Who was the last Duke grad to start in an NBA final?

[diveonthefloor]

Has there ever been one?

[Verga3]

Has there ever been one?

As you know, Shane is one now...maybe the first for us! Checking.

[diveonthefloor]

Mullins in '75? Not sure if he started.

[roywhite]

Jeff Mullins won a title with the Golden State Warriors in 1975; it was towards the end of his career, and he was not a starter but played all 4 games (an upset and a sweep vs the Bullets) and played well.

[Verga3]

Jeff Mullins got a ring with the Golden State Warriors in 1975, as did Danny Ferry with San Antonio in 2003...but neither were starters. Sorry to step on you, roywhite....we were typing together.

[diveonthefloor]

Looks like Shane may be the answer to a new Duke trivia question. I am assuming that he will start Tuesday even if Bosh starts....We will see. I would love to see Shane at the post game presser, but w the Big Three around, that probably won't happen.

[roywhite]

Who was the last Duke basketball star to start in the Baseball World Series?

Perhaps some of our newer fans may not be fully aware of all that Dick Groat accomplished.
He was a two-time All-America, set Duke scoring records, scored 48 points in his final home game vs Carolina, and was the first Duke basketball player to have his jersey retired. Groat played briefly in the NBA, but became a star in Major League baseball.

Groat was a two-time World Series champ with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964.

[diablesseblu]

Whatever happens re the finals, lots of kudos to Shane tonight re the TV talking heads in post game coverage.

Must admit, was not a Heat fan until Shane joined them. Am now hoping they prevail. Would love the idea of his having a ring from both NCAA and NBA championships.

[subzero02]

Who's your daddy???

[Olympic Fan]

Who was the last Duke basketball star to start in the Baseball World Series?

Perhaps some of our newer fans may not be fully aware of all that Dick Groat accomplished.
He was a two-time All-America, set Duke scoring records, scored 48 points in his final home game vs Carolina, and was the first Duke basketball player to have his jersey retired. Groat played briefly in the NBA, but became a star in Major League baseball.

Groat was a two-time World Series champ with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964.

If you are going to mention Groat, you ought to also mention Bill Werber, who had an amazingly similar career. Like Groat, Werber was a college basketball All-American (Duke's first, in fact). He played 11 nyears in the Majors, Like Groat, he started out as a shortstop, but unlike him he switched to third base. He never won a batting title or an MVP award as Groat did, but he was in the MVP vote four times ... in the top 10 once.

Werber was the starting third baseman and leadoff hitter for the Cincinnati Reds when the won pennants in 1939 and 1940. In '39, the Reds were swept by the Yankees, but in '40, Cincinnati beat Detrout in the series to win the World Championship.

As for the last Duke player to start on a championship team, Scott Schoenweis wasn't really a starter, but he did pitch in two games for the 2002 World Championship Angels.

[Bojangles4Eva]

JJ played for Orlando when they were in the finals a couple years back against the Lakers, but I don't think he ever started.

[niveklaen]

The answer should have been Deng and Boozer (and JJ) for Chicago this year :(

[pfrduke]

JJ played for Orlando when they were in the finals a couple years back against the Lakers, but I don't think he ever started.

Correct. He started every game against Boston in the conference semis, but only came off the bench against the Lakers.

[niveklaen]

Correct. He started every game against Boston in the conference semis, but only came off the bench against the Lakers.

SVG probably thought that JJ would have less success guarding Kobe than he did guarding Ray Allen

[sagegrouse]

Art Heyman started for the 1967-68 ABA champion Pittsburgh Pipers, which featured the legendary Connie Hawkins. art averaged about 20 PPG.

sage

[NovaScotian]

SVG probably thought that JJ would have less success guarding Kobe than he did guarding Ray Allen

he was finishing most games though, when hedo was playing point and jj was guarding fisher.

[CDu]

There's a reasonable chance that Battier doesn't start in the Finals. With Bosh now firmly back in the rotation (and with 2 more days of rest), the Heat will likely return him to the starting lineup. The question then is whether Battier or Haslem will start at PF.

[hurleyfor3]

If the Heat don't win, a Duke alumnus will still have an nba championship, as an owner.

[CDu]

The answer should have been Deng and Boozer (and JJ) for Chicago this year :(

Yeah, I would have loved to have seen a Bulls/Heat Conference Final. And that's not just because I'm a Bulls fan (though that certainly helps!). I think the Bulls would have won that series, especially with Bosh out for the first 3 games and with the Bulls having home court advantage. Oh well. Hopefully Rose is back to full strength by February/March, and hopefully the Bulls can remain in the playoff hunt until he gets back.

[Jim3k]

The Warrior film clip linked on the front page asserts that Mullins was a starting guard on the Warriors championship team. I dunno if that translates to "starting" in the playoffs or is simply descriptive of his general role on the team throughout the year.

[CDu]

The Warrior film clip linked on the front page asserts that Mullins was a starting guard on the Warriors championship team. I dunno if that translates to "starting" in the playoffs or is simply descriptive of his general role on the team throughout the year.

Mullins averaged only 17mpg in the 1975 season, and only 18mpg in the playoffs. While he was the starter (and star) for all of the late-60s and early-70s, he lost his starting job for the 1975 season. The starting lineup that year was Johnson, Beard, Wilkes, Barry, and Ray. That was true in the Finals as well.

Is it possible that we've never had a starter in the NBA Finals? If Bosh replaces Battier and not Haslem, that could continue.

[sagegrouse]

The Warrior film clip linked on the front page asserts that Mullins was a starting guard on the Warriors championship team. I dunno if that translates to "starting" in the playoffs or is simply descriptive of his general role on the team throughout the year.

Jim, as I understand Mullins's role on the 1974-75 Warriors team, he was a long-time star and starter who was injured at the beginning of the championship season. When he came back, because the team was doing so well, he came off the bench.

In the playoffs, he averaged 18 mins. per game. I checked the newspaper box scores on www.basketball-reference.com, and Jeff appeared to come off the bench (not listed among the first five players).

sagegrouse

[Jim3k]

My point simply was that the Warriors considered him a starter in 1975--at least per the clip, even if he really wasn't. And yes, I recall that he was injured that year. All of which led me to observe that perhaps the Warriors were being generally descriptive rather than than tying themselves to the actual lineup. I do think that's fair from their POV.

[CDu]

My point simply was that the Warriors considered him a starter in 1975--at least per the clip, even if he really wasn't. And yes, I recall that he was injured that year. All of which led me to observe that perhaps the Warriors were being generally descriptive rather than than tying themselves to the actual lineup. I do think that's fair from their POV.

Well, it may be the sentiment of the guy narrating the video, but it simply isn't accurate. Mullins started 3 games in 1975: the three missed by starter Charles Johnson. Other than that, he was a regular off the bench averaging ~17-18 mpg.

[Jim3k]

Well, it may be the sentiment of the guy narrating the video, but it simply isn't accurate. Mullins started 3 games in 1975: the three missed by starter Charles Johnson. Other than that, he was a regular off the bench averaging ~17-18 mpg.

I think the mindset that Mullins was a starter comes from observations like this one (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/warriors/2007/08/20/we-believe-1975/) (even though Barry had returned a year earlier than the observer implies).


Jeff Mullins – “At guard, Mullins had been the primary scorer while Barry was off in the ABA and was a terrific shooter. His main move was to back down his opponent and hit turn around jumpers. He had a ridiculously high dribble, but seldom lost the ball. He wasn’t fast, but he was a terrific player.” [Mike]

If Barry had not returned, Mullins would have been the starter in '74-'75. Of course, had Barry not returned, the Warriors probably would not have been champions, though the replacement for Barry could theoretically have filled that slot well.*

It would also be of interest, I think, to know how Al Attles viewed Mullins when describing him. Obviously, we know that Attles started others ahead of Mullins in the 74-75 season, but the early season injury had something to do with that.

Anyway, my purpose was not to disagree with the boxscores, but to point out that some, like the narrator who was speaking in Warrior-tongue, can legitimately hold views which differ from the lineup put on the floor. (Was he speaking Attles' mind?)

----------
* Whoever the theoretical Barry replacement might have been, he couldn't have matched Barry. Over the NBA-ABA's entire history, there were only a few who could have. Still, suppose Jack Marin or Bob "Butterbean" Love had been the pick-up. That might have been enough.

[DukeandMdFan]

Has there ever been one?

Jack Marin started and averaged 41.5 minutes for the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA Finals. He also led the Bullets in scoring during the Finals. The Bucks (Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson) swept the Bullets 4-0.

Marin was later traded to the Houston Rockets for Elvin Hayes.

[Native]

Shane on fire early tonight! 3-3 from behind the arc so far.

[Newton_14]

Shane on fire early tonight! 3-3 from behind the arc so far.

As a starter no less and looking like the champion that he is. That jumper is vintage 2001 Shane Battier. Matt Doherty is having nightmares. :)