The NBA Finals date back to 1947 (when they were known as the Basketball Association of America Finals) and the very 1st NCAA tourney was held in 1939. Olympic basketball competition is even older: it debuted as a demonstration event in 1904 and the men’s version became a medal sport in 1936, with the women finally getting their chance to go for the gold in 1976. The United States has dominated Olympic basketball competition from the start: the men have won 15 gold medals in the 18 tournaments they have participated in during the past 84 years, while the women have won 8 gold medals in the 10 tournaments in which they have competed during the past 44 years. Those of you who were looking forward to the 2020 Olympics opening ceremonies in Tokyo on July 24, 2020 will have to wait an extra 364 days, as the coronavirus caused a postponement until July 23, 2021. Due to the absence of college basketball since mid-March, HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel decided to fill the void by trying to interview as many prior Olympic players/coaches as possible so that you have something to read this summer while not watching the Summer Games. We continue our coverage by chatting with Rory Karpf, director of “I Hate Christian Laettner”, about Christian winning back-to-back NCAA tourneys and a gold medal in 1992. Today is Christian’s 51st birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!
Laettner played at Duke for Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the winningest coach in men’s D-1 history: what makes Coach K such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that Laettner ever learned from him? Coach K tells a story about going to Laettner’s home and hitting it off with his parents. I think that he saw something in Christian that other coaches missed: they had an instant kinship that is hard to explain. At his senior year banquet Christian got emotional and said that what he would miss the most was playing for Coach K. He never really found that kind of mentor again in the NBA.
Take me through the 1990 NCAA tourney:
After Coach K called out ”Special” with 2.6 seconds left in OT, Laettner inbounded the ball to Brian Davis who gave it back to him, then he double-pumped in mid-air he made the game-winning shot at the buzzer in a 1-PT OT win over UConn: did you think the shot was going in, and does it get forgotten because it is far from his most famous buzzer-beater? I was pretty young back then and not watching much basketball but it does get forgotten. In the end credits of my film Christian shows the shot to his son, who had never seen it before. 1 thing I learned is that he wanted the ball in his hands when the game was on the line, almost like Michael Jordan.
He scored 15 PTS in a 30-PT loss to UNLV in the title game (which remains the largest margin of victory in title game history): where does that game rank among the most devastating losses of his career? It was really motivational for him. In college he played better with a chip on his shoulder and when people were against him, and he used that the following year against the Fab 5.
Take me through the magical 1991 NCAA tourney:
He scored 28 PTS including 2 FTs with 12.7 seconds left in a 2-PT win over UNLV (ending the Rebels’ 45-game winning streak): how hard is it for a team to go undefeated, and do you think that we will ever see it happen again? It was such a different period in college basketball because teams do not stay together like that anymore. How many undefeated teams do you see in any sport? It was pretty incredible for Duke to beat that team.
He had 18 PTS/10 REB in a 7-PT win over Kansas in the title game en route to being named tourney MOP: what did it mean to him to win a title, and what was the reaction like when he got back to campus? Winning meant everything to him: he did not care much about stats. Superstar players back then played 4 years but if it happened today he probably would have gone pro after that game. He won with arrogance and all the girls wanted to be around such a good-looking guy. He was like a God on campus a la Zion Williamson but hated by everyone outside campus.
Take me through the magical 1992 NCAA tourney:
After catching a last-second pass from Grant Hill he made his famous turnaround game-winning jumper in a 1-PT win over Kentucky (which is considered by many people to be the “greatest college basketball game ever played”): how did that shot change his life (if at all)? It is the play he is most famous for and he spoofed it throughout the years (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo3G2MfOYeA). Not only was he great but he got away with something after stomping on a player. He has a pretty good attitude about it and I think it has to go down as 1 of the most famous/clutch plays in college basketball history. You can make an argument that he is the greatest of all-time.
He scored 19 PTS in a 20-PT win over Michigan in the title game: how did it feel to beat the “Fab 5”, and how did the 2nd title compare to the 1st? I think that he had a really bad 1st half and Bobby Hurley really lit into him in halftime, which meant something to Christian. Everything was about winning as a team so it was a storybook finish for him to go out like that.
2 decades after becoming the only player to ever start in 4 consecutive Final Fours he still holds the all-time NCAA tourney career records for most PTS (407) and most games played (23) in NCAA tourney history: did he realize at the time how prolific a player he was, and do you think that anyone will ever break his records? I do not think that he realized it due to his age: most 21-year old players are not thinking beyond the moment and he was just looking ahead to playing in the Olympics. He grasped what the team accomplished but I do not think those records will be broken because great players will keep going right to the NBA. He came from working-class Buffalo and only went to a prep school on scholarship where he would have to clean the school during the summers.
He won a gold medal as the only college player selected for the 1992 Dream Team: what did it mean to him to win a gold medal, and do you agree with those who say it was the “greatest sports team ever assembled”? I think so: it was so unique at the time. It was monumental to Christian to be selected. There was some controversy because they picked him over Shaquille O’Neal but it meant a lot to him to play with guys like Patrick Ewing/Magic Johnson/Charles Barkley.
After being drafted 3rd overall by Minnesota in 1992 (1 spot behind Alonzo Mourning) he averaged a career-best 18.2 PPG and was named to the All-Rookie 1st-team: what did it mean to him to be drafted, and how was he able to make such a smooth transition from college to the NBA? He did not like losing and that Minnesota team was not very good so I think he was very frustrated. He clashed with Coach Sidney Lowe: Sidney asked Coach K how he dealt with him and Coach K said that Sidney was not utilizing him correctly. Christian fit really well into the Duke scheme but could not single-handedly lift up a team as a rookie like Shaq did in Orlando.
In 2010 he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of his career? It just goes back to the fact that while he is appreciative he does not dwell on it.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As 1 of the greatest college athletes of all-time, bar none. I do not think that a player like him will come around again. 1 of the reasons he was hated is because he was so good: if you look at the numbers AND the footage you will see that he dominated Shaq in a game at LSU (www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ODZhiims2g). You could argue that he is the greatest college basketball player ever!