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Best for last UConn leaves its imprint on a thrilling NCAA final
Posted: Sunday April 04, 1999 06:18 PM
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (CNN/SI) -- Trajan Langdon made a college career out of moving without the ball. Freeing himself from pesky defenders became instinctual for Duke's all-time leader in 3-pointers. But in the end Monday night, Langdon chose to create perhaps his most important shot with the ball -- against one of the game's best defenders -- in the national championship game. In the waning seconds, Langdon tried to break down Connecticut's Ricky Moore with dribble and penetration. Moore forced Langdon into a walk with 5.4 seconds left and then helped in a three-man pinch that again forced Langdon into a turnover, this one just before the buzzer of the Huskies' 77-74 victory. Connecticut became the first team since Texas Western in 1966 to win it all in its first Final Four appearance. The victory wrapped up the 1990s for the Huskies, a decade that saw a lot of success but three tough losses in regional finals. It allowed Jim Calhoun to join the list of national champion coaches in his 27th season, the last 13 at UConn. "I'm no better a coach than I was three weeks ago or no worse," he said minutes after being on a ladder, cutting down a net and savoring a moment. "All I had to do was be true to my kids and coach the best I could and that's what I've done." Going into the Final Four it was hard to find someone who didn't think Duke was clearly the best team in the country. The Blue Devils became just the third team to win 37 games in a season, but the loss Monday night left Duke's Mike Krzyzewski one win shy of his third national championship.
"I have a hard time being sad," said Krzyzewski, who will undergo hip replacement surgery next week. "I don't coach for winning, I coach for relationships." This season's 64-team showcase was unable to match last year's tournament, which was won by Kentucky and produced one of the most exciting in years. But there were new names and faces. Gonzaga showed "mid-major" can be a deceiving term as the Bulldogs gave Connecticut a scare in the regional final. Wally Szczerbiak of Miami of Ohio and Harold Arceneaux of Weber State were right at home in the national spotlight. Ohio State, whose turnaround led all the way to the Final Four, was the feel-good story of the tournament. Kentucky's run at four straight Final Fours and a second consecutive national title ended in the regional final with a loss to Michigan State. The Spartans joined Duke and Connecticut as top seeds in the Final Four. There were some great games during the season -- Cincinnati's win over Duke in the Great Alaska Shootout, Duke's overtime win over St. John's and Miami's victory at Connecticut. But the best was the last. The closest championship game of the '90s will go down as one of the best ever. And there were plenty of excellent plays to back that opinion whether it was the stellar offense of Connecticut's Richard Hamilton and Langdon or the gritty defense of Moore and Duke's Elton Brand. "It was a great game; it was a terrific game," Krzyzewski said. "I've been fortunate to have been in a bunch of terrific games. We've won some and there's some we lost." Calhoun was more definitive. "This was one of the greatest basketball games I have ever been involved in," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||||
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