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View Full Version : Add a Dukie to this year's team



Carlos
04-03-2009, 02:08 PM
OK, if you could add one former Dukie in their prime to this year's team who would it have been and why?

dgoore97
04-03-2009, 02:12 PM
duhon

dukeblue4ever
04-03-2009, 02:12 PM
Probably Jason Williams or maybe a Shane Battier. Those positions were our two biggest gaps, and we needed them filled. Really any of our famous big men or point guards would work for me.

jv001
04-03-2009, 02:12 PM
Christian no doubt. He just refused to lose. Great inside outside play. Only problem would be not having Bobby Hurley(2nd choice) to get him the ball. Go Duke!

Billy Dat
04-03-2009, 02:17 PM
I agree with Laettner....our point guard by committee would have been able to get him the ball and he would have given us a inside threat and shot blocking presence....the Landlord wouldn't have been too shabby either.

CameronBornAndBred
04-03-2009, 02:19 PM
We need Elton in the post!

jacone21
04-03-2009, 02:24 PM
Hurley, Duhon or J-will would have helped the team, but this team was an Elton Brand type player away from being a championship team.

Smitty1911
04-03-2009, 02:26 PM
Brand -- no doubt! A rich man's DeJuan Blair.

Classof06
04-03-2009, 02:28 PM
Elton Brand by a wide margin.

I realize Duke also needs 1) a true PG to distribute the ball and 2) players that can create their own shot off the dribble and get into the lane.

But Duke needs a post presence even more than that.

jv001
04-03-2009, 02:34 PM
Christian Laettner...2
Elton Brand...0
Carlos Boozer...1

I like Elton but he was not Christian Laettner. Go Duke!

mr. synellinden
04-03-2009, 02:49 PM
Rebounding and post defense was not a problem for us this year. We needed and still need a ball handling guard who could break down a defense, finish at the rim, get to the foul line and score in bunches. Williams is the best duke has had in that role. Dawkins would be choice 1A.

CameronBornAndBred
04-03-2009, 02:50 PM
Christian Laettner...2
Elton Brand...0
Carlos Boozer...1

I like Elton but he was not Christian Laettner. Go Duke!
Elton Brand also did not have Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill on his team. All 3 of those guys are in the rafters. If Laettner were on this year's team, who would you bench in his place? I don't think you can put him solely in the post like you can with Brand.

Duke79UNLV77
04-03-2009, 02:51 PM
Hurley

quickgtp
04-03-2009, 03:02 PM
Rebounding and post defense was not a problem for us this year. We needed and still need a ball handling guard who could break down a defense, finish at the rim, get to the foul line and score in bunches. Williams is the best duke has had in that role. Dawkins would be choice 1A.

I second this post!!

OZZIE4DUKE
04-03-2009, 03:02 PM
If Laettner were on this year's team, who would you bench in his place? I don't think you can put him solely in the post like you can with Brand.
Oh, jeez, that's a layup! Lance Thomas!

I'd take a low post star. Laettner, Brand, Boozer or the original G-man, Mike Gminski! With any one of these guys on the team, we'd be playing this weekend, and most likely be the #1 seed by a wide margin. And hanging a new banner at the end of Cameron. :cool: I voted for Elton Brand.

mr. synellinden
04-03-2009, 03:04 PM
Elton Brand also did not have Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill on his team. All 3 of those guys are in the rafters. If Laettner were on this year's team, who would you bench in his place? I don't think you can put him solely in the post like you can with Brand.

Was this meant as a joke? Brand only had Battier Langdon Avery Maggette and Nate. All of them would start on this year's team. In 98 you can add Wojo and McLoed.

Who would I bench to put Laettner in this year's lineup? Uh ... Everyone.

Troublemaker
04-03-2009, 03:08 PM
Hurley

I'd add the all-time assist king, too. He'd make everyone around him better.

NYDukie
04-03-2009, 03:09 PM
Have to go with Elton. He would have provided the big, athletic frontcourt player needed to complement Singler with his post presence. Elton's ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and more importantly, provide a last line of defense with his shot blocking ability would have masked much of the teams glaring deficiencies. Elton would make up for whatever defensive defencies our guards had in stopping the opposing guards when getting in the lane.

Knowing that just picking one of those players would still leave some needs, I think Elton would provide not only help our inside needs but help our perimeter play in total.

At the end of the day though, I would take any one of them in a heartbeat!

CameronBornAndBred
04-03-2009, 03:18 PM
Was this meant as a joke? Brand only had Battier Langdon Avery Maggette and Nate. All of them would start on this year's team. In 98 you can add Wojo and McLoed.

Never said he didn't have stars around him, I am saying that he didn't have enough around him to win it. Laettner did. Twice. Laettner was a threat from anywhere, but this years team has plenty of outside threats, we don't have one inside. That's why I have Brand as my guy.

mph
04-03-2009, 03:23 PM
I'll take Williams. His ability to break his defender down and get to the rim would have made everyone else much better. Our perimeter guys would have had more open looks in rhythm and we'd have had even better offensive rebounding numbers.

Indoor66
04-03-2009, 03:29 PM
How about Mike Lewis - 16.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and an extremely quick, accurate outlet pass.

SupaDave
04-03-2009, 03:34 PM
Has it really come to this?

obsesseddukefan
04-03-2009, 04:31 PM
JJ Redick..is my choice. I miss his swagger and ability to come off the screen.

Scorp4me
04-03-2009, 04:40 PM
I'm the only person that has voted for Shane Battier? Has no one else been reading the articles. I know we need a point guard and a low post presence more than anything, but Shane simply wins. He'd do them both...at the same time if needed. My dad once told me he just felt like Duke couldn't lose with Laettner on the floor. I felt that way with Battier. Just surprised I'm the only one lol.

houstondukie
04-03-2009, 05:18 PM
John Wall.

captmojo
04-03-2009, 05:24 PM
How about Mike Lewis - 16.9 ppg, 12.5 rpg and an extremely quick, accurate outlet pass.


Oh, jeez, that's a layup! Lance Thomas!

I'd take a low post star. Laettner, Brand, Boozer or the original G-man, Mike Gminski!

Are we showing our ages?
I'd take Gminski.
Lewis is a good second choice for me.
Who's shirts and who's skins? :D

1999ballboy
04-03-2009, 05:24 PM
Elton, with J-Will a close second. As for other options, how about Bobby Hurley? A tough, tireless, and highly skilled pass-first point guard would have been awesome down the stretch. But overall, Elton in his prime might have filled our biggest gap.

BobbyFan
04-03-2009, 06:53 PM
Grant Hill. He's the best passer on the list and could break down his defender with ease. Remember, he excelled as a point-forward his senior year and in the NBA. Not to mention, he could defend all five positions and would do more than Laettner, Brand or Williams for our defense. We could play him and Kyle at the 4 and 5 or put him at the 1 and go big.

2nd choice would be Brand. But really, it's hard to imagine adding any of those players and not being the best team in the country.

CathyCA
04-03-2009, 07:26 PM
Laettner. The guy had ice water running through his veins. He played with complete poise.

BlueintheFace
04-03-2009, 08:30 PM
W/ add a player games my answer is ALWAYS shane battier.

MChambers
04-03-2009, 09:16 PM
We need Elton in the post!

Boy, do I agree with this. If other teams had to double down on our post player, or had to worry about their shots being blocked, look out!

rthomas
04-03-2009, 09:18 PM
Duhon

jipops
04-03-2009, 09:18 PM
Grant Hill, it's a no-brainer.

I'd add him to any team. He's the best player K has ever coached, he's said it himself.

On defense we'd be set for the most part. Grant could either be on the ball or help denying the post. He was great at switching and with quick hands he got his hands on a lot of passes. With he and Scheyer and G, opposing backcourts would find life very frustrating.

Offensively, he's there to bring the ball up and setup the offense - that pretty much takes care of the pg issue. His 1st step was ridiculous and had no problem posting smaller guys or even other players around his size. He would also make life a ton easier for a guy like Singler who would be able to work less for his shots and give Thomas a good bit of point blank looks in the paint. In this fantasy world, a lineup like this would be both exciting and unconventional:

G-Scheyer - 6-5
G-Henderson - 6-4
G-Hill - 6-8
F-Singler - 6-8
F-Thomas - 6-8

That being said, I kind of liked the players we had this year.

sweetchiba51
04-03-2009, 09:39 PM
No question....WHO'S YOUR DADDY...BATTIER!!

turnandburn55
04-03-2009, 10:18 PM
I'm the only person that has voted for Shane Battier? Has no one else been reading the articles. I know we need a point guard and a low post presence more than anything, but Shane simply wins. He'd do them both...at the same time if needed. My dad once told me he just felt like Duke couldn't lose with Laettner on the floor. I felt that way with Battier. Just surprised I'm the only one lol.

I'm with you on this...

There were moments against Villanova where I was telling myself "Yeah, down by double-digits, no biggie".

But then I realized that this isn't 2001 (and yes, I am biased, those were my times at Duke), where NO lead was safe against the Blue Devils, in large part due to the fact that Battier would punish the slightest lapse in judgement by the other team.

Shane Battier may not fill a "need" position, but somehow always was able to turn the tide and rally the troops when all hope seemed lost. And that sort of superhuman leadership is what this team lacked.

elvis14
04-03-2009, 11:08 PM
I chose Christian because I'd want to win. Imagine having 2 Kyle Singlers on this team.....only the second Kyle was our best player.

fan345678
04-04-2009, 10:15 AM
gotta go with Shelden Williams or Mike Gminski...somebody to swat or alter shots, get rebounds, and pivot down low

jv001
04-04-2009, 10:28 AM
Never said he didn't have stars around him, I am saying that he didn't have enough around him to win it. Laettner did. Twice. Laettner was a threat from anywhere, but this years team has plenty of outside threats, we don't have one inside. That's why I have Brand as my guy.

How did Christian play against Shaq (LSU)? I would say he was a pretty good inside player as was Elton. But could Elton play on the outside as well as inside? Christian's numbers speak for themselves. Yes and those numbers do include 2 Championships. I know he had some great players on those Duke teams, but he was the best of those players. To me the player you pick comes from: Christian, Grant, Bobby Hurley, Shane Battier and The G-Man. Go Duke!

eddiehaskell
04-04-2009, 12:45 PM
I can only speak of players I've seen play, so I'd want Christian or Elton. A low post presence that can score 15+ and grab 10+ rebounds would tremendously help this team. It would also open things up outside so the shooters could get better looks from behind the arc.

ArkieDukie
04-04-2009, 08:45 PM
Tough call. My first thought was Hurley, but he's not an option. Thought about JWill, but we had that position covered. (I still think of JWill as more of a 2 guard than a point. YMMV) Ditto Laettner (Singler's game has some similarities IMO). Big missing factor: dominating center. Enter Elton Brand.

sleepybear
04-05-2009, 02:39 PM
Laettner
This year we could of used his swagger and refuse to lose attitude. His post game would have fit nicely with this team also.