ncbears said:

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I thought the pretzel shot was the prior game against LSU.
Adding to the nominations:
Chris Washington steal and bucket to put Cal ahead of UCLA to "stop the streak" - even more memorable because the broadcast basically missed it.
Richard Midgley's 3 point (basically buzzer beater) against NC State in the Tournament.

And, whomever it was at West Virginia who missed the free throw and the Bear who got the rebound to win the national championship in 1959.

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ncbears said:

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86 - Streak stops Here: Video starts with recap of Chris Washington and the emotional finish

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Big C said:

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ncbears said:

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86 - Streak stops Here: Video starts with recap of Chris Washington and the emotional finish

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Okay, THAT was worth 15 minutes of my time on this New Year's Eve! (not counting the minutes I replayed, looking for myself in the crowd)

I couldn't help being struck by the fans sitting RIGHT UP by the court, including the Straw Hat Band RIGHT at center court and even the visiting band being seated right down at floor level, behind the north basket. It's almost as if they thought the game ambience mattered more than "premium seating"!

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Chapman_is_Gone said:

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Jason Kidd's curling layup as he sprawled out on the floor with about 1:20 remaining against Duke is the most important shot in the program's past 50 years.


Cal had blown an 18-point lead to two-time defending champion Duke, and trailed by 1 point with a little over a minute to play. Momentum seemingly was lost. Kidd's layup (and free throw on the foul) put Cal up by 2 and in the lead for good. Without that play, Cal likely loses and never makes the Sweet 16.

Kidd's pretzel shot a few days earlier against LSU was clutch, coming in the last 10 seconds of a tie NCAA tournament game, and was certainly more of a pure basketball play than a scramble off the floor. But the shot against Duke was by far more consequential as it allowed the Bears to make the all-important second week of the tournament, and it had far more visibility nationally coming against the nationally-beloved Blue Devils rather than against LSU.

Who is George Ashley?

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Chapman_is_Gone said:

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Big C said:

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ncbears said:

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86 - Streak stops Here: Video starts with recap of Chris Washington and the emotional finish

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Okay, THAT was worth 15 minutes of my time on this New Year's Eve! (not counting the minutes I replayed, looking for myself in the crowd)

I couldn't help being struck by the fans sitting RIGHT UP by the court, including the Straw Hat Band RIGHT at center court and even the visiting band being seated right down at floor level, behind the north basket. It's almost as if they thought the game ambience mattered more than "premium seating"!

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Thanks for posting, Big C. How awesome is it that at 5:15 of the clip, the Cal drummer has to pull his drum up and in just so there's enough room for the player to inbound the ball. Surely, thousands of life-long Cal fans were created at this game (and others like it), thanks in large part to that Harmon Gym environment.

Sadly, that environment is as extinct as the Dodo bird, gone forever due to poor administration decisions, bull**** ADA excuses, television, and the greedy pursuit of PSL money. Any Cal AD should be tied to a chair and forced to watch a clip like this one so they know what it used to be like. The current state of the program nauseates me. And each year they make the environment more sterile (e.g., see this year's railings along each end of the court).

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BeachedBear said:

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the end of the fUCLA game is tops for me, followed closely by Jason Kidd inbounding the ball of an opponents butt to score a layup (can't recall the exact game or opponent - but it was absolutely awesome).

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drizzlybear said:

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Harmon Gym was a magical place. I was not at Cal for the streak game (though I believe one of the drizzly brothers was). Thanks for posting that video. I love how the first thing you hear in the video is "EAT MY SHORTS!!"

I was there for the Villanova game, which was probably my favorite basketball spectator experience of my life (not including my own kids' games).

To answer the question, I would agree that the pretzel shot may be the best play. And I love the plays and games people have mentioned. That said, it occurs to me how many amazing Cal plays I've seen in Seattle.
1. Sam Singer's shocking buzzer-beating 3 to stun the Huskies in ?? year. (Btw, it was at this game where the thing happened that I intentionally left out of the Jordan Mathews comments post I made on the free basketball board.)

2. Lamond Murray's baseline short-corner buzzer-beating game winner in '93 (or '94?). Kidd let the clock run down on the final possession of the game, he drove into the lane, drew all the defenders, and dished to Murray who drained the 12-footer on the left side baseline. I was actually seated (standing) a few rows up on that same baseline and I ran onto the court and jumped on the pile of players who had all dog-piled on Murray on the court. I did it instinctively, without thinking at all. I'm convinced the two security people whom I ran between must've turned opposite ways from each other right as i ran between them (when the game ends, they turn 180 degrees from watching the game to watching the crowd). I had a friend in the Bay Area call me that night to ask if that was me who jumped on the pile, that had seen it on tv. Very fun.

3. Probably the biggest play of these three in Seattle. Patrick Christopher's buzzer-beating game-winning 3 in
triple overtime to win a classic game between to excellent teams. I was with my older son (the one who recently played and chatted with Jordan Mathews in LA). He was a young guy at the time, maybe 9 yrs old. Our seats were in the rafters, and we were seated amidst nothing but Husky fans, who were seriously hating on my young son for screaming amidst the crowd silence whenever John Brockman was shooting free throws.

When the game ended, I started a Bear Territory chant from the rafters, and some fellow Cal fans from down by the court joined in (by chance was that any of you?). Very, very fun.

I also happened to take my youngest son down to Eugene (my only basketball game ever in Eugene, though I've been to every Cal football game in Eugene since 2000, including the time we danced with Missy Franklin and the women's swim team in a monsoon at Autzen) for the game in which Justin Cobbs hit a buzzer-beating game-winner nearly identical to the one he would hit shortly afterwards against Arizona.

Very fun memories.

PS If anyone knows how to get a clip of that Lamond Murray shot vs UW, please let me know.

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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drizzlybear said:

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Harmon Gym was a magical place. I was not at Cal for the streak game (though I believe one of the drizzly brothers was). Thanks for posting that video. I love how the first thing you hear in the video is "EAT MY SHORTS!!"

I was there for the Villanova game, which was probably my favorite basketball spectator experience of my life (not including my own kids' games).

To answer the question, I would agree that the pretzel shot may be the best play. And I love the plays and games people have mentioned. That said, it occurs to me how many amazing Cal plays I've seen in Seattle.
1. Sam Singer's shocking buzzer-beating 3 to stun the Huskies in ?? year. (Btw, it was at this game where the thing happened that I intentionally left out of the Jordan Mathews comments post I made on the free basketball board.)

2. Lamond Murray's baseline short-corner buzzer-beating game winner in '93 (or '94?). Kidd let the clock run down on the final possession of the game, he drove into the lane, drew all the defenders, and dished to Murray who drained the 12-footer on the left side baseline. I was actually seated (standing) a few rows up on that same baseline and I ran onto the court and jumped on the pile of players who had all dog-piled on Murray on the court. I did it instinctively, without thinking at all. I'm convinced the two security people whom I ran between must've turned opposite ways from each other right as i ran between them (when the game ends, they turn 180 degrees from watching the game to watching the crowd). I had a friend in the Bay Area call me that night to ask if that was me who jumped on the pile, that had seen it on tv. Very fun.

3. Probably the biggest play of these three in Seattle. Patrick Christopher's buzzer-beating game-winning 3 in
triple overtime to win a classic game between to excellent teams. I was with my older son (the one who recently played and chatted with Jordan Mathews in LA). He was a young guy at the time, maybe 9 yrs old. Our seats were in the rafters, and we were seated amidst nothing but Husky fans, who were seriously hating on my young son for screaming amidst the crowd silence whenever John Brockman was shooting free throws.

When the game ended, I started a Bear Territory chant from the rafters, and some fellow Cal fans from down by the court joined in (by chance was that any of you?). Very, very fun.

I also happened to take my youngest son down to Eugene (my only basketball game ever in Eugene, though I've been to every Cal football game in Eugene since 2000, including the time we danced with Missy Franklin and the women's swim team in a monsoon at Autzen) for the game in which Justin Cobbs hit a buzzer-beating game-winner nearly identical to the one he would hit shortly afterwards against Arizona.

Very fun memories.

PS If anyone knows how to get a clip of that Lamond Murray shot vs UW, please let me know.

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I might be wrong but I thought Lamond's shot came off of an inbound pass on the baseline with 2 seconds left in that Washington game. And while we talk about the Villanova game, Smith's shot to end it was great but I still remember Roy Fisher's monster slam earlier in the game. Up to that point that was the greatest slam dunk I can remember in Cal hoops.

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CalVC2 said:

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May have been discussed in the past but... we know what the most famous Cal FB play ever was, but what is the all time signature Cal BB play?

A couple of amazing Jason Kidd moments v Duke & LSU (but which play? Pretzel shot? Lamond Murray free throw that led to the George Ashley gem?) or perhaps this 2014 buzzer beater? What others come to mind?

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