Buzzer Beaters and Memorial Magic: A Memoir of the Vanderbilt Commodores, 1987-1989

The late 1980s were a boom time for college basketball, and the Vanderbilt Commodores were right in the middle of it. Led by Hall of Fame Coach C.M. Newton, All-America center Will Perdue, and a group of three-point shooters known as "The Bomb Squad," the Commodores made their mark in the Southeastern Conference and challenged for the conference title in 1988 and 1989. Along the way, they played--and, often, beat--many of the game's national powers, including Kentucky, North Carolina, Louisville, Duke, Notre Dame, Indiana, Michigan, and Kansas. Here is the inside story of those Commodore teams as told by Barry Goheen, the Vanderbilt guard and "Bomb Squad" member who became nationally known for his numerous clutch shots and "buzzer beaters" that lifted the 'Dores to victory. Goheen and his Commodore teammates encountered many of the greatest players and coaches of the era--Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Danny Manning, Chris Jackson, Digger Phelps, Denny Crum, Steve Alford, Rex Chapman, Glen Rice, and many more. They captured thrilling wins, endured painful losses, and achieved several firsts for the Vanderbilt basketball program. This is a story centered in Nashville, Tennessee, particularly Vanderbilt's venerable Memorial Gym, with stops in Hawaii and Taipei; Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina; Bloomington and South Bend, Indiana; and Lincoln, Nebraska. Even the casual basketball fan will enjoy Buzzer Beaters and Memorial Magic.