On Rare Occasions,

ON RARE OCCASIONS, a player enters a zone where every move results in perfection. In the 1992 NCAA basketball tournament, Duke University’s Christian Laettner achieved a perfect ten.

The Blue Devils, looking for their fifth straight Final Four appearance, faced the University of Kentucky in the East Regional finals. Duke led by ten points with seven and a half minutes remaining. But Kentucky fought back and tied the game 93–93 with 33.6 seconds left to play. Bobby Hurley missed a ten-footer with three seconds on the clock, sending the contest to overtime.

Both teams, weary from a combination of high-octane offense and pressing defense, fought down to the wire. Kentucky’s Sean Woods sank a driving bank shot over Laettner, giving the Wildcats a 103–102 lead with 2.2 ticks showing on the scoreboard.

Duke called a time-out and coach Mike Krzyzewski diagrammed a play. As instructed, Grant Hill threw the ball 77 feet to Laettner, who was standing near the free-throw line. The play called for the All-American to work for an open shot. If he was guarded too closely, Laettner was to pass off quickly to Thomas Hill or Hurley.

Fighting off two defenders, the 6-11 center caught the pass, took one dribble, faked right, pivoted left, and drilled a 17-footer at the buzzer. In the 104–103 overtime triumph, Laettner played 43 minutes, connecting on 10-of-10 field goals and 10-of-10 free throws.

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POINT During Laettner’s playing days at Duke, broadcasters kept noting how unusual it was for a “Christian” to be playing for the Blue Devils.

People notice names. During Bible times, names seemed even more important. To know a person’s name meant to know that person well. Names also carried specific meanings: Abigail—father’s joy; Michael—who is like God; John—God is gracious; Naomi—pleasant; Ethan—firmness; Esther—star.

In Antioch, the followers of Christ came to be called Christians, forever associating them and us with Jesus Christ.

GOAL! Search the Internet or use a reference book to learn the meaning of your name. Write it down.