Shane Battier is the Greatest Duke guy ever

[Lord Ash]

Forget the stats and accomplishments; just look at the poise, the intelligence, the depth, the leadership, the self-sacrifice, the heart...

This is not meant in ANY negative in any way towards any other basketball player who has played at Duke.

And it is not a pure matter of basketball skills.

But Shane is, to me, the ideal of, and ultimate prototype for, the Duke basketball player.

(Hey, Jason's poll backs me on this!)



(Oh, and please forgive me Grant!! You are The Man!!)

[weezie]

Absolutely agreed. Who else literally picked up the team and carried them into the promised land? Mr. Duke Bball, all the way.

And, he even danced the lobster dance!

[CameronBornAndBred]

I just want to watch a movie at his crib. Which needs more art.

And on Grant...he is the art man.

[bludvlman]

While I love Shane I have to say that Christian is the greatest player ever to wear a Duke uniform. He is the most clutch player in college BB history.

My Top 5

1. Christian
2. JJ
3. Dawkins
4. Battier
5. Williams (Jason)

[CameronBornAndBred]

While I love Shane I have to say that Christian is the greatest player ever to wear a Duke uniform. He is the most clutch player in college BB history.

Maybe the most clutch..Hurley was up there too, at least with Duke history. But Yer Daddy was the most complete.

[Lord Ash]

While I love Shane I have to say that Christian is the greatest player ever to wear a Duke uniform. He is the most clutch player in college BB history.

To me, as silly as it may sound, you could almost argue it has nothing to do with performance on the floor, and everything to do with how you carry yourself and represent the program and the school itself... but to do that would take away Battier's superb defense and self sacrifice, which are the hallmarks of Duke basketball... oh, and his captaincy towards a National Title

Love Christian for all he has done for Duke, and Bobby and Jason Williams and Johnny too, but to me, it is Shane.

(And Grant! I love you man! I drink Sprite!)

(Oh, and seriously tho; I love Grant's appreciation for the arts. He has a depth to him that is the hallmark of a good and true man. He would be my #2 for Prototype Dukie. )

[Devils Rock]

While I love Shane I have to say that Christian is the greatest player ever to wear a Duke uniform. He is the most clutch player in college BB history.

My Top 5

1. Christian
2. JJ
3. Dawkins
4. Battier
5. Williams (Jason)

While Laettner no doubt had a greater overall career (and that is a very impressive achievement in and of itself!) than Battier, I think the intent of the original post was to say that Battier best combined great play on the court with a person of whom we can all be proud off the court. I totally concur.

[Jumbo]

Absolutely agreed. Who else literally picked up the team and carried them into the promised land? Mr. Duke Bball, all the way.

And, he even danced the lobster dance!

He literally picked up the team? Damn, I must have missed that. Carrying Boozer alone must have been a major strain.

[kinghoops]

He literally picked up the team? Damn, I must have missed that. Carrying Boozer alone must have been a major strain.

dang!! and i thought mike d having a 46 sec span for the ages had a lil something to do with it?

[devilirium]

I would give Hill the slight nod for oncourt performance. That '94 team was arguably one of the more unlikely Final Four Duke squads--Collins, Capel, Clark, Lang, Parks, Meek. Lots of interchangeable parts, but there is a pretty huge talent disparity there between both squads, and Hill's greater athleticism (ie than Battier) on both ends was needed to the hilt to get that bunch in the Final Four.

Battier put himself in position to get charges, etc. and he had some remarkable blocks (Juan Dixon and Joe Forte come to mind). Grant's stops were, by and large, a bit more dramatic. Stopping 3 on 1 fastbreaks with swats (Corliss Williamson), blocks that seemed unworldly (Cornel Parker), steals/interceptions (vs Michigan State) that seemed so improbable.

[Carlos]

Absolutely agreed. Who else literally picked up the team and carried them into the promised land? Mr. Duke Bball, all the way.

And, he even danced the lobster dance!

In terms of a guy carrying a team I think that Grant in 94 gets the nod, even though that team didn't win it all. Shane had a lot more talent around him including JWill who averaged something like 24 ppg in that title run.

[jimsumner]

1994 Duke team without Grant Hill

Cherokee Parks (Jr)
Tony Lang (Sr)
Jeff Capel (Fr)
Chris Collins (So)
Marty Clark (Sr)
Eric Meek (Jr)

2001 Duke without Shane Battier

Jason Williams (So)
Carlos Boozer (So)
Mike Dunleavy (So)
Nate James (Sr)
Chris Duhon (Fr)
Casey Sanders (So)

Does anyone doubt that Shaneless '01 blows the doors off Grantless '94?

FWIW, we do some variation of this every year and every year I remind people that Duke University did in fact play college basketball before the arrival of Mike Krzyzewski. So, consider yourself reminded.

[Lord Ash]

I was a student at the same time as Grant... trust me, I appreciate the man I will ALWAYS hate Glenn Robinson and his 100 million dollar contract and his attempt to copyright the term "Big Dog."

But Shane will always be the gold standard for me. I am not sure I truly think he is any better than Grant in any way, shape, or form... in fact, I almost feel like Shane did as much as Grant but with less natural basketball talent, making up for the possible shortcoming with buckets of guts and sacrifice. To me, that is key.

And I never saw before K, so I wouldn't know about it.

And I am really not trying to "do" anything Seeing that video of Shane really made me remember him, and remember him awful fondly... and I just wanted to share my feelings on the guy with everyone else who loves Duke

[dukemomLA]

Can't wait for Grant and Shane to become the Pres/VP ticket in the near future. That would be such a joy. Awesome.

[gep]

Can't wait for Grant and Shane to become the Pres/VP ticket in the near future.

I agree... that would be awesome. But, was the "order" of Grant/Shane and Pres/VP intentional? I don't mean a slight on either... but I thought I've seen more "Shane for President" for the last few years...

[heyman25]

That Shane Cisco Systems was unique. Microsoft wasted millions on their lousy PC campaign.They should have used Shane in the way Cisco used him.Though Gates's wife went to Duke, I believe John Chambers of Cisco spent a few years there but did not graduate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chambers_(CEO)

[Faison1]

1994 Duke team without Grant Hill

Cherokee Parks (Jr)
Tony Lang (Sr)
Jeff Capel (Fr)
Chris Collins (So)
Marty Clark (Sr)
Eric Meek (Jr)

2001 Duke without Shane Battier

Jason Williams (So)
Carlos Boozer (So)
Mike Dunleavy (So)
Nate James (Sr)
Chris Duhon (Fr)
Casey Sanders (So)

Does anyone doubt that Shaneless '01 blows the doors off Grantless '94?

So, true...so, true. In '94, did anyone expect Duke to go to the Finals? I mean, look at those lineups!!! I don't remember specifically, but I'm pretty sure there were quite a few who picked Duke to go all the way in '01. That being said, both gentlemen hold themselves up so well in the public eye. But if I had to choose which one I would give a big bear hug, I'd choose Grant. There's just something loveable about the guy.

[Lavabe]

But Shane is, to me, the ideal of, and ultimate prototype for, the Duke basketball player.

(Hey, Jason's poll backs me on this!)

Shane's DBR response to Jason's poll is further evidence that Shane is the ultimate prototype for the Duke basketball player.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[jimsumner]

"And I never saw before K, so I wouldn't know about it."

Understood. But if you love Battier and Hill, as players and people, you'd feel just as strongly about Jeff Mullins, Jim Spanarkel, and Mike Gminski, among others.

[Lavabe]

But if you love Battier and Hill, as players and people, you'd feel just as strongly about Jeff Mullins, Jim Spanarkel, and Mike Gminski, among others.

Trust me. There's merit in what jim wrote here. I know. I'm married to ILoveJimmy.