CHARLOTTE -- The college basketball careers of Grant Hill, Antonio Lang and Marty Clark went the distance.
The Duke basketball Class of 1994 played its first game in royal blue and white on Nov. 14, 1990, against Marquette in Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was a first-round game of the preseason NIT and it was the first televised game of the season on ESPN.
Nearly four years later, these three Duke seniors were still in uniform on the last possible day, in the national championship game against Arkansas.
The Blue Devils lost 76-72 to the Razorbacks Monday night, but Hill, Lang and Clark have left a standard of excellence that won't soon be forgotten.
Among the Class of 1994's achievements are three appearances in the NCAA final, two national championships, an 18-2 record in the NCAA Tournament, three Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles, one ACC tournament title and an overall record of 118-23.
The seniors won 84 percent of their games in four years -- an all-time Duke high -- and averaged almost 30 wins per season.
Following the championship game loss to Arkansas, head coach Mike Krzyzewski made his feelings about his senior leaders known.
"This group of young men has given me everything," Krzyzewski said. "If I had sons these are the guys I'd take with me. They've given me a great ride. I'm so enthused and energetic about what happened this season."
What happened this season was that a team that wasn't supposed to be in Charlotte after the ACC tournament in March returned nearly a month later and came within one minute of the national championship. Lang, Hill and Clark were disappointed to come so close to the coveted title, but were more disheartened about having their Duke careers, and this special season, end.
"There's no question that we're disappointed that we lost," Hill said. "But we're proud to be able to put ourselves in a position to play for the national championship. I'm not going to hang my head low."
Hill, whom Krzyzewski called the best player he'd ever coached, was responsible for Duke's final chance at beating Arkansas. After a 25-point effort in the semifinals against Florida Saturday, Hill's shots weren't falling against the Razorbacks. But with 1:15 left in the game and Duke trailing by three, Hill buried a three-pointer.
That shot turned out to be the senior class' last reach at a third national championship, for 35 seconds later Scotty Thurman hit a remarkable trey as time expired on the shot clock to give the Razorbacks a 73-70 lead that Duke could not overcome.
The Class of 1994's four-year ride may have ended on a losing note, but the experience of playing in Duke blue and of being in three NCAA finals will always be a winning one in the seniors' eyes.
"I'm more disappointed because my four years in the Duke program are over," said Lang, who scored 15 points against Arkansas but fouled out with 17 seconds left. "I've become a man in this program.
"This year we did things nobody thought we would do except the guys in this locker room. It lets people know you can never count Duke out."
Clark, the only one of the three seniors who wasn't a regular starter, emerged this season as an offensively potent sixth man for the Blue Devils. Clark's eight points and important steal in the waning moments against Florida were keys to Duke's victory over the Gators.
"We exceeded a lot of people's expectations this year," Clark said. "It's been an honor to wear a Duke uniform for four years and it's going to be hard to take it off. [The seniors] have accomplished a lot as a unit."
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