Brightest Duke Moment of the Decade?: Sean Dockery's '05 Half-Court Heave

As much as I can’t (and won’t) overlook another pair of ridiculously sick games by the Blue Devils (Duke’s 10-point deficit comeback in a “miracle minute” against Maryland in 2001 and Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils capturing the NCAA Championship that same season), one sticks out in my mind even above those two.

Trust me, the aforementioned ‘01 games are also very fond memories as a Duke fan (and I have to say that I completely agree with Tyler Lambert’s Duke Top Ten Moments of the Decade ), but Sean Dockery’s three-point heave to lift the Blue Devils to a wild win over the Hokies in 2005 had me bouncing of the walls— literally!

Tell me y’all remember this.

It’s December 2005, a little over four years ago to the day.

Duke is playing Virginia Tech at Cameron Indoor and after a brief delay fixing the game clock, the Blue Devils find themselves down by one, 75-74, with 1.6 seconds remaining in the game.

On top of having a limited amount of time to score, Duke is also having to go the full length of the court on the ensuing play.

Those final 1.6 seconds and final buzzer sounding were one of the biggest sports highs of my entire life, and I vividly remember literally jumping off the sides of my wall while watching the game’s conclusion in my apartment in Alpine, Texas.

Upon taking a long pass from Josh McRoberts, Dockery drained a half-court three-pointer at the buzzer as Duke defeated Virginia Tech, 77-75 at Cameron Indoor.

Not only does “Dockery wins it for Duke” ring through my ears as I reflect back on that moment, but I also get goose bumps every time I watch the comeback clip.

It’s got to be the best, if not one of the best, college basketball come-from-behind victories ever.

I love it; and with 2009 quickly coming to a close, I just had to take a minute to remember that awesome 2005 Duke victory over Virginia Tech.

McRoberts to Dockery for a half-court swish at the buzzer; Duke wins: what a game!

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at [e-mail]