Although perhaps not equal to the metaphorical one thousand words, the above picture captures basketball's most dramatic moment - the buzzer beating shot attempt. Time has run out, but since the ball is in the air, the shot's outcome will spell the difference not just between victory and defeat, but also between a moment to be treasured and one that can't be forgotten no matter how hard we try. Like no-hitters in baseball or goal line stands in football, basketball buzzer beaters are relatively rare. Indeed some college teams go through an entire season or seasons without such moments. There is probably no logical explanation for how or why they occur, such moments are opportunities that as Shakespeare said "taken at the flood leads on to fortune." And regardless of how they happen, they deserve to be remembered and celebrated. To that end, the 2021 version of this blog will focus on 10 such moments in Rutgers basketball history. For our purposes, a buzzer beating shot is defined as one that either won the game or set up a game winning foul shot. For the most part the shot ended the game and there is a limit of one buzzer beater per player.
Bob Greacen laying one in against Delaware - Daily Home News
Rather than trying to rank the ten games, they will appear in chronological order beginning on February 27, 1969, when Rutgers hosted Fordham at the College Avenue Gym. While known today as "the Barn," at the time, it was simply the Gym, considered outdated in many ways, but a major home court advantage. Visitors sometimes asked if the court was regulation size. It was, but didn't always seem that way due to the fans, primarily students, sitting right on top of the action. Capacity was listed as 2,800, but it was probably more the number who could be squeezed in without unduly upsetting the fire marshal. The 1969 team was a senior led squad, a number of whom had been a major part of the 1967 team, the first post World War II Rutgers basketball team to gain national attention. Heading into the Fordham game, the 1969 team was well on its way to a return to the NIT thanks to a 17-3 record and a 12 game winning streak. At the time, the NIT had far more prestige than today. Only about 25 teams made the NCAA tournament so there were roughly only 40 post season opportunities available for 300 or so teams. In addition, all the NIT games were played at Madison Square Garden when it was truly the Mecca of college basketball. Some teams actually declined an NCAA bid to play in the NIT.
Rutgers Daily Targum - February 28, 1969
Like Rutgers, Fordham, 15-7, was hoping for an NIT bid. As usual the Gym was packed and the atmosphere became even more intense thanks to 100 or so Fordham students who tried to hassle the ushers. Since the ushers were Rutgers football players that didn't go well for the visitors. Next the Fordham mascot tried to harass Bob Greacen, Rutgers leading scorer during the pre-game warmups. Today that probably would have earned Fordham a technical foul, instead it just ratcheted the intensity up even higher if that was possible. The first half was close throughout, but at the break Rutgers led 36-31. The lead didn't last long, however, as Fordham went ahead with 14:00 left in the second half and led by six, 59-53, with three minutes left. Rutgers had struggled to score throughout the second half, making only six baskets, four by Dick Stewart, team captain and second leading scorer. Fortunately, Greacen got hot at the line and made five of six foul shots to bring Rutgers within one with just over a minute left. After Fordham failed to score, Greacen was fouled again and made both shots for a 60-59 Rutgers lead. With 30 seconds left Fordham missed their initial shot and a follow up, but Ken Crucius rebounded his own miss and scored to give Fordham a one point lead.
Daily Home News - February 28, 1969
Ten seconds remained in the game and Coach Bill Foster took a time out to set up a play. Bob Greacen remembers that in the huddle Foster asked Dick Stewart if he wanted to take the last shot. In typical selfless fashion, Stewart said "Greek's hot, let him take it." Stewart inbounded the ball to John McFadden who dribbled across midcourt and passed the ball to Greacen. With the seconds counting down, "Greek" took one dribble, faked and took a 19 foot jump shot from the right of the key, aiming to bank it in off the backboard. It was, "Greek" remembered, a shot he had practiced a thousand times in his backyard and all the practice proved to be more than worth it. The ball went off the glass and swished through the net as the buzzer sounded. Greacen was mobbed, not only by his teammates, but students who stormed on to the court, led by football star and Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame member Bruce Van Ness. They lifted "Greek" on to their shoulders while the Gym echoed with chants of "NIT, NIT, NIT." Fordham was understandably heart broken by the result, but in the end they also received an NIT bid.
Although taken in an earlier game against Columbia, this is basically the shot Greacen took to beat both Fordham and the clock.
In addition to the last second heroics, it was a remarkable night for Greacen who shot eight of sixteen from the floor and an incredible 15-17 from the line (88%) for 31 points, just over half of Rutgers total. The win was Rutgers 13th in a row and they added three more for what was then a school record 16 straight. Although the streak and the season ended with a loss in the opening round of the NIT, the team's 21-4 record is the second highest winning percentage (.840) in Rutgers men's basketball history, topped only by the Final Four team which also had the longest winning streak at 31. Bob Greacen was the first choice in the second round of the 1969 NBA draft, chosen by the Milwaukee Bucks who took Kareem Abdul Jabbar in the first round. Greacen played two seasons for the Bucks and was a member of the 1971 NBA championship team. After playing briefly in the ABA, Bob embarked on a long teaching career in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He holds the College Avenue Gym record for points in a game (46) and is tied with Eric Riggins for baskets in a game (19). Bob is a member of the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame.
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