This NCAA Mens Basketball 1986 Final Four Semifinal Game not only featured two long-time storied college basketball programs….but also two of the all time legendary coaches in Duke’s Coach K (Krzyzewski) and Kansas’ Larry Brown….who as a matter of fact….are still coaching today some 30 years later….with Coach K still at Duke and Coach Brown at SMU.
The 1986 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament was the first tournament to use a shot clock….which limited the amount of time for any one offensive possession by a team prior to taking a shot at the basket….as beginning with this 1986 tournament….the shot clock was set at 45 seconds…. which it would remain until being shortened to 35 seconds beginning in the 1994 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament….and further shortened to 30 seconds (the same as NCAA women’s basketball) starting with the 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. The 1986 tournament was also the last to not feature the three-point shot.
This game also featured five (5) players who are still heavily involved in the world of basketball today in 2017….some 30 years later….as Duke’s F Danny Ferry is GM for the New Orleans Pelicans of the NBA, G Quin Snyder is the Head Coach of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, F Billy King was GM of the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76’ers and G Tommy Amaker is the Head Coach at Harvard University….while Kansas’ F/C Danny Manning is the Head Coach at Wake Forest University.
Pure and simple….this was a really good game featuring outstanding players who mirrored their coaches style and mental toughness with attention to detail and fundamentals….as this game featured tough hard-nosed defense and a flair for offense….which makes this matchup well worth watching.
