Favorite Player Poll- JWill vs. Tate Armstrong

[JasonEvans]

1. Jason Williams vs. 32. Tate Armstrong

--Jason "feel free to post your reasons for voting for either of these greats" Evans

[jlear]

Tate = 83 games played - 41 games started - 1304 pts - 217 assists
Jwill = 108 games played - 108 games started - 2079 pts - 644 assists

[bird]

JWill. My reason? Gone in 54 Seconds. We could use a thread/poll on greatest individual performances by a Duke player in a single game. That would be in my top ten. I still laugh every time I think about it.

[mapei]

JWill is the most explosive guard I have ever seen in college basketball. Case closed.

[Carlos]

J-Will could pitch a shutout here unless Tate's family shows up to vote.

[DukieInKansas]

J-Will could pitch a shutout here unless Tate's family shows up to vote.

My grandparents were Armstrongs - but no relation that I know of. Just thought he should get a vote.

(JWill vs MD is definitely a great memory!)

[trinity92]

and I'd probably take jason. He just had so much game, was so quick, such a great shooter and competitor.

[throatybeard]

I like Jason a lot too, but it's going to become clear pretty soon that "which of these two is your favorite" might as well be phrased "which of these two players played more recently?"

[merry]

Tate and I were in the same graduating class so I saw him play a lot and from about as good a seat as anyone would want (back when Duke wasn't very sucessful OR popular). So it kind of sucks to have to vote against him but JWill's probably in my top 2 favorite players ever.

[merry]

I like Jason a lot too, but it's going to become clear pretty soon that "which of these two is your favorite" might as well be phrased "which of these two players played more recently?"

Or "which of these two players played in the years 1998-2002".

[monkey]

Besides the numbers and all the exciting moments that JWill provided...

Besides the added bonus that his mom was (is?) an occassional DBR poster ...

JWill has represented the University with class both before he graduated and since he left, even in the face of some very trying circumstances.

[mapei]

I think the weighting toward recent players and the 1998-2002 teams is completely understandable. If the poll could involve "everyone who was a Duke fan at any time" rather than the current fan base, the results might be different.

Or maybe not. I think the guys who are getting the most votes are the ones with their jerseys in the rafters. They earned it.

[-jk]

Tate let me hold his gold medal when we met him at the airport. 'nuff said.

-jk

[elvis14]

Or "which of these two players played in the years 1998-2002".

I'll be the first to admit that I fall into the category of Duke fan that has very little knowledge of the team before 1998. I became a fan when Hurley was there.

[throatybeard]

I would suggest that everyone read Bill Brill's and Jim Sumner's books, particularly Bill's 1986 book.

[JasonEvans]

Or "which of these two players played in the years 1998-2002".

Then explain the performance of JD, Grant Hill, Laettner, and Bobby in this poll. That's 4 of the top 6 seeds from guys who graduated prior to 1995.

--Jason "I think a skewing towards the newer players is logical though as we get to see more games today than we did in the past" Evans

[throatybeard]

Or maybe not. I think the guys who are getting the most votes are the ones with their jerseys in the rafters. They earned it.

See, that's part of what I don't understand. We're voting for "favorite" not "best." But what has emerged here is that the very best players are most people's favorites.

I guess I just think differently. My favorite player on the team is rarely the top guy. My all time faves are Brickey, Davis and Wojo, the latter two particularly being known as tough, make-the-most-of-your-talent glue guys. I loved Carmen Wallace, who barely even got to start. Antonio Lang. John SMith. Those guys.

[devil84]

Both players are exceptional players. JWill is far more recent, and played in an era when nearly every game Duke played was on television and nearly everyone reading this board has seen him play.

Tate Armstrong played in an era when few games were televised, before ESPN was available. Many Duke fans reading this board were not even born yet.

My vote here is for Tate Armstrong. I moved to NC from Chicago, and started watching Duke Basketball. It was quite a culture shock to move from Chicago to NC between junior and senior high school, and Duke Basketball was one of the huge highlights for me. I remember watching Armstrong, Gminski, Spanarkel, Banks, and Dennard -- I'll spare you the long list of other players, but I remember them all. I wanted to go to Duke and be in the student section and cheer for them. (Who knew I'd be a team manager?!)

While JWill's a favorite, and certainly an excellent ambassador for the university, Tate Armstrong has my vote. Armstrong's a terrific athlete, an Olympic medalist, and was a fan favorite in his era. JWill came in when Duke was on top; Armstrong was a key to *getting* Duke Basketball on the map in the late 70s. And he was part of the key to getting ME to Duke. My vote's for Tate.

- della

[Indoor66]

Both players are exceptional players. JWill is far more recent, and played in an era when nearly every game Duke played was on television and nearly everyone reading this board has seen him play.

Tate Armstrong played in an era when few games were televised, before ESPN was available. Many Duke fans reading this board were not even born yet.

My vote here is for Tate Armstrong. I moved to NC from Chicago, and started watching Duke Basketball. It was quite a culture shock to move from Chicago to NC between junior and senior high school, and Duke Basketball was one of the huge highlights for me. I remember watching Armstrong, Gminski, Sparkle, Banks, and Denned -- I'll spare you the long list of other players, but I remember them all. I wanted to go to Duke and be in the student section and cheer for them. (Who knew I'd be a team manager?!)

While Jewell's a favorite, and certainly an excellent ambassador for the university, Tate Armstrong has my vote. Armstrong's a terrific athlete, an Olympic medalist, and was a fan favorite in his era. JWill came in when Duke was on top; Armstrong was a key to *getting* Duke Basketball on the map in the late 70s. And he was part of the key to getting ME to Duke. My vote's for Tate.

- Della

I agree with you and also voted for Tate. I have one disagreement: it should read: *getting* Duke Basketball BACK on the map

[VaDukie]

See, that's part of what I don't understand. We're voting for "favorite" not "best." But what has emerged here is that the very best players are most people's favorites.

I guess I just think differently. My favorite player on the team is rarely the top guy. My all time faves are Brickey, Davis and Wojo, the latter two particularly being known as tough, make-the-most-of-your-talent glue guys. I loved Carmen Wallace, who barely even got to start. Antonio Lang. John SMith. Those guys.

I think it would be interesting to do a list with all 'glue guy' type players - Lang, Dockery, Casey, Davis, etc.