of zone.

- Officiating was awful early and i do remember a spell in the first half which it seemed we weren't going to get a call again as K was working the officials in his usual whiny manner

- Torraino was 6'6" but your point is correct, maybe 6'7" best. Sellers was always fine, but sometimes the mismatch didn't go his way. Abdelnaby and the thug they brought in were loads at the time. He held his own.

- Again, JC wasn't always known for great 1/2 court O, but they were especially bad in the first half but they though it out

- Abdelnaby was a nice player in college, good size and game - had his way for a while.

- Gwynn was huge in the first half, made some big shots but that was him. Johnny on time.

-Danny C looked the stiff part but was a smart basketball player and had some really good games off the bench. A player doing his thing for the team, imagine that?

- Couldn't stand Bobby Hurley and he threw an awful pass to Tate which should have ben the end!

- Both K (his shnauze looked old) and JC looked young to me.

- Forgot about the FT's on "player control" fouls at the time? Duke must have went to the line about 1,000 times a year just on those alone?

- Age or not, I think most of us were hurt a bit when he went back not knowing why. He was a joy to watch, potentially the most intellectual basketball player to walk the Storrs campus. Make a bad pass in his area, it was his!

- Never felt good with a lead against them because we hadn't been there yet, just hanging on for dear life it felt.

- Smitty was onions before onions were know to UConn fans. That 3 was unbelievable pretty much the same play Marcus and Rashad used against Washington to tie. ONIONS

- Yes that could have ben called would have been a HUGE call at the time.

Then we all know what happened.....ouch!

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Here goes, you wanted older :

- I can't remember too much zone being played by that team but there could have been a little. That was press dropping into man most often with a mix of zone.

- Officiating was awful early and i do remember a spell in the first half which it seemed we weren't going to get a call again as K was working the officials in his usual whiny manner

- Torraino was 6'6" but your point is correct, maybe 6'7" best. Sellers was always fine, but sometimes the mismatch didn't go his way. Abdelnaby and the thug they brought in were loads at the time. He held his own.

- Again, JC wasn't always known for great 1/2 court O, but they were especially bad in the first half but they though it out

- Abdelnaby was a nice player in college, good size and game - had his way for a while.

- Gwynn was huge in the first half, made some big shots but that was him. Johnny on time.

-Danny C looked the stiff part but was a smart basketball player and had some really good games off the bench. A player doing his thing for the team, imagine that?

- Couldn't stand Bobby Hurley and he threw an awful pass to Tate which should have ben the end!

- Both K (his shnauze looked old) and JC looked young to me.

- Forgot about the FT's on "player control" fouls at the time? Duke must have went to the line about 1,000 times a year just on those alone?

- Age or not, I think most of us were hurt a bit when he went back not knowing why. He was a joy to watch, potentially the most intellectual basketball player to walk the Storrs campus. Make a bad pass in his area, it was his!

- Never felt good with a lead against them because we hadn't been there yet, just hanging on for dear life it felt.

- Smitty was onions before onions were know to UConn fans. That 3 was unbelievable pretty much the same play Marcus and Rashad used against Washington to tie. ONIONS

- Yes that could have ben called would have been a HUGE call at the time.

Then we all know what happened.....ouch!

From what I remember, Henefeld left after one season because he was offered a lucrative contract by Maccabi Tel Aviv, and the social pressure to play for Isreal's best pro team was just too much to resist. He played 11 seasons for them and even won a European title with them once. He was named a FIBA Eurostar in 1997. He certainly made plenty of money, so I don't think he has many regrets.

Oh, and during the Dream Season, UConn played every kind of defense you can imagine - 2/3 matchup zone, 1/3/1 halfcourt trapping zone, 2-2-1 zone press, 1-1-2-1 zone press, full court and half court man-to-man. And Calhoun switched between them almost randomly. It was genius, and he had the players to do it well.

 

[BugsyCT]

Big time clutch 3 by Smitty. He always had an odd release, but was a tremendous scorer in his time here.

Loved John Gwynn off the bench - always a ball of energy.

Was really a great game despite the heartbreaking end. Still remember Tate trying to grab that ball on the sidelines & couldn't corral it. Just had to get enough hand on it to grab it & toss it upcourt and we would have been on our way to Denver to face Arkansas.

That year was magic. So much Huskymania in the state because we had been Big East doormats for years. Our first taste at the big time.

 

[storrsroars]

The announcers noted on the final inbounds that the most important thing was to put pressure on the inbound passer (Laettner).

Which is exactly what JC didn't do, allowing Laettner to do a quick short pass and have it come right back to him, in what may be the greatest single play K has ever drawn up.

Pressure Laettner on that inbounds, the ball never sees his hands again.

 

[mauconnfan]

The announcers noted on the final inbounds that the most important thing was to put pressure on the inbound passer (Laettner).

Which is exactly what JC didn't do, allowing Laettner to do a quick short pass and have it come right back to him, in what may be the greatest single play K has ever drawn up.

Pressure Laettner on that inbounds, the ball never sees his hands again.

Their best defender missed his assignment actually - Dove drifted and never got back to even get a hand in his face. Laettner had a few more daggers for others after that, tremendous clutch performer.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The zone was only when we pressed, that season we ran the 2-2-1 zone press (3/4 court) in spurts and this caused fits with many opponents. Nadav's superior court awareness/basketball IQ and Scotty's ridiculous athleticism led to a ton of steals when a guard panicked and threw a long pass.

Sellers was hurt then (I believe ankle) and we weren't sure he would be able to play much, if at all that game. The things I remember most were how bad Hurley shot that game (I think his only points were from the free throw line), how much bigger Duke's front line was than ours, Scotty fouling out (that was a dagger) and K jumping on the court, trying to sway the officials (and unfortunately for us, distracting Tate) when Hurley lost the ball and Tate fumbled it out of bounds.

That was as good a regional final as any (Duke-Kentucky two years later excluded) as any ever played and the Duke-Kentucky game unfortunately left it basically forgotten.

 

[maineuconnfan]

Calhoun was a man to man defense guy...but is personnel did not allow it that year...As his talent got better, so did his defensive and offensive schemes. It is kind of silly people knocking Ollie for the zone defense, with Calhoun it is always about who they had...and it appears Ollie is that way too. But I will say, that 89-90 team had three great steals guys. Henefeld, Burrel and Smith, were great steals guys. I still have all the clippings from that year.

 

[mauconnfan]

Calhoun was a man to man defense guy...but is personnel did not allow it that year...As his talent got better, so did his defensive and offensive schemes. It is kind of silly people knocking Ollie for the zone defense, with Calhoun it is always about who they had...and it appears Ollie is that way too. But I will say, that 89-90 team had three great steals guys. Henefeld, Burrel and Smith, were great steals guys. I still have all the clippings from that year.

Smart smart team!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Smart smart team!

This is what I inferred.

We didn't have size, we didn't have great shooters, but we had great athleticism and superior BBIQ, which allowed our aggressive defense to thrive.

 

[Travelman6]

It is amazing how much the game has changed in 25 or so years.

When I look back at videos like Uconn/UCLA in 1995 or Uconn/Florida in 94 or this game in 1990, it shocks me how different the game looks now in 2017.

 

[Vuce]

I was a student at Uconn at the time and it was quite an amazing season. Won the NIT in 1988 which was HUGE at the time. Had most guys back for 1989 season but was a disappointment as we went back to the NIT. Then 1990 we were picked to be near the bottom of the Big East and started out 0-2 in conference including a 30 point loss at St. John's. We played first half of season in the Field House then Gampel opened in January 1990 where we beat St. John's. I think Sellers hurt his knee in March and it didn't look like he would play in the postseason. Ended up tying for conference champions, won BET then played first two rounds of NCAA tourney in HARTFORD! The stars were truly aligned that year. Uconn was the upstart team and media darling if you young uns can believe that!

 

[Captbluefin]

That truly was the Team and group of guys who started it all...Chris Smith is a STUD and gets little credit now.

The whole State was electric during that first run.. Great times and great memories..

 

[Dogbreath2U]

That team was smart, unselfish, and really mentally tough. Sellers was a very tough player and a smart defender. He played when he could barely walk and did not back down from anyone. Nadav's amazing knack for passing and making steals was contagious. Burrell played really well for a freshman.

The whole was definitely greater than the sum of the parts.

 

[businesslawyer]

Will never forget a number of things about that weekend.

1. My hand was still cut from when I through them up into a hanging lamp 36 hours earlier when Tate's shot went in. And I was totally sober.

2. Game was like a 2:00 tap. Waiting for it to tip might have been the longest 7 hours of my life from when I woke up. My son was 3. I could tell you today that I took him to McDonalds, let him play on the inside playground, and tried to generally tire him out a bit before the game started.

3. Lost in how good that team was how bad we were through New Year's. Lost to a Nova team of stiffs at the Civic Center. Lost in Queens by like 10k. Looked very ordinary in Alaska. But when the light switch went on, at the time they opened the Civic Center, Wow. And we never looked back.

4. I don't know that UNLV would have blown us out. Augmon wasn't just going to run by and jump over Burrell, like he did every other SF in the country, and Nadav wasn't just going to stand there and be awed by Larry Johnson in the post. But we'll never know.

 

[Matrim55]

1. Calhoun didn't figure out how to run a halfcourt offense until Doron & Ray showed up on campus. Our inability to get anything on that side of the ball killed us against decent teams in 91, 92 & especially 93.

2. The 1990 team was, more than anything else, known for that 2-2-1 press. So good, but we were never able to replicate it.

3. I very much agree with @businesslawyer on his point No. 4. Still don't think we'd have beaten UNLV, but they wouldn't have made us pee our pants like what happened to Duke.

 

[Scottzer]

That team was incredible for how inexperienced they were. And, when they turned it on, the wins against Syracuse and Georgetown felt unfathomable at the time. Yes, Walker was a brute - occasionally highlighted with his power slams. Smitty was incredible all year, Nadav was a once in a lifetime 23 or 24 y/o "freshman", Burrell was an incredible defender as well (assigned to guarding Jordan when the Hornets made the NBA playoffs), Sellers was underrated, and basically held Shaquille to his season average in the following NCAA tourney (in a solid or blowout win for us), Tate was solid but not exceptional, and who else? Long time... But that team really played as a team and it was extraordinary to watch.

 

[mauconnfan]

That team was incredible for how inexperienced they were. And, when they turned it on, the wins against Syracuse and Georgetown felt unfathomable at the time. Yes, Walker was a brute - occasionally highlighted with his power slams. Smitty was incredible all year, Nadav was a once in a lifetime 23 or 24 y/o "freshman", Burrell was an incredible defender as well (assigned to guarding Jordan when the Hornets made the NBA playoffs), Sellers was underrated, and basically held Shaquille to his season average in the following NCAA tourney (in a solid or blowout win for us), Tate was solid but not exceptional, and who else? Long time... But that team really played as a team and it was extraordinary to watch.

Gywnny, Murray, Cyrulik, DePriest all pieces of a wonderful puzzle.

 

[Scottzer]

Gywnny, Murray, Cyrulik, DePriest all pieces of a wonderful puzzle.

The number of exceptional defenders on that team is staggering. Nadav, Scottie, and DePriest were all NBA level defenders.
But, yes, have to agree with others in that the UNLV team of that season was certainly among the most talented I've ever seen. We would Probably lost by 20 to them.

 

[mauconnfan]

The number of exceptional defenders on that team is staggering. Nadav, Scottie, and DePriest were all NBA level defenders.
But, yes, have to agree with others in that the UNLV team of that season was certainly among the most talented I've ever seen. We would Probably lost by 20 to them.

I have to agree UNLV was loaded. Funny though, none of us expected this team to even beat GTown and Syracuse earlier so the good news I guess, is you never know what they could have done!

 

[Towney007]

1. Calhoun didn't figure out how to run a halfcourt offense until Doron & Ray showed up on campus. Our inability to get anything on that side of the ball killed us against decent teams in 91, 92 & especially 93.

2. The 1990 team was, more than anything else, known for that 2-2-1 press. So good, but we were never able to replicate it.

3. I very much agree with @businesslawyer on his point No. 4. Still don't think we'd have beaten UNLV, but they wouldn't have made us pee our pants like what happened to Duke.

Eh - Duke didn't even get a chance to pee their pants. Do we get trounced by 30? No. A solid, mostly not all that competitive 15-20? Probably.

I ADORE the 1990 team, but that UNLV team was just on a totally different planet from everyone else. I'm still utterly convinced they threw the 91 Final Four game. Convinced.

 

[mauconnfan]

Eh - Duke didn't even get a chance to pee their pants. Do we get trounced by 30? No. A solid, mostly not all that competitive 15-20? Probably.

I ADORE the 1990 team, but that UNLV team was just on a totally different planet from everyone else. I'm still utterly convinced they threw the 91 Final Four game. Convinced.

Just so we don't sell that '89-90 team short let's just say if we lost to Ohio State the semi's 0f 99 and the Buckeyes went on to get hammered by that Duke team, we would have said we probably would have also gotten beat by Duke by 15-20 that year.

Ya just never know.

But I leaning on a can'o UNLV whoopa**!

 

[Towney007]

I dunno maybe I was just too young and too naive, but I never for a second thought we couldn't beat Duke that year. Not to run this thread off the rails, but their schedule had softened up so much towards the end of the year and their draw couldn't have gone better for them. They weren't exactly razor sharp against Michigan St. in the Final Four. Not only did I think we could beat them, but I felt they were ripe for the pickings. We faced something like 8 or 9 top 25 teams (people forget New Mexico was no slouch that year, either) in the last month alone. Felt battle tested.

UNLV was just different because of the overall talent gap. We were plucky and just solid as can be college hoops team that year. But they were that and super athletic, etc. I just thought physically we (and everyone else for that matter) were way in over our heads.