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Greatest Hustle Play in Husker History


Norm Peterson

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Passing the time between now and tipoff tomorrow ...

 

I nominate Bruce Chubick sprinting, what?, 50, 60 feet?, to block Alonzo Jamison's dunk attempt at the buzzer to preserve a tie and send the game into an OT period from which the Huskers eventually prevailed over KU.

 

Greatest hustle play in Nebraska basketball history.

That is a great one...and I certainly won't say it's wrong.

Yet, another play comes to mind that I will offer as another prime candidate, Dec. 12, 1964, Fred Hare flipped the ball over his head with his back to the basket, at the buzzer, to give the Huskers a 74-73 win over No. 1-ranked Michigan and Cazzie Russell, who was on the .All-American team.

One extra part of this "distinction" is the Huskers posted the worst season-ending record of any opponent to upset a top-ranked team (10-15).

Here is a description from one site:

"After fighting back from a 14-poin4 deficit, the Comhuskers trailed by only one point with 58 seconds to go and decided to freeze the bail! for the final shot. With eight seconds remaining Hare let go with a jumper which bounced high off the rim and back into his waiting arms. Then, with his back to the basket, he tossed the bail! up and in."

 

A different kind of hustle.

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I agree with Norm's choice, but here is another some of you may remember:  Several years back, I think during Doc's tenure, at Texas Tech.  Pretty much a miracle finish.  There's a scrum on the sideline between the 3 point line and midcourt line with a couple of seconds left.  Somehow Charles Richardson gets the ball and launches a 3 pointer which is good for the win.   My memory is foggy but Chuck may have also saved the ball from going out of bounds.  I do remember it was an awesome hustle play by Chuck.  

 

Another, not up to that standard as a hustle play, but at Okie State, Wes Wilkinson has an open 3 for the win and freaking air balls it--yet a Husker hustles to the air ball and tips it in for the win.  Can't remember who made the tip in.  Each year it gets a little harder to pull up things from the past--or from 10 minutes ago.

 

EDIT:  On the win at Texas Tech, it was the TECH player who saved the ball in bounds to Chuck, of all  things, and Chuck fired up the shot.  Which was ultimately a 2 I believe.  But still for the win.  Doesn't fit Norm's category, but it would rank up there as one of the craziest (and perhaps luckiest) finishes ever.  

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Hare gets my vote. My father and I were there. Hare's shot came off the rebound of his jump shot. He hustled in and got the rebound but had to shoot it ala a backwards Rick Barry free throw from three feet away. It rattled around and rolled in right at the gun. Yes they fired blanks to signal the end of games. We were in the top row of the coliseum and you could barely see the court due to the smoke from all the fans smoking. Those were the days!

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Carl McPipe and Andre Smith hustling into the Antler section at Mizzou has to rank right up there. 

That was at Oklahoma State.  I believe my call was "Well, would you look at this:  Carl & Andre are up in the stands!"  The Okie State students were giving Brian Banks the business for some reason and Carl & Andre didn't much care for it.

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Hare gets my vote. My father and I were there. Hare's shot came off the rebound of his jump shot. He hustled in and got the rebound but had to shoot it ala a backwards Rick Barry free throw from three feet away. It rattled around and rolled in right at the gun. Yes they fired blanks to signal the end of games. We were in the top row of the coliseum and you could barely see the court due to the smoke from all the fans smoking. Those were the days!

I was there for that one too.  Tom Baack says he talked to Cazzie Russel years later and Cazzie called it the most embarasing loss of his career.  Michigan was ranked # 1. 

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No comparison to the Chubick deal for sure, but in recent memory Shavon's freshman year he dove for and secured a ball at about mid-court vs Northwestern @ home ( pretty sure ) that impressed the livin' daylights out of me.   I always wish I could see footage of that to see if it was as impressive as I thought it was at the time.

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Passing the time between now and tipoff tomorrow ...

 

I nominate Bruce Chubick sprinting, what?, 50, 60 feet?, to block Alonzo Jamison's dunk attempt at the buzzer to preserve a tie and send the game into an OT period from which the Huskers eventually prevailed over KU.

 

Greatest hustle play in Nebraska basketball history.

 

Clearly the greatest 'hustle' is getting Tyronn Lue and Cookie Belcher from Norm Stewart's backyard. Greatest Husker hustle of all time.

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