John Pelphrey said that Kentucky playing Duke on Tuesday brings back “a flood of memories.” Of course, no memory is more vivid than Christian Laettner making the shot at the buzzer that ended his college career.
Actually, not only did Duke end his career with a crushing defeat, the Blue Devils also beat UK in Pelphrey’s college debut: an 80-55 blowout in the 1988 Tip-Off Classic.
Another player, Deron Feldhaus, also had his UK career book-ended by defeats to Duke.
“Certainly there’s no love lost,” Pelphrey said Friday.
But, this story does not dissolve into lifelong bitterness.