YouTube Gold: Grayson Allen’s Star Turn Against Wisconsin

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - APRIL 06: Grayson Allen #3 of the Duke Blue Devils drives against Duje Dukan #13 of the Wisconsin Badgers during the NCAA Men's Final Four Championship at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Duke defeated Wisconsin 68-63. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Today, Grayson Allen is a valuable asset in the NBA, a strong, athletic guard who shoots threes as well as anyone in the league.

When he came to Duke, though, he was a bit of an afterthought. Justise Winslow, Tyus Jones, and Jahlil Okafor were the big recruits.

And for most of the season, people didn’t realize he was a significant talent. Duke started all three of the other freshmen, and also had Quinn Cook, Amile Jefferson, and Marshall Plumlee. It was a small, tight group, with great leadership from Cook, Jefferson, Plumlee, and Matt Jones. The first three guys were asked to sacrifice a lot, and all of them did so willingly, with Cook giving the point guard job to Jones, and Jefferson and Plumlee coming off the bench.

As for Matt Jones, he came to Duke as a three-point shooter, and Duke quickly found out that he couldn’t do that as well in college. No worries: he turned himself into an excellent defensive player, and a guy who Coach Mike Krzyzewski said never had a bad practice.

In the championship game against Wisconsin, though, they needed more.

Wisconsin, remember, beat undefeated Kentucky in the semifinals, 71-64, and that pegged them as the favorite.

The game was tied at the half, 31-31, and the Badgers soon went up by 9. To make matters worse, Okafor had picked up two first-half fouls.

But Allen came off the bench and was brilliant. He scored 16 points, including 8 straight, and also had 5 boards and an assist.

But his diving play for a loose ball is what impressed Coach K more than anything. After the game, he said it was possibly “the greatest play in Duke Basketball history.”

Stop and think how much basketball that entails. It includes Johnny Dawkins’ clutch block against Notre Dame’s David Rivers. It includes Christian Laettner’s shot against Kentucky. It also includes Austin Rivers’ stone-cold game winner at UNC, and Shane Battier’s brilliant block against Arizona in the 2001 national championship.

Allen of course is now a Charlotte Hornet, so it’ll be nice to have him back in North Carolina, and we’ll get to watch him, Kon Knueppel, and Sion James as the Hornets build another strong team.

But his heart against Wisconsin in 2015?

Never to be forgotten.

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