PDA

View Full Version : First Lamar Odom now... Chris Duhon?



J4Kop99
04-13-2012, 02:53 AM
This is an article from Yahoo Sports. Sad if true.

It's a bit of an understatement to point out that the Orlando Magic have been through their fair share of controversy this season, what with a franchise player clearly wanting to don another uniform and/or fire his team's celebrated head coach at the same time. There's another minor controversy brewing down in Florida, though, with the demotion of backup point man Chris Duhon.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/chris-duhon-banished-orlando-amid-reports-missed-practices-153501189.html

moonpie23
04-13-2012, 06:23 AM
sad to read.....maybe his behavior suggests some unknown things going on in his life....

TruBlu
04-13-2012, 06:35 AM
Not meaning to highjack the thread, but I have been curious about "Little Duhon". Does anyone know where he is, and what he has been up to? He was certainly a crowd favorite at Cameron.

roywhite
04-13-2012, 07:22 AM
sad to read.....maybe his behavior suggests some unknown things going on in his life....

The article doesn't say much good about Chris, portraying him basically as a well-below average player with questions about his work ethic.

No sense speculating too much, but it sounds like Duhon's NBA days may be nearing an end. I liked him as a Duke player and hope there is another phase in his life that he can enjoy after pro hoops.

fitimi1
04-13-2012, 08:07 AM
At last check, the only thing reported in the Orlando Sentinel was that Chris missed a shoot-around to attend to a "personal problem." Nothing was said about any comflicts with anyone, coaches or players.

And believe me, living in Orlando as I do, the local writers would be the first to make something out of this if they could find anything to report. Would suggest that you check the Sentinel web site before drawing conclusions based on any other reporting.

CameronBornAndBred
04-13-2012, 08:10 AM
No sense speculating too much, but it sounds like Duhon's NBA days may be nearing an end. I liked him as a Duke player and hope there is another phase in his life that he can enjoy after pro hoops.

I dunno...I don't follow him closely (or any NBA guys) but I do check the box scores; he's been getting decent minutes all year including a few starts due to injury. He's not a scoring machine, but he must be doing something right for Van Gundy to not keep him on the bench.

hq2
04-13-2012, 08:52 AM
Duhon has actually had a better than forecast NBA career; he slipped a bit in the draft, but managed to become a decent
NBA player anyway, mostly on intangibles; good passing, leadership, smart decision making, good defense. If those are
no longer there, his shooting isn't enough to keep him in the pros. If his career is over, it was a pretty decent one.

Johnny Chill
04-13-2012, 09:01 AM
Why would Duhon's career be over?

Ever since he signed with Orlando his confidence was completely different than what it was in New York and Chicago.

But I wouldn't be surprised if a part of his play has to do with the Dwightmare this past season and it will continue next season also. Maybe he wants to get out of Orlando and play somewhere else.

MCFinARL
04-13-2012, 09:36 AM
Duhon has actually had a better than forecast NBA career; he slipped a bit in the draft, but managed to become a decent
NBA player anyway, mostly on intangibles; good passing, leadership, smart decision making, good defense. If those are
no longer there, his shooting isn't enough to keep him in the pros. If his career is over, it was a pretty decent one.

Yeah, this is an example of what I have never understood about the popular criticism that Duke and Coach K don't produce NBA players, but, for example, Calipari does. I actually am grudgingly coming around to the idea that Calipari is a good coach (though there is not much I like about his approach to college basketball generally), and he is obviously a great recruiter, but in terms of "preparing" players for the NBA, how hard is it to take a bunch of guys who would be lottery picks if they went to the NBA direct from high school and have them be lottery picks after a year in college? What K has done is to help a lot of players learn how to survive in the NBA for multi-year careers whether or not they have an all-around superstar skill set. That's one reason why Duke now has more active players in the NBA than any other college. Most very good players coming out of high school aren't going to be superstars; most aren't even going to make the NBA. For these, if their heads aren't too full of hoop dreams and stardust, you would think playing at Duke would seem like a golden opportunity to maximize their chances of having at least a moderately successful professional career, in the NBA or elsewhere.

tendev
04-13-2012, 10:00 AM
Yeah, this is an example of what I have never understood about the popular criticism that Duke and Coach K don't produce NBA players, but, for example, Calipari does. I actually am grudgingly coming around to the idea that Calipari is a good coach (though there is not much I like about his approach to college basketball generally), and he is obviously a great recruiter, but in terms of "preparing" players for the NBA, how hard is it to take a bunch of guys who would be lottery picks if they went to the NBA direct from high school and have them be lottery picks after a year in college? What K has done is to help a lot of players learn how to survive in the NBA for multi-year careers whether or not they have an all-around superstar skill set. That's one reason why Duke now has more active players in the NBA than any other college. Most very good players coming out of high school aren't going to be superstars; most aren't even going to make the NBA. For these, if their heads aren't too full of hoop dreams and stardust, you would think playing at Duke would seem like a golden opportunity to maximize their chances of having at least a moderately successful professional career, in the NBA or elsewhere.

I thought that at about this time we would have ended the popular criticism about Duke players in the NBA. Coach K must not be able to do anything producing NBA players right? Why is he the coach of the Olympic Team? Why were the Lakers and the Celtics willing to pay him so much to coach their teams. And I won't bother listing all the Duke players with long NBA careers and multimillions in the bank whose talents K apparenlty did not develop at Duke. It would take me too long and I have to get back to work.

DukeDevilDeb
04-13-2012, 12:40 PM
Not meaning to highjack the thread, but I have been curious about "Little Duhon". Does anyone know where he is, and what he has been up to? He was certainly a crowd favorite at Cameron.

I was at Chris' wedding several years ago, and Little Duhon (whose name, actually, is not Duhon) was one of the ushers. Thomas is a handsome man who portrays himself well. I was unable to ask him what he was doing, but he looked good! See my post at that time (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?22021-Congrats-to-groom-Chris-Duhon-Recent-Duke-Chapel-wedding).

Go Devils!

Billy Dat
04-13-2012, 01:37 PM
From the Yahoo! article

"There are rumors that his off-court habits could be contributing to his sluggish play"

Gee, that's a pretty thinly veiled assertion that he must be partying like a rock star. That tag has followed Chris around, it surfaced early in Chicago, but I didn't hear anything about it while he was in NY, and those tabloids (News, Post) would have been happy to report any dirt. Bottom line, it's not smart for a marginal player to be a problem for the team. He's still a young man, but he's made $28MM in his career. I guess he thinks that's enough. At 31, if he showed some more professionalism, he could have added another $5MM - $10MM on top of that.

But, the NBA career of Chris Duhon has to be considered a success.

roywhite
04-13-2012, 02:04 PM
I was at Chris' wedding several years ago, and Little Duhon (whose name, actually, is not Duhon) was one of the ushers. Thomas is a handsome man who portrays himself well. I was unable to ask him what he was doing, but he looked good! See my post at that time (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?22021-Congrats-to-groom-Chris-Duhon-Recent-Duke-Chapel-wedding).

Go Devils!

yeah, here are some pics of Chris's wedding

chris-duhon-and-andrea-hernandez-wedding-photos/ (http://www.celebritybrideguide.com/chris-duhon-and-andrea-hernandez-wedding-photos/)

With the wedding at Duke Chapel and reception at the Washington Duke Inn, there's no doubt that Duke means a lot to Chris.
I've enjoyed following his career and wish him the best.

subzero02
04-13-2012, 10:20 PM
Duhon definitely had the reputation of being a heavy drinker/partier when I was at Duke. He was Reggie Love's "wingman" the night of tea bag-gate.

COCO
04-14-2012, 11:23 AM
yeah, here are some pics of Chris's wedding

chris-duhon-and-andrea-hernandez-wedding-photos/ (http://www.celebritybrideguide.com/chris-duhon-and-andrea-hernandez-wedding-photos/)

With the wedding at Duke Chapel and reception at the Washington Duke Inn, there's no doubt that Duke means a lot to Chris.
I've enjoyed following his career and wish him the best.

I love the photo of the wedding party including Carlos Boozer, Reggie Love, and Jason Williams. Clearly Chris enjoyed his time at Duke.

Will we see any Duke teammates in Austin Rivers' wedding party?

greybeard
04-14-2012, 12:22 PM
I have always thought of Duhon as a great distributor of the ball, a guy who sets the rhythm for the offense, who gives it up selflessly to the guy who is well positioned to initiate an attack from where the alignment on the court makes the defense most vulerable. Duhon's ability to see this and get rid of the ball easily and early often leads to excellent scoring opportunities, often after an ensuing pass or two. That style of leadership does not show up in stats or have the pizazz that makes for ESPN highligths. To me, however, it makes the game sing. I have to believe that that quality in Duhan, together with his prowess on defense, has made for what has been a long and fruitful basketball career. Partying by a professional athlete, going way, way back in football, basketball, and perhaps more prevalently, in tennis and golf, why, I am shocked. If you are a star (Paul Horning, Raymond Floyd, Walter Haegen, Andre Aggasi, need I add Wilt, Magic, and the Babe, the Mick, to name a few, it is seen as part of mystique. Partying. We're talking Partying?

Wander
04-14-2012, 07:34 PM
I thought that at about this time we would have ended the popular criticism about Duke players in the NBA.

No way to really quantitatively measure this, but as far as I can tell this meme has died down in the past couple years. And Kyrie Irving will ensure it doesn't get seriously resurfaced for a very long time.

duke09hms
04-14-2012, 10:15 PM
Will we see any Duke teammates in Austin Rivers' wedding party?

Why do you ask this question?

Newton_14
04-14-2012, 11:12 PM
I love the photo of the wedding party including Carlos Boozer, Reggie Love, and Jason Williams. Clearly Chris enjoyed his time at Duke.

Will we see any Duke teammates in Austin Rivers' wedding party?

Well, he is out having a meal with 2 of his former Duke teammates now, still enrolled in school and attending class, and will likely spend his summers at Duke training with former Duke players. He will likely be attending summer sessions at Duke this summer with Kyrie.

He is a Duke Blue Devil for life and I expect will always see himself that way.

BD80
04-15-2012, 09:17 AM
Well, he is out having a meal with 2 of his former Duke teammates now, still enrolled in school and attending class, and will likely spend his summers at Duke training with former Duke players. He will likely be attending summer sessions at Duke this summer with Kyrie.

He is a Duke Blue Devil for life and I expect will always see himself that way.

Wow! Mixed emotions.

Do I respect Austin more for being an actual student/athlete ...

or for ripping the hearts out of the whine and geezers at the dean dome?

Still pondering ...

moonpie23
04-15-2012, 10:04 AM
can we lay off the austin-bashing?

Raleighfan
04-15-2012, 11:14 AM
Newton 14 wrote late on Saturday night re Austin Rivers: "Well, he is out having a meal with 2 of his former Duke teammates now"

hmmm....earlier in the evening, Austin ate dinner in CIS along with his mom, teammates, coaches, and a bunch of fans (including moi) at the annual MBB banquet. Maybe he didn't get enough to eat and went out later for a snack? (FYI...this is in no way intended to be Austin-bashing!)

Newton_14
04-15-2012, 01:47 PM
Newton 14 wrote late on Saturday night re Austin Rivers: "Well, he is out having a meal with 2 of his former Duke teammates now"

hmmm....earlier in the evening, Austin ate dinner in CIS along with his mom, teammates, coaches, and a bunch of fans (including moi) at the annual MBB banquet. Maybe he didn't get enough to eat and went out later for a snack? (FYI...this is in no way intended to be Austin-bashing!)

And he then tweeted later last night that he was out at the Waffle House with his boys Marshall Plumlee and Mike Gbinije. I knew the banquet was last night, so obviously the entire team was there for that. I was speaking about the Waffle House trip not the banquet. Thanks


Austin Rivers
‏ @AustinRivers25
At waffle house with the homies @marshallplumlee and @TheRealGbinije !!

38
Retweets 15
Favorites 9:41 PM - 14 Apr 12 via Echofon · Embed this Tweet

CameronBornAndBred
04-17-2012, 09:11 AM
This could go here or in the Dukies In The NBA thread, but I'll post it here since it looks like Duhon has worked his way back into Van Gundy's graces.
Sunday night he played 19 minutes while "newly promoted backup point guard Ishmael Smith" sat on his butt, and he played 13 minutes last night while Smith again rode the pine. Both were Magic wins.
I saw some stories at the same time that Duhon was getting his DNP's that he had gotten an MRI on a sore ankle, which may have kept him on the bench more than an "attitude problem".

MCFinARL
04-17-2012, 11:14 AM
Wow! Mixed emotions.

Do I respect Austin more for being an actual student/athlete ...

or for ripping the hearts out of the whine and geezers at the dean dome?

Still pondering ...

Respect him for the first, love him for the second. ;)