ROBINSON’S RESCUE
Navy returned to a hero’s welcome at the academy with the entire Brigade of Midshipmen greeting the team bus at Gate 8 and rocking it back-and-forth as it slowly made its way to Tecumseh Court. It was a raucous environment as an impromptu pep rally was held late into the night.
“Coming back to the academy after the Syracuse game was one of the best moments,” Robinson said. “It was one of those times when everyone comes together to celebrate. It was a time of unity and excitement.”
Navy was not done yet. It needed another tremendous team effort to overcome No. 14 seed Cleveland State, another upstart program making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Vikings (29-3) carried a 14-game winning streak into the region semifinal matchup at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey on March 21 and had upset third-seeded Indiana and sixth-seeded St. Joseph’s to become the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16 since the tournament field was expanded to 64.
“Crazy athletes pressing all over the place,” is how Wojcik remembers Cleveland State.
After scouting Cleveland State, the Navy coaching staff tried to prepare the players for nonstop pressure at a frenetic pace by using eight reserves against the starters during practice. Navy jumped out to a comfortable early lead and set the pace of play most of the way. The Midshipmen did a superb job handling the press in the first half. However, coach Kevin Mackey made an adjustment at halftime, pressuring the inbounds passer instead of the guards receiving it.
As soon as Navy got the ball into play, a jump trap was applied to whoever had possession in the backcourt. “They made that one small adjustment and we had not practiced for it. That’s when the turnovers started to get them back in the game,” Liebert said.
Cleveland State used a 10-1 run to take a 68-65 lead with seven minutes remaining. Suddenly, Navy found itself scratching and clawing in a contest it had controlled.
Butler finished a three-on-one fast break to give Navy a 69-68 lead with 1:15 to go and a subsequent turnover by Cleveland State provided the chance to put the game away. However, guard Clinton Ransey pick-pocketed Wojcik at mid-court and converted the steal into a layup that put the Vikings ahead, 70-69, with 27 seconds left.
“I felt terrible about that late turnover, but I’m forever indebted to David Robinson for bailing me out,” Wojcik said.
Navy tried to force the ball inside to Robinson, but the pass was intercepted. Butler made a great play by immediately tying up Cleveland State forward Paul Stewart, forcing a jump ball. The possession arrow pointed toward the Midshipmen, who got one more chance with eight seconds remaining.
Evans called timeout and set up a baseline out-of-bounds play. It was one Navy had run all season with Robinson pretending to set a screen at the free-throw line then rolling back to the basket for an alley-oop pass from Whitaker.
Like any good coach, Evans diagrammed the alternatives if Whitaker could not make the lob pass to Robinson. Whitaker, who always handled the inbounds pass, was told to look for Rees in the corner on the ball side.
Whitaker put an emphatic end to such talk, grabbing Robinson by the jersey and screaming: “Let’s be clear: The ball is coming to you, so get open!”
“After seeing all the frenetic discussion in the huddle about all the different scenarios, I just made a command decision,” Whitaker explained. “In my mind, there were no other options. I was going to lob the ball up where only Dave could get it.”
That’s exactly what happened, although a Cleveland State defender was positioned perfectly between Robinson and the basket. Robinson was forced to come down with the ball then rise up again for a lean-in two-footer that banked off the backboard and into the basket to give Navy a thrilling 71-70 win.
“That last-second shot Dave made was a lot tougher than anyone realizes,” Whitaker said. “He was off-balance with a defender underneath him and had to be careful to not be called for charging.”
Remarkably, Navy was on to the Elite Eight — a feat no one thought possible for a service academy. While fans were dreaming of an improbable berth in the Final Four, Evans sensed the Midshipmen had peaked the weekend before.
RUNNING OUT
OF GAS
Two days later, Navy met its match. Krzyzewski had his first truly great Duke team, which captured the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season and tournament championships and was 35-2 entering the Elite Eight contest.
The Blue Devils went into the NCAA Tournament as the nation’s consensus No. 1 with a roster featuring six Parade All-Americans and five future NBA players.
For Wojcik, it was not the talent of Duke that made the difference, but rather the coach.
As a player, Krzyzewski went 3-0 versus Navy. As a coach, he compiled a 4-1 mark in the rivalry.
“In my opinion, if we run into any other team in the regional final, they would have taken us lightly,” Wojcik insists to this day. “There was no way Coach K, as a West Point alum, was ever going to overlook Navy.”
Throughout the season, Navy had beaten teams with precise execution backed by outstanding discipline, toughness and teamwork. Duke possessed all those intangible traits to go along with better talent.
Shooting guard Johnny Dawkins used his blazing quickness and tremendous athleticism to repeatedly penetrate the Navy zone to create for himself and others. The smooth left-hander scored 28 points as Duke soundly defeated Navy, 71-50. Power forward Mark Alarie scored 18 points and played superb defense on Butler. Duke advanced to its first Final Four and wound up being beaten by Louisville in the national championship game.
Robinson totaled 23 points, 10 rebounds and three steals for Navy, which led briefly (20-16) at the 8:11 mark of the first half. The Blue Devils closed the half with an 18-2 run and never looked back for a 71-50 win.
“Duke kind of overwhelmed us. Dawkins was so darn quick; we couldn’t stay in front of him. He and [point guard Tommy] Amaker got into the gaps of our zone,” Wojcik said. “I just think we ran out of gas.”
By the official Navy account, Krzyzewski went into the locker room afterward to congratulate the Midshipmen.
“The moment I remember most about the Duke game was Coach K coming into the locker room after the game,” said Liebert, who related the gist of what the future Hall of Fame coach told the Mids.
“I know you are sad and I know you don’t feel good now. But let me tell you, no service academy team will ever do what you did this year,” Krzyzewski said. “I for one know. You will be the greatest team to ever play at not just the Naval Academy, but the greatest team to play at a service academy. You need to get your heads up and that you have a bright future ahead. I want you to know that.”
NOT FULLY APPRECIATED
Evans left Navy for Pittsburgh following the 1985-86 season and Herman was promoted to replace him. Robinson, Wojcik, Rees and Liebert anchored a solid returning nucleus that led the Midshipmen to a third consecutive conference championship and third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Robinson scored 50 points, the sixth-best single-game total in NCAA history, but Navy lost 97-82 to Michigan in the opening round.
The San Antonio Spurs made Robinson the No. 1 overall selection in the 1987 NBA Draft even though he was required to serve a two-year military commitment. Robinson was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1990, Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and Most Valuable Player in 1995. He helped lead the Spurs to two championships, represented the United States in three Olympics and was named one of the 50 greatest players of all-time when the NBA officially announced that list in 1996.
Today, the 55-year-old Robinson is retired from the NBA and living in San Antonio, performing philanthropy work while operating the Admiral Capital Group.
Butler, 56, lives in Fairfax Station, Virginia and works for Grant Thornton LLP, a company that handles government contracts.
Wojcik, 56, has been a career college basketball coach and is now on the staff at Michigan State. He previously served as head coach at Tulsa and College of Charleston.
Turner enjoyed a 32-year Navy career in the logistics field, including a stint as a business and financial manager for the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He currently lives in Philadelphia.
Rees, 55, served a total of 20 years in the Marine Corps (six active duty, 14 reserves). He has worked with Hughes Network Systems for 27 years and currently resides in Canton. All three of his sons — Matt, Casey and Spencer — played lacrosse at Navy.
Rees also spent nine seasons as the varsity boys basketball coach at Boys’ Latin in Baltimore before stepping down in February. He compiled a 173-91 record and was the 201718 Baltimore Sun All-Metro co-Coach of the Year.
Since leaving the Navy, Whitaker has worked in medical sales and resides in Haymarket, Virginia. He has been with Medtronic for the last 18 years.
Liebert, 55, has enjoyed a successful career as an executive for various companies. He was chief executive officer for 24-Hour Fitness and chief operating officer for both USAA and Auto Nation. He currently lives in Austin, Texas, and is CEO of KWx, the holding company of Keller Williams.
Evans won 147 games and led Pittsburgh to five NCAA Tournament appearances in his eight seasons. He returned to Annapolis after being fired in 1994 and sold real estate before returning near St. Petersburg, Florida.
Navy earned three automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament as Patriot League Tournament champs under coach Don DeVoe. However, the Mids were dispatched by lopsided scores in the first round in 1994, 97 and 98.
Air Force has made four NCAA Tournament appearances without a win, while Army has never advanced to that level of competition.