A quiet but much-loved Blue Devil of the early Vic Bubas era.
A bit of sad news came in Friday as we learned that former Duke guard Frank “Buzzy” Harrison passed away on Christmas Day.
A native of West Virginia, Harrison helped lay the foundations of Duke Basketball. The late Al Featherston would have said well of course Duke played well in the Southern Conference days and he would have made his point well...but the Blue Devils really hit the national scene when Vic Bubas took over in 1960.
Harrison started on Duke’s first two Final four teams in 1963 and 1964. He was also a member of the 1964 All-ACC team and made the 1963 ACC All-Tournament team as well.
Although he became a respected orthopedic surgeon, Harrison eventually felt another calling. He also had a Divinity degree and pulled off something pretty rare: he went from being a Devil to a minister.
Harrison graduated in 1964 with a rare distinction: his class never lost to UNC, even with the freshman team.
As we said, he had a big role in establishing Duke as a national presence. He’s going to be greatly missed by his friends and family.
Godspeed, Buzzy.
