Sam Clancy reflects with pride after Pitt, Blake Hinson repeat history by defeating Duke

Blake Hinson crosses paths with Sam Clancy on occasion while both men go about their daily business on Pitt’s campus. Two stout men, with a gift for basketball and big-time plays, separated by 41 years in age, now linked forever in Pitt, Duke and college basketball lore.

It’s a good bet Hinson never has met Khalid El-Amin, but he’s surely heard the name by now because of what he did — to Pitt and its fans — 25 years ago.

Some history on two fronts is in order here:

Pitt’s victory Saturday night at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium was the program’s first there since Clancy, now the director of Pitt’s Varsity Letter Club, willed the Panthers to a 71-69 victory Feb. 10, 1979.

Duke was ranked No. 3 in the nation, with future All-Americans Mike Gminski, Jim Spanarkel and Gene Banks. The Panthers were given little chance to win.

“Somebody told me they wanted to put the game on national TV,” Clancy said Sunday morning from Dallas where his son, Samario, was married Saturday night. “But Pitt rejected it because they thought we would get blown out. I don’t know how true that is. This is what we heard.

“We didn’t want to be embarrassed on national TV, and we went down and got the biggest win at the time in school history.”

Clancy remembers the atmosphere in Cameron as “the most intense, electrifying atmosphere that I had ever been in (to) that time in my college athletic career. The crowd was right on top of you, it seemed like.

“And we beat the crap out of Mike Gminski. I did. I beat the crap out of Mike Gminski,” he said, proudly.

Clancy didn’t see a minute of Saturday’s game, putting family above basketball, but he kept getting text messages from friends throughout the night, including Pete Strickland, a guard on that team.

“All I said was ‘What? We beat them? Oh, my goodness, down there?’ ”

The text messages included a clip of Clancy’s game-winning play, one of the most iconic in Pitt history (any sport). It put on display the unique athleticism and strong will of Clancy, then only a sophomore.

With the score tied 69-69 and Duke holding for the last shot (pre-Coach K, pre-shot clock), Clancy stepped in front of a pass from guard Bob Bender that was intended for Spanarkel, who was being defended by the shorter Strickland.

Clancy intercepted and dribbled the length of the court. He missed the shot but beat Gminski to the rebound and scored with two seconds left. Gminski’s desperation heave at the buzzer bounced away.

“I saw the ball coming,” said Clancy, who finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. “I slacked off a little bit. I was athletic enough and quick enough to cover some ground.

“Pete Strickland texted me (Sunday) morning. He said, ‘Thank you for that steal. Spanarkel had me posted up under the basket.’ ”

What sticks out about the game for Clancy as much as his winning shot were the Duke fans.

“First time, we had been to a place where the fans were so appreciative of the way we played,” he said. “After the game, (the students) came to our hotel and invited us to a party on campus. We went to a bunch of frat parties. We had our Pitt stuff on, and they knew it. We had a great time with the Duke students.”

Here’s a guess: Hinson and his teammates weren’t invited to any Duke frat parties Saturday night in Durham, N.C.

After the game, Hinson, who hit all seven of his 3-point attempts and finished with 24 points, jumped onto a table inches from the Cameron Crazies to engage briefly with the fans.

“I love it. Why not? We know how the crowd is,” Clancy said. “I don’t think that crowd was as welcoming as they were when we played.”

Hinson’s stunt was reminiscent of what UConn’s El-Amin did at Fitzgerald Field House after a 70-69 victory against Pitt on Dec. 12, 1998. His winning shot — like Clancy’s — came with two seconds left, and he found a table, found Pitt students and started shouting and waving his arms at them. UConn went on to win the 1998-99 national championship, beating Duke in the title game.

Whether Pitt’s victory Saturday night will provide the current Panthers a needed lift is something to be decided in the next two months.

“This win right here has to instill confidence back in you. Why wouldn’t it?” Clancy said. “I do believe we have some talent, way more talent than last year. All we have to do is build the confidence back, and I think this game will get us back on the right track because they saw what they can do. They did it on the visiting floor. This is huge.”

Hinson said after the game that he has spoken previously to Clancy about the 1979 Duke game. Now, they’ll have even more to discuss.

Clancy said he planned to watch the game on YouTube when he returns home.

“I am so proud and excited. It was 45 years ago that we did it when nobody thought we could do it, and our team went down and did it this time, too. That’s remarkable.”