Alaa Abdelnaby update?

[Mcluhan]

I haven't been on the board (well, back on the board) for very long, but I did a quick search and didn't see anything about Alaa Abdelnaby doing commentary for NBA TV! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaa_Abdelnaby)

[dkbaseball]

This article refreshed my memory that Alaa was the 25th pick in the draft. With all due respect to him, Josh is a vastly better prospect. The Blazers got a steal at 37.

[-jk]

I could be wrong (isn't that what fan sites are all about?), but I seem to recall that in his senior year he mastered "catch, face, and shoot", set the Duke FG percentage record, and helped us to the Final Four in what was expected to be a rebuilding year.

I'm hoping Zoub can emulate him.

-jk

[Mcluhan]

This article refreshed my memory that Alaa was the 25th pick in the draft. With all due respect to him, Josh is a vastly better prospect. The Blazers got a steal at 37.

That was a very weak draft, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990_NBA_Draft) and this one was very strong. Even without much improvement, I think Josh could have snuck into the first round next year.

[mr. synellinden]

I could be wrong (isn't that what fan sites are all about?), but I seem to recall that in his senior year he mastered "catch, face, and shoot", set the Duke FG percentage record, and helped us to the Final Four in what was expected to be a rebuilding year.

I'm hoping Zoub can emulate him.

-jk

You are not wrong and I don't agree that Josh was a vastly better prospect than Alaa. People may forget that Alaa was a McDonald's All American from Bloomfield, NJ and was an extremely skilled player. He was, unfortunately, immature and had a poor work ethic. He definitely underachieved his first three years but he put it all together his senior year and was in fact a major reason that 1990 team made it all the way to the national championship game. Alaa as a senior was a far better player than Josh as a sophomore. Where Josh's game goes as a pro remains to be seen.

[JamieC]

In the for what it is worth catagory, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Alaa at last year's Coach K Academy. There was not a nicer "coach" at the Camp. Alaa was kind, polite, humble, accessible, and a wonderful representative of the Duke program. I still laugh at some of the stories that he told. Alaa was truly one of the highlights of the Academy.

[killerleft]

True story? Alaa and another sub were sitting on the bench of an NBA team. Neither had seen action for a long while, when suddenly the coach called for Alaa to enter the game.

He jumped up, ran towards the scorer's table, stripping off his warm-up jacket as he went.

The problem? Alaa and his friend had not bothered to put on their jerseys, thinking that they wouldn't need them!

Now, that's funny!

[Mcluhan]

Alaa was the original Jail Blazer! Back when they were all class with Drexler, Porter, Kersey, Vandeweghe, and Buck Williams, Alaa was just chilling.

I'm a big fan, though.

Also, as far as I know, the beginning of the freethinking/absent-minded big man lineage at Duke (there may have been some before him, though).

[HK Dukie]

Mcluhan, stop trolling and go back to inside carolina. It's getting tiresome and I think most people see through it. All duke related posts by you are baiting.

So so typical and juvenile.

[Mcluhan]

Mcluhan, stop trolling and go back to inside carolina. It's getting tiresome and I think most people see through it. All duke related posts by you are baiting.

So so typical and juvenile.

Um, really? Does anyone else think I'm an anti-Duke troll?

[JasonEvans]

Um, really? Does anyone else think I'm an anti-Duke troll?

No, at least not from a cursory glance.

[Mcluhan]

No, at least not from a cursory glance.

Thanks. I've been a Duke fan my entire life, and really hope that y'all haven't found my posts juvenile.

The first game I remember is the 1986 Final. I was seven.

Like all other elementary school boys my age, Robert Brickey was a god to me. (all the girls liked Quin)

The day after the UNC-Michigan Final, I skipped school, unable to reap what I had sewn talking trash to all the Carolina fans.

After the final buzzer of the '94 final, I sat in the Charlotte Coliseum, bawling my eyes out. How close was Tony Lang's outstretched hand to that Scotty Thurman jumper.

I attended every home game of the '95 season, watching them lose close game after close game.

I still wonder what went wrong with Ricky Price's career.

I'm still trying to calculate how many years Kenny Blakeney was on the team.

Love tracing the lineages of certain types of players at Duke: for example, surprisingly Corey Maggette was a descendant of Carmen Wallace.

It pains me that the '99 team will never really be accepted as the greatest college team of all time.

I was up all hours listening to games over the internet from Japan as K won his third title in 2001.

I still can't stand the thought of King Rice.

And, um, I'm posting on DBR!

[WeepingThomasHill]

Dkbaseball, you are way off. McRoberts couldn't carry Abdelnaby's luggage. Abdelnaby had an erratic first 3 years but was a force in his senior year. He had tremendous post skills. He is number 3 in Duke career FG %. Unlike McRoberts, he had a nice offensive arsenal that was more than just uncontested dunks. He could finish in traffic, as opposed to the patented McRoberts line drive brick shot, errant pass or ugly hook shot. He put up 15 and 6 as a senior. He went to 3 Final Fours. In the NBA, he averaged about 6 ppg in the pros. A "vastly better prospect"? I think not. That is an insult to Abdelnaby.

[Bob Green]

I was up all hours listening to games over the internet from Japan as K won his third title in 2001.



I watched the 2001 & 1992 Championships on Armed Forces TV in Japan. Where in Japan were you? For the 1991 Championship, I was on a plane between the Philippines and Japan.

Bob Green
Yokosuka, Japan

[YmoBeThere]

It pains me that the '99 team will never really be accepted as the greatest college team of all time.


If not for the little item of losing that 1 game by an oh so close margin. How do others think they rank among the greatest teams never to win an NCAA or NIT title? Or has this one been beat to death already by the longer tenured denizens of these boards(or their precursors)?

[YmoBeThere]

The one area I might favor Josh over Alaa was on the glass. But then looking at who was also around at the respective times involved might explain the statistical differences. Okay, and I would be more willing to lend my car to Josh than to Alaa.

[Spencer's Daddy]

Nor have I ever seen Josh become a member of The Century Club. Alaa did as a freshman, then hit 20 FG attempts in a row as a senior!

[rthomas]

Alaa was great but it's stoopid to compare Alaa to Josh.

The problem with Alaa was he didn't graduate; there was a controversy as whether to hang the FF banner. This was at a time when all of Coach K's players graduated - or we couldn't hang the banner.

[JasonEvans]

Nor have I ever seen Josh become a member of The Century Club. Alaa did as a freshman, then hit 20 FG attempts in a row as a senior!

And Specner's Daddy and I were there to see it.

It was not pretty (the Century Club, not the FTs).

-Jason "whew, the Alaa and drinking stories/memories are washing over me like a Tsunami" Evans

[TheTrain]

Alaa graduated.....he was not the reason the 1990 FF banner was not raised. As a Class of 1990 grad, that is one thing I can guarantee you...because he and I both took several classes together...aside from George Burgin, he may be the smartest guy to receive a hoops scholarship from K. A lousy quarters player though......Alaa was a good guy.

[YmoBeThere]

Alaa graduated.....he was not the reason the 1990 FF banner was not raised. As a Class of 1990 grad, that is one thing I can guarantee you...because he and I both took several classes together...aside from George Burgin, he may be the smartest guy to receive a hoops scholarship from K. A lousy quarters player though......Alaa was a good guy.

There was another whom I thought was in trouble academically. Hopefully he did what it took to finish. I was going through my own excitement as a freshmen at the time but do recall the "controversy" regarding the banner.

[cspan37421]

Smartest guy under K to get a scholarship? That's quite a claim, when your putting him ahead of Weldon Williams (biomedical engineer), Quin (IIRC a 3.4 gpa when that WASN'T the overall average GPA at Duke!), and Shane Battier (is any illustration needed?). IIRC Cherokee was a history major too - that required tons of papers, IIRC. Unless you've got a heckuva ghost writer, that's no layup either.

Carmen Wallace reference: IIRC he did one of the most amazing up and under moves (reverse layup I think). Just about everyone's jaw was on the floor.

Brickey: what a leaper. I still remember one dunk against UNC he was basically horizontal for by the time it went through. He was called for an offensive foul on it though.

I'm glad to hear Alaa is one of the nicest coaches there. I hope he has matured, as my son may go to the K basketball camp next summer, and the last thing I want for him is to be tutored by someone still in the (alleged) "Chief and Chong" lifestyle.

[Spencer's Daddy]

Alaa graduated.....he was not the reason the 1990 FF banner was not raised. As a Class of 1990 grad, that is one thing I can guarantee you...because he and I both took several classes together...aside from George Burgin, he may be the smartest guy to receive a hoops scholarship from K. A lousy quarters player though......Alaa was a good guy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the voice of Gilman basketball, the ATrain!

[TheTrain]

Somebody's got me pegged..c'est moi, c'est moi..The Voice of Gilman Basketball

Don't confuse lack of GPA for brains....two of the smartest people I went to school with were too drunk 90% of the time to achieve a great GPA...and they are all-stars in their given professions today

I will stand by my statement on Alaa's intellectual firepower...and since I knew both Quin and Alaa (both fairly well)....Alaa had the higher intellectual firepower of the two (and that is not meant as a slam on Q)....Alaa was just immature (like many of us when we arrived at Duke ...including moi) and partied hard.

[thebur]

There was another whom I thought was in trouble academically. Hopefully he did what it took to finish. I was going through my own excitement as a freshmen at the time but do recall the "controversy" regarding the banner.

I seem to recall that it might have been Robert Brickey who kept the banner down for a while. At least when I was going to Cameron for the 93-96 seasons and saw him in the stands that is what some Iron Duke told me, that he was back around to finish his degree.

Let me also say that Brickey was one of my all time favorites, and if his knee had been in better shape I think he could have been a lesser coming of CB34 to the NBA. And I love me some Chuck too, Inside the NBA has gone from afterthought to prime viewing material with him!

[killerleft]

I would have to agree that Josh has a long way to go before he fills Alaa's shoes. Alaa left Duke with some great post moves. Don't really remember much about Alaa's shooting touch from the outside, but no doubt Alaa could shoot better. Heck, there are few people who can't shoot better than Josh.

I wish Josh great success, though. Most of us have been mesmerized by Josh's "potential". If he comes close to realizing it, he'll do fine.

[cspan37421]

I totally agree that GPA is not the same thing as ability. It is a measure of academic achievement. Over the long run, if one sobers up, intellectual curiosity will carry the day and there's really not a limit to one's achievements if there's enough drive and curiosity there. Some high GPA-ers are just in it for the grades, but for others, grades are a by-product of their intellecutal drive. And yes, some party animals do wise up and realize that "fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

So, what does Alaa like to discuss? Tony Judt's tome Postwar? Recent advances in cosmology or particle physics? Just wondering how his firepower manifested itself.

[jimsumner]

FWIW, AA's long consective fg-streak was at the beginning of his junior year.

Smartest player ever recruited by K? I think it's great that we can come up with so many valid nominees. Mark Alarie got an MBA from the Wharton School and his running buddy Jay Bilas got a law degree from Duke. Quin has multiple graduate degrees and George Burgin was a brilliant student. I would put Clay Buckley, Domazalski, Horvath, and Christensen in the hunt, along with better publicized players like Langdon, Battier and Jason Williams.

[JBDuke]

Somebody's got me pegged..c'est moi, c'est moi..The Voice of Gilman Basketball

Don't confuse lack of GPA for brains....two of the smartest people I went to school with were too drunk 90% of the time to achieve a great GPA...and they are all-stars in their given professions today

I will stand by my statement on Alaa's intellectual firepower...and since I knew both Quin and Alaa (both fairly well)....Alaa had the higher intellectual firepower of the two (and that is not meant as a slam on Q)....Alaa was just immature (like many of us when we arrived at Duke ...including moi) and partied hard.

Between Evans, Spencer's Daddy, The Train, and me, we might as well have a Henger reunion. (Jason, I know you didn't live there, but you're an honorary Henger...)