Favorite Player Poll #7 of 8 (Multiple choice poll)

[77devil]

Had to give a sentimental vote for George Moses. The guy was like 35.

And Jason, how about adding my friend Mark Crow to the last list. 1977 team co-captian, NBA drafted, one year with the Nets, and great fun off the court.

[DukeDude]

But for the 4th vote, I went with someone who should be a no-brainer... Billy King.

Lots of Sixers fans think BK is a no-brainer as well.

Everyone should vote for Laettner! Laettner made Duke into DUKE. He made K into a hall-of-famer. He may be the last person to have totally dominated Shaq. There are only 3 national championship banners in Cameron and 2 wouldn't be there without the arrogant prick. I love the guy!

[77devil]

I I would have Laettner's babies. And I'm a guy. And straight...I swear.

Yo surfer dude - That's over the top.

[Wander]

Melchioni having only a dozen or so votes is far more surprising than some people not voting for Laettner.

[throatybeard]

Laettner made Duke into DUKE.!

That's just silly. This was a great program long before Laettner.

[throatybeard]

Dude, it was random! Cut me some slack

I figure with 4 guys moving on from each poll, no one has too much room to complain. Is there anyone who you think would have made the Sweet 16 who has been eliminated so far?

--Jason

Only David Henderson. Brickey and Davis made it, right?

And the people not voting for JD are in the Hannah Montana demo, that's my only explanation for that.

[mapei]

I do think Christian had something to do with making Duke the team people hate. Before him in the K era, Duke was seen as the team that did everything right, had great kids, good students, etc. Maybe that was always a caricature, but after Christian people started thinking of us as the team that pretended to be those things but wasn't, really. (BTW, I'm not saying CL was the only factor in this, just a highly visible one at a pivotal time.)

I take nothing away from him as a player. And he definitely made Duke into a champion. But whether he's your "favorite" may depend on priorities.

[Lord Ash]

As a few people have said, this is about your FAVORITE player. I would never, EVER say that I like Christian more than SHANE. Come on. Both brought titles, but one did it with three defensive player of the year awards, charm, a sense of self and with a humble way about him. That speaks VOLUMES to me.

I didn't vote for JD only because I didn't see him play. I have only voted a couple of times in each poll, and usually just for the guys either I was there for or who I saw and just missed (Hurley and yes, Christian.)

Oh, and I did vote for Carmen. I loved him.

[SilkyJ]

Had to give a sentimental vote for George Moses. The guy was like 35.

And Jason, how about adding my friend Mark Crow to the last list. 1977 team co-captian, NBA drafted, one year with the Nets, and great fun off the court.

Jason closed the list a long time ago...and I don't think crowbar would get any votes outside of our family

Yo surfer dude - That's over the top.

Nonsense!

That's just silly. This was a great program long before Laettner.

Yea, but we didn't have any NCs...which, uh, he kinda led us to two of them...and 4 straight FFs...

[Lord Ash]

I admit, I am surprised that Shelden is getting so many votes!

[jipops]

I admit, I am surprised that Shelden is getting so many votes!

Why? Name a more dominating defensive post presence that has ever played for Duke. Couple that with the fact that he is such a soft-spoken class guy, seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Lord Ash]

I am surprised that he is beating Billy King by so much, and some of the other older guys in other polls... it just feels a little bit like a "most recent player" sort of thing. I certainly like Shelden, but favorite Dukie ever? Or even top 20? Ehhh...

[mapei]

Why? Name a more dominating defensive post presence that has ever played for Duke. Couple that with the fact that he is such a soft-spoken class guy, seems like a no-brainer to me.

Yep. Also a four-year starter IIRC.

[JasonEvans]

As we move over 100 total votes cast, I'll probably close this poll in the next few hours and get the final preliminary-round poll started. Depending on how many folks visit the boards over the weekend, I will probably be able to start our first Round-of-32 polls on Monday!! Woo hoo!!!

Barring a strong, strong move from Jack Marin, this poll is a done deal anyway.

--Jason "I will run 2 round-of-32 polls a day to get this thing moving faster" Evans

[Lord Ash]

Yay on the 2-a-days!

Hm, never said THAT before.

[micah75]

As a few people have said, this is about your FAVORITE player. I would never, EVER say that I like Christian more than SHANE. Come on. Both brought titles, but one did it with three defensive player of the year awards, charm, a sense of self and with a humble way about him. That speaks VOLUMES to me.

You make a strong case for Shane, no doubt, and he was a very very special player and a fan favorite. Christian may not win this poll, but I hope that his on-the-court "lack of charm/humility" doesn't count against him. This poll, as you mentioned, is for FAVORITE player, not "most humble player." Dale Earnhardt wasn't exactly known for being "Mr. Nice Guy" while he was competing, yet he was clearly loved by millions. Same for Muhammed Ali, and as someone pointed out, Michael Jordan. There may be all sorts of subjective factors in determining one's favorite. If you enjoy high drama, clutch shots, the will to win, watching your team claw its way into Final Fours, the thrill of victory, and so on, Christian has to be high on the list for most Duke fans. But again, that's a subjective affair. One man's food is another man's poison.

[Indoor66]

You make a strong case for Shane, no doubt, and he was a very very special player and a fan favorite. Christian may not win this poll, but I hope that his on-the-court "lack of charm/humility" doesn't count against him. This poll, as you mentioned, is for FAVORITE player, not "most humble player." Dale Earnhardt wasn't exactly known for being "Mr. Nice Guy" while he was competing, yet he was clearly loved by millions. Same for Muhammed Ali, and as someone pointed out, Michael Jordan. There may be all sorts of subjective factors in determining one's favorite. If you enjoy high drama, clutch shots, the will to win, watching your team claw its way into Final Fours, the thrill of victory, and so on, Christian has to be high on the list for most Duke fans. But again, that's a subjective affair. One man's food is another man's poison.

Memories quickly fade and the young get older. Favorite is kind of a flavor of the month.

[EarlJam]

You make a strong case for Shane, no doubt, and he was a very very special player and a fan favorite. Christian may not win this poll, but I hope that his on-the-court "lack of charm/humility" doesn't count against him. This poll, as you mentioned, is for FAVORITE player, not "most humble player." Dale Earnhardt wasn't exactly known for being "Mr. Nice Guy" while he was competing, yet he was clearly loved by millions. Same for Muhammed Ali, and as someone pointed out, Michael Jordan. There may be all sorts of subjective factors in determining one's favorite. If you enjoy high drama, clutch shots, the will to win, watching your team claw its way into Final Fours, the thrill of victory, and so on, Christian has to be high on the list for most Duke fans. But again, that's a subjective affair. One man's food is another man's poison.

And Laettner IS a class guy. He and Davis have given so much back to the Durham community - and no telling how many other charities. Everything Christian does he does with passion and a will to win. If he was classless, a bad human being and such, I doubt that he would still have the incredible respect of Coach K.

Laettner's legacy is being the leader of the Monkey Removal Squad. There was a fairly large one hanging all over Coach K's back in March, 1991. Then we flip to 1992. The Shot. And then giving so much of himself in the national final that he couldn't even take a leak for the drug test afterwards.

Laettner and Hurley - the best duo combination of cockiness, guts and will to win in Duke's history (in my opinion, of course).

-EarlJam

P.S. Also, Laettner has a shark.

P.P.S. EarlJam has an Iguana named Hurley.

[micah75]

And Laettner IS a class guy. He and Davis have given so much back to the Durham community - and no telling how many other charities. Everything Christian does he does with passion and a will to win. If he was classless, a bad human being and such, I doubt that he would still have the incredible respect of Coach K.

Laettner's legacy is being the leader of the Monkey Removal Squad. There was a fairly large one hanging all over Coach K's back in March, 1991. Then we flip to 1992. The Shot. And then giving so much of himself in the national final that he couldn't even take a leak for the drug test afterwards.

Laettner and Hurley - the best duo combination of cockiness, guts and will to win in Duke's history (in my opinion, of course).

Exactly. Off the court, a gentleman and a classy guy. Hey, he made the cover of GQ after the '92 tourney. On the court, a fierce competitor with an incredible will to win. Same for Hurley. And yes, he was the leader of that Monkey Removal Squad in '91. If you love watching Duke win, and not just win but win the big ones, and if you're tired of complaining about recruiting losses and lack of quality big men, we should be so fortunate as to have a Christian Laettner leading the way, say... once every 70 or 80 years or so.

But memories fade, I suppose.