I couldn't figure out how to make a poll, but I'd be curious who we/you think are the three all-time leading NBA scorers among former Duke players. Hint: their scoring totals are 17, 137; 16,661, and 13,198. No internet searches, please...
Grant Hill
Jeff Mullins
Mike Gminski
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Well, I am always happy to post on uninteresting stuff, but, this time, you're right. Behind Grant and Elton, three guys have had over 13,000 points, but the top one of the 3 isn't Boozer or Mullins but Mr. Maggette...
Now, which two alums have scored a total in the single digits?
One is probably guessable. The other, not so much.
Answers here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/...i?college=duke
Maggette scored a lot of points from the foul line... I know he led the NBA in free throws made one season. He ranks 43rd all time with 4,605 made at an 82.2 percent clip.
Last edited by subzero02; 09-23-2014 at 04:02 PM.
1,100 games is a lot. Ambiguously worded, but I know you mean if he plays 1,100 games in his career, which would be about 460 more. He needs 400 games (about 5 seasons) at the current scoring pace to get close to Hill, but Luol isn't a player who is going to maintain his scoring average as he ages because he is only an average shooter. I don't see him getting more than the 14 shots a game he got with Chicago, unless Wade is really useless. Scoring averages of 16 16 14 12 12 gets him there if he plays every game, but Luol only averages 67 games played per season, which means he would need 7 seasons to hit the 460 mark Superdave supposes. It's definitely doable, but not a certainty, I think.
I'd never heard of Doug Kistler, either, which makes sense since he played in a handful of games back in 1962. He did, however, score his 8 career points in only 13 minutes. If extrapolated to a 48 minute game (let's assume he was an iron man), he would have averaged 29.5 points per game. Let's be cautious and round him down to 29 points per game and then assume he played in 1000 games. Modest assumptions. He'd then have 29,000 career points, standing firmly between Wilt and Shaq on the all-time scoring list.
I remember seeing Maggette's numbers when he retired, and I believe he averaged around 16 per game. Based on your hint, I'd say he is the second one. The other two, no idea. I would consider CM the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.
From an offensive standpoint, you may be right. Maggette was amazing at getting to the line and finishing in traffic. Strong dude.
But defensively? He was a disaster. And it wasn't because he didn't try. He was just bad at it. Also, he wasn't a natural-born leader like Battier or had plenty of intangibles like Brand; Maggette was viewed as a one-trick pony who was a good teammate and good person.
I'd say that Laettner has the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Fun site. You can come up with some good trivia questions and factoids, like:
Who is UNC's second-leading career NBA scorer? (Wasn't my first or even second guess, but when I saw the answer, it made sense.)
Makhtar N'Diaye appeared in 4 games as a pro, logging a total of 27 minutes, 5 points, and 5 rebounds. And appropriately, 9 fouls.
Rodney Monroe and Randolph Childress were stone cold killers in college -- how did they not stick for longer in the NBA? Even if they weren't destined for long pro careers, I figured they'd kick around for at least a little while, but their NBA careers are virtually non-existent. They had shorter and less productive NBA careers than Cedric Simmons and Rusty LaRue, respectively. How is that possible??
The Moonlight Graham Award goes to JamesOn Curry (remember him?). One career NBA appearance, and it was so short he didn't even get credit for a minute played. No shots, free throws, points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists, turnovers, or any other stats.
How many international incidents did Makhtar cause during those four games?
Also, Laettner made an all-star game in 1997. Unfortunately his body didnt hold up after that season.Maggette never made an all-star team in spite of scoring 22 ppg twice in his career. So I agree that Laettner is up there on the under-rated NBA career list.
SuperOn Dave
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Doug's stat page (just so you don't have to hunt for it). He was a fine college player.
Edit: Wiki
Last edited by Jim3k; 09-26-2014 at 01:36 AM.