How The California Golden Bears Shocked The College Basketball World
The California Golden Bears men’s basketball team has not had an abundance of NCAA tournament success in quite some time. In fact, they’ve not exactly been a tournament powerhouse since their only championship season in 1959.
However, in 1993 that the national spotlight was again thrust upon the men’s basketball program.
The Golden Bears season was in turmoil after the firing of Lou Campanelli with 10 games to go in the 1992-1993 season. Campanelli had been the Bears head coach since the 1985-86 season, compiling a record of 123-108 (.532), and leading the Bears to post-season play on four occasions.
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Campanelli was an intense man who was known for having an abrasive coaching style, that at times didn’t sit well with some of his players.
Cal’s Athletic director at the time was Bob Bockrath, who reportedly fired the head-coach after inadvertently hearing him give profanity-laced lectures to his players after tough conference losses to Arizona State and Arizona.
Todd Bozeman who had been an assistant coach under Campanelli since 1990, took over as the team’s interim coach. Bozeman was known as an excellent recruiter within the college circles, and was seen as the main reason star recruit and McDonald’s All-American Jason Kidd, chose to attend Cal over national powers Kansas and Kentucky.
Mar 20, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach
Jason Kiddargues a call during the second overtime against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center. The Nets defeated the Bucks 129 – 127 in three overtimes. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears entered the tournament on a six game winning streak and a 19-8 overall record. They were rewarded with a six seed in the Mid-West bracket, and a first round tournament match-up with 11th seeded Louisiana State.
Freshman point guard Kidd and leading scorer sophomore small forward Lamond Murray led Cal into tournament play. Kidd’s dramatic drive and underhanded scoop shot with one second left on the clock sealed a 66-64 win for the Bears over L.S.U, and advanced them to a second round match-up against the two-time defending NCAA champions Duke Blue Devils.
The third-seeded Blue Devils entered the round of 32 off a 105-70 trouncing off Southern Illinois and appeared ready to steamroll over the Kidd, Murray, and the Golden Bears.
The Blue Devils were the over-whelming favorites for a reason. They had won the two previous national championships, and although their team leader and star player Christian Laettner had graduated the previous year Duke still had a veteran laden team.
The clutch shooting and tournament seasoned senior point guard Bobby Hurley, was the Blue Devils heart and soul, while junior swing man Grant Hill was undoubtedly their best player.
The Golden Bears were led by their own dynamic duo. Jason Kidd was having a fantastic freshman season, earning national Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the All-Pac 10 team. While leading scorer junior small forward Murray was a first team All-Pac 10 selection.
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Cal came out of the blocks swarming on defense. They were flying around the court, forcing the normally steady Blue Devils into uncharacteristic turnovers. In all, the Bears forced Duke into 12 first half turnovers, and a pedestrian 37 percent shooting from the floor.
In a scenario that literally nobody imagined, the Golden Bears took a 47-37 lead into halftime.
Duke had to overcome losing sophomore big man Cherokee Parks, who injured an ankle right before halftime and was lost to the Blue Devils for the rest of the game.
Cal surged to a 70-53 lead with a little over 13 minutes left in the game. Led by its pair of Hills, Grant and Thomas Hill, Duke began to lock down defensively. Cal only managed six points over the next 10 minutes and Duke tied the game at 76.
There was a reason Duke had won the two previous national championships. They were accustomed playing in tense, win or go home post-season games, and their floor general Hurley was known for his ability to hit the “Big Shot.”
Their counterparts at Cal though, were relatively young and inexperienced in such situations.
“Our kids fought valiantly. We didn’t lose the ball game. Cal won it.”
Duke pulling away late seemed like an unavoidable conclusion to this great game, but Cal had its own plan in mind. Arguably, the biggest play of the game came with 1:11 left in the contest, when through a sea of hands and players, Kidd surfaced with the ball beneath the basket and laid it in, while being fouled for a three-point play.
This amazing play put the Bears up 79-77. Duke still wouldn’t go down without a fight and had plenty of opportunities at the end to pull out the victory. Hurley missed on a late game three-point shot that wuold have put Duke back up. But Cal’s Murray hustled to get the rebound and managed to draw the foul for his effort.
Murray calmly sank the two free-throws sealing the 82-77 victory for Cal. He led the Golden Bears with 28 points while Kidd chipped in 11 points to go along with 14 assists.
Hurley had a brilliant game for Duke scoring 32 points and dishing out 9 assists. But it wasn’t enough.
The game ended Duke’s dreams of a three-peat and put Cal in the national spotlight for the first time in decades. The Blue Devils showed the heart of a champion but the young upstart Bears showed poise, and proved they could play with anybody in the nation.