A Dream Week at UCSD

Click on the photos below to see the NBA at UCSD!

It was the spring of 1992 when UC San Diego became part of something special. Back then we were a Division III sports school that had never sent anyone to the NBA, but for a week in June, the greatest basketball players on the planet assembled at the Main Gym (this was pre-RIMAC) to prepare for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It was the birth of the “Dream Team,” and the first year the Olympics allowed active NBA players to compete. I’ll never forget watching from a balcony in the Muir apartments as the buses rolled down Scholars Lane to the Main Gym. It was the first time these legends would practice together. And it was at UCSD.

It was surreal knowing that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing and John Stockton, to name just a few, were practicing in our gym. While students were blocked off from interacting directly with the players, we gathered outside the building hoping to catch a glimpse of them coming and going, or to be lucky enough to secure an autograph.

The Dream Team ultimately lived up to its name, defeating Olympic opponents by an average of 44 points on the way to a gold medal against Croatia. While nobody from UCSD may have competed for the team, it was gratifying knowing that we played a role in such an historic event. And from that time on, walking into the Main Gym felt a bit more special.

Drop us a note – or just a quick quote – about your fondest UCSD memory. classnotes@ucsd.edu