The "underachievers"

[Dukeford]

I think........

That if you took all of the recent Duke players that have made it to the NBA and are considered to be scrubs or at least semi-scrubs....and you put them all on the same team....they would still be better than the Charlotte Bobcats and would probably win more games that the Bobcats. A team something like this:

PG Ewing
SG DeMarcus
SG Redick
SG Dahntay
FC S. Williams
FC Shavlik
FC McRoberts

The only weakness might be at small forward spot.
Anyway, the anti-Duke crowd likes to claim Duke players don't do well in the
NBA. Well, I think the only reason the guys above aren't doing that well is simply because they're not in a good situation to utilize their abilty, not because they are Dukies and have no pro skills.
Anybody else agree? Current post-Duke "scrubs" are still better than Bobcats?

[juise]

I like all of the guys you listed... a couple of them quite a bit. I even think that a few of them would get significant minutes with a team like the Bobcats. However, to say that you could throw that group together and beat any NBA team is a (pretty big) stretch, IMO.

[Matches]

Yeah, I don't think that team could take the Bobcats. At least not right now - I still have hope that at least a few of those guys are going to develop into pretty good NBA players. Dahntay is a nice role player, and I think Shelden still has a chance to become a solid NBA PF.

[FerryFor50]

Yea, it's downright insane to think that team could win more games than the Bobcats.

This is the Bobcats' roster:

21 Ajinca, Alexis C 7-0 220 5/6/88 R None
14 Augustin, D.J. PG 6-0 180 11/10/87 R Texas
12 Brown, Shannon GF 6-4 211 11/29/85 2 Michigan State
13 Carroll, Matt GF 6-6 212 8/28/80 5 Notre Dame
4 Dudley, Jared F 6-7 225 7/10/85 1 Boston College
20 Felton, Raymond PG 6-1 198 6/26/84 3 North Carolina
15 Hollins, Ryan FC 6-8 225 10/10/84 2 UCLA
42 May, Sean PF 6-9 266 4/4/84 3 North Carolina
6 Mohammed, Nazr C 6-10 250 9/5/77 10 Kentucky
35 Morrison, Adam F 6-8 205 7/19/84 2 Gonzaga
50 Okafor, Emeka FC 6-10 255 9/28/82 4 Connecticut
23 Richardson, Jason + GF 6-6 225 1/20/81 7 Michigan State
3 Wallace, Gerald F 6-7 220 7/23/82 7 Alabama

That team is full of players that used to hand Duke its lunch on a regular basis in college, and they've only improved.

Richardson, Wallace and Okafor alone are better than any of the guys you listed. And then you factor in the ex-UNCers in May and Felton, who won a NC - and the fact that May can't even crack a rotation.

No, that team would handle the ex-Dukies pretty easily, much to my chagrin.

When I think of Duke underachievers that ended up being way better in the pros, I think of Maggette, Boozer, Shav and Dahntay Jones - and they were pretty good at Duke, Shav notwithstanding.

[ryan]

William Avery comes to mind.

[Dukeford]

And then you factor in the ex-UNCers in May and Felton, who won a NC - and the fact that May can't even crack a rotation.


Sean May can't crack the rotation because he's lazy and fat.
McRoberts might suck, but in a game of one-on-one between him and Sean May....who would you put your money on?

[Matches]

Sean May can't crack the rotation because he's lazy and fat.
McRoberts might suck, but in a game of one-on-one between him and Sean May....who would you put your money on?

Depends on how long the game lasts. I've got May for about the first ten minutes.

BTW May is now active again and starting for the Bobcats. Still pretty clearly out of shape.

[FerryFor50]

Sean May can't crack the rotation because he's lazy and fat.
McRoberts might suck, but in a game of one-on-one between him and Sean May....who would you put your money on?

Unfortunately for McRoberts, it's not a one on one game.

The only thing McRoberts has on May is athleticism. Other than that, May is an overall better player.

[devildeac]

Unfortunately for McRoberts, it's not a one on one game.

The only thing McRoberts has on May is athleticism. Other than that, May is an overall better player.

Shouldn't it be Ferryfor 58?;)

[huied]

Sean May won't get any playing time until he's in better shape! :D

This coupled with MJ asking him if he needed an oxygen mask are probably the funniest things I've seen from ESPN in recent memory.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3800906

[geraldsneighbor]

Richardson was traded. Also, people are so dumb saying Duke just underachieves. Where'd Elton, Maggette, Duhon, Battier, Dunleavy, Grant all play in college?

[Devilsfan]

May is too busy chasing girls in Chatlotte night clubs instead of worrying about basketball from what I hear.

[Dukeford]

I didn't get much support when I originally posted this thread.
But what about now?
The Bobcats are really looking suckish this year.

[chrisheery]

the group you put up coached by Coach K might be able to beat the worst team in the NBA. I only say that for one reason: the team would play as a team. They would move and screen off the ball, not play one on one basketball, and play team defense for the full 48 minutes. Their intensity alone would probably make the game close. The major disappointment to me about the NBA is the lack of energy in any regular season game. I think it is a function of the length of the season. So, if these guys practiced for a while under coach K and then played one game against an NBA team, they might win. If it was a playoff level intensity, when NBA guys play hard and concentrate on defense, they would probably lose. Just too much talent.

Its kinda similar to how NBA teams lose to European league teams in preseason games at times. They hadn't prepared for the team well. The European team, on the other hand, saw that game as a huge statement game.

[darthur]

In my opinion, the Bobcats, for all their problems, would cream a team with those Duke players. Sorry.

The fact that the Bobcats, loaded as it is with college stars like Okafor, Felton, and Morrison, can't win in the NBA says more about the NBA than it does about the Bobcats.

[chrisheery]

In my opinion, the Bobcats, for all their problems, would cream a team with those Duke players. Sorry.

The fact that the Bobcats, loaded as it is with college stars like Okafor, Felton, and Morrison, can't win in the NBA says more about the NBA than it does about the Bobcats.

Well, only one of those guys is on the Bobcats, so I'll assume you don't watch much NBA basketball. I do, and that is what I based my comments on.

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

Besides JJ i don't see a great scorer on that team. I do however think the bobcats would win even if you add G to the Dukies team. The Bobcats aren't THAT bad. IMO Gerald Wallace is the best player on both teams.

[darthur]

Well, only one of those guys is on the Bobcats, so I'll assume you don't watch much NBA basketball. I do, and that is what I based my comments on.

Meh. I watch a lot more NBA than I do college these days. I just don't live in NC so I haven't seen the Bobcats in their grand total of three games so far this season, and so I forgot that Okafor/Morrison had been traded away. The point still stands. The current team, even with Bell injured, would crush the Duke players 9 games out of 10.

[chrisheery]

Meh. I watch a lot more NBA than I do college these days. I just don't live in NC so I haven't seen the Bobcats in their grand total of three games so far this season, and so I forgot that Okafor/Morrison had been traded away. The point still stands. The current team, even with Bell injured, would crush the Duke players 9 games out of 10.

Well, that is essentially what I said in my post, so its seems we agree. FWIW, I actually don't think the Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA because they have a strong coach who will mold them into a good team.

[speedevil2001]

I think........

That if you took all of the recent Duke players that have made it to the NBA and are considered to be scrubs or at least semi-scrubs....and you put them all on the same team....they would still be better than the Charlotte Bobcats and would probably win more games that the Bobcats. A team something like this:

PG Ewing
SG DeMarcus
SG Redick
SG Dahntay
FC S. Williams
FC Shavlik
FC McRoberts

The only weakness might be at small forward spot.
Anyway, the anti-Duke crowd likes to claim Duke players don't do well in the
NBA. Well, I think the only reason the guys above aren't doing that well is simply because they're not in a good situation to utilize their abilty, not because they are Dukies and have no pro skills.
Anybody else agree? Current post-Duke "scrubs" are still better than Bobcats?

i disagree..

wallace, felton, augustin, chandler, oberto, henderson, plus who ever else is on the bobcats would kill that list of duke players, because felton and augustin wont be stopped by ewing and demarcus. the bobcats would also out muscle the duke players inside.

who on the duke list would score?

the score might be 59 bobcats - 40 duke players

[speedevil2001]

Well, that is essentially what I said in my post, so its seems we agree. FWIW, I actually don't think the Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA because they have a strong coach who will mold them into a good team.

i think the worst team in the nba is the sacramento kings. no leader. just a bunch of young guys trying to prove they belong in the nba. they have no hopes of making the playoffs.

[darthur]

i think the worst team in the nba is the sacramento kings. no leader. just a bunch of young guys trying to prove they belong in the nba. they have no hopes of making the playoffs.

I don't really know who's on the Kings these days, but my guess would have been New York. I like Duhon and I like D'Antoni so I want to see them succeed, but... I'm not optimistic.

[houstondukie]

Yea, it's downright insane to think that team could win more games than the Bobcats.

This is the Bobcats' roster:

21 Ajinca, Alexis C 7-0 220 5/6/88 R None
14 Augustin, D.J. PG 6-0 180 11/10/87 R Texas
12 Brown, Shannon GF 6-4 211 11/29/85 2 Michigan State
13 Carroll, Matt GF 6-6 212 8/28/80 5 Notre Dame
4 Dudley, Jared F 6-7 225 7/10/85 1 Boston College
20 Felton, Raymond PG 6-1 198 6/26/84 3 North Carolina
15 Hollins, Ryan FC 6-8 225 10/10/84 2 UCLA
42 May, Sean PF 6-9 266 4/4/84 3 North Carolina
6 Mohammed, Nazr C 6-10 250 9/5/77 10 Kentucky
35 Morrison, Adam F 6-8 205 7/19/84 2 Gonzaga
50 Okafor, Emeka FC 6-10 255 9/28/82 4 Connecticut
23 Richardson, Jason + GF 6-6 225 1/20/81 7 Michigan State
3 Wallace, Gerald F 6-7 220 7/23/82 7 Alabama

That team is full of players that used to hand Duke its lunch on a regular basis in college, and they've only improved.

Richardson, Wallace and Okafor alone are better than any of the guys you listed. And then you factor in the ex-UNCers in May and Felton, who won a NC - and the fact that May can't even crack a rotation.

No, that team would handle the ex-Dukies pretty easily, much to my chagrin.

When I think of Duke underachievers that ended up being way better in the pros, I think of Maggette, Boozer, Shav and Dahntay Jones - and they were pretty good at Duke, Shav notwithstanding.

Where did you get the Bobcats roster? It is outdated. Jason Richardson was traded last year. Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison won a championship with the Lakers last year.

[FireOgilvie]

Where did you get the Bobcats roster? It is outdated. Jason Richardson was traded last year. Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison won a championship with the Lakers last year.

The roster was accurate on 11/21/08 when he posted it. :)

[speedevil2001]

The roster was accurate on 11/21/08 when he posted it. :)

in that case, that 08 roster would kill that list of duke players.

[theAlaskanBear]

The Sac Kings are indeed a terrible team with few redeeming qualities. The Adelman days are long gone. However they do have an explosive backcourt (Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans).

The Knicks are a far more talented team, but I think the 1-year contracts are going backfire in regards to team chemistry. Nobody knows if they will be with the team next year, so I see the potential for a trainwreck where individuals get selfish and put themselves ahead of the team.

[RelativeWays]

I don't know if I'd have JJ and Dahntay on that list since they seem to have established roles on their teams and get decent playing time. The rest, I guess they're scrubs or whatever, though Shelden might get a chance to establish himself with Big Baby's hand injury.

[CLT Devil]

Actually the Bobcats aren't that bad. Off to a rough start against the Celtics, but won a double overtime against the Knicks. I don't have any doubt the 'Cats would beat your list of players at least 9 of 10 times. FTR I'm not really a Bobcats or NBA fan...but now they have a Dukie I can garner a little more interest. I honestly think they had some many 'Holes on the team to attract the local contingent. Phil Ford and Jeff McInnis on the same team at one point.....I know it's an ubsubstantiated rumor, but how awkward was the Team Christmas Party with the wives/girlfriends?

NBA team wins hands down.

[shoutingncu]

I don't really know who's on the Kings these days...

Starting, I believe...