Okay, YOUR Duke team

[Lord Ash]

Hello all,

I am not sure if folks have done this, but I haven't seen such a thread as long as I've been around DBR (a few years, to be sure, tho not as many as some.)

I, like so many basketball fans, enjoy dreaming of what my All-Duke team would look like. I am sure many of you have too!

So what I was envisioning was a thread of just our own All-Duke teams.

The "rules" will be simple. 5 starters, and you are allowed 3 backups. They would be expected to play a full game; i.e. think about what you need as a team to function, this isn't just a "who has the most talent" team, but which would be the best basketball team.

You can go back and edit your entry at any time; who knows, maybe someone will make a point I hadn't considered, and as Dukies, we are always willing to learn from others!

EDIT:

Players are listed by name, number of starts, number of bench spots, points, and how many All-Duke teams they were named to.

I am including the up-to-date All Duke points, 1 point for a bench spot and 2 points for a starting spot. I will include an alternate scoring in parentheses; 3 points for a start and 2 points for a bench spot; might balance it a tight differently and maybe better. We'll see how that works; if anyone wants to chime in on which formula to keep?

Figure that Friday should be long enough to keep this going?

STARTERS
Laettner: 18 S, 1 B, 37 points (56 points) 19 teams
G.Hill: 17 S, 2 B, 36 points (55 points) 19 teams
Hurley: 15 S, 3 B, 33 points (51 points) 18 teams
Shane: 9 S, 11 B, 30 points (48 points) 20 teams
J.Will: 11 S, 7 B, 29 points (47 points) 18 teams

BENCH
Coach Dawkins: 12 S, 4 B, 28 points (44 points) 16 teams
Elton: 8 S, 4 B, 20 points (32 points) 12 teams
JJ: 4 S, 9 B, 18 points (29 points) 13 teams

OTHER GREATS
Ferry: 2 S, 5 B, 9 points (15 points) 7 teams
Gminski: 2 S, 4 B, 8 points (14 points) 6 teams
Shelden: 2 S, 1 B, 5 points (8 points) 3 teams
Boozer: 1 S, 1 B, 3 points (5 points) 2 teams
The Alaskan Assassin: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points) 1 team
Marin: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points) 1 team
Verga: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points) 1 team
Banks: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points) 1 team

Caught up as of Wilko's post on Tuesday @ 1:53 PM.

So... I hope people respond!

:)

[Lord Ash]

My All Duke Team

(just a note; I am only going with guys I watched.)

Starting at point guard : Bobby Hurley
Starting at shooting guard: Jason Williams
Starting at small forward: JJ Redick
Starting at power forward: Shane Battier
Starting at center: Carlos Boozer

Bench:
Christian Laettner - would play as much time as anyone else on the team; I just can't start two centers:)
Grant Hill - Can play almost any position and play it as well as anyone else on the team; IMHO the perfect "All Team" sub.
Trajan Langdon - An excellent guard and steady presence, but I am willing to replace him with someone else. I'll keep thinking on this.

[yancem]

My All Duke Team

And I need another guard... I'll have to think a bit about this... I think Deng would be very good, but since he played only a single year at Duke I am reluctant. Honestly I am feeling me some Trajan... but I am sure I missed someone obvious. I'll come back and edit later.

Did you not get a chance to watch Dawkins?

[dukediv2013]

This is the All Time Duke team since I began watching Duke BBall in the late 90's

1ST TEAM

PG- Jason Williams
SG- JJ Redick
SF- Shane Battier
PF- Elton Brand
C- Shelden Williams

2ND TEAM

PG- Steve Wojo
SG- Trajan Langdon
SF- Mike Dunleavy
SF- Chris Carrawell
C- Carlos Boozer

[cato]

My All Duke Team

(just a note; I am only going with guys I watched.)

Starting at point guard : Bobby Hurley
Starting at shooting guard: Jason Williams
Starting at small forward: JJ Redick
Starting at power forward: Shane Battier
Starting at center: Carlos Boozer

Bench:
Christian Laettner - would play as much time as anyone else on the team; I just can't start two centers:)
Grant Hill - Can play almost any position and play it as well as anyone else on the team; IMHO the perfect "All Team" sub.

And I need another guard... I'll have to think a bit about this... I think Deng would be very good, but since he played only a single year at Duke I am reluctant. Honestly I am feeling me some Trajan... but I am sure I missed someone obvious. I'll come back and edit later.

Dude, you're bringing Laettner and Grant Freakin Hill off the bench? You realize that Grant Hill singlehandedly willed his team to within one missed 3 pointer of winning the championship right?

Also, Jason Williams, JJ Redick and all the other guards are battling with Dawkins for time at shooting guard (and probably losing).

[nicktonyg22]

Point Guard: Bobby Hurley
Shooting Guard: Johnny Dawkins
Small Forward: Grant Hill
Power Forward: Shane Battier
Center: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Elton Brand


There are so many guys that I wish I could put on this team, but i guess you gotta make cuts somewhere...I think this team would not only beat just about anyone, but is not just a "best talent" team, but could really function.

[Lord Ash]

A few things;

First off no, Dawkins was before my time. So I don't include him, even tho I am well sure he would be on the team if I had seen him.

Also, I am trying to keep it to only 8 players, since realistically that is all that we would play:)

I am bringing Hill off the bench only because he can sub for any spot from 1-4. I like that versatility. Trust me, I appreciated Grant; I sat right under the title banners in that game against Arkansas in a SEASON where he single handedly brought Duke to where it got. (I still hate the "Big Dog," and after Scotty Thurman it feels like Grant brought us to within one MADE three for a title!) Trust me, I know he is great, on my team coming off the bench isn't a putdown. I expect most players to play equal minutes.

What can I say about JJ, I miss him a lot. He poured it in more than any player I've personally seen at Duke.

Nick, so this is yours?

Point Guard: Bobby Hurley
Shooting Guard: Johnny Dawkins
Small Forward: Grant Hill
Power Forward: Shane Battier
Center: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Elton Brand

Hard to find fault, of course:) You have some long, good defenders, especially at SF and PF. I like your guards off the bench; talk about some scoring power:) Elton had the softest hands I've ever seen at Duke!

DukeDiv, what if I asked you to cut two players? Who would go?

[Kilby]

PG Johnny Dawkins - As clutch a scorer as Duke has ever had and one of the best defenders. He played PG his Freshman yr.
SG - Jason Williams
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Christian Laettner - Also clutch and will to win
C - Elton Brand

Bench - Shane Battier, Hurley and Carlos Boozer
I can't believe I left them off - Giminski, Gene Banks,
Current player most likely to break the list - Gerald Henderson

[ikiru36]

Similarly, only going with players I personally watched, first hand (and assuming their level of play as of their final year at Duke)...

1 Hurley
1/2 Dawkins
1/2/3 G. Hill
3/4/5 Laettner
4/5 Brand

Bench
1/2 J. Williams
2/3/4 S. Battier
3/4/5 D. Ferry

I could think about it more, but this was my first instinct anyways...
others who almost made it-Gene Banks, JJ Redick, Carlos Boozer, Sheldon Williams

[y'all be sleeping on Ferry who pretty much had the best overall year stat-wise of anyone in this period (along with Laettner and Dawkins). OK, he's 6'10" and during his senior year averaged 22.6 pts., 7.4 rbds., 4.7 asts., and 1.6 steals while shooting 52% from the floor and 42.5% from 3. oh yeah, and he had that 58 pt. game at Miami! pre-Duke's tv contract, i never got to see that one!]

[phaedrus]

This is way too hard. Makes me wish I went to Carolina so I could struggle to think of 5 decent players to start - "umm, MJ... Haywood... Forte?"

Here goes.

Hurley
Redick
Hill
Laettner
Brand

With NPOYs Dawkins, JWill, and Battier on the bench.

[Lord Ash]

With NPOYs Dawkins, JWill, and Battier on the bench.

Hee hee! I love Duke.

:D

[Lord Ash]

Okay, the count so far, with starts counting for 2 points, and bench spots counting for 1 (very scientific, I know.) As of 9:15 on Monday and Phaedrus' post. If anyone edits something, pls let me know so I can keep up to date?:)

I will include an alternate scoring in parentheses; 3 points for a start and 2 points for a bench spot; might balance it a tight differently and maybe better. We'll see how that works; if anyone wants to chime in on which formula to keep?

Figure that Friday should be long enough to keep this going?


Hurley: 4 S, 1 B, 9 points (14 points)
Laettner: 4 S, 1 B, 9 points (14 points)
G.Hill: 4 S, 1 B, 9 points (14 points)
Elton: 4 S, 1 B, 9 points (14 points)
J.Will: 3 S, 3 B, 9 points (15 points)
Shane: 3 S, 3 B, 9 points (15 points)
JJ: 3 S, 1 B, 7 points (11 points)
Coach Dawkins: 3 S, 1 B, 7 points (11 points)
Boozer: 1 S, 1 B, 3 points (5 points)
Shelden: 1 S, 0 B, 2 points (3 points)
The Alaskan Assassin: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points)
Ferry: 0 S, 1 B, 1 point (2 points)

DukeDiv, I didn't count any of your bench so far; if you would be so kind to cut it down to 5 I will!

[captmojo]

Dawkins
Redick
Laetner
Battier
Hill

bench:
Marin
Verga
Gminski

With no particular reference to position, many are interchangeable anyway.

[captmojo]

Who really should argue these picks? They're all great line ups.

[houstondukie]

Starters:

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Jason Williams
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Elton Brand
C: Christian Laettner

Bench:
SG: JJ Redick
PF: Shane Battier
C: Shelden Williams

[ArkieDukie]

As with several other people, my list will include players I watched after getting hooked on Duke b-ball.

Starters:
Bobby Hurley PG (NCAA career assist leader and the most amazing court vision ever)
Jason Williams SG (can run the team, but IMO plays even better when he doesn't have to)
Christian Laettner PF (has ice water in his veins!)
Grant Hill SF (Mr. Versatility - and he could dunk from the free throw line!)
Elton Brand C (great skills)

Bench:
JJ Redick (Duke/ACC career scoring record - heart of a champion)
Danny Ferry (originally had him starting in place of Brand, but ultimately decided that his skills are too similar to Laettner's. YMMV)
Shane Battier (the glue guy - plays well and makes everyone else better)

I had to leave off some of my all-time favorite Duke players: Wojo, Duhon, and T Hill, for example. I was also sorely tempted to include Patrick Davidson as one of the bench players just for the sheer intimidation factor!

[cspan37421]

It's hard b/c AFAIK Johnny Dawkins didn't shoot any 3-pointers in college. He was amazing but I only saw him for one year and don't remember his range. I do remember Jason Williams, JJ Redick, and Wm. Avery for range.

I'm going to first limit the field to those who got their degrees in 4 yrs (or less, JWill!). If some of these were there 4 yrs and didn't get a degree, forgive and inform me.

Starters:
G: Bobby Hurley
G: Jason Williams
F: Grant Hill
F: Shane Battier
F/C: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Guard: Johnny Dawkins
Forward: Danny Ferry
Center: Marty Nessley (just kidding! Mike Gminski)

I can't speak for the G-man, he was before my time, but I put him in b/c I don't think our 2 best centers of late (Brand, Boozer) graduated. And how to pick between those two anyway? Shelden did and I hope he does well, but he seemed inconsistent, and rarely great. I know he's got some impressive accumulated stats but in the clutch he and our frontcourt got manhandled on the boards by LSU. Hadn't seen such an unexpected imbalance on blocks and rebounds since Louisville '86.

But among the others, you'll notice they all can handle the rock. Any of the big guys could be counted on to bring the ball upcourt if they had to, and I remember each of them having to, at times. Pretty much they all performed well in the clutch. You can say that Ferry didn't bring us to a NC game after his freshman year but there wasn't really NBA-level talent in the backcourt on his So, Jr., Sr. teams. You usually need that for a NC. And as someone else pointed out, his numbers were too good to ignore. He just didn't have the level of supporting cast that others did.

[Zeke]

How can you have a Duke All Star team and not mention - at least once Dick Groat and Art Heyman. They were hands down better than most (not all) of the players mentioned so far. Come on Ole' grads - speak up.

[Bluedog]

Starters:

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Johnny Dawkins
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Shane Battier
C: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Mike Gminski

[cspan37421]

oh yeah, and he had that 58 pt. game at Miami! pre-Duke's tv contract, i never got to see that one!]

I don't know that Duke didn't have a TV contract. Just maybe not an "all games" or whatever. It is available somewhere - b/c Duke had a VHS tape of it for sale in the bookstore (or Gothic bookshop, I forget) shortly afterwards.

[Lord Ash]

Updated as of span, above.

I'll keep the total tally of points in the first post:)

I love Duke, baby!:)

[yancem]

Dawkins
Redick
Laetner
Battier
Hill

bench:
Marin
Verga
Gminski

With no particular reference to position, many are interchangeable anyway.

Congrats on being the first to go old school but how can you pick Marin and Verga over Heyman and Mullins? Although I did use to baby sit for Jack Marin's son so maybe I shouldn't argue:)

[Bob Green]

I'm not sure why we are limiting the team to eight players. I would have rather picked 12. Anyway, here are my eight:

Starters: Laettner, Battier, Grant Hill, Dawkins, & Hurley

Bench: Gminski, Banks, & Redick

That was tough! It was very hard leaving off Danny Ferry and Olympic Gold Medalist Tate Armstrong (I would have loved seeing him play with the 3-point shot). Add Art Heyman and Bob Verga (another shooter with deep range) and you have my 12 player team.

Of course 12 is not enough because I would love to add Mike Lewis, Dick Devenzio, and Rick Katherman. Okay, I'll stop at 15.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[Lord Ash]

I thought eight would force people to make some real decisions. Plus, very few Duke teams have ever played 12 deep;) Thanks for playing along!

[gw67]

Starters:

PG: JWill
SG: Dawkins
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Laettner
C: Gminski

Bench:
Hurley
Battier
Ferry

I restricted my choices to the last 30 years. Heyman and Verga were terrific players from the 60's and along with Redick and S. Williams would fill out my roster.

gw67

[Karl Beem]

Hurley
Dawkins
G. Hill
Ferry
Laettner

Bench:
Battier
J. Williams
Redick
another big lug, with the versatility of Ferry, Hill and Laettner, it doesn't much matter

[The Gordog]

I can't speak for the G-man, he was before my time, but I put him in b/c I don't think our 2 best centers of late (Brand, Boozer) graduated.

Carlos graduated in 3 years. Mike D. is the one who left unexpectedly and did not graduate with his class. He may have come back later to finish in summer school, but I have no information on that.

[The Gordog]

This thread gets done every year, and every year I enjoy the exercise. I can only rate the K era players with any precision, so my appologies to Heyman, Banks, Giminski, Mullins, Verga, and Groat.

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Jayson Williams
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Chritian Laettner
C: Danny Ferry

Bench: Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Elton Brand

Elton was drafted #1 based on potential, and we often remember him as being that good (best player in the nation) but in reality I agree with the posters below that Ferry was a better college player. Looking at the stats from 1989 I see that Ferry and Laettner played side-by-side for about 10 min. per game that year so I have no problem moving Laettner to PF.

HM: JJ, Shel, I must be forgetting somebody else....

[captmojo]

Jack Marin was coach Bubas' favorite and that's hard to argue. Bob Verga simply had a very consistent outside shot. It was also great to see the name Mike Lewis again.One of the toughest to ever hit the ACC.

[mr. synellinden]

G - Dawkins
G - J. Williams
F - G. Hill
F - Ferry
C - Laettner

Bench

G - Hurley
F - Battier
G - Redick

I struggled the most with G. Hill over Battier. I think Dawkins and J. Will were more complete players than Hurley and Redick but it's still hard to leave those two guys off the starting team.

I think Brand would be a starter over Ferry if he stayed for four years but without the extra two seasons it's hard to pick him.

If we had four more slots (to complete a 12 man team), I'd go with

Brand
Langdon
Shelden
Alarie

[RPS]

I saw Marin and Heyman only in the NBA and Groat only in MLB, so....

Hurley
Laettner
G. Hill
Gminski
Dawkins

Brand
Battier
J. Williams

Very close: Ferry; Banks; Armstrong; Spanarkel; Alarie; Redick.

[feldspar]

Starters:

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Johnny Dawkins
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Shane Battier
C: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Mike Gminski

Ditto, except give me Brand off the bench in place of Gminski.

[ikiru36]

It's hard b/c AFAIK Johnny Dawkins didn't shoot any 3-pointers in college. He was amazing but I only saw him for one year and don't remember his range. I do remember Jason Williams, JJ Redick, and Wm. Avery for range.

Actually, the 3 pointer was around for (part of?) the 82-83 season and JD shot 19/54, 35.2%, as a freshman. (Was that at 19'9" or was it slightly shorter as I seem to re-collect?) In any event, fairly clearly, particularly as he matured, Dawkins would have been at least a good 3 pt. shooter from 19'9". He was a 33% shooter from 3 in the NBA which makes him decent but not great from long range. Man was he great/efficient from mid-range though!

In any event, guessing at it, JJ and Jason would have been superior from 3, but by how much is debatable. Well, in JJ's case, likely by a lot, but there's no shame in that! :0)

[ugadevil]

pg Hurley
sg Dawkins
sf Hill
pf Brand
C Laettner


bench:
Battier
Redick
J. Williams



who would win if we put a team of all duke players who stayed all four years vs. a team of duke players who left a year or two early?

[mapei]

There really aren't many bad choices among the top dozen or so candidates. My team:

Starters:
Hurley
JWill
Hill
Shane
Laettner

Bench:
JJ
Dawkins
Brand

Apologies to:
G-Man
Shel
Banks
Duhon

[Classof06]

Starters
B. Hurley (consummate PG)
J. Williams (the single best NCAA player I've ever seen)
G. Hill (the essence of versatility)
C. Laettner (Clutch, ridiculously competitive SOB)
S. Williams (one of the most underappreciated NCAA players I've ever seen)

Bench
Dawkins
Battier
Brand

[husWagner1983]

My under-appreciated/somewhat "older" team. Would be competitive with any other team IMO.

Mark Alarie - inside/outside game, runs the floor well
Cherokee Parks - versatile big guy, good shot blocker
Jim Spanarkel- underappreciated athletic skills, super savvy player/scorer
Tate Armstrong - great shooter/scorer with nice range
Tommy Amaker - great on-ball defender, unselfish...plenty of scorers

Bench:
Randy Denton - monster rebounder and inside scorer
Chris Carrawell - versatile player to guard multiple positions
David Henderson - no fear, nice athleticism

I only saw Tate and Randy play on tv. Tate was a great shooter/scorer. He was a super player, somewhat overlooked because he broke his wrist in his senior season I believe. He was having a "JJ" like year before the break. He was on the '76 Olympic team.

I'd have the following "walk-on" just because they have great names:
Erik Meek
Danny Meagher
Bill Suk
Hack Tison

[wilko]

My under-appreciated/somewhat "older" team. Would be competitive with any other team IMO.

Mark Alarie - inside/outside game, runs the floor well
Cherokee Parks - versatile big guy, good shot blocker
Jim Spanarkel- underappreciated athletic skills, super savvy player/scorer
Tate Armstrong - great shooter/scorer with nice range
Tommy Amaker - great on-ball defender, unselfish...plenty of scorers

Bench:
Randy Denton - monster rebounder and inside scorer
Chris Carrawell - versatile player to guard multiple positions
David Henderson - no fear, nice athleticism

I only saw Tate and Randy play on tv. Tate was a great shooter/scorer. He was a super player, somewhat overlooked because he broke his wrist in his senior season I believe. He was having a "JJ" like year before the break. He was on the '76 Olympic team.

I'd have the following "walk-on" just because they have great names:
Erik Meek
Danny Meagher
Bill Suk
Hack Tison

Heck yeah, you named some of my faves in
David Henderson
Danny Meagher
Mark Alarie

Also From the not getting much love dept.
John Smith
Robert Brickey
Marty Clark
Danny Ferry
Vince Taylor

[Lord Ash]

Okay, the rankings are updated!

[mr. synellinden]

Also From the not getting much love dept.
John Smith
Robert Brickey
Marty Clark
Danny Ferry
Vince Taylor

It consistently shocks me how people on this board, the biggest Duke basketball fans, don't acknowledge, remember, realize, appreciate, etc., how good Danny Ferry was. Forget about his pro career. He was ACC player of the year twice when almost nobody went pro early, split the player of the year voting with Sean Elliot his senior year, once scored 58 points in a game and played on 3 final four teams. He was a great inside - out scorer, created matchup problems for any team he faced because there was nobody else like him and was a terrific passer. When there is discussion about the all-time best player ever to play at Duke, you hear Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Johnny Dawkins, Art Heyman, Dick Groat, Jason Williams ... but you very rarely see Ferry mentioned in that discussion, and he should be. In my opinion, Laettner is the best college player ever at Duke - based on his talent and accomplishments. However, outside of Laettner there is a strong argument that Ferry was the best COLLEGE player ever to play at Duke. I would include all of the others above in that argument.

[dukemsu]

It consistently shocks me how people on this board, the biggest Duke basketball fans, don't acknowledge, remember, realize, appreciate, etc., how good Danny Ferry was. Forget about his pro career. He was ACC player of the year twice when almost nobody went pro early, split the player of the year voting with Sean Elliot his senior year, once scored 58 points in a game and played on 3 final four teams. He was a great inside - out scorer, created matchup problems for any team he faced because there was nobody else like him and was a terrific passer. When there is discussion about the all-time best player ever to play at Duke, you hear Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Johnny Dawkins, Art Heyman, Dick Groat, Jason Williams ... but you very rarely see Ferry mentioned in that discussion, and he should be. In my opinion, Laettner is the best college player ever at Duke - based on his talent and accomplishments. However, outside of Laettner there is a strong argument that Ferry was the best COLLEGE player ever to play at Duke. I would include all of the others above in that argument.

Amen. Ferry is the ultimate "unappreciated" Duke legend.

dukemsu

[mjones723]

Danny was a bad bad man.

[mapei]

re Danny: I may be hampered in that I simply wasn't paying as much attention when Ferry was playing. And I've seen more highlights of Dawkins, Banks, and some others from back in the day. I wasn't the Duke fan at the time that I am now, but I do remember Giminski as a player.

Maybe Danny's misfortune was to have been so quickly eclipsed by Laettner and the championships that Danny's teams could never quite win. His time in the spotlight was brief.

What's fun about this is that, inevitably, some great players are going to be left off someone's top team. That's how many great ones have passed through the Duke program.

[cspan37421]

In my opinion, Laettner is the best college player ever at Duke


Some folks would say you could leave out the "at Duke" part of that sentence. :)

[mr. synellinden]

I would be one of those people.

[skoob]

Duhon
Redick
Mullins
Boozer
Brand

Subs:
Maggette
Hill
Gminski

[CDu]

as I'm only 28. I only vaguely remember the 87 team. So my memory relies on the 88-to-present teams.

Starting five:
PG - Hurley (best pure point guard I've seen at Duke)
SG - Williams (I like the combo of Williams/Hurley)
SF - G Hill (just so versatile)
PF - Battier (ditto, and great shooting range to stretch defense)
C - Brand (I like his post-up game. It's really a coin-flip for me between Laettner and Brand, and they'd both play heavy minutes)

Bench:
Laettner (perfect change of pace from Brand, and I'd run that high-low combo a lot, too)
Ferry (I only saw the end of his career, but he was real good)
Redick (the perfect gunner for this team)
Boozer/Williams (I can't decide if I want Boozer's offense or Williams' defense)
Duhon (insurance point guard - great defense and good team player)

I'd go big at times with Brand or Ferry in place of a smaller player (either Hill/Battier or a guard), and small at times with Redick coming in for Hill or Battier. But there's pretty much no situation in which I feel this team would have matchup problems.

[Jfrosh]

I can only discuss the 1985 team and beyond, so I will limit my choices to that. I will also limit my starters to 4 year players. Why? Because it's my list.

Point Guard: Bobby Hurley (All time assist Leader)
Shooting Guard: Johnny Dawkins (So very smooth, made everything look effortless.
Small Forward: Grant Hill (no brainer)
Power Forward: Danny Ferry (This was a tough call)
Center: Christian Laettner (again, no brainer)

Bench:
Shane Battier
Jason Williams
Elton Brand

I went back and forth between Shane and Danny. I graduated in '89 with Danny and at that time he was THE god around campus and the NCAA. He was a point forward who could do anything on the court. Everyone was talking about him becoming the next Larry Bird (there always seems to be one, but he had a great skill set). Shane was the consumate team player, awesome defensively, developed into a great offensive player, great communicator and leader. I better go ahead and submit this before I change my mind again.

[g_olaf]

My ALL Naismith team:

Starters:
Jason Williams (POY 2002)
Johnny Dawkins (POY 1986)
Danny Ferry (6'10" playing the 3 for me) (POY 1989)
Christian Laettner (POY 1992)
Elton Brand (POY 1999)

Bench:
Shane Battier (POY 2001)
JJ Redick (POY 2006)
Lindsey Harding (POY 2007)

Coach: 3 time Naismith COY Mike K. has the edge over 2-time Naismith COY Gail G.

Interesting: We're the only school that can field a team.

[FerryFor50]

Here's mine:

1st team
PG: Jason Williams
SG: Johnny Dawkins
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Danny Ferry
C: Christian Laettner

2nd team
PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: JJ Redick
SF: Shane Battier
PF: Elton Brand
C: Mike Gminski

[should_be_working]

1. jason williams
2. JJ reddick
3. johny dawkins
4. shane battier
5. christian laettner

[Zeke]

1) Dick Groat
2) Art Heyman
3) Grant Hill
4) Christian Laettner
5)Johnny Dawkins

[Classof06]

I'm only 23 so please excuse the modern-era bias :)

Jason Williams (best CBB player I've ever seen - again, pardon the bias)
Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Christian Laettner
Elton Brand

[Cameron]

PG: Jason Williams
SG: JJ Redick
F: Grant Hill
F: Shane Battier
F/C: Christian Laettner

That team would NEVER be touched. Bring on all comers.

[superdave]

PG: Hurley (2 natl champs, all-time asissts)
SG: Dawkins (2,500 career points, player of year)
SF: G. Hill (player of year, 2 natl champs..almost 3rd)
PF: Elton Brand (player of year, unguardable)
C: Christian Laettner (started 4 final fours)

Bench: G-man, Battier, J. Williams

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

1) Dick Groat
2) Art Heyman
3) Grant Hill
4) Christian Laettner
5)Johnny Dawkins
I concur with this list though it's a shame to leave out Jeff Mullins, Bob Verga and some others who put Duke on the national basketball map before some of those who are posting were even thought of!

[EarlJam]

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Johnny Dawkins
F: Grant Hill
F: Danny Ferry
C: Christian Laettner

Wow. Not an easy task to pick five. Too many awesome choices.

-EarlJam

[BlueintheFace]

If I am actually making a team and not putting together the best 5...


1) Dawkins
2) Redick
3) Hill
4) Laettner
5) I want to say Ferry, but I am going with a complete surprise pick- Carrawell. With the other 4, I want that little burst in to the lane with the guaranteed 5-7 footer. Plus I want him for his defense and leadership.

[dukebballcamper90-91]

Hurley
G. Hill
Laettner
Jason Williams
Battier

Sorry Dawkins and Brand, you don't have rings

[sagegrouse]

This is a May topic -- not one for February -- especially during a great season.

sagegrouse

[killerleft]

My five:

Laettner
Dawkins
Ferry
Gminski
G. Hill

Bench (huh?)

Brand Heyman Spanarkel
Hurley Marin S. Williams
Mullins Groat Lewis
J. Williams Redick Verga
Battier Banks ....... and about 10 others.

[DukeDevilDeb]

This is the All Time Duke team since I began watching Duke BBall in the late 90's

1ST TEAM

PG- Jason Williams
SG- JJ Redick
SF- Shane Battier
PF- Elton Brand
C- Shelden Williams

2ND TEAM

PG- Steve Wojo
SG- Trajan Langdon
SF- Mike Dunleavy
SF- Chris Carrawell
C- Carlos Boozer

...can you not have Christian in this group? The guy was one of the most consummate college players ever... And NO DAWKINS?

You must be 25 years old or under.:)

[DukeDevilDeb]

Carlos graduated in 3 years. Mike D. is the one who left unexpectedly and did not graduate with his class. He may have come back later to finish in summer school, but I have no information on that.

Jason Williams graduated in three years. Mike Dunleavy left after 3 but then came back and finished his degree; I know because I was one of his professors. Of all the people who have NOT come back to finish, the two most obvious are Elton and CARLOS. I love Boozer, but I would sure like to be able to claim him as a Duke grad. We're still working on it! He left after 3 years and has not come back to take even one class.

[DukeDevilDeb]

I'm only 23 so please excuse the modern-era bias :)

Jason Williams (best CBB player I've ever seen - again, pardon the bias)
Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Christian Laettner
Elton Brand

You apparently watched Christian play, so how in the world can you say that Jason was the best ever? I pardon the fact that you are young, but Laettner did it all, including winning back to back championships and being the all-time scoring leader in the NCAA tournament. I love Jason, but I still think Christian (or Ferry as noted above) were better CBB players.

[DukieBoy]

this is going to be very biased to recent teams because im only 17 and haven't really seen much from 90 and 91 teams. However, i have read alot on them; enough to realize how great laettner, hurley, and hill were. So, my team would be:

PG- Bobby Hurley
SG- Jay(son) Williams
SF- Grant Hill
PF- Shane Battier
C- Elton Brand

Bench-
Christian Laettner (extra energy coming off the bench)
Chris Duhon (think he is under-rated and a great leader. he played in the acc tourney in 04 i believe with broken ribs).
J.J. Redick (an amazing shooter).

but is it funny that the majority have the all-time leading scorer in acc history on the bench for the all duke team. i guess that shows you how truly good duke is

[mapei]

Laettner
Brand
Hill
Hurley
Redick

S. Williams
Ferry
Battier
J. Williams
Dawkins

Wish I could find a spot for Duhon in there.
Old-guy team: Verga, Heyman, Mullins, G-Man, Groat

[jzp5079]

I'm counting a guy that would have gone to Duke and has given us great publicity for saying so

PG - Jason Williams
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Carlos Boozer
C - Elton Brand

Bench

J.D.
C.L.
J.J.R.
S.B.

but if your mad about the bryant thing, I suppose you could slide him out, slide J.D. up, and add Mr. Langdon to the list.

[ricks68]

PG: Hurley
SG: Dawkins
PF: Laettner
SF: Heyman
C: Brand

Bench: Mullins, Hill, Battier

[elvis14]

Starters
PG Hurley
SG Jason Williams
SF Grant Hill
PF Shane
C Laettner

Bench
Dawkins
JJ Redick
Brand

[TwoDukeTattoos]

Starters:

Laettner
Hurley
G Hill
Brand
Battier

2nd Team:

Dawkins
J Williams
Gminski
Maggette (sp?)
Dunleavy

[devildeac]

Patrick Davidson-I don't need anyone else, unless you let me have Jay Heaps for added depth...

[FerryFor50]

I'm counting a guy that would have gone to Duke and has given us great publicity for saying so

PG - Jason Williams
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Carlos Boozer
C - Elton Brand

Bench

J.D.
C.L.
J.J.R.
S.B.

but if your mad about the bryant thing, I suppose you could slide him out, slide J.D. up, and add Mr. Langdon to the list.

You could also add Shaun Livingston to that list. :p

[91.92.01DUKE]

What is your all time Duke lineup?

[markbdevil]

By position it would be:
PG - Bobby Hurley
SG - Jason Williams
C - Mike Gminski
PF - Christian Laettner
SF - Grant Hill

Favorites:
PG - Bobby Hurley
SG - Jim Spanarkel
C - Mike Gminski
PF - Gene Banks
SF - Shane Battier

[DevilDan]

Wow, that is a TOUGH ONE. It's like when they ask Dickie V. to pick his 64 teams for March Madness, and invariably, he picks at least "80" if you let him. The list so far is a great one ....... BUT, I'd have to go back further and think ART HEYMAN and JEFF MULLINS, just ahead of BOB VERGA as great choices. J.J. REDICK was no slouch, and I get the idea that DICK GROAT had some skills in his day.

This ought to be fun, maybe it would be easier to list the 10 Best alltime. Can't argue with any of Markbdevil's guys.

[91.92.01DUKE]

I'll show my youth(I have little knowledge of any Duke team prior to 1991.), my original team was:


Jay Williams/ Bobby Hurley
JJ/ Carrawell?/ Trajan Langdon
Grant Hill/ Mike Dunleavy
Elton Brand/ Shelden/ Battier
Christian Laettner/ ?

[Uncle Drew]

A Duke fan could look at this from several angles, and for that matter since Duke has often played a G,G,G,F,F lineup you could make cases for addition or subtraction of a number of players.

I have to go with Mike Gminski at center, power forward is a toughie because Elton Brand and Boozer are beasts. I guess I go with Brand even though Carlos got a ring because Elton was POY. Wait I just thought about Danny Ferry, crap! Can I make him my power forward and Brand my small forward? And guard is even tougher, even if you chose a three guard line up. Grant Hill was a point forward, so I guess you could list him as a guard. And it would be hard picking anyone over Hurley at point, but J. Williams was IMO a much better scorer than Hurley. That of course would leave out Dawkins, JJ etc. Okay this sucks! How do you choose player A over B? And by position so many players have been able to play several positions for Duke.

Couldn't you have asked something easy like the 5 UNC players we hate the most!?

[Tappan Zee Devil]

A Duke fan could look at this from several angles, and for that matter since Duke has often played a G,G,G,F,F lineup you could make cases for addition or subtraction of a number of players.

I have to go with Mike Gminski at center, power forward is a toughie because Elton Brand and Boozer are beasts. I guess I go with Brand even though Carlos got a ring because Elton was POY. Wait I just thought about Danny Ferry, crap! Can I make him my power forward and Brand my small forward? And guard is even tougher, even if you chose a three guard line up. Grant Hill was a point forward, so I guess you could list him as a guard. And it would be hard picking anyone over Hurley at point, but J. Williams was IMO a much better scorer than Hurley. That of course would leave out Dawkins, JJ etc. Okay this sucks! How do you choose player A over B? And by position so many players have been able to play several positions for Duke.

Couldn't you have asked something easy like the 5 UNC players we hate the most!?

So - no Laettner??? :confused:


also nobody before 1986??? :confused:
There was a Duke before K

Groat, Heyman, Mullins, Verga, Lewis, Tinkerbell all were at least reasonably good players :rolleyes:

Jay Buckley is probably the most underappreciated center in Duke history (he is not an all time great BUT he does have almost 1000 points in 3 years and a PhD in physics)


jim
T '70

[Uncle Drew]

So - no Laettner??? :confused:


also nobody before 1986??? :confused:
There was a Duke before K

Groat, Heyman, Mullins, Verga, Lewis, Tinkerbell all were at least reasonably good players :rolleyes:

Jay Buckley is probably the most underappreciated center in Duke history (he is not an all time great BUT he does have almost 1000 points in 3 years and a PhD in physics)


jim
T '70

I said it's impossible to do. Leaving Laettner off would be insane as probably best Duke player ever. But you factor in how he was in the pros vs. Brand and Boozer and that complicates things too. I can't do it, I can't make an all-time team. There are too many bloody variables. How can you leave off Battier? And I know full well players from the Foster and Bubas era where great and would still be great today. The truth is the only player I am sure about is Gminski and that is only if using a true C,F,F,G,G line up. Because in many ways you could say he was the last dominant center Duke had. Every time I thought of one player I thought of three more at the same position. This was like asking which ex-wife I want to be deported!

Oh and I started watching Duke in 78, I know there was like before Coach K.

[DevilDan]

HA ! See what I mean? It's almost impossible to pick a best five -- biggest reason I stuck Heyman, Mullins & Verga in there is that I am an OLDIE, and a Devil fan since 1958. I temporarily forgot Johnny Dawkins -- a serious omission. Agreed, opinions about a "best 5" have a lot to do with the type of lineup Duke has put out there at different times over the years.

Another observation ... Jack Marin was one of the most solid and dependable Duke forwards ever, who went on to a longer and more productive NBA career than any of the four I mentioned above.

It "just ain't easy" -- but what great memories. Case in point, UCLA had bloodied Duke's nose in the national final, then I think the very next year they came east to play "US" in a sort of marquee doubleheader, one night in Durham, the next night in Charlotte. Sports Illustrated did a feature article on those games, with the cover "Blood on the Carolina Moon". I think the scores were something like 82-66 & 94-75 -- paybacks are tough. Marin kicked some major butt ... again, great memories from the PAST, HA !

No more war stories .. this is a great thread ... keep it going !

[kinghoops]

my 5


pg- bobby hurley
sg- johnny dawkins
pf_ christian latener
sf- grant hill
c- mike gminski

next 5

pg- tommy amaker
sg- jay williams
pf- elton brand
sf- shane battier
c-carlos boozer

[kinghoops]

By position it would be:
PG - Bobby Hurley
SG - Jason Williams
C - Mike Gminski
PF - Christian Laettner
SF - Grant Hill

Favorites:
PG - Bobby Hurley
SG - Jim Spanarkel
C - Mike Gminski
PF - Gene Banks
SF - Shane Battier

how can johnny dawkins not be in top 10???, but after looking at my list, i dont have jj redick in top 10, which by 10 ten players, he would be in, but i did go by position, and i cant see jj being ahead of jd, or jwill

[kinghoops]

also for some younger fans, tate armstrong was a hell of a scorer!!

[kinghoops]

A Duke fan could look at this from several angles, and for that matter since Duke has often played a G,G,G,F,F lineup you could make cases for addition or subtraction of a number of players.

I have to go with Mike Gminski at center, power forward is a toughie because Elton Brand and Boozer are beasts. I guess I go with Brand even though Carlos got a ring because Elton was POY. Wait I just thought about Danny Ferry, crap! Can I make him my power forward and Brand my small forward? And guard is even tougher, even if you chose a three guard line up. Grant Hill was a point forward, so I guess you could list him as a guard. And it would be hard picking anyone over Hurley at point, but J. Williams was IMO a much better scorer than Hurley. That of course would leave out Dawkins, JJ etc. Okay this sucks! How do you choose player A over B? And by position so many players have been able to play several positions for Duke.

Couldn't you have asked something easy like the 5 UNC players we hate the most!?

ok 5 unc players i have hated the most

1- chic yonaker
2- mike okoren(sp??)
3- j.r. cant reid
4- eric montross
5- scott williams,

[DevilDan]

Hey King, don't forget "The Manchester Rifle", RICK KATHERMAN !

[kinghoops]

Hey King, don't forget "The Manchester Rifle", RICK KATHERMAN !

hey devil dan, now you going past my time a lil bit, i thought you were gonna say some one like jim suddath

[kinghoops]

or devil dan we could have went with vince " the prince" taylor

[kinghoops]

ok now i will list my top ten from say mid 1970s to now

gminski
dawkins
ferry
hurley
lattener
hurley
g.hill
j.williams
jj redick
s.battier

[hedgehog]

Post 1982

1st team
Jay Heaps
Greg Koubek
Marty Clark
Carmen Wallace
George Burgin or Marty Nessley or Clay Buckley

2nd team
Bobby Hurley
Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Shane Battier
Christian Laettner

3rd team
Jason Williams
Thomas Hill
Mike Dunleavy
Danny Ferry
Elton Brand

[kinghoops]

Post 1982

1st team
Jay Heaps
Greg Koubek
Marty Clark
Carmen Wallace
George Burgin or Marty Nessley or Clay Buckley

2nd team
Bobby Hurley
Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Shane Battier
Christian Laettner

3rd team
Jason Williams
Thomas Hill
Mike Dunleavy
Danny Ferry
Elton Brand

hedgehog, i must disagree with one of your first team selections, andre buckner HAS to be on the first team,his one performance in the dean dome with DOH earns him first team honors

[6th Man]

My all-time Duke Team:

PG-Bobby Hurley
SG-Johnny Dawkins
SF-Grant Hill
PF-Christian Laettner
C-Elton Brand

My all-time DUNKING Duke Team:

PG-Johnny Dawkins
SG-Dahntay Jones
SF-Corey Maggette
PF-Grant Hill
C-Robert Brickey(for those of you too young, he was a 6'5" center at times.

[DevilDan]

KING, you have outdone yourself ... I'm not worthy. OK, one last try:

Raleigh's favorite son, RANDY DENTON !

( who, at 6'10", ventured outside to add a wrinkle to Coach Bucky Waters "Mongoose Offense", and run the point ! And pretty well, too ... ! )

Checkmate .... keep up the good stuff .... GO DUKE !

p.s. Off topic, I am hoping and praying that Czyz and Plumlee prove to be the real deal(s), we need the help inside this year ...

[DukeDevilDeb]

This is the All Time Duke team since I began watching Duke BBall in the late 90's

1ST TEAM

PG- Jason Williams
SG- JJ Redick
SF- Shane Battier
PF- Elton Brand
C- Shelden Williams

2ND TEAM

PG- Steve Wojo
SG- Trajan Langdon
SF- Mike Dunleavy
SF- Chris Carrawell
C- Carlos Boozer

How in the world can you not have Christian Laettner on at least your second team? He is arguably the best college basketball player ever....

[DukeDevilDeb]

It's hard b/c AFAIK Johnny Dawkins didn't shoot any 3-pointers in college. He was amazing but I only saw him for one year and don't remember his range. I do remember Jason Williams, JJ Redick, and Wm. Avery for range.

I'm going to first limit the field to those who got their degrees in 4 yrs (or less, JWill!). If some of these were there 4 yrs and didn't get a degree, forgive and inform me.

Starters:
G: Bobby Hurley
G: Jason Williams
F: Grant Hill
F: Shane Battier
F/C: Christian Laettner

Bench:
Guard: Johnny Dawkins
Forward: Danny Ferry
Center: Marty Nessley (just kidding! Mike Gminski)

I can't speak for the G-man, he was before my time, but I put him in b/c I don't think our 2 best centers of late (Brand, Boozer) graduated. And how to pick between those two anyway? Shelden did and I hope he does well, but he seemed inconsistent, and rarely great. I know he's got some impressive accumulated stats but in the clutch he and our frontcourt got manhandled on the boards by LSU. Hadn't seen such an unexpected imbalance on blocks and rebounds since Louisville '86.

But among the others, you'll notice they all can handle the rock. Any of the big guys could be counted on to bring the ball upcourt if they had to, and I remember each of them having to, at times. Pretty much they all performed well in the clutch. You can say that Ferry didn't bring us to a NC game after his freshman year but there wasn't really NBA-level talent in the backcourt on his So, Jr., Sr. teams. You usually need that for a NC. And as someone else pointed out, his numbers were too good to ignore. He just didn't have the level of supporting cast that others did.

Very good point! Neither Brand nor Boozer graduated with his class, and neither has yet come back to "make up" missed academic work. Boozer could do it (only a little under a year short), but it would be a lot for Brand. I would love it, but I don't think there's any way... I'm still hoping for Boozer

[DukeDevilDeb]

Carlos graduated in 3 years. Mike D. is the one who left unexpectedly and did not graduate with his class. He may have come back later to finish in summer school, but I have no information on that.

Take it from one who knows (and who has worked with these players academically!).

JWill graduated in 3 years.

Mike Dunleavy left without graduating but has since come back and graduated.

Carlos Boozer left without graduating and has not yet made of any of the necessary classes... none.

Sorry! I wish he'd do it too!:)

[Uncle Drew]

I don't have any stories on the guy, way before my time but I've been told Dick Groat was one of the best athletes to ever play any sport at Duke. Who is to say he shouldn't be on the all-time Duke team? I mean how many Duke basketball players have a World Series ring?

And Robert Brickie before Andrew Gaze undercut him and messed his knees up in the Final Four was freakin' scarey athletic. You guys can talk about if so and so got their degrees, talk to me about if Robert had his knee!

Tommy Amaker was a defensive player of the year and a damn good floor general. IMO a better scorer than Hurley, better assist gut than J-Will.

For that matter we haven't even seen how good Deng is going to be but I'm sure people will omit him since he left early; Magettee too.

You can't make a list that isn't slanted by your age, opinion, their NBA career or whatever.

UNC players I hate most:

1. Brenda Haywood
2. Scott Williams
3. Tyler Hansbrough
4. Jerry Stackhouse
5. Rasheed Wallace

See that was easy!

[Son of Mojo]

That smashes a myth I believed--I always thought Boozer was on the same 3 year graduation plan that Williams had. Hmmm. And I've always argued with people, if Brickey hadn't gotten hurt in that game we win against SH easy and we would've went on to beat Michigan, regardless of how great Rice was.

My line-ups (only for who I have gotten to watch over the years, so since I really started following circa '85 - '86 when dad took me to a blue/white game that started my path......)

Starters
G--Hurley
G--Dawkins
F/C--Laetnner
F/G--G. Hill
F/C--Brand

Bench
G--Amaker
G--J. Williams
G--Redick
G/F--Carrawell
F--Battier
F/C--Ferry
F--Alarie

Duhon, Boozer, T. Hill, Dunleavy, Maggette, Langdon, Jones, Deng, and Nelson fall as alternates off the "JV" team in the order given.

[Son of Mojo]

Oh, and all-time hated holes? Again, just in my time frame....

Wallace
Montross
Reid
Hanstravel
S. Williams
Haywood
Rice
Ndiaye (think that's right)
Stackhouse

The hate goes further than that limited few but there's just a sampling.

[Uncle Drew]

Oh, and all-time hated holes? Again, just in my time frame....

Wallace
Montross
Reid
Hanstravel
S. Williams
Haywood
Rice
Ndiaye (think that's right)
Stackhouse

The hate goes further than that limited few but there's just a sampling.

Okay maybe it isn't so easy I forgot about Mahktar Ndjai (however ya spell it) standing on the scorers table at the end of the 98 ACC tourney. I will qualify and say I hate Hansbrough because he is so good just like UNC fans hated JJ for being so good. The others I hated their attitude and cockiness more than their play.

[trinity92]

Starters:

J. Williams
G. Hill
E. Brand
D. Ferry
C. Laettner

Bench:

Hurley
Dawkins
Battier

Note: If this team were playing against MD, JWill gets

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Starters:

J. Williams
G. Hill
E. Brand
D. Ferry
C. Laettner

Bench:

Hurley
Dawkins
Battier

Note: If this team were playing against MD, JWill gets

OK - I hate to be a broken record, but Duke basketball existed prior to K and played for NCAA championships and beat some of the legendary early Dean uncch teams.

My most hated unnch player is Dick Grubar - I can never forgive the sly grin he had when bringing the ball upcourt

one of my most respected unnch players is Charlie Scott - he was a pioneer and (from what I know) was classy as well as a great player

Jim
T'70

[Verga3]

How about this.......

1st Team:
Jason Williams
Johnny Dawkins
Grant Hill
Christian Laettner
Mike Gminski

2nd Team:
Bobby Hurley
J.J. Redick
Art Heyman
Shane Battier
Elton Brand

3rd Team:
Dick Groat
Bob Verga
Gene Banks
Danny Ferry
Shelden Williams

Bench:
Tommy Amaker
Jeff Mullins
Jim Spanarkel
Jack Marin
Carlos Boozer
Fred Lind!!!

[BigTedder]

another good question....who is the all-time unc team? (state, wake)

[Cdog923]

Excuse my lateness to this thread (and my lack of far-reaching Duke history...my knowledge goes back to '90.)

PG - Bobby Hurley
SG - Johnny Dawkins
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Shane Battier
C - Christian Laettner

Bench:
G - Jason Williams
G - J.J. Redick
F - Elton Brand

This is a killer lineup. Hurley distributes to Hill and Dawkins, who can score from virtually anywhere on the offensive end. Laettner is the force in the middle, while Battier provides clutch scoring and defensive leadership. Hill, JWill and Battier are all very versatile; Hill can play the 1-4 positions, JWill can cover both guards, while Battier can play the 3-5. Redick is the assassin off of the bench, while Brand brings the muscle in whenever Laettner or Battier needs a break.

[sagegrouse]

I propose a criteria-based approach to an all-Duke team. Of course, I am not sure what the criteria should be.

Here are some ideas:

NBA All-Star
Jeff Mullins
Jack Marin
Christian Laettner
Grant Hill (captain)
Elton Brand

Carlos Boozer (sub/ seniority-based)

Olympic Basketball Medalists
Jeff Mullins (1964) - gold
Christian Laettner (1992) - gold
Grant Hill (1996) - gold
Crawford Palmer - (2000) - silver - France
Carlos Boozer - (2004) - bronze

National POY (I may need some help here)
Starters (consensus)
Art Heyman
Christian Laettner
Elton Brand
Shane Battier
Jason Williams
J.J. Redick (we'd be awesome with six on the floor)
Reserves
Dick Groat
Johnny Dawkins
Danny Ferry



All Geezer Team (Bubas era and earlier)
Dick Groat
Art Heyman
Jeff Mullins
Bob Verga
Mike Lewis
Reserves
Jack Marin (sorry, Jack, we needed a center)
Randy Denton

Anyway, you get the idea.

sagegrouse
'I expect Jim Sumner to come by and tidy up this mess'

[Son of Mojo]

Have to say this just because it sounds like there's a few who keep hitting this horse......if we're picking teams and someone is saying (like I did) the point from which we began watching, don't knock them for not having someone. I didn't have Gminski, Heyman, Mullins, Groat, Spanarkel, Banks, Marin, Denton, Verga, Lewis, etc. because I never got to watch them play in a Duke uniform (except on tape or youtube). Matter of fact, of those the only one I ever saw play live on tv was Gminski when he was with the Sixers/Hornets/Bucks (but on my old nba video games as a kid I made him a BEAST in scoring). Some of the younger people on here who didn't choose someone like Laetnner amazes me BUT I can't fault them if they didn't get to see him play. It's all for giggles here--don't get upset. We've had so many fantastic players that I'd take a mix & match squad of names we have given and put them up against other school's all-timers......that's right, I'm looking your way, unc!!!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Have to say this just because it sounds like there's a few who keep hitting this horse......if we're picking teams and someone is saying (like I did) the point from which we began watching, don't knock them for not having someone. I didn't have Gminski, Heyman, Mullins, Groat, Spanarkel, Banks, Marin, Denton, Verga, Lewis, etc. because I never got to watch them play in a Duke uniform (except on tape or youtube). Matter of fact, of those the only one I ever saw play live on tv was Gminski when he was with the Sixers/Hornets/Bucks (but on my old nba video games as a kid I made him a BEAST in scoring). Some of the younger people on here who didn't choose someone like Laetnner amazes me BUT I can't fault them if they didn't get to see him play. It's all for giggles here--don't get upset. We've had so many fantastic players that I'd take a mix & match squad of names we have given and put them up against other school's all-timers......that's right, I'm looking your way, unc!!!

There will always be those who are younger and those who joined the board who didn't have the opportunity to learn about some of the greats who played at Duke. I see the conversation in this thread and many others as a vehicle for keeping the old names alive in our collective memories..... the stuff of traditions and legends..... and a reminder that Duke has a long tradition and history of excellence in many areas. I enjoy and appreciate the stories of some of my contemporaries and those who came along earlier.

[GADevilFan]

As with many, my knowledge base goes back only so far...

Starters:

Hurley
Redick
G. Hill
Ferry
Laettner

Bench:

S. Williams
Dawkins
Brand

[sagegrouse]

As with many, my knowledge base goes back only so far...

Starters:

Hurley
Redick
G. Hill
Ferry
Laettner

Bench:

S. Williams
Dawkins
Brand


My earlier post used a series of somewhat random criteria for picking an all-time Duke team. I left off the obvious criterion: your jersey's retired.

Um, lets see. That would be Groat, Heyman, Mullins, Gminski, Dawkins, Ferry, Laettner, Hurley, Hill, Battier, J. Williams, Redick and S. Williams.

That totals 13 jerseys here on Friday 13th. So, I guess, some three of these would have to be told they are Third Team.

There is no way I am touching that hot potato!

sagegrouse

[gw67]

I suspect that I posted in this thread already so I don’t want to post two differing opinions (very likely because there have been so many outstanding players since I began watching in the early 60’s). I will, however, list the five Duke players who I believe are generally underappreciated by Duke fandom:

• Danny Ferry : All American, National POY, Two-time ACC POY, two-time 1st team All ACC
• Bob Verga: All American, Three-time 1st team All ACC
• Trajan Langdon: Three-time 1st team All ACC
• Mark Alarie: Two-time 1st team All ACC, 2nd team All ACC
• Jim Spanarkel: Two-time 1st team All ACC, 2nd team All ACC

gw67

[Cali-Duke]

johnny dawkins
jay will (kind of like a chris duhon/jay will thing)
the alaskan assassin
grant hill
shane battier

needless to say, we'd run =)

[Classof06]

J Will
Dawkins
G. Hill
Laettner
Brand

Bench
Battier
Redick
S. Williams

[weezie]

I'd still like Boozer based on that 2001 championship game. For that he gets a big X and an O from me.

That's a kiss and a hug, btw.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

PG - Jason Williams
SG - Corey Maggette
SF - Grant Hill
PF - Shane Battier
C - Elton Brand

Bench:

Carlos Boozer
Johnny Dawkins
Luol Deng
C.L.


I'm operating under the assumption that athletes have gotten stronger, quicker, and faster over recent years.

These aren't the players with the most accolades ever obtained by Duke players but if you took these players all in their primes (or for J. Will, what could have been his prime) - they would thwart any other group of Dukies with relative dominance.

I had Boozer circled in first over Battier but as a Duke team - I think they would be more efficiently run with a fourth perimeter threat and a defensive stopper in Battier.

[jv001]

First Team
Christian Laettner
Grant Hill
Bobby Hurley
Mike Gminski
Bob Verga

2nd Team
Jeff Mullins
Tate Armstrong
JJ Redick
Elton Brand
Johnny Dawkins

3rd Team
Jay Williams
Mike Lewis
Shane Battier
Danny Ferry
Jack Marin
Man that leaves off a great bunch of guys

[mgtr]

My Duke team? Simple -- it is always next year's team. It will be Paulus, Singler, Scheyer, Henderson and X. That is the team I want to be successful, and that is the team I want to watch.