Comments on: THF Countdown #22: 1999

By: DeanForever

DeanForever — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:11:32 +0000

AS I have previously stated, one of my good high school friends was responsible for throwing away that pass at the end of the game for Weber State. I won’t drop his name right now, but he did tell me (in June of 1999) that he only felt the jitters at that moment. He said the name on the jersies had got to him.

Just some food for thought. Retribution came a few weeks later when Trajan Langdon tripped over himself and Duke blew the first of two Final Four games against UConn.

By: heeledsoul

heeledsoul — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:59:49 +0000

98-99 was my freshman year. I remember the summer before the year started, my uncle walked into Haywood at the Student Stores and got his autograph. What an up and down year it was, winning enough to get our hopes up despite the inconsistencies. I agree with EGL, weber state sounds like dweeber state. Webber State would have been a little more respectable. In any case, after the debacle that was Arceneaux, I remember calling up my uncle and telling him to rip up that worthless autograph b/c Haywood wasn’t going to amount to much (this was a moment of weakness). One happy memory I have about the season that allowed me not to go through therapy was the joy of watching dook lose to an underdog in uconn. I remember driving around campus immediately after the game, and there was this feeling of victory, almost.

By: Heels Perspective

Heels Perspective — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:32:54 +0000

Keith,

Please don’t get us started on “what if they had stayed” debate!!

By: keithunc

keithunc — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:24:59 +0000

Oh what could have been with Jamison and carter had stayed one more year.

By: JBowling

JBowling — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:12:52 +0000

You are a funny man C. Michael! I remember being very surprised at this team’s success. I thought going forward that we would be successful with this squad. Boy, was I wrong! But a final four appearance the next year was surprising as well, with the addition of Joseph Forte.

By: DSchwind

DSchwind — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:24:51 +0000

Reading this, I just had a flashback to 10th grade and all the unending taunting I had to suffer at the hands of everyone at school the day after the Weber State game. Stupid Maryland fans.

By: C. Michael

C. Michael — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:50:13 +0000

To me, Guthridge and Doh were polar opposites: Gut was a brilliant coach but lacked the recruiting will/ability/results, while Doh was a brilliant and tireless recruiter, but definitely lack the coaching/managing side of the coin. It is too bad we couldn’t have combined the the two… oh wait, we did… it’s called Roy Williams!!!

By: Matt Privett

Matt Privett — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:28:08 +0000

Look at that roster and it’s no wonder this team was such an enigma. They only had Ed Cota, who was not a scorer. No one after that comes close to being a “star.” Haywood’s career was a major disappointment. The expectations on Kris Lang were way over his head (he is a role player off the bench at best if “typical” Carolina recruiting had been done). I, too, was an Okulaja fan, but by and large this team was slow and couldn’t shoot.

By: ed geth lives

ed geth lives — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:27:56 +0000

I firmly believe that this was team represented one of the best coaching jobs ever by a Tar Heel coach. Look at the talent on this team: only one player, Haywood, has played a minute in the NBA. Only 2002, can compare in terms of lack of professional talent. And this team was very competitive in this season–they gave that great Dook team their only minor test, by being competitive in the game at Cameron and beat a great Maryland team in the ACC Tourney. (If Battier hadn’t thrown Max Owens to the ground on a crucial play, then maybe they would have even stolen an upset, not that I obsess much about these things.)

I am a loyal Guthridge man through and through and I think in some ways this team was very similar to the 2006 one–the only difference of course is that we hadn’t won the championship the year before and Duke wasn’t as good in 06 as they were in 1999. Plus George Mason sounds more respectable than Weber State. (Hell, anything sounds more respectable than Weber State–we were penalized by it being a funny name). Big differences I grant you.

I definitely would have put 1996 here.

By: HeelYeah

HeelYeah — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:54:29 +0000

I believe the Weber State game was about as helpless as I’ve ever felt. I was living in Chapel Hill at the time, so I luckily didn’t have to hear much lip from Dookies or State folks.

As far as Harold “The Show”, he was basically a nobody before that game and he certainly has been a nobody since. We can add him to a long list of guys who’ve been touched by the basketball gods while playing against the Heels. But, honestly, that team probably didn’t deserve to advance anyway. We didn’t have any real “athletes” (save maybe Curry), and Cota was the only star. Haywood’s tendency to disappear (as he did that fateful day) meant that Cota’s passing skills were often wasted.