Subject at work , where we solve a lot of world problems LOL . Talking about the 78 Duke team that we played for the championship . What happened with Bill Foster ? I was young but I remember Giminski , Banks , Spanarkold ( I realize I butchered that spelling ) , and was it Kennard ? Those guys were young and everyone thought Duke would DOMINATE for a while . What kind of seasons did they have the next few years ? Did Foster resign or was he fired ? I thought Gene Banks might become one of the best ever but honestly , I don't remember much about him after that . Thanks .
Bill Foster ?
- Thread starter yoshukai
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Bill Foster left Duke to coach at South Carolina on his own free will. After he left, Coach 1K came aboard, had a NIT invite his first year, two losing seasons after that, and as they say, the rest is history. As for Banks, he had a decent college career and a good run in the pros, but never was as good as some thought he might would be. But Banks was a great commit than helped get Duke back on the basketball map. OFC
Gminski, Dennard and Spanarkel. Bill Foster left for South Carolina. Gminski played in the NBA for several years and now is one of the best college announcers around. Banks played a few years in the NBA and overseas. Still lives in NC. Spanarkel played in the NBA and now does college basketball announcing. Dennard is still around. Im surprised being a basketball fan that you don't know what Gminski and Spanarkel does but being a duke fan I don't know what Jack Givens is doing now.. OFC
Really like Foster as a coach but I thought he was out coached in 1978 Finals by Joe B Hall. Duke lost by about six points to UK as Goose Givens scored 41 points versus Duke zone. Similar to what Coson did for ND in Acc tourney Givens would find the crease in the zone and Mike Gmiski could not guard him.
Always thought Duke should have played a box and one on Givens with Dennard or Sparnarkle. Banks, Gman and Sparnarkle scored 20 plus for Duke but they could not stop Givens. If Foster had won that game we might not have the coach we have now...so I guess it all worked out.
Always thought Duke should have played a box and one on Givens with Dennard or Sparnarkle. Banks, Gman and Sparnarkle scored 20 plus for Duke but they could not stop Givens. If Foster had won that game we might not have the coach we have now...so I guess it all worked out.
I've heard them call many games and knew who they were . I was young back then and didn't remember what happened the years following that championship . Granted , I've never been that much of an NBA fan so it's not surprising I didn't know what kind of NBA careers they had .
Originally posted by yoshukai:
Subject at work , where we solve a lot of world problems LOL . Talking about the 78 Duke team that we played for the championship . What happened with Bill Foster ? I was young but I remember Giminski , Banks , Spanarkold ( I realize I butchered that spelling ) , and was it Kennard ? Those guys were young and everyone thought Duke would DOMINATE for a while . What kind of seasons did they have the next few years ? Did Foster resign or was he fired ? I thought Gene Banks might become one of the best ever but honestly , I don't remember much about him after that . Thanks .
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Duke was pre-season #1 the following season and held that ranking until the first week of January following two back-to-back losses to St. John's and Ohio State in NY after having big leads in both games. That was a sign that the team was distracted and that maybe that amazing chemistry from a year earlier was gone. That team went on and tied for first in the ACC but was hit with injury and illness down the stretch. Losing their point guard after the ACC tournament semi final due to appendicitis. They lost to UNC in the final and fell victim in the NCAA'S in what has become known in the state of North Carolina as the infamous "black Sunday" when both UNC and Duke lost in Raleigh in the first round on the same day. Duke finished 22-8 and ranked 11th.
1979-80 saw the loss of Spanarkel but still had plenty of firepower. Vince Taylor out of the state of KY emerged as a double figure scorer and a very good athletic guard joining Gminski, Banks, Dennard and Bender. Duke's first game of the season was actually Kentucky in a battle of #3 vs #2. Duke won in overtime and then beat #6 UNC two games later in the old Big Four tournament. Duke ascended to the # 1 ranking again and had it for close to a month. After a 12-0 start they were upset at Clemson and then started to sputter, had some injury issues again and struggled to a 7-7 league finish. Despite beating UNC in the Big Four, the Heels hammered Duke in both RS meetings. But Duke got healthy again and back on track making an incredible run through the ACC Tournament, beating # 19 NCSU, 10th ranked UNC and 7th ranked Maryland for the 1980 ACC Championship. Foster closed out his Duke tenure with a run to the elite 8, beating Kentucky in the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena. Duke finished 24-9 and ranked 14th. An up and down year that still saw lots of ups, Big four Champs, ACC Champs, several weeks ranked # 1 and two wins each against Kentucky and UNC.
Banks/Dennard/Taylor were on K's first Duke team that went 17-13 and won a couple of NIT games. Their best win that year was the senior day win over 11th ranked Carolina who was a year away from being national champions.
So that's the story of those teams following that 1978 season. Bill Foster was never comfortable in one place. He always took losing very hard and always put a lot of pressure on himself. He has said that those were his greatest times in coaching but he also said that he wouldn't let himself enjoy it. He was more of a builder or rebuilder of programs than a sustainer but he did a great job at Duke and really deserves more credit than he gets. K's first great recruiting class (Dawkins & Co) all saw that 78 title game. Without Foster maybe K doesn't do as well, who knows.
Subject at work , where we solve a lot of world problems LOL . Talking about the 78 Duke team that we played for the championship . What happened with Bill Foster ? I was young but I remember Giminski , Banks , Spanarkold ( I realize I butchered that spelling ) , and was it Kennard ? Those guys were young and everyone thought Duke would DOMINATE for a while . What kind of seasons did they have the next few years ? Did Foster resign or was he fired ? I thought Gene Banks might become one of the best ever but honestly , I don't remember much about him after that . Thanks .
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Duke was pre-season #1 the following season and held that ranking until the first week of January following two back-to-back losses to St. John's and Ohio State in NY after having big leads in both games. That was a sign that the team was distracted and that maybe that amazing chemistry from a year earlier was gone. That team went on and tied for first in the ACC but was hit with injury and illness down the stretch. Losing their point guard after the ACC tournament semi final due to appendicitis. They lost to UNC in the final and fell victim in the NCAA'S in what has become known in the state of North Carolina as the infamous "black Sunday" when both UNC and Duke lost in Raleigh in the first round on the same day. Duke finished 22-8 and ranked 11th.
1979-80 saw the loss of Spanarkel but still had plenty of firepower. Vince Taylor out of the state of KY emerged as a double figure scorer and a very good athletic guard joining Gminski, Banks, Dennard and Bender. Duke's first game of the season was actually Kentucky in a battle of #3 vs #2. Duke won in overtime and then beat #6 UNC two games later in the old Big Four tournament. Duke ascended to the # 1 ranking again and had it for close to a month. After a 12-0 start they were upset at Clemson and then started to sputter, had some injury issues again and struggled to a 7-7 league finish. Despite beating UNC in the Big Four, the Heels hammered Duke in both RS meetings. But Duke got healthy again and back on track making an incredible run through the ACC Tournament, beating # 19 NCSU, 10th ranked UNC and 7th ranked Maryland for the 1980 ACC Championship. Foster closed out his Duke tenure with a run to the elite 8, beating Kentucky in the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena. Duke finished 24-9 and ranked 14th. An up and down year that still saw lots of ups, Big four Champs, ACC Champs, several weeks ranked # 1 and two wins each against Kentucky and UNC.
Banks/Dennard/Taylor were on K's first Duke team that went 17-13 and won a couple of NIT games. Their best win that year was the senior day win over 11th ranked Carolina who was a year away from being national champions.
So that's the story of those teams following that 1978 season. Bill Foster was never comfortable in one place. He always took losing very hard and always put a lot of pressure on himself. He has said that those were his greatest times in coaching but he also said that he wouldn't let himself enjoy it. He was more of a builder or rebuilder of programs than a sustainer but he did a great job at Duke and really deserves more credit than he gets. K's first great recruiting class (Dawkins & Co) all saw that 78 title game. Without Foster maybe K doesn't do as well, who knows.
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