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View Full Version : Duke point guard - an "iconic position"?



KBCrazie
04-01-2011, 02:30 PM
This morning on New York's WFAN, after interviewing Curtis Granderson, the Yankees centerfielder, Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton got into a discussion about "the most iconic positions in sports". They posited that CF for the Yankees belonged in that category, which is hard to dispute. They also mentioned center for the Celtics, goalie for the Canadiens and linebacker for Penn State. Boomer suggested that point guard for Duke was one of the iconic positions, but Carton wasn't buying it. That got me thinking "how would you convince Carton that PG for Duke was something special?" Are there any other school/position combos in college hoops that are more "iconic"? With a lineage like Groat, Amaker, Hurley, Wojo, JWIll, Duhon, Scheyer and Smith, I would think not.

Who else belongs on the illustrious Duke PG list from years past? Do you consider the position "iconic"? Can anyone else in the college game top it?

PADukeMom
04-01-2011, 02:36 PM
You can't enlighten DUKE haters. You just simply smile and move on. I think you will soon be adding Irving & Rivers into that mix but then again I am wearing my Duke :cool: again.

Have there been other great point gurads in the country...yes of course but on a consistant basis...no I don't think so but again me & those dang glasses.:p

ScreechTDX1847
04-01-2011, 02:42 PM
You can't enlighten DUKE haters. You just simply smile and move on. I think you will soon be adding Irving & Rivers into that mix but then again I am wearing my Duke :cool: again.

Have there been other great point gurads in the country...yes of course but on a consistant basis...no I don't think so but again me & those dang glasses.:p

We have had really good PGs. We have had POY PGs. We have won ALOT with our PGs. This alone makes the discussion relevant.

I think it is very visible Duke player position in the sports world. I mean, PGs are typically the most important position on the floor in college and Duke is one of the winningest programs over the last 25 years.

uh_no
04-01-2011, 02:43 PM
I think up through duhon you have a pretty good argument, but since then we had paulus and then scheyer, who aren't stereotypical point guards, I think there would have been a much better argument had we had kyrie there all year, and he would have been the next 'great point guard at duke' but unfortunately we didn't, and smith though a great ball handler, and certainly a good assist man, is really considered a SG...I think it's silly to make the designation...shrug

maybe I think the premise of the question is silly, but I would have to go with a yes in the end. It doesn't matter who the PG is, they get attention for being the guy in charge of the duke offense

PADukeMom
04-01-2011, 02:58 PM
Too bad Chris Paul didn't attend Duke. Come on guys I am trying to cheer up. It's April, it's snowing & my boys are still dancing.
Show me some love!

Jeff Frosh
04-01-2011, 03:30 PM
Too bad Chris Paul didn't attend Duke. Come on guys I am trying to cheer up. It's April, it's snowing & my boys are still dancing.
Show me some love!

This thread is about "point" guards, not "punk" guards. :D

tommy
04-01-2011, 04:37 PM
We have had really good PGs. We have had POY PGs. We have won ALOT with our PGs. This alone makes the discussion relevant.

I think it is very visible Duke player position in the sports world. I mean, PGs are typically the most important position on the floor in college and Duke is one of the winningest programs over the last 25 years.

If you were to just look at the number and quality of point guards over the last 25 years, Arizona would really give Duke a run for its money. I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but off the top of my head they've had (in no particular order) Steve Kerr, Kenny Lofton, Damon Stoudemire, Khalid Reeves, Reggie Geary, Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Jason Gardner, Gilbert Arenas, Salim Stoudemire, Mustafa Shakur and Jerryd Bayless. You can argue that one or two was not a true point, etc., but still, that's a very long and impressive list.

But I think your point is correct. Duke's program is the most visible -- and the best -- and point guard is viewed as the most important position in college, so Duke point guard seems like it's more "iconic." Also, we've had more truly transcendent players at the position than has Arizona, and I'm speaking of Hurley, J-Will, and Kyrie primarily, so that's probably a factor too.

anon
04-01-2011, 06:55 PM
This thread is about "point" guards, not "punk" guards. :D

I hope the smiley means you're kidding. I would take Chris Paul in a heartbeat.

Bob Green
04-01-2011, 07:11 PM
Who else belongs on the illustrious Duke PG list from years past?

Dick Devenzio (http://www.dukeupdate.com/Alumni/dick_devenzio.htm) and Gary Melchionni (http://www.dukeupdate.com/Alumni/gary_melchionni.htm) are two from my youth that belong on the list.

sagegrouse
04-01-2011, 07:40 PM
This morning on New York's WFAN, after interviewing Curtis Granderson, the Yankees centerfielder, Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton got into a discussion about "the most iconic positions in sports". They posited that CF for the Yankees belonged in that category, which is hard to dispute. They also mentioned center for the Celtics, goalie for the Canadiens and linebacker for Penn State. Boomer suggested that point guard for Duke was one of the iconic positions, but Carton wasn't buying it. That got me thinking "how would you convince Carton that PG for Duke was something special?" Are there any other school/position combos in college hoops that are more "iconic"? With a lineage like Groat, Amaker, Hurley, Wojo, JWIll, Duhon, Scheyer and Smith, I would think not.

Who else belongs on the illustrious Duke PG list from years past? Do you consider the position "iconic"? Can anyone else in the college game top it?

PG Steve Vacendak was the MVP in the ACC in 1966 without -- get this -- even being first team all-conference.

sagegrouse

Reilly
04-01-2011, 09:30 PM
Georgetown/center (Ewing, Mutumbo, Alonzo ... even Ralph Dalton!) had it going there for a while ....

SupaDave
04-01-2011, 10:03 PM
PG Steve Vacendak was the MVP in the ACC in 1966 without -- get this -- even being first team all-conference.

sagegrouse

Steve still resides in North Carolina as well. I've had a few convos with him and he's a wonderful man. I went to school with his son.

Jarhead
04-01-2011, 11:04 PM
I don't think anybody has mentioned Bob Verga. I believe he still holds the Duke record for points per game (26.7) in a season. From the early days Billy Werber may qualify as a point guard, but I don't think the point guard designation was around that early. In fact, I don't recall the designation being used until some time the Bubas years. Another name left off the list so far is Johnny Dawkins. He was the point guard during his first year, but Tommy Amaker who played in the back court with Johnny carried the point guard name when he came. They were quite a pair. Point guards make pretty good coaches. Finally, there is Tate Armstrong IIRC who in his last year at Duke broke his hand rather seriously well into the season. Duke had a pretty good team with him at the point, but without him, it was not so good. That was an Olympic year, and our friend down 15-501 invited him to play on the Olympic team.

Our present point guard (I can dream, can't I?) may top the list. All in all, we have a pretty good list of point guards, and we should be proud of all of them. I think that there may be a few more who filled the role with distinction. And a look to the future will prove that we still are recruiting point guards of the highest kind.

4decadedukie
04-01-2011, 11:49 PM
For those who have enjoyed and/or contributed to this thread, here's an excellent 2003 Chronicle article that provides a useful historical perspective of the matter:
http://dukechronicle.com/article/paulus-next-long-line-great-duke-point-guardshttp://dukechronicle.com/article/paulus-next-long-line-great-duke-point-guards.

weezie
04-02-2011, 07:57 PM
They should have kept Granderson on and asked him. I'd rather hear what he's got to say about anything, rather than two sports talkingheads.