In the history of men's college basketball, no player experienced greater individual and team success than Christian Laettner in his four years. Duke's star 6' 11" center from 1988-92 helped legendary Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils reach the Final Four every year, including back-to-back NCAA titles as a junior and senior. His steady improvement each season reached an apex in 1991-92 when he swept all six national awards (Naismith, AP, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, NABC & Sporting News) as NCAA Player of the Year.
The 1990-91 Duke Blue Devils won the National Basketball Championship over Kansas by the score of 72-65. Christian Laettner was named Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament. During his junior season, he led the Blue Devils with 19.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, earning consensus All-American honors. The 1991 Final Four was one for the ages. Perennial Blue Bloods UNC and Kansas squared in one semifinal. In the other, Duke stunned Jerry Tarkenian's #1 ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels who were looking to go undefeated and win back-to-back NCAA titles. The colossal upset ended UNLV's 45-game win streak.
Featured here is Christian Laettner's 1991 NCAA Champions 10-karat gold ring coming directly from his personal collection. The face has a black stone with “NCAA” in gold lettering, surrounded by “1990 Champions” in raised relief. Two small CZs flank the year. The left shank has the Duke University logo and the right shank has a ribbon with “LAETTNER” above a ball and basket motif. “JOSTEN’S 10K” is hallmarked inside the band along with "LATE" (Christian's abbreviated surname/nickname) engraved in script. The size 12 ring (weighing 36 grams) shows moderate wear and comes in its original wooden display case with a gold NCAA logo medallion atop the lid. We know of no other '91 or '92 Duke Championship player ring to ever hit the auction block, and Christian was certainly the best player on both of those teams to earn one. Includes letter of provenance from Laettner himself.