When Harold Bradley left Duke to become the head basketball coach at the University of Texas, Duke Athletic Director Eddie Cameron learned that Vic Bubas was interested in the job through a mutual friend. It didn't take long before Bubas was recommended by Cameron to the Duke Athletic Council to be the next Duke head basketball coach. That decision turned out to be one of the wisest decisions that Cameron made during his tenure as Duke Athletic Director.

The same afternoon that Bubas was named the new Duke basketball coach he chartered a plane to Princeton, West Virginia to visit Rod Thorn, who was one of the nation's top prospects at the time. That dedication to bring the best players to Duke would become the hallmark of Bubas' years as Duke's head basketball coach. His attention to details & his organizational skills were to become his calling card and he ushered in the era of the "executive coach". Bubas would buy his gas at  different stations and shopped at different stores in order to meet people in the community, spoke at community gatherings, & made it his business to sell Duke basketball as his product. However, his most intense sales pitches were used to entice high school prospects from across the country to come to Duke and play basketball. He was among the first coaches to maintain detailed files on all known prospect in the country. He also became one of the first coaches to begin recruiting prospects during their junior years in high school. He assigned each of his assistants to scout a certain part of the country for prospects. Bubas brought a tremendous energy, expertise, organization, & attention to detail that had not been seen before in the college basketball world, but has become necessary in today's world in order to be successful.

It didn't take long for Bubas' efforts to be rewarded on & off the court. During Bubas' 1st season at Duke, 1960, tickets to Duke basketball games began to become a hard item to secure. Under Bubas, Duke basketball games became "events", which included pep bands & dancing girls. He created a "see & be seen" atmosphere at Duke basketball games which still exists today.

Bubas' success at selling Duke to the community paled in comparison to the success Duke basketball enjoyed on the court. During Bubas' 10 years at Duke, his teams were 213-67 overall & 128-38 in the ACC. His teams also won 87 out 100 games at Cameron during his 10 years at Duke. Also, his teams won 4 ACC regular season championships, 4 ACC tournament championships, & reached the NCAA Final Four three times. Seven of Bubas' teams finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the country.

It was Bubas' success on the recruiting trail that was directly responsible for Duke's success on the court. Under Bubas' leadership, 12 Duke players were honored as 1st team All-ACC selections, including 3 who were chosen ACC Player of the Year. Also, five Duke players were honored as All-Americans during Bubas' tenure at Duke, including one who was chosen National Player of the Year. Finally, 16 players who played under Bubas were drafted by the NBA, including 3 first round selections.

In addition to the success of players under Bubas, his assistant coaches enjoyed similar success during their careers. Bucky Waters succeeded Bubas as Duke head coach after a successful stint as West Virginia's head basketball coach. Fred Shabel became head coach at the University of Connecticut. Tom Carmody became head coach at Rhode Island. Hubie Brown coached several NBA & ABA teams. Chuck Daly was the head coach at Boston College & later became an NBA head coach & won NBA titles while head coach of the Detriot Pistons. 

In early December of 1968, Bubas informed his assistants of his decision to quit at the end of the 1969 season. He later said that he had lost the zeal for chasing after 18 year old kids. It was perhaps fitting that in the last game at Cameron as head coach at Duke, Bubas led the Blue Devils to an upset of 2nd-ranked North Carolina in March, 1969 by a score of 87-81. After stepping down as Duke head basketball coach, Bubas remained at the university as Vice President of Community Relations. Later he became commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference from 1976 until he retired in 1990.

                                                                                 Clint Albright

                                                                                    9/10/03