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Men's Basketball
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ACC Legend: Steve Vacendak
3/12/2011 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Plenty of Duke players have excelled in the ACC Tournament, but none have ever accomplished what Steve Vacendak did in 1966.
The Blue Devil guard was so good in the '66 tournament that he vaulted from a pre-tourney spot on the second All-ACC team to election as the ACC player of the year. To this day, Vacendak is the only player ever to earn ACC player of the year honors without making the first All-ACC team.
“It was a very nice honor to be selected ACC player of the year,” Vacendak recalled, pointing out that only the ACC Tournament champion could compete in postseason at that time. “I guess when everything is on the line in the tournament, the tournament should have more weight. I didn't have any hang up about being second team and ACC player of year.”
Vacendak was honored Saturday at the 2011 ACC Tournament. He was one of 12 former coaches and players introduced as an ACC Legend. As he walked off the floor, he exchanged hugs with former Duke coach Bucky Waters, who was a Blue Devil assistant coach who helped recruit him from Scranton, Pa., 49 years ago.
Vacendak was a hard-nosed 6-1 guard who came to Durham along with a smooth 6-6 forward from Western Pennsylvania. He and Jack Marin roomed together and came up to the varsity together in the fall of 1963 – the season after Duke's first Final Four trip. Vacendak came off the bench and averaged 5.5 points on a Blue Devil team that won the ACC regular season title and finished No. 3 in the nation.
He played 28 minutes and scored 12 points in Duke's semifinal victory over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, but missed the ACC title game with a collapsed lung.
“That was frustrating to be in a hospital bed, watching the final game of the ACC Tournament,” Vacendak recalled.
After Duke defeated Wake Forest for the championship, Bubas told reporters that he had used Vacendak as inspiration, telling his team that the sophomore guard had left his blood on the court and they could match his effort.
Vacendak said Saturday that he had never heard that story.
“I hope not,” he said. “They told me it wasn't anything to worry about, but they might have just been telling me to relax because the key to recovery was to take my time and not get excited and give my lung a chance to heal itself.”
The young guard did recover and played a key role off the bench as the Blue Devils marched to the national title game before they were beaten by UCLA's first championship team.
Vacendak moved into the starting lineup as a junior, alternating between guard and forward. He averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds for the nation's highest scoring team. But the Devils were upset by N.C. State – playing on its own home floor – in the 1965 title game. Even though Duke was No. 10 in the nation, they weren't allowed to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
That's why the 1966 ACC Tournament – the last ever played in Reynolds Coliseum – was so important to Vacendak. The Devils were looking forward to a rematch with the Wolfpack in the title game. But they almost didn't get there as young UNC coach Dean Smith unveiled his Four Corners delay game in the semifinals.
“What people don't remember about that was that really was the first stall game that I knew about,” Vacendak said. “It was 7-5 at halftime. Carolina was just standing out there holding the ball and I think [referee] Charlie Eckman was being interviewed on the sideline by Ray Reeves.”
Duke trailed 17-12 late in the second half and seemed to be en route to a second early exit.
“I remember distinctly standing out there thinking, 'This is a heck of a way to go out',” he said. “We had a wonderful team. We were able to come back and win. I made a couple of defensive plays and I think I scored a basket. I also remember then Mike Lewis hit a free throw or two and we won.”
Actually, Lewis hit one of two free throws with two seconds remaining to give Duke the 21-20 victory. But the Devils still had to get past N.C. State in the title game. And with four minutes left, Duke was down five and seemed to be in trouble.
That's when Vacendak stepped up.
“It was the last ACC Tournament game played in Reynolds Coliseum,” he said. “We were very fortunate. It was a particularly tough game. I remember getting a basket or two down the stretch and I think we won by five points.”
Although all five Duke starters hit double figures, Vacendak led the way with 18 points in the 71-66 victory. His selection as the Everett Case Award winner (for tourney MVP) was no surprise. But that was just the start.
A week earlier, Vacendak had finished ninth in the All-ACC voting. But when the Player of the Year poll was taken after the tournament, the Duke senior got 51 votes, easily outdistancing his roommate, Jack Marin, who finished second with 29 votes.
No. 2 ranked Duke was one of the favorites for the 1966 Final Four in College Park, Md. But just before the Blue Devils took on No. 1 Kentucky in the national semifinals, All-American Bob Verga was sidelined with strep throat. He barely played as Duke fell 83-79.
Would Duke have won its first national title with a healthy Verga?
“You can always say 'what-if',” Vacendak said. “I think we were a very good basketball team with Bobby at full strength. We had such wonderful scoring balance, inside and outside. I think we had an excellent basketball team. That night, Kentucky whipped us fair and square. I'd certainly like to play them again with Bob healthy. That would have been nice. But it wasn't to be.”
Vacendak can see the parallel between his Duke team and the current Blue Devil squad, which is struggling to overcome the loss of point guard Kyrie Irving.
“They still have a chance to go a long way, even without Kyrie,” Vacendak said. “They've come together. Of course, they've had more time to put it together than we did.”
After his career at Duke, Vacendak played parts of three seasons in the American Basketball Association. He went on to work as a coach and in athletic administration.
It was during this period that Vacendak made another significant contribution to Duke – helping Blue Devil athletic director Tom Butters find a coach to replace Bill Foster in the fall of 1980.
“I helped out Tom,” Vacendak said. “I provided him with information and helped provide the pool of candidates.”
In fact, it was Vacendak who suggested that Butters check out the coach at Army. He was Mike Krzyzewski's strongest advocate during a coaching search that largely focused on more established names.
“Certainly, I'd have to say that Mike was my preference all along, but it was still Tom's decision,” Vacendak said. “I just tried to provide him with my best sense of what Duke was and what it could be and who the man best to fulfill it was – and I thought it was Mike.”
The funny thing is that Vacendak helped Duke find Krzyzewski before he joined the Blue Devil administration as an associate athletic director.
“I wasn't even on the payroll,” he said. “I hadn't even started. I had accepted the position but I wasn't going to start until June.”
Steve Vacendak always came through for Duke basketball – both as a player and an administrator. That's why he is an ACC Legend.
The Blue Devil guard was so good in the '66 tournament that he vaulted from a pre-tourney spot on the second All-ACC team to election as the ACC player of the year. To this day, Vacendak is the only player ever to earn ACC player of the year honors without making the first All-ACC team.
“It was a very nice honor to be selected ACC player of the year,” Vacendak recalled, pointing out that only the ACC Tournament champion could compete in postseason at that time. “I guess when everything is on the line in the tournament, the tournament should have more weight. I didn't have any hang up about being second team and ACC player of year.”
Vacendak was honored Saturday at the 2011 ACC Tournament. He was one of 12 former coaches and players introduced as an ACC Legend. As he walked off the floor, he exchanged hugs with former Duke coach Bucky Waters, who was a Blue Devil assistant coach who helped recruit him from Scranton, Pa., 49 years ago.
Vacendak was a hard-nosed 6-1 guard who came to Durham along with a smooth 6-6 forward from Western Pennsylvania. He and Jack Marin roomed together and came up to the varsity together in the fall of 1963 – the season after Duke's first Final Four trip. Vacendak came off the bench and averaged 5.5 points on a Blue Devil team that won the ACC regular season title and finished No. 3 in the nation.
He played 28 minutes and scored 12 points in Duke's semifinal victory over North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, but missed the ACC title game with a collapsed lung.
“That was frustrating to be in a hospital bed, watching the final game of the ACC Tournament,” Vacendak recalled.
After Duke defeated Wake Forest for the championship, Bubas told reporters that he had used Vacendak as inspiration, telling his team that the sophomore guard had left his blood on the court and they could match his effort.
Vacendak said Saturday that he had never heard that story.
“I hope not,” he said. “They told me it wasn't anything to worry about, but they might have just been telling me to relax because the key to recovery was to take my time and not get excited and give my lung a chance to heal itself.”
The young guard did recover and played a key role off the bench as the Blue Devils marched to the national title game before they were beaten by UCLA's first championship team.
Vacendak moved into the starting lineup as a junior, alternating between guard and forward. He averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds for the nation's highest scoring team. But the Devils were upset by N.C. State – playing on its own home floor – in the 1965 title game. Even though Duke was No. 10 in the nation, they weren't allowed to participate in the NCAA Tournament.
That's why the 1966 ACC Tournament – the last ever played in Reynolds Coliseum – was so important to Vacendak. The Devils were looking forward to a rematch with the Wolfpack in the title game. But they almost didn't get there as young UNC coach Dean Smith unveiled his Four Corners delay game in the semifinals.
“What people don't remember about that was that really was the first stall game that I knew about,” Vacendak said. “It was 7-5 at halftime. Carolina was just standing out there holding the ball and I think [referee] Charlie Eckman was being interviewed on the sideline by Ray Reeves.”
Duke trailed 17-12 late in the second half and seemed to be en route to a second early exit.
“I remember distinctly standing out there thinking, 'This is a heck of a way to go out',” he said. “We had a wonderful team. We were able to come back and win. I made a couple of defensive plays and I think I scored a basket. I also remember then Mike Lewis hit a free throw or two and we won.”
Actually, Lewis hit one of two free throws with two seconds remaining to give Duke the 21-20 victory. But the Devils still had to get past N.C. State in the title game. And with four minutes left, Duke was down five and seemed to be in trouble.
That's when Vacendak stepped up.
“It was the last ACC Tournament game played in Reynolds Coliseum,” he said. “We were very fortunate. It was a particularly tough game. I remember getting a basket or two down the stretch and I think we won by five points.”
Although all five Duke starters hit double figures, Vacendak led the way with 18 points in the 71-66 victory. His selection as the Everett Case Award winner (for tourney MVP) was no surprise. But that was just the start.
A week earlier, Vacendak had finished ninth in the All-ACC voting. But when the Player of the Year poll was taken after the tournament, the Duke senior got 51 votes, easily outdistancing his roommate, Jack Marin, who finished second with 29 votes.
No. 2 ranked Duke was one of the favorites for the 1966 Final Four in College Park, Md. But just before the Blue Devils took on No. 1 Kentucky in the national semifinals, All-American Bob Verga was sidelined with strep throat. He barely played as Duke fell 83-79.
Would Duke have won its first national title with a healthy Verga?
“You can always say 'what-if',” Vacendak said. “I think we were a very good basketball team with Bobby at full strength. We had such wonderful scoring balance, inside and outside. I think we had an excellent basketball team. That night, Kentucky whipped us fair and square. I'd certainly like to play them again with Bob healthy. That would have been nice. But it wasn't to be.”
Vacendak can see the parallel between his Duke team and the current Blue Devil squad, which is struggling to overcome the loss of point guard Kyrie Irving.
“They still have a chance to go a long way, even without Kyrie,” Vacendak said. “They've come together. Of course, they've had more time to put it together than we did.”
After his career at Duke, Vacendak played parts of three seasons in the American Basketball Association. He went on to work as a coach and in athletic administration.
It was during this period that Vacendak made another significant contribution to Duke – helping Blue Devil athletic director Tom Butters find a coach to replace Bill Foster in the fall of 1980.
“I helped out Tom,” Vacendak said. “I provided him with information and helped provide the pool of candidates.”
In fact, it was Vacendak who suggested that Butters check out the coach at Army. He was Mike Krzyzewski's strongest advocate during a coaching search that largely focused on more established names.
“Certainly, I'd have to say that Mike was my preference all along, but it was still Tom's decision,” Vacendak said. “I just tried to provide him with my best sense of what Duke was and what it could be and who the man best to fulfill it was – and I thought it was Mike.”
The funny thing is that Vacendak helped Duke find Krzyzewski before he joined the Blue Devil administration as an associate athletic director.
“I wasn't even on the payroll,” he said. “I hadn't even started. I had accepted the position but I wasn't going to start until June.”
Steve Vacendak always came through for Duke basketball – both as a player and an administrator. That's why he is an ACC Legend.
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