The $15 Game with Duke Players

[superdave]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

[Olympic Fan]

So I can get Tommu Amaker for free?

PS You have Shane Battier and Chris Carrawell wa-a-a-ay undervalued/

[jacone21]

Duhon
Dawkins
Dunleavy
Parker
Brand

They could beat a few teams.

[superdave]

So I can get Tommu Amaker for free?

PS You have Shane Battier and Chris Carrawell wa-a-a-ay undervalued/

I had trouble leaving off Amaker and Austin Rivers.

The Ballislife one killed me because it had Karl Malone at $5 and Tim Duncan at $4. Uhm, what?! So I bought Duncan for $4 and was happy to spend that $1 elsewhere.

[rhynelander]

Gimmie Jay Williams at the point. Gerald at the 2 spot, with Luol beside him on the wing. Then Kyle and Sheldon at the 4/5 and you can switch 3-5 on D, which is helpful with K's rotations. Henderson and Williams can apply tons of ball pressure up front with the landlord protecting the rim. Kyle, Sheldon, Luol, and Gerald all won't demand shots to excel which will play into Jay's scoring point identity. The hustle from Kyle and athleticism from Luol and Gerald will provide some highlight plays and Jay can go for 20+ points and 10+ assists while Sheldon focuses on D and rebounding while collecting dump-off and put back points.

[uh_no]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

nolan
jon
kyle
jj
shelden

and the extra dollar to jordan davidson

[johnb]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Ha.

I think I'd go with a Boozer/Battier/Maggette front line and a Dawkins/Duhon backcourt. I'd plan for the backcourt to play the whole game and have Mark Alarie ($1) come off the bench.

Lots of ways to go on that, of course. One alternative was to spend $5 on Grant Hill--who I'd view as Duke's all-time best player--$4 on Elton Brand--who was transcendent and unstoppable--and $4 on Bobby Hurley and then shop thriftily with for the $1 picks: Alarie (great shooter and a deal at $1), and Gerald Henderson (who'd be no weak link despite being relatively cheap). And since they're not listed, I'll take Kyrie, Gminski, and Rodney for free as backups.

[brevity]

The Twitter link is vague. Am I picking a team or just a starting lineup?

Picking a starting lineup seems like a lame exercise in deciding what positions I prioritize. A team seems like the real challenge.

C: Carlos Boozer, Mason Plumlee ($3)
PF: Shane Battier, Mark Alarie ($4)
SF: Mike Dunleavy ($1)
SG: Trajan Langdon, Gerald Henderson ($4)
PG: Chris Duhon, Nolan Smith ($3)

Even Coach K would have a hard time cutting down that 9-man rotation. I'd like my chances against every 5-man lineup I see here, and would gladly disqualify all of you that broke the rules to claim free backups. That's what you get for trying to make life easy.

[Li_Duke]

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Grant Hill $5
Dawkins $4
Duhon $2

If we are talking about senior year Mason Plumlee, I think along with the PG position, the difference between the best and worst center is smaller than that of other positions. I'll take a big guy who can run the floor, defend, score inside one-on-one, and pass well out of the double-team. Between Battier and Hill, my defense is set against opposing forwards. Battier taking charges will prevent dribble penetration (so we can play in either older eras or this era of no hand-checking), and his ability to hit 3 pointers makes up for Hill's lack of outside shooting. Meanwhile, Hill can do everything else as well or better than everyone else. Johnny Dawkins will be my go-to scorer. With this much talent, I want a passer and defender at PG; Duhon fits the bill better than everyone except Hurley. I'm surprised Kyrie Irving didn't make the list. If I could take him and two healthy toes for $1, then I'd go with him and Redick instead.

[Black Mambo]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$3 Trajan Langdon
$4 Bobby Hurley

or

$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Kyle Singler
$5 Grant Hill
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Chris Duhon

[NashvilleDevil]

$5 Laettner
$2 Singler
$5 Grant
$1 Gerald
$2 Duhon

[superdave]

The Twitter link is vague. Am I picking a team or just a starting lineup?

Picking a starting lineup seems like a lame exercise in deciding what positions I prioritize. A team seems like the real challenge.

C: Carlos Boozer, Mason Plumlee ($3)
PF: Shane Battier, Mark Alarie ($4)
SF: Mike Dunleavy ($1)
SG: Trajan Langdon, Gerald Henderson ($4)
PG: Chris Duhon, Nolan Smith ($3)

Even Coach K would have a hard time cutting down that 9-man rotation. I'd like my chances against every 5-man lineup I see here, and would gladly disqualify all of you that broke the rules to claim free backups. That's what you get for trying to make life easy.



Pick the best starting lineup you can for $15 or less.

[sagegrouse]

It's about relative value:

$5 -- Christian

$4 -- Bobby

$3 -- Shane

$2 -- Carrawell

$1 -- Gerald

Or maybe:

$5 -- JWill

$4 -- JD

$3 -- Shelden

$2 -- Kyle

$1 -- Dunleavy

I ain't picking Jabari or Luol -- they were only freshmen at Duke and freshmen in this exercise.

[JNort]

Why is Parker includes but not Kyrie? I'd take KI over the other pgs

[OldSchool]

I'll take two Grant Hills and a Christian Laettner, please.

Surely a 7-time NBA all-star can guard two players, so that is what I am looking for from each of my Grant Hills.

[Reilly]

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Grant Hill $5
Dawkins $4
Duhon $2 ....

I was getting ready to post mine and see you basically have it.

I did it this way: give me Johnny Dawkins ($4), Grant Hill ($5) and Shane Battier ($3) on the same team (for $12) and I don't really care who rounds it out. Can round it out with Nolan and Boozer for $3, or round it out with Duhon and Mason for $3.

DAWKINS - HILL - BATTIER .... 1986, 1992, 2001 ...

[Billy Dat]

Shelden - don't need him to score, just to defend and rebound, but he can score if needed
Carawell - my favorite all time Duke player, the straw that stirs the drink
Kyle - Iron at the 3
Dawkins - scoring won't be a problem
Hurley - who else?

[Wander]

If Jabari is $4, then Kyrie has to be somewhere on there too. If not, I'm cheating and taking Kyrie for $0, with Shelden, Singler, Hill, and Reddick.

[Tappan Zee Devil]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Laettner
Battier
Carrawell
Langdon
Duhon

I'll take on the world with that $15 team!

[NSDukeFan]

I'll take Hurley $4, Dawkins $4 Shelden $3 Singler 2$ and Carawell for 2$ against anyone.

[gocanes0506]

Hurley $4
Dunleavy $1
Maggette $3
Battier $3
Brand $4

Minus Hurley this a tall lineup. Maggette is the athlete, Battier the leader, Brand the beast, Dunleavy the scrappy scorer, and Hurley the floor general.

Great team.

If I needed to increase the athleticism I would trade Hurley for J. Williams and Brand for S. Williams. But its hard to match the determination of Hurley that he would bring to the table.

[Reilly]

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Grant Hill $5
Dawkins $4
Duhon $2....


Laettner
Battier
Carrawell
Langdon
Duhon

I'll take on the world with that $15 team!

Tappan Zee v. Li Duke

Laettner > Plumlee
Battier = Battier
CC < Grant
Langdon < Johnny D
Duhon = Duhon

Take on the world, but you don't even win the Duke sub-regional!

[mr. synellinden]

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Interesting that 01 = 13 and 92 = 16 (without Brian Davis).

I'll take:

Boozer - 2 (I think he's the most underrated player of the K era)
Battier - 3
Hill - 5
Dawkins - 4
Nolan - 1

[Jbsherr DUKE!]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Hurley 6'0" point guard
Henderson 6'5" shooting guard
Dunleavy 6'9" small forward
Battier 6'8" power forward
Laettner 6'11" center

$14
Pass first point guard that isn't afraid to take the big shoot and plays D. Henderson is very athelic who can be a streaky shooter but brings god given talent. Dunleavy creates mismatches due to his ability to shoot the three and despite his "size" was a very effective rebounder. Battier enough said. Great teammate, great defender, very good career three point shooter and a will to win. Laettner had the "it" factor hated losing and not afraid to challenge others to step up. 6'11" big guy who could bang down low or step up to hit the three with very good accuracy.

[Reilly]

Donald Sterling's entry: Scheyer ($3) ... JJ ($5) ... Dunleavy ($1) ... Alarie ($1) ... Mason ($1) ....

[and the cheapskate saves $4 by not picking Laettner]

[Reilly]

August Weismann's entry: Nolan ($1; NBA dad) ... G ($1; NBA dad) ... Dunleavy ($1; NBA dad) ... Ferry ($5; NBA dad) ... Mason ($1; college dad/NBA brother)

[Reilly]

Jalen Rose's entry: Nolan ($1; NBA dad) ... G ($1; NBA dad, golfer) ... Grant ($5; NFL dad) .... Shane ($3; Detroit Country Day) ... Laettner ($5; Nichols School)

[sagegrouse]

Each $5 Player deserves his own team:

Team Laettner: Bobby (natch), Shane, Carrawell, Gerald

Team JWill: JD, Shelden, Kyle, Dunleavy

Team Danny: Elton, Corey, Gerald, Duhon

Team Grant: Elton, Kyle, Trajan, Nolan

Team JJ: Shelden (natch), Kyle, Bobby, Nolan

[Tappan Zee Devil]

Tappan Zee v. Li Duke

Laettner > Plumlee
Battier = Battier
CC < Grant
Langdon < Johnny D
Duhon = Duhon

Take on the world, but you don't even win the Duke sub-regional!

Well - the key is Laettner >>> Plumlee.
And you need to add in that Laettner simply refuses to lose.

I also think people tend to underestimate both Trajan and CC.

I will stick with my team :)

[lotusland]

I assume the goal is to win an NCAA Championship so I'm absolutely amazed at how many lineups I see missing CHRISTIAN LAETTNER. If I'm going to spend $5 on anyone else it's going to be Grant Hill. If I use those two as the standard then JWill and JJ are way over-valued at $5. Love those guys but I don't want my offense to revolve around running JJ off a triple screen especially in the tournament with one shot left for all the marbles. I also don't want JWill at the line with the game on the line. Great players but not $5 guys compared to Laettner and Grant.

Secondly I love that you cannot afford to have Laettner, Grant and Hurley on the same team because you only have $1 left to fill the other two spots. With that reality I regrettably have to cut Hurley. I need a PG to handle the ball, distribute, play D and make free throws at the end of the game so Duhon is a bargain at $2. The best value on the board imo is Nolan for $1. He's the best lock down defender at SG on the board and has a complete offensive game. So how to spend my last $2? I've got Grant who I can plug in at 3 or 4 so a lot of flexibility. I've got great defense with Grant, Nolan and Duhon and experience tells me that Laettner can handle Shaq and Mourning in the post and I can't afford Shane or Sheldon anyway. What I need most is help on the boards so I'm definitely tempted to take MP2 for $1 and pocket the extra $1. I like Carrawell as a glue guy but when I look at overall value for $2 and the fact that I need rebounding, it's got to be Kyle with toughness, defense and scoring to boot. So here it is:

Laettner -5
Grant - 3,4
Kyle - 3,4
Nolan - 2
Duhon - 1

BTW my entire starting 5 are all National Champs and a healthy dose of grit and NASTY with Laettner and Kyle so to any other lineup I say BRING IT!

[lotusland]

I assume the goal is to win an NCAA Championship so I'm absolutely amazed at how many lineups I see missing CHRISTIAN LAETTNER. If I'm going to spend $5 on anyone else it's going to be Grant Hill. If I use those two as the standard then JWill and JJ are way over-valued at $5. Love those guys but I don't want my offense to revolve around running JJ off a triple screen especially in the tournament with one shot left for all the marbles. I also don't want JWill at the line with the game on the line. Great players but not $5 guys compared to Laettner and Grant.

Secondly I love that you cannot afford to have Laettner, Grant and Hurley on the same team because you only have $1 left to fill the other two spots. With that reality I regrettably have to cut Hurley. I need a PG to handle the ball, distribute, play D and make free throws at the end of the game so Duhon is a bargain at $2. The best value on the board imo is Nolan for $1. He's the best lock down defender at SG on the board and has a complete offensive game. So how to spend my last $2? I've got Grant who I can plug in at 3 or 4 so a lot of flexibility. I've got great defense with Grant, Nolan and Duhon and experience tells me that Laettner can handle Shaq and Mourning in the post and I can't afford Shane or Sheldon anyway. What I need most is help on the boards so I'm definitely tempted to take MP2 for $1 and pocket the extra $1. I like Carrawell as a glue guy but when I look at overall value for $2 and the fact that I need rebounding, it's got to be Kyle with toughness, defense and scoring to boot. So here it is:

Laettner -5
Grant - 3,4
Kyle - 3,4
Nolan - 2
Duhon - 1

BTW my entire starting 5 are all National Champs and a healthy dose of grit and NASTY with Laettner and Kyle so to any other lineup I say BRING IT!

My biggest regret with this lineup is leaving Shane off but I have to have Laettner and Grant and I need a PG to distribute so as much as I like Nolan for $1 I can't plug him in at PG. I'd love to go over by a $1 a pay a luxury tax to switch Shane for Kyle. Or if I could have Amaker for a $1 might go with:

Laettner
Grant
Shane
Nolan
Amaker.

But now I already regret not having Kyle...

[GGLC]

If we're talking about how they performed at their peak with the team, then Nolan is being way underrated, and I don't see any remote justification for having Jabari at $4 with Shane at $3 (I think people are forgetting how ridiculous Shane was his last two years in college)

My first thought for the lineup would be:

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Hill $5
Redick $5
Smith $1

that seems like it's absolutely incredible up and down the board

[hurleyfor3]

Sorry, but if your entire postseason resume is losing to Mercer, you're at $0 in my book.

Centers? I'd go Laettner, Brand, Boozer, Zoubek and I dunno, Taymon Domzalski or someone. Casey Sanders maybe.

[GGLC]

Sorry, but if your entire postseason resume is losing to Mercer, you're at $0 in my book.

Centers? I'd go Laettner, Brand, Boozer, Zoubek and I dunno, Taymon Domzalski or someone. Casey Sanders maybe.

Mason and his national championship are not amused by your list

[GGLC]

If we're talking about how they performed at their peak with the team, then Nolan is being way underrated, and I don't see any remote justification for having Jabari at $4 with Shane at $3 (I think people are forgetting how ridiculous Shane was his last two years in college)

My first thought for the lineup would be:

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Hill $5
Redick $5
Smith $1

that seems like it's absolutely incredible up and down the board

The benefit of this team as well is that Grant can run point-forward and let Nolan do his thing.

Seriously, what are this team's weaknesses? I'm drooling just thinking about it.

[hurleyfor3]

Mason and his national championship are not amused by your list

Yeah, more srsly, I'd put Mason in the $1 slot. But he was behind not only Zoubs in the pecking order that year, but also his older brother.

[NSDukeFan]

The least awesome team I could come up with would be Boozer 2$, Langdon 3$, Maggette $3 (most overrated in this game, IMO), Scheyer $3 and Parker $4,
which is still the NCAA tournament favorite every year.

[NashvilleDevil]

The benefit of this team as well is that Grant can run point-forward and let Nolan do his thing.

Seriously, what are this team's weaknesses? I'm drooling just thinking about it.

There is no Laettner on the team. I've seen only a couple teams with Laettner on them. Don't know why that is.

[fuse]

I wonder if the guy that runs scacchoops could run scenarios in his game simulator to identify the best $15 Duke team.

I have to believe Grant, Laettner plus any 3 that make up the other $5 would take all comers.

[sagegrouse]

There is no Laettner on the team. I've seen only a couple teams with Laettner on them. Don't know why that is.

I started with Christian, and it wasn't a hard decision: one of the five best college players of all time, IMHO (where the H is silent). Given the short duration of college careers today and in the foreseeable future, no one is passing him (or Alcindor, Walton, etc.).

[GGLC]

There is no Laettner on the team. I've seen only a couple teams with Laettner on them. Don't know why that is.

I thought the replacement value of Mason as a $1 center was much higher than the replacement value of G. Henderson as a $1 shooting guard. :)

[GGLC]

Btw, if I were to rerank this in terms of my own personal feelings about who should cost more at each position, it would probably go:

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Shane Battier
$4 Danny Ferry
$3 Kyle Singler
$2 Mark Alarie
$1 Jabari Parker

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Chris Carrawell
$3 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Luol Deng
$1 Corey Maggette

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Nolan Smith
$2 Kyrie Irving
$1 Chris Duhon

That makes it a harder exercise, in my opinion. Any way you look at it, though, we've been blessed with an abundance of amazing players over the years.

[NashvilleDevil]

I started with Christian, and it wasn't a hard decision: one of the five best college players of all time, IMHO (where the H is silent). Given the short duration of college careers today and in the foreseeable future, no one is passing him (or Alcindor, Walton, etc.).

I thought Laettner was a no brainer too. I'll take Laettner, Hill and Singler to start my team. Good luck playing those guys.

[NashvilleDevil]

I thought the replacement value of Mason as a $1 center was much higher than the replacement value of G. Henderson as a $1 shooting guard. :)

I think Gerald could neutralize JJ. Laettner and Hill may be the two best players in the Coach K era and any team that doesn't start with them has no shot.

[BobbyFan]

If we're talking about how they performed at their peak with the team, then Nolan is being way underrated, and I don't see any remote justification for having Jabari at $4 with Shane at $3 (I think people are forgetting how ridiculous Shane was his last two years in college)

My first thought for the lineup would be:

Plumlee $1
Battier $3
Hill $5
Redick $5
Smith $1

that seems like it's absolutely incredible up and down the board

This is the team I selected. It's a defensive juggernaut with the brilliance of Battier and Hill and rim protection of Plumlee. Smith is also a good defender, and if JJ has trouble with his man, Hill's versatility easily allows him to handle that assignment.

Offensively, the need for a true PG is negated by Hill's playmaking ability, which allows Smith's combo ability to fit in well. JJ is obviously a focus on offense, but I'm particularly enticed by the terrific spacing that JJ, Battier, and Smith's shooting provides. Defenses will have to pick their poison.

[Newton_14]

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Mike Gminski
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Shelden Williams
$0.50 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Danny Ferry
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Mark Alarie
$1 Ryan Kelly
$0.50 Kenny Dennard

Small Forward
$5 Gene Banks
$4 Chris Carrawell
$3 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Gerald Henderson
$0.50 David Henderson

Shooting Guard
$5 Johnny Dawkins
$4 JJ Redick
$3 Nolan Smith
$2 Trajan Langdon
$1 Phil Henderson
$0.50 Thomas Hill

Point Guard
$5 Bobby Hurley
$4 Jason Williams
$3 Tommy Amaker
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Jon Scheyer
$0.50 Will Avery

I am sure I probably missed someone deserving, but we have been so blessed with great players at all positions in our position-less system over the years it is extremely difficult to fairly select the top 5 or 6 at every position; So many great players, so many different ways to measure who deserves which spot on each list.

As for selecting the perfect college team from that list, wow, that is even harder, but I will give it a shot. Note I am cheating and picking best players imo, capable of playing the position I pencil them in to. their position on my dream team may or may not match the position I have them in above in order to select the best talent and skill set. So here goes...

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

Reserves
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Shane Battier
Danny Ferry
Shelden Williams

[lotusland]

This is the team I selected. It's a defensive juggernaut with the brilliance of Battier and Hill and rim protection of Plumlee. Smith is also a good defender, and if JJ has trouble with his man, Hill's versatility easily allows him to handle that assignment.

Offensively, the need for a true PG is negated by Hill's playmaking ability, which allows Smith's combo ability to fit in well. JJ is obviously a focus on offense, but I'm particularly enticed by the terrific spacing that JJ, Battier, and Smith's shooting provides. Defenses will have to pick their poison.

JJ is pretty 1 dimensional compared to the other $5 guys. His value almost exclusively is scoring so the only way you can get $5 worth from him is to get him a BUNCH of shots. He's not even creating his own shots so do you really want Grant, Nolan, Shane and Mason setting a bunch screens, rebounding and watching JJ shoot? Especially considering that those shots didn't drop as frequently in the tournament. Laettner is a higher % 3 point shooter for his career and way higher in the tournament and way way higher on the last play of the game in the tournament. Laettner also adds post scoring, rebounding and defense and super clutch free throw shooting. You could make an argument that JJ is Duke's best shooting guard of all-time (I'd take Dawkins and Nolan over Redick) but there really should be no argument about who is more valuable between JJ and Laettner.

[Edouble]

Btw, if I were to rerank this in terms of my own personal feelings about who should cost more at each position, it would probably go:

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Shane Battier
$4 Danny Ferry
$3 Kyle Singler
$2 Mark Alarie
$1 Jabari Parker

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Chris Carrawell
$3 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Luol Deng
$1 Corey Maggette

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Nolan Smith
$2 Kyrie Irving
$1 Chris Duhon

That makes it a harder exercise, in my opinion. Any way you look at it, though, we've been blessed with an abundance of amazing players over the years.

I agreed with you up until point guard. Duhon, a four year starter with a natty and an almost natty if not for some bad officiating, at $1? I have to keep Nolan at $1 on that list.

[BobbyFan]

JJ is pretty 1 dimensional compared to the other $5 guys. His value almost exclusively is scoring so the only way you can get $5 worth from him is to get him a BUNCH of shots. He's not even creating his own shots so do you really want Grant, Nolan, Shane and Mason setting a bunch screens, rebounding and watching JJ shoot? Especially considering that those shots didn't drop as frequently in the tournament. Laettner is a higher % 3 point shooter for his career and way higher in the tournament and way way higher on the last play of the game in the tournament. Laettner also adds post scoring, rebounding and defense and super clutch free throw shooting.

You could argue JJ was one dimensional, but 1) he was pretty remarkable at that one dimension and 2) by his senior year, he wasn't a liability at other aspects of the game. And JJ did plenty of creating his own shot his final season en route to scoring 27 ppg on terrific efficiency; it almost sounds as if you are describing JJ from his first two seasons or in the role he plays in the NBA. Obviously, he wouldn't have the same impact overall as he did in his actual collegiate seasons, but the same can be said about anyone in this hypothetical scenario.

All that said, I overlooked Dawkins in the list, who I would have chosen over JJ.


You could make an argument that JJ is Duke's best shooting guard of all-time (I'd take Dawkins and Nolan over Redick) but there really should be no argument about who is more valuable between JJ and Laettner.

Well I agree, but I didn't say otherwise.

[luburch]

JJ is pretty 1 dimensional compared to the other $5 guys. His value almost exclusively is scoring so the only way you can get $5 worth from him is to get him a BUNCH of shots. He's not even creating his own shots so do you really want Grant, Nolan, Shane and Mason setting a bunch screens, rebounding and watching JJ shoot? Especially considering that those shots didn't drop as frequently in the tournament. Laettner is a higher % 3 point shooter for his career and way higher in the tournament and way way higher on the last play of the game in the tournament. Laettner also adds post scoring, rebounding and defense and super clutch free throw shooting. You could make an argument that JJ is Duke's best shooting guard of all-time (I'd take Dawkins and Nolan over Redick) but there really should be no argument about who is more valuable between JJ and Laettner.

Nolan Smith was a better college player than JJ Redick? Seriously?

[lotusland]

Nolan Smith was a better college player than JJ Redick? Seriously?

No on second thought he wasn't. Junior and Senior Nolan was close but JJ at his best still > Nolan at his best. If both were vakued at $1 I might still pick Nolan over JJ because he had a more complete game and I don't want the offense designed around JJ so his value is negated somewhat. Constructing a $15 roster in this scenario where JJ at $5 and Nolan at $1 I'm not taking JJ and Nolan is a steal imo.

[ice-9]

$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$2 Chris Duhon

Wow, how ridiculous would the above team be on defense. Duhon was an absolute ball stopper. Dawkins has his length (can a team with Redick be a defensive juggernaut? I don't think so). CC is solid. Battier is a defensive genius. Brand will swat anything that comes his way.

Offensively, you have Elton Brand down low who was just absolutely dominant in college; in a way that Williams, Boozer and Plumlee simply cannot compare to. The dude didn't need anything; just the ball in his hands. Battier and Carrawell can do a bit of everything. Dawkins, wow -- he'd be my crunch time scorer if Brand is double teamed. I wish Duhon was a better shooter but with the rest of the cast's scoring ability, his playmaking skills are a premium.

Sorry guys but for $15 I think my team is the best. :D

[superdave]

I wanted to think about this over the weekend before picking my team. The two guys I felt most compelled to grab were Laettner and Hill with Battier not far behind. So I grab them and am more than happy with Gerald and Nolan in the backcourt.

$5 Laettner
$3 Battier
$5 Hill
$1 Henderson
$1 Nolan

Maybe we can expand this to a full 8-man rotation for $18 using Newton's rankings.


This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

[superdave]

I'm going to try for an 8-man rotation for $18 using this set of rankings -

Center $5 Laettner
PF $5 Hill
SF $2 Singler
SG $0.50 T Hill
PG $1 Scheyer

Reserves
$1 Shelden
$0.50 Avery
$3 Battier



Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Mike Gminski
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Shelden Williams
$0.50 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Danny Ferry
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Mark Alarie
$1 Ryan Kelly
$0.50 Kenny Dennard

Small Forward
$5 Gene Banks
$4 Chris Carrawell
$3 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Gerald Henderson
$0.50 David Henderson

Shooting Guard
$5 Johnny Dawkins
$4 JJ Redick
$3 Nolan Smith
$2 Trajan Langdon
$1 Phil Henderson
$0.50 Thomas Hill

Point Guard
$5 Bobby Hurley
$4 Jason Williams
$3 Tommy Amaker
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Jon Scheyer
$0.50 Will Avery

I am sure I probably missed someone deserving, but we have been so blessed with great players at all positions in our position-less system over the years it is extremely difficult to fairly select the top 5 or 6 at every position; So many great players, so many different ways to measure who deserves which spot on each list.

As for selecting the perfect college team from that list, wow, that is even harder, but I will give it a shot. Note I am cheating and picking best players imo, capable of playing the position I pencil them in to. their position on my dream team may or may not match the position I have them in above in order to select the best talent and skill set. So here goes...

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

Reserves
Jason Williams
JJ Redick
Shane Battier
Danny Ferry
Shelden Williams

[NashvilleDevil]

I wanted to think about this over the weekend before picking my team. The two guys I felt most compelled to grab were Laettner and Hill with Battier not far behind. So I grab them and am more than happy with Gerald and Nolan in the backcourt.

$5 Laettner
$3 Battier
$5 Hill
$1 Henderson
$1 Nolan

Maybe we can expand this to a full 8-man rotation for $18 using Newton's rankings.

I think a matchup between your team and mine (Laettner, Singler, Grant, Gerald, Duhon) would be pretty epic.

[Edouble]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

I start off the process by looking to find the best values on the list.

Among players with their jerseys in the rafters, Shane and Landlord come in at the $3 price point. I can't not take Shane at $3, particularly because I think he is actually worth $5. So I've got one of the greatest defensive players the ACC has ever seen, who is no slouch on offense, to anchor the squad. I've got $12 left and I'm feeling pretty good at this point. One $5 player (in my mind) wrapped up. Four more selections to go.

$3 Shane Battier

I spot a few other "value players" right away. Chris Duhon, Chris Carrawell, and Kyle Singler are all very attractive at $2. Somehow Mike Dunleavy is a mere $1.

Corey Maggette at $3 and Jabari at $4 are looking pretty overpriced. I also notice that I really can't afford to spend less than $4 on a shooting guard. Trajan Langdon, who I love from being a member of my class at Duke ('99), is a significant drop off from Redick and Dawkins. Thomas Hill and Henderson are a significant drop off from Trajan.

Now I'm starting to feel a bit anxious knowing that I have to spend at least $4 on a 2 guard. I was hoping to get a $5 player at some point here, so if I spend a minimum of $4 on a shooting guard, get one $5 player, plus the $3 I spent on Shane, that only leaves $3 to spend on my last 2 players... damn!!!

OK, I click over to Twitter to get the 411 on the original game, and a smile breaks out across my face. There aren't really any rules. It just says spend $15. I remember that we don't have positions at Duke besides point guard, and the creative juices start to flow. Wasn't it Kyle that never had a position? He just plays winner!

I decide to spend big and plunk down $5 on Christian Laettner. Even among the other Duke greats, I think Laettner is just a notch above. He's one of the Top 10 (according to SI) all time NCAA hoopsmen (Top 5 in my book) and a ruthless competitor. I'm feeling pretty good about winning a lot of games with him and Battier in the front court.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier

But now, I've gotta be really careful. I've spend more than half of my money, $8, on two players. While I think that I'm getting incredible bang for my buck, I have to be wise with my last $7.

Revisiting my $2 "value players" again, this time with a more discerning eye, I decide to eliminate Singler from contention to make the team. Despite the fact that Kyle won a National Championship as an upperclassman, unlike Duhon and Carrawell, I think that senior year Singler just wasn't the player that the two senior Chris's were.

With $7 left, and 3 players to go, it's becoming increasingly clear that I'm going to have to take a $1 player. While I could take two $2 guys and a $3, I just don't want to spend $3 on Jon Scheyer, Corey Maggette, Trajan, or Landlord. I'd honestly rather have Dunleavy for $1 than any of those guys anyway, so it's looking more and more like Mike Jr. or maybe Nolan will make the team for $1.

Carrawell continues to stick out like a sore thumb as a $2 value. The guy can basically shut down any backcourt player on D, and he can get crafty on O. If I take CWell for $2 and Dunleavy for $1, I can still take either Dawkins or Hurley for $4. But I'm torn...

Secretly, this whole time, I've fantasized about having Jason Williams and Christian Laettner on the same time. I feel a little greedy, but I'm sure that those are far and away the most dominant players of the 25 Duke guys on this list. While I love Hurley and Dawkins, I don't like Dunleavy, Carrawell, Dawkins/Hurley combinations. I pull the trigger on JDub at full price and don't look back.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$5 Jason Williams

With $2 left in my game wallet, I take Dunleavy for $1 at small forward.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$5 Jason Williams

With $1 left and several high value $2 players still available, I'm starting to feel a bit of buyers remorse with Jason Williams. I hold my breath, put my head down, and cash him back in.

With my remaining $6 I grab Hurley for my point guard and put Carrawell at the 2 spot.

Final Team:
$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Bobby Hurley

Looking at my team, I feel pretty happy. I notice immediately that without meaning to I have taken one player at each price: a $1 guy, a $2 guy, a $3 guy, a $4 guy and a $5 guy. I check back at the list to see if I think that I have taken the best value at each of those prices. I feel certain that I have and I get an even greater feeling of confidence regarding my final squad.

Go Duke!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I start off the process by looking to find the best values on the list.

Among players with their jerseys in the rafters, Shane and Landlord come in at the $3 price point. I can't not take Shane at $3, particularly because I think he is actually worth $5. So I've got one of the greatest defensive players the ACC has ever seen, who is no slouch on offense, to anchor the squad. I've got $12 left and I'm feeling pretty good at this point. One $5 player (in my mind) wrapped up. Four more selections to go.

$3 Shane Battier

I spot a few other "value players" right away. Chris Duhon, Chris Carrawell, and Kyle Singler are all very attractive at $2. Somehow Mike Dunleavy is a mere $1.

Corey Maggette at $3 and Jabari at $4 are looking pretty overpriced. I also notice that I really can't afford to spend less than $4 on a shooting guard. Trajan Langdon, who I love from being a member of my class at Duke ('99), is a significant drop off from Redick and Dawkins. Thomas Hill and Henderson are a significant drop off from Trajan.

Now I'm starting to feel a bit anxious knowing that I have to spend at least $4 on a 2 guard. I was hoping to get a $5 player at some point here, so if I spend a minimum of $4 on a shooting guard, get one $5 player, plus the $3 I spent on Shane, that only leaves $3 to spend on my last 2 players... damn!!!

OK, I click over to Twitter to get the 411 on the original game, and a smile breaks out across my face. There aren't really any rules. It just says spend $15. I remember that we don't have positions at Duke besides point guard, and the creative juices start to flow. Wasn't it Kyle that never had a position? He just plays winner!

I decide to spend big and plunk down $5 on Christian Laettner. Even among the other Duke greats, I think Laettner is just a notch above. He's one of the Top 10 (according to SI) all time NCAA hoopsmen (Top 5 in my book) and a ruthless competitor. I'm feeling pretty good about winning a lot of games with him and Battier in the front court.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier

But now, I've gotta be really careful. I've spend more than half of my money, $8, on two players. While I think that I'm getting incredible bang for my buck, I have to be wise with my last $7.

Revisiting my $2 "value players" again, this time with a more discerning eye, I decide to eliminate Singler from contention to make the team. Despite the fact that Kyle won a National Championship as an upperclassman, unlike Duhon and Carrawell, I think that senior year Singler just wasn't the player that the two senior Chris's were.

With $7 left, and 3 players to go, it's becoming increasingly clear that I'm going to have to take a $1 player. While I could take two $2 guys and a $3, I just don't want to spend $3 on Jon Scheyer, Corey Maggette, Trajan, or Landlord. I'd honestly rather have Dunleavy for $1 than any of those guys anyway, so it's looking more and more like Mike Jr. or maybe Nolan will make the team for $1.

Carrawell continues to stick out like a sore thumb as a $2 value. The guy can basically shut down any backcourt player on D, and he can get crafty on O. If I take CWell for $2 and Dunleavy for $1, I can still take either Dawkins or Hurley for $4. But I'm torn...

Secretly, this whole time, I've fantasized about having Jason Williams and Christian Laettner on the same time. I feel a little greedy, but I'm sure that those are far and away the most dominant players of the 25 Duke guys on this list. While I love Hurley and Dawkins, I don't like Dunleavy, Carrawell, Dawkins/Hurley combinations. I pull the trigger on JDub at full price and don't look back.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$5 Jason Williams

With $2 left in my game wallet, I take Dunleavy for $1 at small forward.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$5 Jason Williams

With $1 left and several high value $2 players still available, I'm starting to feel a bit of buyers remorse with Jason Williams. I hold my breath, put my head down, and cash him back in.

With my remaining $6 I grab Hurley for my point guard and put Carrawell at the 2 spot.

Final Team:
$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Bobby Hurley

Looking at my team, I feel pretty happy. I notice immediately that without meaning to I have taken one player at each price: a $1 guy, a $2 guy, a $3 guy, a $4 guy and a $5 guy. I check back at the list to see if I think that I have taken the best value at each of those prices. I feel certain that I have and I get an even greater feeling of confidence regarding my final squad.

Go Duke!

Good rationale, great team. I suspect that lineup would win a game or two.

This exercise makes me realize how spoiled we all are! What amazing talent in the K era.

[lotusland]

I start off the process by looking to find the best values on the list.

Among players with their jerseys in the rafters, Shane and Landlord come in at the $3 price point. I can't not take Shane at $3, particularly because I think he is actually worth $5. So I've got one of the greatest defensive players the ACC has ever seen, who is no slouch on offense, to anchor the squad. I've got $12 left and I'm feeling pretty good at this point. One $5 player (in my mind) wrapped up. Four more selections to go.

$3 Shane Battier

I spot a few other "value players" right away. Chris Duhon, Chris Carrawell, and Kyle Singler are all very attractive at $2. Somehow Mike Dunleavy is a mere $1.

Corey Maggette at $3 and Jabari at $4 are looking pretty overpriced. I also notice that I really can't afford to spend less than $4 on a shooting guard. Trajan Langdon, who I love from being a member of my class at Duke ('99), is a significant drop off from Redick and Dawkins. Thomas Hill and Henderson are a significant drop off from Trajan.

Now I'm starting to feel a bit anxious knowing that I have to spend at least $4 on a 2 guard. I was hoping to get a $5 player at some point here, so if I spend a minimum of $4 on a shooting guard, get one $5 player, plus the $3 I spent on Shane, that only leaves $3 to spend on my last 2 players... damn!!!

OK, I click over to Twitter to get the 411 on the original game, and a smile breaks out across my face. There aren't really any rules. It just says spend $15. I remember that we don't have positions at Duke besides point guard, and the creative juices start to flow. Wasn't it Kyle that never had a position? He just plays winner!

I decide to spend big and plunk down $5 on Christian Laettner. Even among the other Duke greats, I think Laettner is just a notch above. He's one of the Top 10 (according to SI) all time NCAA hoopsmen (Top 5 in my book) and a ruthless competitor. I'm feeling pretty good about winning a lot of games with him and Battier in the front court.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier

But now, I've gotta be really careful. I've spend more than half of my money, $8, on two players. While I think that I'm getting incredible bang for my buck, I have to be wise with my last $7.

Revisiting my $2 "value players" again, this time with a more discerning eye, I decide to eliminate Singler from contention to make the team. Despite the fact that Kyle won a National Championship as an upperclassman, unlike Duhon and Carrawell, I think that senior year Singler just wasn't the player that the two senior Chris's were.

With $7 left, and 3 players to go, it's becoming increasingly clear that I'm going to have to take a $1 player. While I could take two $2 guys and a $3, I just don't want to spend $3 on Jon Scheyer, Corey Maggette, Trajan, or Landlord. I'd honestly rather have Dunleavy for $1 than any of those guys anyway, so it's looking more and more like Mike Jr. or maybe Nolan will make the team for $1.

Carrawell continues to stick out like a sore thumb as a $2 value. The guy can basically shut down any backcourt player on D, and he can get crafty on O. If I take CWell for $2 and Dunleavy for $1, I can still take either Dawkins or Hurley for $4. But I'm torn...

Secretly, this whole time, I've fantasized about having Jason Williams and Christian Laettner on the same time. I feel a little greedy, but I'm sure that those are far and away the most dominant players of the 25 Duke guys on this list. While I love Hurley and Dawkins, I don't like Dunleavy, Carrawell, Dawkins/Hurley combinations. I pull the trigger on JDub at full price and don't look back.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$5 Jason Williams

With $2 left in my game wallet, I take Dunleavy for $1 at small forward.

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$5 Jason Williams

With $1 left and several high value $2 players still available, I'm starting to feel a bit of buyers remorse with Jason Williams. I hold my breath, put my head down, and cash him back in.

With my remaining $6 I grab Hurley for my point guard and put Carrawell at the 2 spot.

Final Team:
$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Bobby Hurley

Looking at my team, I feel pretty happy. I notice immediately that without meaning to I have taken one player at each price: a $1 guy, a $2 guy, a $3 guy, a $4 guy and a $5 guy. I check back at the list to see if I think that I have taken the best value at each of those prices. I feel certain that I have and I get an even greater feeling of confidence regarding my final squad.

Go Duke!

I like the team you ended up with. I had to have Grant so I cut Hurley with much regret. With a fantasy teams like these I want a true PG to run the offense and handle the ball. You've definitely got one but I'm satisfied with Duhon for $2. After Laettner and Grant my next priority was Shane. I agree that he's a bargain at $3 but that would put me at $13 with no guards. As I said before I want a true PG and I don't include Nolan in that category so I need to spend $2 on Duhon. But now I have no SG so I notice that Kyle is only $2 and I rate him as an upper middle class man's Battier so, as with Hurley, I regrettably have to cut Shane in a salary cap move to free up $1 for a SG. I am more than happy with Nolan as my SG for a buck. If I had the option to take Amaker for $1 at PG I would definitely switch Kyle for Shane and keep Nolan at SG.

Laettner, Grant, Kyle, Duhon, Nolan

I feel pretty confident with my $15 lineup but we'd definitely need to to bring our A game against yours:D

[Li_Duke]

Btw, if I were to rerank this in terms of my own personal feelings about who should cost more at each position, it would probably go:

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Shane Battier
$4 Danny Ferry
$3 Kyle Singler
$2 Mark Alarie
$1 Jabari Parker

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Chris Carrawell
$3 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Luol Deng
$1 Corey Maggette

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Nolan Smith
$2 Kyrie Irving
$1 Chris Duhon

That makes it a harder exercise, in my opinion. Any way you look at it, though, we've been blessed with an abundance of amazing players over the years.

I agree with you for the most part, but a couple thoughts.
1. Nolan is really a shooting guard. That lets Irving be worth $3.
2. As a (next 5 in) jersey retirement-wise (along with Carrawell, Singler, Smith), Scheyer deserved to be on the PG list (either at $1 or $2).
3. Maggette was the 5th or 6th best player on his team, he shouldn't be on this list.
4. Jabari, for all his defensive warts, is too talented an offensive player to be $1.
5. I switched the order of Redick and Dawkins.
6. I moved Singler to SF and Deng to PF for positional balance. Couldn't decide whether to put Carrawell or Singler at $4 as they'd be among the weakest $4 players. I put Deng at $2, but one could argue for Alarie at $2 instead.

Center
$5 Christian Laettner (retired jersey)
$4 Elton Brand (NPOY)
$3 Shelden Williams (retired jersey)
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Shane Battier (retired jersey)
$4 Danny Ferry (retired jersey)
$3 Jabari Parker (concensus 1st team all american)
$2 Luol Deng
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill (retired jersey)
$4 Chris Carrawell (concensus 1st team all american)
$3 Kyle Singler
$2 Mike Dunleavy
$1 Gerald Henderson

Shooting Guard
$5 Johnny Dawkins (retired jersey)
$4 JJ Redick (retired jersey)
$3 Nolan Smith (concensus 1st team all american)
$2 Trajan Langdon
$1 Thomas Hill

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams (retired jersey)
$4 Bobby Hurley (retired jersey)
$3 Kyrie Irving (#1 draft pick)
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 John Scheyer

[johnb]

$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$2 Chris Duhon

Wow, how ridiculous would the above team be on defense. Duhon was an absolute ball stopper. Dawkins has his length (can a team with Redick be a defensive juggernaut? I don't think so). CC is solid. Battier is a defensive genius. Brand will swat anything that comes his way.

Offensively, you have Elton Brand down low who was just absolutely dominant in college; in a way that Williams, Boozer and Plumlee simply cannot compare to. The dude didn't need anything; just the ball in his hands. Battier and Carrawell can do a bit of everything. Dawkins, wow -- he'd be my crunch time scorer if Brand is double teamed. I wish Duhon was a better shooter but with the rest of the cast's scoring ability, his playmaking skills are a premium.

Sorry guys but for $15 I think my team is the best. :D

Brand, Battier, and Dawkins are, imho, 3 of top half dozen duke players of all time. to get them on one team would be amazing.

one quibble: johnny dawkins was kinda lengthy for someone who was barely 6' tall, but i wouldn't say he was lengthy, nor would I say his forte was defense (instead, one could argue that his forte could have ben running, as in when the team left the gym to go run a mile on the track. In his high topped tennis shoes from practice, the freshman Dawkins ran a 4:36 mile.

[Flyers52]

$15 Patrick Davidson

[gocanes0506]

$15 Patrick Davidson

nice, winning

[1999ballboy]

Without looking at the other replies, I choose Hurley, Dawkins, Carrawell, Battier, Boozer.

My initial thought was that Battier was a bargain, so he was a lock. Then I had to pick one position to splurge on, and the logical choice was PG, so I got Hurley for $4. With the remaining $8, I was able to get 2 more bargains with Boozer and Carrawell, since they're arguably pretty comparable with Williams and Maggette. With the savings, I was able to grab Johnny Dawkins for $4.

[magjayran]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Laettner, Battier, Carrawell, T Hill, and Scheyer

You give me Battier and Laettner on the same team and I don't believe we could ever lose.

[jv001]

I started with Christian, and it wasn't a hard decision: one of the five best college players of all time, IMHO (where the H is silent). Given the short duration of college careers today and in the foreseeable future, no one is passing him (or Alcindor, Walton, etc.).

Amen! You cannot leave off Christian. Probably the best Duke player ever. Winning tops everything(in sports) and he was a winner. I would throw in David Thompson along with Alcindor and Walton. DT may be the best college player I saw play. But we're talking Duke. Give me Christian and Grant and two 2s and a one. We'd win with that team.

[dukefan1980]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

This was a lot tougher than I initially thought. I'd go with:

Laettner
Battier
G. Hill
Henderson
Nolan

With the logic being that 1-4 are somewhat interchangeable. Grant can run the point as well as guard all 5 positions. Battier can guard anyone on the floor as well and is just a steal for $3. Nolan is a lock-down defender against any guard position. The athleticism duo of Grant and Gerald would be ridiculous. Lastly, there is no one else that wore a Duke uniform that you want taking a last second shot that Laettner.

[COYS]

This made the rounds earlier this week and I got sucked in: https://twitter.com/Ballislife/statuses/471395421345292288

So I thought it would be fun to play this game during the off-season with Duke players from the Coach K era. It was hard to omit a few guys from these lists, but I decided to keep it simple and fun. Pick a guy from each position and do not spend more than $15. Enjoy....

Center
$5 Christian Laettner
$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shelden Williams
$2 Carlos Boozer
$1 Mason Plumlee

Power Forward
$5 Danny Ferry
$4 Jabari Parker
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Kyle Singler
$1 Mark Alarie

Small Forward
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Luol Deng
$3 Corey Maggette
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Mike Dunleavy

Shooting Guard
$5 JJ Redick
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$3 Trajan Langdon
$2 Thomas Hill
$1 Gerald Henderson

Point Guard
$5 Jason Williams
$4 Bobby Hurley
$3 Jon Scheyer
$2 Chris Duhon
$1 Nolan Smith

Using this rating system, I'm pretty torn. Some of the best bargains (Battier at $3 and Boozer at $2) are in the same categories where I'd like to like to spend the money I save on $5 guys (Laettner and Ferry). Still, those are some seriously good bargains. One of the best defenders Duke has ever seen and a criminally underrated offensive talent in Boozer (he was underrated so long that when people FINALLY figured out how good he was in the NBA, he was on the downside of his career and was actually overrated). I HATE to leave Laettner off the team, but I'm doing my best moneyball impression =). Now I've got $10 left for three positions after getting two national champs and a NPOY for $5 (see what I mean by getting a bargain?). When I first saw this game, I expected Scheyer to either not make the list or at least be a bargain at $1. Sadly for me, Superdave is aware of just how good Scheyer really was. Therefore, I'm going with defense and distribution for my point guard and grabbing Duhon at $2. I've spent $7 so far, which is not even half of my money. This makes me think it's safe to splurge. I'm going all in and grabbing the best player of the K era, Grant Hill, for $5 with no regrets. That leaves me with $3, which I'll spend on Trajan Langdon.

PG: Duhon
SG: Langdon
SF: Hill
PF: Battier
C: Boozer

Now, if I were able to make a position-less team, it would look quite different. I'd grab Laettner, Hill, and Dunleavy right off the bat, leaving me with a mere $4 to spend. With three of those dollars, I'd grab Battier. That's right. I can have a team with Laettner, Hill, and Battier ON THE SAME TEAM! For the last spot, I'd plug in Nolan at PG. Nolan wasn't really a point guard, but by senior year he did a good enough impersonation. Plus, he brings tough defense on a team that already has Hill and Battier. The only weakness I see on this team is that Dunleavy has to play SG. He lacks a little bit in lateral quickness, but he makes up for it with his size and the fact that Grant and Shane are around to take care of . . . well . . . everything. Between Nolan, Battier, and Dunleavy, Laettner will have plenty of space to work on the block or at the elbow. Then, when he steps outside to shoot some threes, it will open up driving lanes for Nolan and Grant. Basically, I just can't see a team with Laettner, Battier, and Hill losing to anyone at the college level . . . especially when they're supported by talents like Mike Jr. and Nolan.

The (position-less) dream team:

PG: Smith - $1
SG: Dunleavy -$1
SF: Hill - $5
PF: Battier -$3
C: Laettner -$5

I know others might have already picked this team, but I just want to dream about it for a little bit more. In Grant and Shane, you have two guys who can defend virtually every position on the court as well as create mismatches no matter who is defending them. Shane is superior to Grant in the shooting department, which is good because it creates space for Grant to slash on offense. Even better, they can score without being the primary option. Of course, Christian fills that role, but both Mike and Nolan are fully capable of filling it up. If the team has a weakness, it's that Mike Dunleavy is the lone member of the team who was only an average defender. However, as a 6'9'' shooting guard with Grant and Shane to back him up, I think he'll be fine. Plus, the other team is going to have to be pretty dang good just to score enough points to win. Grant and Christian were NBA All Stars. Shane and Mike were top 6 picks. Nolan was a first rounder, an All American, and ACC POY. That team is going to win some games.



Interestingly, the best lineups, in my opinion, are heavy on the forwards. Hurley and Redick were incredible, to be sure. It hurts leaving Hurley off any dream team. However, I just can't resist putting Laettner, Battier, and Hill on the same team.

[Edouble]

The (position-less) dream team:

PG: Smith - $1
SG: Dunleavy -$1
SF: Hill - $5
PF: Battier -$3
C: Laettner -$5

I know others might have already picked this team, but I just want to dream about it for a little bit more. In Grant and Shane, you have two guys who can defend virtually every position on the court as well as create mismatches no matter who is defending them. Shane is superior to Grant in the shooting department, which is good because it creates space for Grant to slash on offense. Even better, they can score without being the primary option. Of course, Christian fills that role, but both Mike and Nolan are fully capable of filling it up. If the team has a weakness, it's that Mike Dunleavy is the lone member of the team who was only an average defender. However, as a 6'9'' shooting guard with Grant and Shane to back him up, I think he'll be fine. Plus, the other team is going to have to be pretty dang good just to score enough points to win. Grant and Christian were NBA All Stars. Shane and Mike were top 6 picks. Nolan was a first rounder, an All American, and ACC POY. That team is going to win some games.

I think it's a really, really great team. I would argue that Grant is the SG and Dunleavy is the SF on this squad though, particularly on defense.

[COYS]

I think it's a really, really great team. I would argue that Grant is the SG and Dunleavy is the SF on this squad though, particularly on defense.

I think that's the beauty of having both Grant and Shane on the same team. Grant can easily defend a SG that might be beyond Dunleavy's ability. Battier would be capable of switching onto a SG, too. You could even try some really unorthodox defensive sets, too, where Grant actually plays the opposing point guard, using his length and quickness to prevent the opposition from running their offense while Nolan and Mike guard the SG and SF, respectively. If only we could really see this team in action.

[Reilly]

$15 Patrick Davidson

He poops Euros and spits Bitcoins, too, so you sort of get your money back.

[79-77]

Great thread idea.


My first team:

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Gerald Henderson
$4 Bobby Hurley

If the goal is to win an NCAA tournament, Laettner, Battier and Hurley are non-negotiable. You could maybe talk me into Dunleavy and T. Hill over Carrawell and Henderson but the toughness that Carrawell brings gives that pair the edge.



My second team:

$4 Elton Brand
$1 Mark Alarie
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$1 Nolan Smith

Holy mackerel would this be an awesome team. Alarie and Nolan may look like cheap filler at $1 but both were great Duke players and both would fit in beautifully with the big 3.



My third team:

$2 Carlos Boozer
$5 Danny Ferry
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Thomas Hill
$5 Jason Williams

Also a pretty intriguing team.






$4 Elton Brand
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$2 Chris Duhon



This was the team in this thread that I liked most after my first team.

[Edouble]

Great thread idea.


My first team:

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Gerald Henderson
$4 Bobby Hurley

If the goal is to win an NCAA tournament, Laettner, Battier and Hurley are non-negotiable. You could maybe talk me into Dunleavy and T. Hill over Carrawell and Henderson but the toughness that Carrawell brings gives that pair the edge.

This was my first team with the exception that I took Dunleavy instead of Henderson. I may have broken an unwritten rule by taking two players from the small forward category. I think that with Dunleavy instead of Henderson, you have the best possible squad.



My second team:

$4 Elton Brand
$1 Mark Alarie
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$1 Nolan Smith

Holy mackerel would this be an awesome team. Alarie and Nolan may look like cheap filler at $1 but both were great Duke players and both would fit in beautifully with the big 3.

My third team:

$2 Carlos Boozer
$5 Danny Ferry
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Thomas Hill
$5 Jason Williams

Also a pretty intriguing team.

Yeah, I actually think your third team is better than your second team. You have essentially taken the laughably talented 2002 team and upgraded at the two role player positions. Ferry is a clear upgrade over Jones, and I think that a senior Thomas Hill is better than a sophomore Duhon. Your third team is really, really good.

[dyemeduke]

I know it's difficult to agree on a complete list, because of all the great players. However, Gminski and Banks deserve some mention.

[Dukeface88]

So, the first thing that jumps out at me is Battier for $3 - that's just an insane value, so he goes in immediately. That forces a choice between Grant, Laetner and Hurley/JWill; I can only get two of them at most, and even that's a bit of a stretch. Of the three, I think Laetner is the most expendable - not because the others are necessarily better, but because I think center is the deepest position. Carlos Boozer for $2 is pretty great, so I'll go with that. With Laetner out, I think Grant is the best remaining player, so in he goes. That gives me $5 in the two remaining positions. I think Hurley is key for taking advantage of all the crazy offense this team has, which gives Gerald Henderson in the remaining spot.


PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Gerald Henderson
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Shane Battier
C: Carlos Boozer

[lotusland]

I know it's difficult to agree on a complete list, because of all the great players. However, Gminski and Banks deserve some mention.

I thought we were playing with K era players. Otherwise Gminski is the $4 center after Laettner at $5.

[79-77]

My first team:

$5 Christian Laettner
$3 Shane Battier
$2 Chris Carrawell
$1 Gerald Henderson
$4 Bobby Hurley



My second team:

$4 Elton Brand
$1 Mark Alarie
$5 Grant Hill
$4 Johnny Dawkins
$1 Nolan Smith



My third team:

$2 Carlos Boozer
$5 Danny Ferry
$1 Mike Dunleavy
$2 Thomas Hill
$5 Jason Williams






Yeah, I actually think your third team is better than your second team. You have essentially taken the laughably talented 2002 team and upgraded at the two role player positions. Ferry is a clear upgrade over Jones, and I think that a senior Thomas Hill is better than a sophomore Duhon. Your third team is really, really good.

Well, I guess I think that my 2nd team has 3 "force of nature" players in Brand, Hill and JD -- and would really give my 1st team a run for its money -- while my 3rd team has "only" 1 of those guys in Williams. If the 3s aren't falling for my 3rd team, I don't think they could keep up with my 2nd team.

I sure would like to fire up the hot tub time machine and watch the games, though.

[johnb]

I've been trying to come up with a $15 team that wouldn't have been an NCAA favorite and have been having trouble...

[Li_Duke]

I've been trying to come up with a $15 team that wouldn't have been an NCAA favorite and have been having trouble...

Boozer
Parker
Maggette
Langdon
Scheyer

might have had enough issues on defense not to be an NCAA favorite. :P

[DukeBlueDevil42]

Hurley
JD
Booz
Bat
CC

[Edouble]

Boozer
Parker
Maggette
Langdon
Scheyer

might have had enough issues on defense not to be an NCAA favorite. :P

This is the same team that I came up with for "worst team" (if I can use that term) possible.

I agree that there may be some issues on defense. In addition, we really only have two high level 3 point shooters on the floor. The best Duke teams tend to have three guys that can bomb.

[sagegrouse]

This is a fun exercise, but where are Dahntay Jones, DaMarcus Nelson and Austin Rivers, who were 1st team All-ACC and not on the list? I thought this was based on performance at Duke. Maggette was a wondrous talent, but he started only three games at Duke and was on the bench in crunch time against UConn. Luol Deng was third team All-ACC in his one year. Thomas Hill made third team three times. Oh, and Gene Banks says, "Hi."

[superdave]

This is a fun exercise, but where are Dahntay Jones, DaMarcus Nelson and Austin Rivers, who were 1st team All-ACC and not on the list? I thought this was based on performance at Duke. Maggette was a wondrous talent, but he started only three games at Duke and was on the bench in crunch time against UConn. Luol Deng was third team All-ACC in his one year. Thomas Hill made third team three times. Oh, and Gene Banks says, "Hi."

I tried to stick to Coach K's recruits. I also thought Thomas Hill was a better player than Austin Rivers while at Duke. Also, I am not sure I'd take Dahntay over Maggette/Deng/Dunleavy, or Demarcus over Hill/Trajan/Gerald. So I left those guys out......

Maybe the next step for this thread is to see which four teams are the most popular, set up a poll and vote on the best $15 team.

[kAzE]

Wow how did I miss this thread back in May?

I'll take:

C: MP2 ($1)
PF: Battier ($3)
SF: Hill ($5)
SG: Henderson ($1)
PG: Williams ($5)

Going with (IMO) the most dynamic guard in Duke history, and surrounding him with athletes. Battier provides extra floor spacing and all-world defense. Hill, same thing on D, as well as the ability to take on ball handling/distributing duties, since G isn't much of a ball handler. Not a ton of great shooting on that squad, but Battier is solid from deep, Hill can pretty reliably drain mid range jumpers, and J-Will is a machine shooting off the P&R and pulling up off the dribble. This team will own you on defense and in transition.

Honestly, though, if you aren't taking Battier for $3, I can't agree with your team. That's the biggest value in this game. 3 time defensive player of the year for $3.

[lotusland]

Wow how did I miss this thread back in May?

I'll take:

C: MP2 ($1)
PF: Battier ($3)
SF: Hill ($5)
SG: Henderson ($1)
PG: Williams ($5)

Going with (IMO) the most dynamic guard in Duke history, and surrounding him with athletes. Battier provides extra floor spacing and all-world defense. Hill, same thing on D, as well as the ability to take on ball handling/distributing duties, since G isn't much of a ball handler. Not a ton of great shooting on that squad, but Battier is solid from deep, Hill can pretty reliably drain mid range jumpers, and J-Will is a machine shooting off the P&R and pulling up off the dribble. This team will own you on defense and in transition.

Honestly, though, if you aren't taking Battier for $3, I can't agree with your team. That's the biggest value in this game. 3 time defensive player of the year for $3.

It's tough to work with only $15 but, if your goal is to win tournament games and your going to spend $5 on anyone other than Laettner, it should be in addition to Laettner not instead of Laettner. I love JWill and he had some great games where he carried the team but in a close tournament game with the clock winding down I want Laettner and ball handlers who are excellent free throw shooters on the floor. Clutch free throws in tournament games was not JWill's strength. But with ball in Laettner's hands the defense had to either give him some room to work or risk fouling him and neither was a very good idea.

[kAzE]

It's tough to work with only $15 but, if your goal is to win tournament games and your going to spend $5 on anyone other than Laettner, it should be in addition to Laettner not instead of Laettner. I love JWill and he had some great games where he carried the team but in a close tournament game with the clock winding down I want Laettner and ball handlers who are excellent free throw shooters on the floor. Clutch free throws in tournament games was not JWill's strength. But with ball in Laettner's hands the defense had to either give him some room to work or risk fouling him and neither was a very good idea.

I thought long and hard about Laettner, I really did. But if you look at the way college basketball has shifted in recent years, the NCAA tournament is all about your guards now. If you have a ball-handling guard who can score, and be a lock down defender, it's almost more important than what you have at any other position. Look at each of the past 5 champions and their best players:

2014: Connecticut - Shabazz Napier
2013: Louisville - Russ Smith
2012: Kentucky - Anthony Davis
2011: Connecticut - Kemba Walker
2010: Duke: John Scheyer/Nolan Smith/Kyle Singler (hard to pick one as the best, but 2 of them are guards)

You could only definitively say that UK's championship in 2012 was won without an awesome guard, but they still had an NBA talent at that position with Marquis Teague.

But if I had to change my team to include Laettner, I guess I'd switch him for Grant Hill, but Grant is just such an asset on both sides of the floor, it would hard for me to make that change. What I really want from my center is a dominant glass eater and rim protector. Laettner was an average rebounder for a center, and pairing him with Battier up front would leave a lot to be desired on the rebounding front. MP2 is about as good as it gets on the boards for $1.

On J-Will: I just like his ability to manufacture a bucket when the game's on the line. Laettner is the most clutch guy ever, but the ball's not always in his hands. Give me the guy who is a wizard with the ball. J-Will can conjure up points from thin air.

[elvis14]

This was a lot tougher than I initially thought. I'd go with:

Laettner
Battier
G. Hill
Henderson
Nolan

With the logic being that 1-4 are somewhat interchangeable. Grant can run the point as well as guard all 5 positions. Battier can guard anyone on the floor as well and is just a steal for $3. Nolan is a lock-down defender against any guard position. The athleticism duo of Grant and Gerald would be ridiculous. Lastly, there is no one else that wore a Duke uniform that you want taking a last second shot that Laettner.

This is the same team that I came up with. For me Laettner and Grant Hill had to be on the team. Every all-Duke team I put together always starts with Christian and Grant. I thought Shane, at $3, was a steal. That left G! and Nolan for $1 a piece. Henderson is very athletic, can score and play D. Nolan almost won NPOY his senior year, can score, shoot the 3, play defense. All 5 of these guys can play defense. Defense wins championships.

I've seen lots of other lineups that I love as well. It's hard not to love lineups made up of great Blue Devils. I wish I could afford to have JJ and Bobby, two of my all time favorites.

[Channing]

Boozer (2)
Battier (3)
Grant (5)
Langdon (3)
Duhon (2)

[gurufrisbee]

Laettner 5, Battier 3, Grant 5, Gerald 1, Nolan 1

The two biggest values on here to me are Battier for 3 and Nolan for 1. Battier is every bit as good of a pick as anyone in the PF list and Nolan is no JWill or Hurley, but he's flat out fantastic to get for just a buck. Any team with Laettner, Battier, and Grant Hill can be teamed with two corpses in the backcourt and still win 90% of the time. I know I'm not the only one who came up with this line up.

This is a fun exercise. It would be cool if it was extended to 10 guys per position and we could include all the Duke greats and see some really interesting starting fives.

[ice-9]

This is the same team that I came up with. For me Laettner and Grant Hill had to be on the team. Every all-Duke team I put together always starts with Christian and Grant. I thought Shane, at $3, was a steal. That left G! and Nolan for $1 a piece. Henderson is very athletic, can score and play D. Nolan almost won NPOY his senior year, can score, shoot the 3, play defense. All 5 of these guys can play defense. Defense wins championships.

I've seen lots of other lineups that I love as well. It's hard not to love lineups made up of great Blue Devils. I wish I could afford to have JJ and Bobby, two of my all time favorites.

That's a good team but I think the Achilles heel will be 3-point shooting. Battier is the only person on that list who can shoot from distance which may not be enough to create good spacing.

[lotusland]

That's a good team but I think the Achilles heel will be 3-point shooting. Battier is the only person on that list who can shoot from distance which may not be enough to create good spacing. Nolan shot well from 3 and Laettner shot better than Shane from everywhere on the court.

[ice-9]

Nolan shot well from 3 and Laettner shot better than Shane from everywhere on the court.

I guess I'll do the research.

Nolan shot 37% from three for his college career.

Laettner shot 26% from three over his 17-year career in the NBA. He did better in college at 49% but hardly took any, averaging only 1.1 attempts per game.

By comparison, Shane shot 38% in the NBA and 42% in college from three.

So.... yeah.

[lotusland]

I guess I'll do the research.

Nolan shot 37% from three for his college career.

Laettner shot 26% from three over his 17-year career in the NBA. He did better in college at 49% but hardly took any, averaging only 1.1 attempts per game.

By comparison, Shane shot 38% in the NBA and 42% in college from three.

So.... yeah.

Thanks for the research confirming that I was correct in stating that Nolan shot well from 3 (37%) and Laettner shot better than Shane from everywhere on the court (49% from 3). You could check Shane and Christian's shooting % from the free throw line and the post to further make my point. I would not be concerned about 3 point shooting from a team consisting of Laettner (49%), Shane (40%), Grant (38%) Nolan (37%) and Henderson (33%). The starting 5 on all 4 championship teams shot worse from 3 than that team.

[kAzE]

I think Jabari should have been $3 and Battier $4. If you take Jabari, you're taking freshman Jabari, since that was his only season, and he was a far inferior player to an upperclassmen Battier. Sure, he could score for you, but his lack of defense is a pretty big drawback.

[ice-9]

Thanks for the research confirming that I was correct in stating that Nolan shot well from 3 (37%) and Laettner shot better than Shane from everywhere on the court (49% from 3). You could check Shane and Christian's shooting % from the free throw line and the post to further make my point. I would not be concerned about 3 point shooting from a team consisting of Laettner (49%), Shane (40%), Grant (38%) Nolan (37%) and Henderson (33%). The starting 5 on all 4 championship teams shot worse from 3 than that team.

Yao Ming had a better free throw % than Laettner did -- so he must be a better long distance shooter right?

It's interesting how two people can interpret the same data and conclude different things. 37% from three in college is good but not great; Nolan is an excellent scorer but not a marksman. Laettner didn't shoot 3s in college and 26% over 17 years in the NBA is more indicative of his long distance shooting ability; which is to say, not very good.

[Newton_14]

This is the same team that I came up with. For me Laettner and Grant Hill had to be on the team. Every all-Duke team I put together always starts with Christian and Grant. I thought Shane, at $3, was a steal. That left G! and Nolan for $1 a piece. Henderson is very athletic, can score and play D. Nolan almost won NPOY his senior year, can score, shoot the 3, play defense. All 5 of these guys can play defense. Defense wins championships.

I've seen lots of other lineups that I love as well. It's hard not to love lineups made up of great Blue Devils. I wish I could afford to have JJ and Bobby, two of my all time favorites.
The problem with this line up is ball handling. It may work but Grant has to be either the PG or 2G on offense due to Hendo's lack of handle. It would however, be a strong defensive team and strong 3 point shooting team (Hendo would be the weakest shooter and this is a line up with him at the Shooting Guard. Ironic) Clarifier: Yes I know K has no positions.

Outside of ball handling, it is a pretty dominant group though.

[Newton_14]

Yao Ming had a better free throw % than Laettner did -- so he must be a better long distance shooter right?

It's interesting how two people can interpret the same data and conclude different things. 37% from three in college is good but not great; Nolan is an excellent scorer but not a marksman. Laettner didn't shoot 3s in college and 26% over 17 years in the NBA is more indicative of his long distance shooting ability; which is to say, not very good.

Hmm, I am going to have to side with LL on this one per my original post. What Laettner did in the NBA is irrelevant to me. He shot plenty of 3's his Jr and Sr seasons and was money. If we are taking these players at their best while in College (as upperclassmen vs underclassmen) then I would say that this is a good 3 point shooting team. Grant was not a 3-Point shooter until his Sr year. Nolan shot it well his Jr and Sr years as did Shane. Hendo would be the weakest shooter.

Would totally agree with you that none of them shot the 3 well as underclassmen though.

[kAzE]

Yao Ming had a better free throw % than Laettner did -- so he must be a better long distance shooter right?

It's interesting how two people can interpret the same data and conclude different things. 37% from three in college is good but not great; Nolan is an excellent scorer but not a marksman. Laettner didn't shoot 3s in college and 26% over 17 years in the NBA is more indicative of his long distance shooting ability; which is to say, not very good.

For the record, I've seen Yao shoot in an open gym, he hits like 70% from the international 3 point line. Just because he never shot any 3s doesn't mean he's not good. When you're 7'6", you're serving your team better by just being near the rim for random rebounds.

[ice-9]

Hmm, I am going to have to side with LL on this one per my original post. What Laettner did in the NBA is irrelevant to me. He shot plenty of 3's his Jr and Sr seasons and was money. If we are taking these players at their best while in College (as upperclassmen vs underclassmen) then I would say that this is a good 3 point shooting team. Grant was not a 3-Point shooter until his Sr year. Nolan shot it well his Jr and Sr years as did Shane. Hendo would be the weakest shooter.

Would totally agree with you that none of them shot the 3 well as underclassmen though.

Perhaps my initial statement was a tad strong. But I stand by my original point that long-distance shooting wouldn't be a strength for this team; at least not compared to the other possible all-star lineups. If I was defending against them I know what I'd do -- pack it in, take away their athleticism and force these guys to win on jumpshots. They'll still beat normal college teams because, dang, Battier, Hill and Laettner, but I don't think this is the best team you can assemble given the rules of the what-if game.

[johnb]

This is a fun exercise, but where are Dahntay Jones, DaMarcus Nelson and Austin Rivers, who were 1st team All-ACC and not on the list? I thought this was based on performance at Duke. Maggette was a wondrous talent, but he started only three games at Duke and was on the bench in crunch time against UConn. Luol Deng was third team All-ACC in his one year. Thomas Hill made third team three times. Oh, and Gene Banks says, "Hi."

Where is DeMarcus? One place is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL6lXSDkARc

And here's his discussion on the link between Belgrade and Duke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npXRrsfL3rU

He'd be worth a buck...

[Zeb]

For the record, I've seen Yao shoot in an open gym, he hits like 70% from the international 3 point line. Just because he never shot any 3s doesn't mean he's not good. When you're 7'6", you're serving your team better by just being near the rim for random rebounds.

If Yao could actually hit 70% from 3 in games, or even 40% from 3, what coach on earth would not have him shooting the 3? Yao Ming averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds per game for his career. That is not that exceptional. Kevin Love has averaged 3.7, yet he has taken 1205 more 3ptrs than Yao.

Despite what you saw in a gym, Yao only attempted 10 3ptrs in his entire career because he wasn't very good at making them.

[lotusland]

Perhaps my initial statement was a tad strong. But I stand by my original point that long-distance shooting wouldn't be a strength for this team; at least not compared to the other possible all-star lineups. If I was defending against them I know what I'd do -- pack it in, take away their athleticism and force these guys to win on jumpshots. They'll still beat normal college teams because, dang, Battier, Hill and Laettner, but I don't think this is the best team you can assemble given the rules of the what-if game.

What is the best team? I actually didn't pick the team that was commented on because I wanted a true point guard. Regrettable I had to drop Battier for Singler so I could pick up Duhon. I had Laettner, Grant, Kyle, Nolan and Duhon. So with Kyle for Shane and Duhon for G, I don't think the 3 pt shooting changes much. What I would like to do is have the option of taking Amaker for a buck so I could have Shane with Laettner, Grant, and Nolan. What I absolutely would not do is drop Laettner or Grant to pick up JJ for $5. I don't care how well JJ shoots your team is worse if you drop Laettner or Grant imo. It's a fun exercise because you have to make tough choices. Only two $5 players max and then if you take Battier for three you only have $2 for guards.

[kAzE]

If Yao could actually hit 70% from 3 in games, or even 40% from 3, what coach on earth would not have him shooting the 3? Yao Ming averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds per game for his career. That is not that exceptional. Kevin Love has averaged 3.7, yet he has taken 1205 more 3ptrs than Yao.

Despite what you saw in a gym, Yao only attempted 10 3ptrs in his entire career because he wasn't very good at making them.

Um, the NBA 3 point line is almost 2 feet further away than the international line. Everybody's got a range. Yao shot plenty of mid ranged jumpers in his career, and was always a pretty reliable shooter from that range.

Love is also a little more mobile than Yao. Just a tad. And since when was this about Kevin Love, who is a completely different animal? We were comparing Yao Ming and Christian Laettner. By the way, 2.5 offensive boards would have been good for top 20 for all players in the NBA last year.

Regardless, the number of rebounds he got has nothing to do with fundamental basketball strategy. You keep your big men near the rim. If not to crash to boards, at least to try to stop the other team from getting to a defensive rebound. He shot 10 3s, but at least he made 2 of them. He's capable of hitting them. 4 or 5 of those were probably halfcourt heaves. 2 for 5 or 2 for 6 ain't too bad. At the very least, he's hit infinity times more 3s than you have in the NBA.

[kAzE]

If Yao could actually hit 70% from 3 in games, or even 40% from 3, what coach on earth would not have him shooting the 3? Yao Ming averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds per game for his career. That is not that exceptional. Kevin Love has averaged 3.7, yet he has taken 1205 more 3ptrs than Yao.

Despite what you saw in a gym, Yao only attempted 10 3ptrs in his entire career because he wasn't very good at making them.

Oh, hey, I just looked up Yao Ming's stats from his 5 years in the CBA playing for the Shanghai Sharks. He shot 76/151 for 50% from 3. Jeez . . . only 50%, I guess he wasn't very good at making 3s.

edit: Sorry, I get worked up when people trash my favorite players. But I think I made my point: Yao Ming is a way better long range shooter than his low volume of stats would indicate.

[lotusland]

Oh, hey, I just looked up Yao Ming's stats from his 5 years in the CBA playing for the Shanghai Sharks. He shot 76/151 for 50% from 3. Jeez . . . only 50%, I guess he wasn't very good at making 3s.

edit: Sorry, I get worked up when people trash my favorite players. But I think I made my point: Yao Ming is a way better long range shooter than his low volume of stats would indicate.


If I can get Ming for $2 I'll trade Kyle. The way I understand it a long range sniper like Ming will improve my team's spacing considerably.

[kAzE]

If I can get Ming for $2 I'll trade Kyle. The way I understand it a long range sniper like Ming will improve my team's spacing considerably.

A. His surname is Yao . . . nobody calls him Ming. Seriously, how do people still not know this?
B. If Yao Ming played D1 basketball, he would have dominated. Young Yao ming could post you up, shoot from anywhere, and was more athletic and bouncy when he was 250 pounds, and not 330, so he could dunk on anyone because he was over 7'3" at age 19. And no, he was not a huge stiff like Alex Len, Yao was a basketball prodigy from the time he was 10 years old. Please don't argue with me on this.

[elvis14]

What is the best team? I actually didn't pick the team that was commented on because I wanted a true point guard. Regrettable I had to drop Battier for Singler so I could pick up Duhon. I had Laettner, Grant, Kyle, Nolan and Duhon. So with Kyle for Shane and Duhon for G, I don't think the 3 pt shooting changes much. What I would like to do is have the option of taking Amaker for a buck so I could have Shane with Laettner, Grant, and Nolan. What I absolutely would not do is drop Laettner or Grant to pick up JJ for $5. I don't care how well JJ shoots your team is worse if you drop Laettner or Grant imo. It's a fun exercise because you have to make tough choices. Only two $5 players max and then if you take Battier for three you only have $2 for guards.

I wasn't too worried about having a true point guard. We could have Grant play point forward. Besides, Nolan did a pretty good job playing PG once Kyrie got hurt. I'll stick with Christian, Shane, Grant, Gerald and Nolan.

[lotusland]

A. His surname is Yao . . . nobody calls him Ming. Seriously, how do people still not know this?
B. If Yao Ming played D1 basketball, he would have dominated. Young Yao ming could post you up, shoot from anywhere, and was more athletic and bouncy when he was 250 pounds, and not 330, so he could dunk on anyone because he was over 7'3" at age 19. And no, he was not a huge stiff like Alex Len, Yao was a basketball prodigy from the time he was 10 years old. Please don't argue with me on this.

I'm no match for you in Yao knowledge. I'm not a big NBA fan and I'm neither pro-Yao nor anti-Yao. I'm Yao neutral. When it comes to Yao I'm like Switzerland. You could say that I'm consumed with Yao apathy and I don't even care. I thought all the Yao talk in the $15 Duke team thread was curious so I made an apparently not so obvious wise-crack. Next time I'll throw in a lol or smiley face. I promise no Yao offense was intended.

[kAzE]

I'm no match for you in Yao knowledge. I'm not a big NBA fan and I'm neither pro-Yao nor anti-Yao. I'm Yao neutral. When it comes to Yao I'm like Switzerland. You could say that I'm consumed with Yao apathy and I don't even care. I thought all the Yao talk in the $15 Duke team thread was curious so I made an apparently not so obvious wise-crack. Next time I'll throw in a lol or smiley face. I promise no Yao offense was intended.

Trust me, I understood it was a joke, but it was poorly executed to the point where it actually was kind of offensive. You butchered his name, and Yao probably would have actually been a really good 3 pt shooter with a 20 foot, 9 inch line (it was actually even shorter when he was college age). You also equated a 5-time all NBA selection to being worth $2 amongst Duke players. I'll accept your explanation, but do like 30 seconds of research next time.

[johnb]

Trust me, I understood it was a joke, but it was poorly executed to the point where it actually was kind of offensive. You butchered his name, and Yao probably would have actually been a really good 3 pt shooter with a 20 foot, 9 inch line (it was actually even shorter when he was college age). You also equated a 5-time all NBA selection to being worth $2 amongst Duke players. I'll accept your explanation, but do like 30 seconds of research next time.

the answer: Yao Ming

the question: what catalyzes bad board behavior?

[lotusland]

the answer: Yao Ming

the question: what catalyzes bad board behavior?

Not me I'm Switzerland.

[lotusland]

Trust me, I understood it was a joke, but it was poorly executed to the point where it actually was kind of offensive. You butchered his name, and Yao probably would have actually been a really good 3 pt shooter with a 20 foot, 9 inch line (it was actually even shorter when he was college age). You also equated a 5-time all NBA selection to being worth $2 amongst Duke players. I'll accept your explanation, but do like 30 seconds of research next time.

Henceforth my editor will proofread and fact-check all Yao Posts for errors and insensitive comments. Yao about a truce?

[Edouble]

Trust me, I understood it was a joke, but it was poorly executed to the point where it actually was kind of offensive. You butchered his name, and Yao probably would have actually been a really good 3 pt shooter with a 20 foot, 9 inch line (it was actually even shorter when he was college age). You also equated a 5-time all NBA selection to being worth $2 amongst Duke players. I'll accept your explanation, but do like 30 seconds of research next time.

You take check?

[Zeb]

Love is also a little more mobile than Yao. Just a tad. And since when was this about Kevin Love, who is a completely different animal? We were comparing Yao Ming and Christian Laettner. By the way, 2.5 offensive boards would have been good for top 20 for all players in the NBA last year.

Regardless, the number of rebounds he got has nothing to do with fundamental basketball strategy. You keep your big men near the rim. If not to crash to boards, at least to try to stop the other team from getting to a defensive rebound. He shot 10 3s, but at least he made 2 of them. He's capable of hitting them. 4 or 5 of those were probably halfcourt heaves. 2 for 5 or 2 for 6 ain't too bad. At the very least, he's hit infinity times more 3s than you have in the NBA.

I would pay the $5 for Laettner because he was a lot more like Kevin Love than Yao Ming. Do you remember Laettner schooling Shaq in Cameron? It's fundamental basketball strategy to keep your big man near the rim when they can't score outside the paint. But when they can, then its a huge advantage to get them the ball in different spots all over the court to make a defense adjust. Besides Love and Laettner, Nowitzki, Garnett, Aldridge, and even Ryan Kelly are all examples of bigs who are not camped out under the rim trying to get offensive rebounds, they're trying to score.

If Yao truly had an effective 3 point shot from NBA range, then Houston was foolish to not use it. An unblockable 50% 3 pt shooter is worth a hell of a lot more than 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. And that's not necessarily even a trade-off you have to make. Love proves that taking a few three pointers a game does not mean you can't still be an effective offensive rebounder.

[kAzE]

I would pay the $5 for Laettner because he was a lot more like Kevin Love than Yao Ming. Do you remember Laettner schooling Shaq in Cameron? It's fundamental basketball strategy to keep your big man near the rim when they can't score outside the paint. But when they can, then its a huge advantage to get them the ball in different spots all over the court to make a defense adjust. Besides Love and Laettner, Nowitzki, Garnett, Aldridge, and even Ryan Kelly are all examples of bigs who are not camped out under the rim trying to get offensive rebounds, they're trying to score.

If Yao truly had an effective 3 point shot from NBA range, then Houston was foolish to not use it. An unblockable 50% 3 pt shooter is worth a hell of a lot more than 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. And that's not necessarily even a trade-off you have to make. Love proves that taking a few three pointers a game does not mean you can't still be an effective offensive rebounder.

Wow . . . Are you really trying to argue that Christian Laettner was better than Yao Ming and Shaq? You do realize Laettner shot 26% career from the NBA three point line, right? He was a totally different player than Kevin Love, and I'm sorry, but Ryan Kelly does not belong in the same sentence as Dirk Nowitzki . . .

By the way, Yao was every bit as good from mid range as Garnett (27% career from 3) and Aldridge (21%). Are you that young, or do you just not remember anything?

[kAzE]

By the way, Garnett has a 18.6 ppg career average. Aldridge: 18.9. Yao Ming: 19.0

If those guys were trying to score so hard, why didn't they score as much as Yao?

[lotusland]

Wow . . . Are you really trying to argue that Christian Laettner was better than Yao Ming and Shaq? You do realize Laettner shot 26% career from the NBA three point line, right? He was a totally different player than Kevin Love, and I'm sorry, but Ryan Kelly does not belong in the same sentence as Dirk Nowitzki . . .

By the way, Yao was every bit as good from mid range as Garnett (27% career from 3) and Aldridge (21%). Are you that young, or do you just not remember anything?

Laettner was a better college player than Shaq and Mourning. Just Google all time great college players and you will see that Laettner is in practically everyone's top 10. But Mourning and Shaq were drafted ahead of Laettner and were better pros. Yao Ming will not be listed on any ranking of college basketball greats.

[Zeb]

Are you really trying to argue that Christian Laettner was better than Yao Ming and Shaq?

No I'm not. Are you really trying to argue that Yao Ming was a great three point shooter even though he only made 2 in his entire NBA career? Yes you are.

Why don't you keep believing that "fundamental basketball strategy" made it smart for Yao to not shoot threes, and I'll keep believing that he didn't take three pointers because he and his coaches knew he wasn't good at making them.

[kAzE]

No I'm not. Are you really trying to argue that Yao Ming was a great three point shooter even though he only made 2 in his entire NBA career? Yes you are.

Why don't you keep believing that "fundamental basketball strategy" made it smart for Yao to not shoot threes, and I'll keep believing that he didn't take three pointers because he and his coaches knew he wasn't good at making them.

You obviously didn't read anything I posted . . . . I've said over and over that he actually WAS a great 3 point shooter in the CBA (based on fact), with the international 3 point line, and WOULD have been a great 3 point shooter if he had played D1 NCAA ball with the college line. I've been arguing that he was a really good mid range shooter in the NBA, but you conveniently chose to ignore that, while citing other guys like Aldridge who very nearly shoots the same percentage (21%) as Yao (20%) from 3 in the NBA. You clearly never watched a single game the guy played.

[sagegrouse]

No I'm not. Are you really trying to argue that Yao Ming was a great three point shooter even though he only made 2 in his entire NBA career? Yes you are.

Why don't you keep believing that "fundamental basketball strategy" made it smart for Yao to not shoot threes, and I'll keep believing that he didn't take three pointers because he and his coaches knew he wasn't good at making them.


You obviously didn't read anything I posted . . . . I've said over and over that he actually WAS a great 3 point shooter in the CBA (based on fact), with the international 3 point line, and WOULD have been a great 3 point shooter if he had played D1 NCAA ball with the college line. I've been arguing that he was a really good mid range shooter in the NBA, but you conveniently chose to ignore that, while citing other guys like Aldridge who very nearly shoots the same percentage (21%) as Yao (20%) from 3 in the NBA. You clearly never watched a single game the guy played.

And the point of this is colloquy is, what? This playground repartee seems like material for Private Messages, if that. Please spare us.