It’s that time of (new) year again, when we take out a moment to look back at the year gone by. And what a year it was for the Duke Blue Devils, featuring countless exciting finishes, outstanding individual efforts, milestones, awards, and yes, two national championships. In four installments over four days, the Chronicle Sports Blog picks the best ten of these to celebrate a memorable year in Duke sports. Without further adieu, the top two moments of 2010:
2. May 31: C.J. Costabile's overtime goal gives Duke its first Men's Lacrosse national championship.
Duke Lacrosse may be more synonymous with scandal than winning, but in the midst of all the upheaval caused by that infamous case the team continued to be one of the elite in the nation. Still, the national title that would justify the program's elite status eluded the team.
But it took C.J. Costabile only five seconds to rewrite history.
In those five seconds, Costabile won the national title game overtime's opening faceoff, sprinted down the middle of the field and fired a shot past Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers. Those five seconds gave Duke a 6-5 victory and their first national championship.
The championship won't erase the memories of the lacrosse program's darkest moment. But it vindicates a program that was nearly disbanded as truly one of the best in the country.
And in a season dominated by transcendent players like Max Quinzani and Ned Crotty, it was a role player in Costabile who gave this program its defining moment.
Fitting, really, for a program that literally had to come back from the dead.
1. April 5: Gordon Hayward's infamous shot clanks off the rim, and Men's Basketball wins its fourth national championship.
Lets be honest: putting this moment atop this list wasn't unexpected.
But at this time last year, no one would've expected it.
In his most candid moment, not even Mike Krzyzewski would say he expected the 2010 Blue Devils to win it all. The team had no explosive scorer, no true point guard, no dominant big man.
But despite all those individual weaknesses, Duke found a way to become something that was seemingly lost in the world of college basketball—a team. The 2010 Blue Devils weren't flashy or explosive. But they were the best.
Enough's been said about Jon Scheyer's leadership, Lance Thomas' energy, and Brian Zoubek's metamorphosis. The dynamic duo of Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler will be discussed about ad nauseum until they too graduate this May. There's no reason to rehash it once again.
But when Gordon Hayward's last-ditch buzzer-beater clanked off the iron, the Blue Devils showed that the team concept still had a place in college basketball. The moment was more than a glorious one for Duke, one that justified Krzyzewski's decision to coach the U.S. National team and vindicated one of the most disparaged recruiting classes in the program's history. It showed the college basketball world that seniors have a place in the one-and-done era, teamwork can beat athleticism and, most importantly, that Duke isn't always the villain.
For once, Duke Basketball won a national championship they weren't expected to. And in doing so, they reminded college basketball of what it once was and created Duke sports' moment of the year.
With a little help from a certain Mr. Hayward.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.