'People bring up the shot up all the time'
Posted: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 7:12 AM
I don’t normally write about commercially sponsored contests, but this one involved a chance to trade emails with Christian Laettner about perhaps the greatest shot in NCAA tournament history.
If you were alive and taking in oxygen on March 28, 1992, you remember it. Duke was down 102-101 to Rick Pitino’s Kentucky squad with 2.1 seconds left. Grant Hill threw a 75-foot inbounds pass, Laettner – one of the greatest college players to ever play the game – went high to grab it, turned and threw up the 17-footer that won the game. (To refresh your memory, watch it again here.)
It was in Philly and the win propelled Duke to the Final Four and a championship.
The shot is so etched in memory that Vitamin Water came up with the most excellent idea of running a contest in which entrants create either a great moment in the game’s history or one of their own. Tape the re-enactment, send it to a special NCAA website, and you’ve got a chance to win a trip to this year’s Final Four in Detroit.
While you’re thinking of your magic moment to recreate, take some time to read what the moment has meant to Laettner in the 17 years since.
Q. How often do people bring up the shot?
LAETTNER: “People bring up the shot up all the time; it’s right up there with them asking how tall I am. They’ll say, ‘tell me about the Kentucky shot.’ It’s brought up a lot.”
Q. Where does it stand in your personal all-time highlight reel? If it’s first, what’s the second, and if it’s not first, what’s ahead of it?
LAETTNER: “It’s a tie between winning our first national championship (1991) and the Kentucky shot. I’d say those two are ‘1A’ and ‘1B.’ Winning the national championship was the important thing. Winning the title was the culmination of blood, sweat and tears.
“On shot – the (Kentucky) shot – helped us get to the Final Four and the eventual national title. It’s the most famous shot that has stood the test of time. It never leaves people’s consciousness and never goes away.”
Q. Are you surprised that the shot is so well remembered?
LAETTNER: “No, I am not surprised. It won’t be released from people’s conscience. Every March, the shot is shown a thousand times, and pleases me to no end.
“It’s such a cliché. We always say, ‘Never say never.’ It’s so true. You work hard. You have the opportunity to go to a big-time school, such as Duke, and you’re lucky enough to win (national title) one and you have a special moment. For me, it was the Kentucky shot. And you can never take that away from me. I live and enjoy life to the fullest.”
Q. How has that moment help you in life after basketball?
LAETTNER: “It’s made me a more recognizable figure that happens to increase when March and April roll around. In life – making a shot like I did – gives me the confidence inside that, if I put my mind to something, I have a chance to accomplish it.”
Q. If you had to recreate a moment for the contest, what would it be?
LAETTNER: “It would be (Mario) Chalmers of Kansas in last year’s NCAA title game (The Jayhawk hit a 3-point shot with 2.1 seconds remaining in regulation, extending the game into overtime). He was on the biggest stage, biggest game of the season and the biggest game of his life. The game was coming down to the last seconds, a pressure-cooker-type situation. The shot he made was in the flow of the game that sent the game in to OT. The play wasn’t made following a timeout, where he was able slow the game down or set up a play.”
Q. Is there any way to put a number on how many hours and years of work went into that moment?
LAETTNER: “No, there really isn’t. There’s no telling the number of hours went into to it. The time, effort, blood, sweat, tears that went into that moment. It was a culmination of all the work and good decisions made. Without these, there would have been no Duke basketball for me, no chance at the Final Four, and no chance to hit a buzz-beater.
“Playing for Coach K and with great teammates like Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill put us in a situation where we could make history.”
Q. People dream of such moments (e.g. the kids in driveways things). But, if you’re thinking about being a hero, it’s not going to happen. You’ve got to let the moment come to you, and when it does, you can’t think of the result, just the process. That said, what WERE you thinking when it all happened. And what advice would you give kids who want to grow up to do similar feats?
LAETTNER: “I wasn’t thinking about myself, hitting the shot or being the hero. We had won the championship the year before (1991) and were making another championship run, but I wasn’t thinking about ‘I,’ ‘I,’ ‘I,’ instead it was how can I help ‘us’ be successful, how can ‘we’ win the title again. There were no thoughts about ‘Christian Laettner.’ This played a huge role psychologically during the moment.
“My advice to kids out there is to bust your behind (on the court and in training) and think unselfishly, and you’ll be successful as a team.”
