YouTube Gold: G-Man vs. Kareem

For a lot of people, Duke before Coach K is kind of obscure. It’s as if Duke Basketball started in 1980.

Coach K would be the first to point out that he built on what others accomplished and while the Bill Foster era was brief, just six years, it was, on balance, a blast.

And a big part of the fun was Mike Gminski, who came to Duke as a 16-year-old prodigy that most people weren't recruiting since he was listed as a junior.

When he got to Duke, one teammate said he filled the entire doorway - at 16.

He immediately asserted himself as a strong, confident young talent and later became a solid NBA player.

In this clip, he’s going up against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Abdul-Jabbar was near the end of his career but he was not quite done and was still difficult to deal with.

Gminski held his own though. He remains one of Duke’s best-ever big men and for many a fan favorite.