Add a Dukie to this year's team

[Indoor66]

How about Mike Lewis - 16.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and an extremely quick, accurate outlet pass.

[SupaDave]

Has it really come to this?

[obsesseddukefan]

JJ Redick..is my choice. I miss his swagger and ability to come off the screen.

[Scorp4me]

I'm the only person that has voted for Shane Battier? Has no one else been reading the articles. I know we need a point guard and a low post presence more than anything, but Shane simply wins. He'd do them both...at the same time if needed. My dad once told me he just felt like Duke couldn't lose with Laettner on the floor. I felt that way with Battier. Just surprised I'm the only one lol.

[houstondukie]

John Wall.

[captmojo]

How about Mike Lewis - 16.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and an extremely quick, accurate outlet pass.

Oh, jeez, that's a layup! Lance Thomas!

I'd take a low post star. Laettner, Brand, Boozer or the original G-man, Mike Gminski!

Are we showing our ages?
I'd take Gminski.
Lewis is a good second choice for me.
Who's shirts and who's skins?

[1999ballboy]

Elton, with J-Will a close second. As for other options, how about Bobby Hurley? A tough, tireless, and highly skilled pass-first point guard would have been awesome down the stretch. But overall, Elton in his prime might have filled our biggest gap.

[BobbyFan]

Grant Hill. He's the best passer on the list and could break down his defender with ease. Remember, he excelled as a point-forward his senior year and in the NBA. Not to mention, he could defend all five positions and would do more than Laettner, Brand or Williams for our defense. We could play him and Kyle at the 4 and 5 or put him at the 1 and go big.

2nd choice would be Brand. But really, it's hard to imagine adding any of those players and not being the best team in the country.

[CathyCA]

Laettner. The guy had ice water running through his veins. He played with complete poise.

[BlueintheFace]

W/ add a player games my answer is ALWAYS shane battier.

[MChambers]

We need Elton in the post!

Boy, do I agree with this. If other teams had to double down on our post player, or had to worry about their shots being blocked, look out!

[rthomas]

Duhon

[jipops]

Grant Hill, it's a no-brainer.

I'd add him to any team. He's the best player K has ever coached, he's said it himself.

On defense we'd be set for the most part. Grant could either be on the ball or help denying the post. He was great at switching and with quick hands he got his hands on a lot of passes. With he and Scheyer and G, opposing backcourts would find life very frustrating.

Offensively, he's there to bring the ball up and setup the offense - that pretty much takes care of the pg issue. His 1st step was ridiculous and had no problem posting smaller guys or even other players around his size. He would also make life a ton easier for a guy like Singler who would be able to work less for his shots and give Thomas a good bit of point blank looks in the paint. In this fantasy world, a lineup like this would be both exciting and unconventional:

G-Scheyer - 6-5
G-Henderson - 6-4
G-Hill - 6-8
F-Singler - 6-8
F-Thomas - 6-8

That being said, I kind of liked the players we had this year.

[sweetchiba51]

No question...WHO'S YOUR DADDY...BATTIER!!

[turnandburn55]

I'm the only person that has voted for Shane Battier? Has no one else been reading the articles. I know we need a point guard and a low post presence more than anything, but Shane simply wins. He'd do them both...at the same time if needed. My dad once told me he just felt like Duke couldn't lose with Laettner on the floor. I felt that way with Battier. Just surprised I'm the only one lol.

I'm with you on this...

There were moments against Villanova where I was telling myself "Yeah, down by double-digits, no biggie".

But then I realized that this isn't 2001 (and yes, I am biased, those were my times at Duke), where NO lead was safe against the Blue Devils, in large part due to the fact that Battier would punish the slightest lapse in judgement by the other team.

Shane Battier may not fill a "need" position, but somehow always was able to turn the tide and rally the troops when all hope seemed lost. And that sort of superhuman leadership is what this team lacked.

[elvis14]

I chose Christian because I'd want to win. Imagine having 2 Kyle Singlers on this team....only the second Kyle was our best player.

[fan345678]

gotta go with Shelden Williams or Mike Gminski...somebody to swat or alter shots, get rebounds, and pivot down low

[jv001]

Never said he didn't have stars around him, I am saying that he didn't have enough around him to win it. Laettner did. Twice. Laettner was a threat from anywhere, but this years team has plenty of outside threats, we don't have one inside. That's why I have Brand as my guy.

How did Christian play against Shaq (LSU)? I would say he was a pretty good inside player as was Elton. But could Elton play on the outside as well as inside? Christian's numbers speak for themselves. Yes and those numbers do include 2 Championships. I know he had some great players on those Duke teams, but he was the best of those players. To me the player you pick comes from: Christian, Grant, Bobby Hurley, Shane Battier and The G-Man. Go Duke!

[eddiehaskell]

I can only speak of players I've seen play, so I'd want Christian or Elton. A low post presence that can score 15+ and grab 10+ rebounds would tremendously help this team. It would also open things up outside so the shooters could get better looks from behind the arc.

[ArkieDukie]

Tough call. My first thought was Hurley, but he's not an option. Thought about JWill, but we had that position covered. (I still think of JWill as more of a 2 guard than a point. YMMV) Ditto Laettner (Singler's game has some similarities IMO). Big missing factor: dominating center. Enter Elton Brand.