Office Hours: Preparation at the Buzzer

2.1 SECONDS.

That’s how much time was left on the overtime clock. Duke had the ball and was losing 103-102 to Kentucky in the NCAA Regional Finals. If Duke lost this game, Kentucky would move on to the Final Four and Duke’s hopes would be crushed.

The whistle blew and Grant Hill threw a baseline pass to Christian Laettener who was in the paint at the other end of the court. Christian caught it, faked to the right, dribbled the ball, and turned towards the basket.

SHOOT THE BALL,

everyone was thinking. It felt like an eternity. Finally, just as the buzzer sounded, Christian shot the ball and made it. Duke won 104-103.

I was there to see that shot at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in 1991. It is my greatest in-person memory in sports in my life by far.

And that’s saying a lot. Because for five decades, I’d watched every home football game at Duke except for one (which I remember: Duke v Clemson, 1994). In fact, for about 20 years, I made it to almost every away football game too. And during those same 50 years, I also had a chance to attend most Duke men’s basketball games, resulting in five national championships and tons of recognition for the school, the coach, the team, and its players.

The best part of these spectator experiences was that, as the Dean of Students and a faculty member, I had gotten to know a lot of the student-athletes, including Grant and Christian. And, as successful as they both have been in basketball and in the classroom, going on to have careers in the NBA, they are very different people with very distinct personalities. Yet they have one very important thing in common:

In his book “Game,” Grant Hill describes what happened during the time-out before the winning throw, catch, and shot against Kentucky. Grant was skeptical, thinking to himself, “The season is over. Guess I’ll be at Myrtle Beach next week instead of the Final Four.” Grant goes on to write, “Chaos erupted all around us. Coach projected calmness inside the huddle. We’re going to win this game, he said.”

Coach K then asked Grant, “Can you make the pass?” Grant said “Yes.” Coach then turned to Christian and asked him if he could make the shot. He replied, “If Grant makes the pass, I’ll make the shot.” As they went back onto the court, Grant writes that “in my gut, despite the odds, I trusted we were going to win. I would do my part, and Laettner would find a way.”

Grant, Christian and Coach K all had a certainty that they were going to win, despite the scoreboard. So where did that come from?

According to Grant, the team had practiced passing the ball with teammates— a lot. These passing drills had allowed the team to attempt passes of various lengths down the court, “culminating with a baseball pass the length of the court.” So, Grant and Christian had tried this many times before. The more they practiced, the better they got. They were confident because they were prepared—even with only 2.1 seconds left.

Reflecting on the “miracle pass, catch, and shot,” I’m reminded of a quote by Tony Schwartz, the president and CEO of The Energy Project and the author of Be Excellent at Anything: The Four Keys to Transforming the Way We Work and Live: “Confidence equals security equals positive emotion equals better performance.”

Grant, Christian, and Coach K certainly embraced this at the end of the game against Kentucky. Maybe we should, too.