Dukies in the NBA: All Time Leading Scorers

[johnb]

I couldn't figure out how to make a poll, but I'd be curious who we/you think are the three all-time leading NBA scorers among former Duke players. Hint: their scoring totals are 17, 137; 16,661, and 13,198. No internet searches, please...

[theAlaskanBear]

I couldn't figure out how to make a poll, but I'd be curious who we/you think are the three all-time leading NBA scorers among former Duke players. Hint: their scoring totals are 17, 137; 16,661, and 13,198. No internet searches, please...

Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer?

[DukeandMdFan]

Grant Hill
Jeff Mullins
Mike Gminski

[sagegrouse]

Grant Hill
Jeff Mullins
Mike Gminski

Let's not forget Maggette-O.

Or Jack Marin, who played forever, it seems. -- Kindly, Sage

[mr. synellinden]

Grant Hill, Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer?


I would go with those three as well, but I wouldn't be surprised if Corey were in there. I'd think those were the top 4 in some order with Grant first.

[theAlaskanBear]

Let's not forget Maggette-O.

Or Jack Marin, who played forever, it seems. -- Kindly, Sage

I'm 95% confident in my trio because I know for a fact Boozer has 13000+ points, but after being reminded of Maggette, I have a sneaking suspicion he is the wild card that makes lists like this interesting enough to post about.

[johnb]

I'm 95% confident in my trio because I know for a fact Boozer has 13000+ points, but after being reminded of Maggette, I have a sneaking suspicion he is the wild card that makes lists like this interesting enough to post about.

Well, I am always happy to post on uninteresting stuff, but, this time, you're right. Behind Grant and Elton, three guys have had over 13,000 points, but the top one of the 3 isn't Boozer or Mullins but Mr. Maggette...

Now, which two alums have scored a total in the single digits?

One is probably guessable. The other, not so much.

Answers here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=duke

[superdave]

Interesting. This means that if Kyrie Irving stays healthy and gets to over 1,000 games played, he will be Duke's all-time NBA scorer. If Luol Deng remains healthy and plays 1,100 or more games, he can pass Grant Hill (but is likely to be eventually passed by Kyrie).

[FerryFor50]

Well, I am always happy to post on uninteresting stuff, but, this time, you're right. Behind Grant and Elton, three guys have had over 13,000 points, but the top one of the 3 isn't Boozer or Mullins but Mr. Maggette...

Now, which two alums have scored a total in the single digits?

One is probably guessable. The other, not so much.

Answers here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=duke

Hmm.

Seth Curry is likely one. No idea on the other.

[subzero02]

Maggette scored a lot of points from the foul line... I know he led the NBA in free throws made one season. He ranks 43rd all time with 4,605 made at an 82.2 percent clip.

[theAlaskanBear]

Interesting. This means that if Kyrie Irving stays healthy and gets to over 1,000 games played, he will be Duke's all-time NBA scorer. If Luol Deng remains healthy and plays 1,100 or more games, he can pass Grant Hill (but is likely to be eventually passed by Kyrie).

1,100 games is a lot. Ambiguously worded, but I know you mean if he plays 1,100 games in his career, which would be about 460 more. He needs 400 games (about 5 seasons) at the current scoring pace to get close to Hill, but Luol isn't a player who is going to maintain his scoring average as he ages because he is only an average shooter. I don't see him getting more than the 14 shots a game he got with Chicago, unless Wade is really useless. Scoring averages of 16 16 14 12 12 gets him there if he plays every game, but Luol only averages 67 games played per season, which means he would need 7 seasons to hit the 460 mark Superdave supposes. It's definitely doable, but not a certainty, I think.

[DukieInBrasil]

Hmm.

Seth Curry is likely one. No idea on the other.

I guessed Seth Curry too, knowing that he hit 1 3pt shot last year. I looked at the ref. sheet posted, i had never heard of the other guy, seeing as how he played before i was born.

[johnb]

I guessed Seth Curry too, knowing that he hit 1 3pt shot last year. I looked at the ref. sheet posted, i had never heard of the other guy, seeing as how he played before i was born.

I'd never heard of Doug Kistler, either, which makes sense since he played in a handful of games back in 1962. He did, however, score his 8 career points in only 13 minutes. If extrapolated to a 48 minute game (let's assume he was an iron man), he would have averaged 29.5 points per game. Let's be cautious and round him down to 29 points per game and then assume he played in 1000 games. Modest assumptions. He'd then have 29,000 career points, standing firmly between Wilt and Shaq on the all-time scoring list.

[mattman91]

I remember seeing Maggette's numbers when he retired, and I believe he averaged around 16 per game. Based on your hint, I'd say he is the second one. The other two, no idea. I would consider CM the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I remember seeing Maggette's numbers when he retired, and I believe he averaged around 16 per game. Based on your hint, I'd say he is the second one. The other two, no idea. I would consider CM the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.

From an offensive standpoint, you may be right. Maggette was amazing at getting to the line and finishing in traffic. Strong dude.

But defensively? He was a disaster. And it wasn't because he didn't try. He was just bad at it. Also, he wasn't a natural-born leader like Battier or had plenty of intangibles like Brand; Maggette was viewed as a one-trick pony who was a good teammate and good person.

I'd say that Laettner has the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.

[Tom B.]

Fun site. You can come up with some good trivia questions and factoids, like:

Who is UNC's second-leading career NBA scorer? (Wasn't my first or even second guess, but when I saw the answer, it made sense.)

Makhtar N'Diaye appeared in 4 games as a pro, logging a total of 27 minutes, 5 points, and 5 rebounds. And appropriately, 9 fouls.

Rodney Monroe and Randolph Childress were stone cold killers in college -- how did they not stick for longer in the NBA? Even if they weren't destined for long pro careers, I figured they'd kick around for at least a little while, but their NBA careers are virtually non-existent. They had shorter and less productive NBA careers than Cedric Simmons and Rusty LaRue, respectively. How is that possible??

The Moonlight Graham Award goes to JamesOn Curry (remember him?). One career NBA appearance, and it was so short he didn't even get credit for a minute played. No shots, free throws, points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists, turnovers, or any other stats.

[superdave]

Fun site. You can come up with some good trivia questions and factoids, like:

Who is UNC's second-leading career NBA scorer? (Wasn't my first or even second guess, but when I saw the answer, it made sense.)

Makhtar N'Diaye appeared in 4 games as a pro, logging a total of 27 minutes, 5 points, and 5 rebounds. And appropriately, 9 fouls.

Rodney Monroe and Randolph Childress were stone cold killers in college -- how did they not stick for longer in the NBA? Even if they weren't destined for long pro careers, I figured they'd kick around for at least a little while, but their NBA careers are virtually non-existent. They had shorter and less productive NBA careers than Cedric Simmons and Rusty LaRue, respectively. How is that possible??

The Moonlight Graham Award goes to JamesOn Curry (remember him?). One career NBA appearance, and it was so short he didn't even get credit for a minute played. No shots, free throws, points, rebounds, steals, blocks, assists, turnovers, or any other stats.

How many international incidents did Makhtar cause during those four games?

Also, Laettner made an all-star game in 1997. Unfortunately his body didnt hold up after that season.Maggette never made an all-star team in spite of scoring 22 ppg twice in his career. So I agree that Laettner is up there on the under-rated NBA career list.

SuperOn Dave

[sagegrouse]

I'd never heard of Doug Kistler, either, which makes sense since he played in a handful of games back in 1962. He did, however, score his 8 career points in only 13 minutes. If extrapolated to a 48 minute game (let's assume he was an iron man), he would have averaged 29.5 points per game. Let's be cautious and round him down to 29 points per game and then assume he played in 1000 games. Modest assumptions. He'd then have 29,000 career points, standing firmly between Wilt and Shaq on the all-time scoring list.

Doug Kistler was the center on the ACC champion 1960 team as a junior and a stalwart for all three years.

[Jim3k]

Doug Kistler was the center on the ACC champion 1960 team as a junior and a stalwart for all three years.

Doug's stat page (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=212) (just so you don't have to hunt for it). He was a fine college player.

Edit: Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Kistler)

[Edouble]

I'd say that Laettner has the most underrated Duke player to ever play in the league.

You would be hard pressed to convince me otherwise. Laettner made an All-Star team, and had a quiet, steady career, but continues to be called a bust.

[DukeandMdFan]

Doug's stat page (http://goduke.statsgeek.com/basketball-m/players/statlines.php?playerid=212) (just so you don't have to hunt for it). He was a fine college player.

Edit: Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Kistler)

I've heard that Kistler was also a great guy who became a high school basketball coach at some point. He died tragically in a car accident in 1980.