Duke-UNC Memories: Missoula Mountain Always A Duke Man

Feb. 5, 2004

by Jim Sumner
Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C. - Mike Lewis first came to North Carolina four decades ago. The Missoula, Mont., native was a highly-recruited prep star when he visited Duke. "I liked the coaches, I liked the campus," he recalls from his home in Kernersville. "I had a great visit. I wanted to go away from home. It might have made more sense to stay out west. I could have gone to UCLA. I'm not sure I can explain it. But something about Duke just grabbed me."

Lewis struggled at first, mainly with the books. He was homesick and started skipping classes. "I guess I thought it was cool. I had been the big jock in high school and had gotten away with stuff. (Coach Vic) Bubas let me know that would not happen at Duke." Lewis never struggled on the court. His high school coach, Lou Rocheleau, had played center at the University of Montana and taught Lewis the nuances of low-post play, "how to use both hands, how to establish position, how to control a tap."

After a year on the freshman team, the 6-foot-7, 230-pound center joined a loaded Blue Devils squad for the 1966 team. His teammates included Jack Marin, Bob Verga and Steve Vacendak. "It was great for a big man. Nobody paid any attention to me." Lewis more than held his own. He led the ACC in rebounding and scored almost 14 points per game.

Duke defeated UCLA (twice) and Michigan and ran through the ACC with a 12-2 mark. The winner-take-all ACC Tournament followed. Duke walloped Wake Forest in the opener and then met Dean Smith's UNC Tar Heels. UNC opened in its four corners in an attempt to draw out Duke's defense. Duke didn't bite. Duke led only 7-5 at the intermission. "We had no idea something like this was coming," says Lewis. "We thought that UNC wasn't good enough to play that way without making some mistakes. Then we would get them down, force them to run, and beat them badly."

Duke was able to force some tempo in the second half but not much. Tension mounted as the game wound down and Duke's great season was imperiled. UNC actually led 17-12 with about 10 minutes left but Duke fought back to tie the game at 20. The Blue Devils held the ball for a final shot. Lewis got a pass inside and was hacked on a shot with four seconds left.

Big man or not, Lewis was competent from the line. He made 75 percent of his free throws for the season, 76 percent for his career. "I really wasn't too worried. I knew I was a good foul shooter. I was pretty sure I could make one of two. Then I choked on the first one and the rim got a little smaller." Lewis made the second and Duke escaped with a 21-20 win. Lewis grabbed seven rebounds in the game. This doesn't seem like much until you consider that there were only 23 rebounds in the entire game and Lewis grabbed almost a third of them.

Lewis pulled down 14 more the next night as Duke defeated N.C. State for the title. Wins over St. Joseph's and Syracuse sent Duke to its third Final Four in four seasons. The title train was derailed when Bob Verga came down with strep throat. Lewis says, "We felt we could win even without Verga. Kentucky didn't have much size. I should have scored more than I did." Lewis scored 21 and Marin 29 but Verga contributed little. "I'm not sure we could have beaten Texas Western the next night but I would have liked a chance to try. Still, I feel very fortunate to be in the Final Four. Most players never get that chance."

Lewis would rather forget his junior year, when Duke lost an uncharacteristic nine games. Early in the year Duke visited UCLA for a pair of games. The previous year's game in Charlotte had been marred by racial epithets by fans toward UCLA's black players. Lewis remembers, "They were waiting for us. They wanted to beat us big-time." Led by sophomore superstar Lew Alcindor, they did just that, 88-54 and 107-87. "We never recovered psychologically from that," Lewis says.

Duke recovered enough to advance to the ACC Tournament title game in 1967 but lost 82-73 to UNC, Duke's third loss to the Heels. Duke became the first ACC team to go to the NIT but lost their first game to eventual champion Southern Illinois and their star Walt Frazier. "It was a letdown," Lewis maintains. "Our hearts just weren't in it."

Lewis had a big senior season in 1968. He led the ACC in rebounding with an impressive 14.4 per game and led the league in scoring until late in the season when teams started holding the ball against Duke. "This was a bunch of guys who got along great. The game was fun again." The regular season ended with the traditional home match against North Carolina. By this point Smith had turned Carolina into a national power, with four consecutive wins over Duke since the 21-20 game. This UNC team would go on to finish second to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament. Lewis battled UNC's giants inside to the tune of 18 points and 18 rebounds. The war took its toll on Lewis. He fouled out of his final regular-season home game with 3:54 left and Duke on the short end of a 65-62 loss. Little-used reserve Fred Lind filled in spectacularly for Lewis and Duke won 87-86 in triple-overtime.

Lewis says "it was agonizing watching from the bench but I loved the way it turned out. The best thing was the incredible reaction of the students. It was important to them and it was important to us."

Duke lost to North Carolina State 12-10 in the ACC Tournament. Duke went to the NIT and lost in the second round to St. Peter's, in a game that Lewis fouled out of after playing a mere seven minutes.

Lewis played six seasons for four ABA teams and ranked in the top 10 in rebounding three times. An Achilles injury ended his playing career. Former Duke and ABA teammate Steve Vacendak helped Lewis get a job with Converse in Philadelphia that lasted for four years. Lewis' wife Becky is from North Carolina; she attended Appalachian State. She wanted to come back to her home state. Bucky Waters' job as fundraiser for Duke hospital had enabled him to establish a relationship with John Dillard of the Dillard Paper Company. Waters made the proper introductions and Lewis is still with the company, which is now part of International Paper Company. He is vice president of sales but prefers to be called a sales representative. Retirement isn't in the works. "They'll have to run me off," he laughs. Lewis lives in Kernersville with his wife and works in Greensboro. They have two grown daughters, Katie and Sarah.

Lewis shows up in Cameron on a regular basis. "Coach K has a great respect for Duke's past. He takes care of the tradition. I always feel welcome. Duke and Duke basketball are still very important to me."

Duke-UNC Memories: Missoula Mountain Always A Duke Man

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