Favorite Player Poll- Final Four: Battier vs. Grant

[JasonEvans]

Clash of the titans!! Our #2 seed vs. the #3 seed. Two guys who did it all on and off the court. Two of the finest individuals to ever wear a Duke Basketball Uniform.

Shane Battier vs. Grant Hill.

WOW!!

I won't be opening the poll for a few hours, to give folks time to post some "campaign statements" here. This poll will remain open until at least Tuesday AM.

--Jason "I have no idea who I am gonna vote for in this one" Evans

[OZZIE4DUKE]

This one's much easier for me. Shane, hands down. Or should I say up!

[gw67]

Can I split my vote? These guys were two of the best student athletes in NCAA sports. I followed Grant through high school and college and he was a favorite all through college. I'm voting for Shane, however. Like Grant, I admired his play but there were a host of little things that I really admired about Shane. He was a leader on those teams and he often led practices. He showed up and cheered on the women's team. He always exhibited real sportsmanship and was always generous in his praise of his opponents even when their fans were tough on him. Lastly, I will never forget how led the the team to the NCAA championship the same weekend he met his grandparents (mother's side) and several relatives for the first time (His mom's parents apparently had not approved of the mixed marriage and they came back together during the Final Four). That had to be a very emotional time for he, his parents and his relatives. He could have had a chip on his shoulder but he didn't, and he was able to play superbly to lead the team. He has always come across to me as a very good player and an equally good person.

gw67

[JasonEvans]

How they got here:
#2 seed Shane Battier-

• Won round of 32 vs. #31 seed Dahntay Jones with 94.48%
• Won Sweet 16 vs. #15 seed Nate James with 92.14%
• Won Great 8 vs. #7 seed JJ Redick with 77.30%

#3 seed Grant Hill-

• Won round of 32 vs. #30 Mike Dunleavy with 93.23%
• Won Sweet 16 vs. #19 seed Trajan Langdon with 91.24%
• Won Great 8 vs. #6 seed Christian Laettner with 55.26%

--Jason "no question in my mind that Grant has faced tougher competition to get here" Evans

[RelativeWays]

Battier is my patriarch!

[johnb]

I haven't decided on my vote, but to those of you who only know that Grant has an art collection that travels the country; has played jazz piano for a nationally-televised audience; has donated a million bucks to Duke; has a mother who roomed with our future president; has a father who was an NFL All Pro; and has been a great spokesman for Duke for years, well he can also play basketball. Attached is a 4 minute youtube clip that was put together by former NBA'er Yinka Dare that you might want to listen to with the sound off (or at least not pay too much attention to the words--the hip hop language is, uhm, well, not what Grant himself would actually use). It includes him blowing by Jordan, for example, as well as a certain dunk in a final four that some might recall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x1p46_uc7Q

[Carlos]

Battier vs. Grant

Jason... I sincerely hate you for this.

[MChambers]

Battier vs. Grant

Jason... I sincerely hate you for this.

Jason, these guys should have been the top two seeds. Can't you reseed now that you've gotten to the Final Four?



Having said that, I'll have to go with Grant. Don't ask me why, except that I think he was and is a more dominant player than Shane. They both played amazing defense (Shane was a little better, but not much), but Grant was the more versatile and accomplished offensive player.

Off the court, they are the best ambassadors for Duke basketball, of course.

[lavell12]

Man this is hard but I'm going with Boom Boom

[Lavabe]

I haven't decided on my vote, but to those of you who only know that Grant has an art collection that travels the country; has played jazz piano for a nationally-televised audience; has donated a million bucks to Duke; has a mother who roomed with our future president; has a father who was an NFL All Pro; and has been a great spokesman for Duke for years, well he can also play basketball. Attached is a 4 minute youtube clip that was put together by former NBA'er Yinka Dare that you might want to listen to with the sound off (or at least not pay too much attention to the words--the hip hop language is, uhm, well, not what Grant himself would actually use). It includes him blowing by Jordan, for example, as well as a certain dunk in a final four that some might recall.

Yes, but Shane will be President of the United States.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[johnb]

Lastly, I will never forget how led the the team to the NCAA championship the same weekend he met his grandparents (mother's side) and several relatives for the first time (His mom's parents apparently had not approved of the mixed marriage and they came back together during the Final Four).

I hadn't heard that one before. It's amazing to me that they would pick that particular weekend to show up. Maybe they wanted good seats, but I'd certainly have had a chip on my shoulder. Of course, I'm also not Mr. Battier.

[gotoguy]

I love these guys. Grant was the most talented Dukie I've seen play excepting of course Chris Paul foil Patrick Davidson, who obviously Jason held out of this competition to give everyone else a chance.

To me, Shane is simply the best Duke hoops player I've seen since I started watching Duke hoops in 1972. The second coming of Bill Bradley in Blue and White. One example: The "Gone in 60 seconds " Terp game when Shane, knowing what play the turtles were going to run, blocked Dixon's last shot to cinch the win. Then there was that Joe Forte breakaway in the Dean Dome...

[JasonEvans]

Jason, these guys should have been the top two seeds. Can't you reseed now that you've gotten to the Final Four?

Don't blame me. The seeding was done based on votes cast in the preliminary polls. Blame the 7-8% of the Duke fan base that did not vote for Shane and Grant to even move on to the Round of 32. That is the reason JWill got the higher seed.

I suspect that some people were so sure of Shane and Grant moving on that they used their votes to pull for someone else who had less of a chance of moving on. But, seeing as we all were allowed to vote for as many people as we wanted, that may have ended up working against these two stars.

I do agree thought that whoever wins this matchup will beat JWill or JD in the finals.

-Jason "personally, I hope JD makes the finals... a little old-school love would be nice" Evans

[JasonEvans]

The poll is now open. Make your vote and post your thoughts.

-Jason

[gw67]

johnb - It's always dangerous when I test my memory but I believe that Shane's grandparents either lived in Minnesota or nearby, and that his mom and dad went to the university of Minnesota. It was definitely a feel good story and when I first read about it, I thought that it would be a major distraction to Shane for the Final Four games but the young man apparently handled it well and he played inspired basketball that weekend.

gw67

[OrangeDevil]

How painful it is to be forced to choose between two such obvious favorites who continue to be face(s) of the greatness of the Duke program.

That said, I choose Grant. He was the essential ingredient that gave us the breakthrough to two National titles and position us, with phenomenal all-around play, to coming within a whisker of a third.

"Grant the Great" moves on.

[JasonEvans]

Early returns- Shane leads 12-6 after one hour of the poll.

[Carlos]

Jason - I don't think you should give the results of the poll in the thread as it can skew the result.

[JasonEvans]

Jason - I don't think you should give the results of the poll in the thread as it can skew the result.

Hmmmm- except there is a simple click next to the poll which allows you to see the results if you want even if you have not yet voted. Anyone who wants can see the results any time they want. This is how I get the results when I have not yet voted (and I have not voted in this poll yet).

Are you thinking it can make people vote for the person who is losing the poll to make things closer or vote for the player who is winning for some other reason?

Personally, I think it is really fun to see how the polls are going and where they have been. But, if others agree that it could be skewing the polls, I will stop.

--Jason

[ArkieDukie]

This is much more difficult than I thought it would be. I like them both for the same reasons, and now I can't decide who to vote for. Bless your heart, Jason, but you're torturing us here.