The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, December 12, 1994 -71
II1Court
_ Press
Jackson, King face
facts of Fab Five futility
By PAUL BARGER
Daily Basketball Writer
DURHAM, N.C. - The chant said it all.
As the words "four years, no wins," rang through the rafters at Cameron
Indoor Stadium, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson looked around with anguish.
Here they were in their final regular season game against Duke and for the
fourth year in a row they were going to lose. As the final seconds ticked off the
clock King tried one last 3-pointer and, symbolically, it clanged off the rim.
The Fab Five was arguably the greatest recruiting class in the history of
college basketball. They introduced themselves to the nation on Dec. 14, 1991
when they took then-defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Duke to
overtime. The Wolverines lost the game but gained the respect and admiration of
the college basketball world.
Revenge against Duke. That instantly became a battle cry for a group of
players that expected to lose to no one. But now the opportunities for vengeance
have disappeared, and the Fab Five will likely leave Michigan having never
defeated their most hated of rivals. There is, of course, the possibility that the
teams will meet in the NCAA tournament.
r Ironically, the closest King, Jackson, and former Wolverines Chris Webber,
Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose would ever get to defeating the Devils was in that
first game they played against Duke, losing by three, 88-85.
Since then they have lost by 20, 11 and twice by 10 points, respectively.
"It's great to look back, and later down the road everybody will be talking
about the Fab Five. I haven't lost to them. We beat them every time," Blue Devil
center Cherokee Parks said.
Now thegauntlet is passed to the next generation of Wolverines. The
newcomers have gotten a taste for the rivalry, which, in truth, really isn't much
of a rivalry anymore.
The last time Michigan beat Duke was in another overtime thriller in 1989.
Since then, the Blue Devils have won six consecutive against the Wolverines,
most of which have come with embarrassing ease.
For a surprisingly long period of time Saturday night, Michigan dominated
Duke in every category and looked like it was poised for an upset. The
Wolverines' hard work resulted in an impressive, almost incredible, 24-0 first
half run. Michigan took a 35-28 lead after trailing 28-11, largely because of the
play of freshman Maurice Taylor.
Maybe, just maybe, King and Jackson would be able to ride the freshmen for
their first win over Duke. But to beat a team like that, Michigan had to play for
40 minutes, and they hardly showed up for the second half.
Duke's secondhalfdefenseconfused and frustrated Michigan from beginning
to end. The game remained close, but it was quite obvious who was going to win.
The more you lose to a team, the harder it is to beat them.
In the final ten minutes of the game, the cocky smiles that Michigan players
are recognized for became noticeably nervous. They must have sensed some-
thing.
As the Devils began to hittheirshots,
the Wolverines could only watch with
anger and amazement. It seemed that
possessionafterpossession,Dukewould t
have to force a shot with the shot clock 1
unning down and every time the Blue c
Devils connected. Michigan went ice
cold, scoring a meager eight points on
two field goals in the final 12:41.
Another year of the Duke student
body celebrating another win over x
Michigan and members of the Fab Five.
"Four years, no wins."
Now the current group of freshmen%
.must try to be the unit that ends one of
#Ie most upsetting losing streaks in
Michigan history. King and Jackson
have lost their chance.
With all the success that is predicted
for the first-year players, Taylor and his h
fellow classmates may find that beating Ki
Duke is the most difficult task they will
undertake.
King and Jackson walked off the court Saturday with disappointment in their
eyes. They always thought that one day they would beat this team. Five losses
,aater, reality sinks in.
The Fab Five's contributions to Michigan basketball will not be complete
until the end of this season. As it stands now they have produced no national
championships, no Big Ten titles and no victories against Duke.
They were young in 1991,expecting to conquer the world. Saturday night they
were simply reminded that they could never reach the lofty goals they had set for
themselves.
The faces may change, but the results remain the same. It doesn't matter if it
is Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill or Cherokee Parks. The greatness
of the Fab Five has been compromised by the even-better Blue Devils.
As King put up the final shot in Cameron he was still trying, still hoping. But
as hard as he tried and as badly as he wanted to win, he had to come to grips with
the fact that the unthinkable was about to occur.
The Fab Five, now reduced to two, had lost to Duke again, but this time there
would be no chance for revenge.
"Four years, no wins."
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Freshmen Jerod Ward, Maceo Baston and Maurice Taylor express their disappointment at dropping a 69-59 decision to Duke Saturday. The Wolverines' loss
was the 92nd in a row by a non-conference opponent at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Cameron continues to
plague non-AC C teams
By ANTOINE PITTS
Daily Basketball Writer
DURHAM, N.C. - The crazi-
ness continues at Cameron Indoor
Stadium for Duke opponents.
Saturday's 69-59 win over
Michigan improved Duke's un-
beaten streak against non-confer-
ence opponents to 92 games, dating
back to the 1982-83 season. That
year, the Blue Devils lost to Louis-
ville, 91-76. Overall, Duke has won
79 of its last 84 games at Cameron.
The Blue Devils own an 81 percent
lifetime winning percentage in their
home since 1940.
The fans, who do everything
from waving and jumping up and
down, to chanting, yelling and
screaming, help make a date at Duke
one of college basketball's most in-
timidating road trips. A hundred-
piece pep band fuels the crowd's
energy beginning an hour and a half
before tipoff.
"Duke, as everyone knows, is a
terrific basketball team," Michigan
coach Steve Fisher said. "This is a
very difficult place to come in and
win. We won't have as hard a road
game all season."
OUCH!: Two Michigan freshmen
hit the floor writhing in pain during
Saturday's game. Maceo Baston
suffered a mild knee sprain after
getting tangled up with some other
players in the first half.
Baston laid on the floor in obvi-
ous pain for several minutes before
being helped to the lockerroom. He
returned on the bench a few minutes
later and reentered the game.
Maurice Taylor injured his wrist
in the second half. He was battling
with a Duke player for a rebound
when he fell to the floor, using his
wrist to break his fall. Taylor left
the game, received medical atten-
tion, then returned a few minutes
later.
KING CLIMBING: Jimmy King's
putback lay-in minutes into the game
moved him into 22nd on the all-
time Michigan scoring list. He sur-
passed Rickey Green, who scored
1,184 points as a Wolverine in the
mid-1970s.
Next on the list for King is former
teammate Chris Webber at 1,218.
King needs 23 points to pass
Webber.
ONE-SIDED SERIES: The Duke-
Michigan series dates back to 1963
but only recently has it become a
huge rivalry. The teams met from
1963 through 1970 with the Blue
Devils winning six of the meetings,
but the Wolverines were able to
take two games at Cameron Indoor
Stadium.
The series resumed in 1989 with
the Wolverines winning in a 113-
108 overtime thriller at Crisler
Arena. That marks Michigan's last
victory in the series, though.
Saturday's win gives Duke a 12-
4 advantage in the series.
In 1989 the Wolverines toppea
Seton Hall for the championship. A
year later the Blue Devils fell to
UNLV before beating Kansas for
their first title in 1991.
In 1992 Duke defeated Michi-
gan, 71-51, to become repeat cham-
pions. The next year, the Blue Dev-
ils missed the championship for the
first time in three years, but the
Wolverines returned, only to fall to
North Carolina.
Last season Duke fell to Arkan-'
SEE YOU AT THE FINAL FOUR: For
the past six seasons, either Michi-
gan or Duke, and in one instance
both, have played in the national
championship game.
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