This team has some of my favorite Duke players ever on it

[trinity92]

Just had to post a quick one and get this off my chest. Regardless of how we fare this season, I'm considering myself lucky to be a Duke fan/alum this year. In over 20 years of watching the team, Scheyer, Smith and Singler are among my favorite Duke players ever. I get a smile from watching them, on and off the court.

FWIW, Will Avery, Billy McCaffrey, Thomas Hill and Robert Brickey are also among my favorites ever, so this really isn't a matter of loving our top three productive guys and the media face of our team. I am truly thankful to have these guys on our team.

Now a 4th ring would be nice too . . .

[Jumbo]

Just had to post a quick one and get this off my chest. Regardless of how we fare this season, I'm considering myself lucky to be a Duke fan/alum this year. In over 20 years of watching the team, Scheyer, Smith and Singler are among my favorite Duke players ever. I get a smile from watching them, on and off the court.

FWIW, Will Avery, Billy McCaffrey, Thomas Hill and Robert Brickey are also among my favorites ever, so this really isn't a matter of loving our top three productive guys and the media face of our team. I am truly thankful to have these guys on our team.

Now a 4th ring would be nice too . . .

Agreed, this team is extremely likeable. Granted, if you're a Duke fan, you're going to like every team, but we can probably agree there were some players in the past who weren't as, uh, endearing as others.

The three guys you singled out all have different reason to be appreciated, too. Scheyer just plays such a beautiful game, it's going to be a shame that some people won't realize how much they miss him until he's gone. Combine that with an attitude that has been incredibly poised since his freshman year, great leadership and a deep appreciation and commitment to what he's doing and there's just so much to like.

Smith, meanwhile, just exudes so much personality -- and it's all positive. The kid is just constantly smiling, cracking jokes, etc. And he has some flare to his game that is great to see.

And Singler has a dose of Scheyer's poise, but a bit more of an edge to him. And he just plays so damn hard. Add in his considerable skill and that's quite a package.

And that's not meant to shortchange the other guys on the team, too. Think about all the foot problems Zoubs has pushed through, Lance's energy and willingness to battle when out of position, Dawkins' infectious enthusiasm for the opportunity to play at Duke, etc. Miles and Mason seem like great kids. I don't feel like I know as much about Kelly and Czyz, and the walk-ons are certainly mysteries, but individually and collectively, I agree with what you said -- what a good group of guys.

[lpd1982]

Those who know these guys can attest to one other thing these guys have in common. THEY LOVE DUKE! Truly they love Duke, even beyond Duke basketball they are proud of being Duke students. I think most of us on the board feel that way too and so we connect with this bunch of guys in a special way. Who wouldn't love a guy who when given the NIT winner's watch says, "They could have given me the box and I woulda been happy." Yea Nolan.

[Azdukefan]

Agreed, this team is extremely likeable. Granted, if you're a Duke fan, you're going to like every team, but we can probably agree there were some players in the past who weren't as, uh, endearing as others.

The three guys you singled out all have different reason to be appreciated, too. Scheyer just plays such a beautiful game, it's going to be a shame that some people won't realize how much they miss him until he's gone. Combine that with an attitude that has been incredibly poised since his freshman year, great leadership and a deep appreciation and commitment to what he's doing and there's just so much to like.

Smith, meanwhile, just exudes so much personality -- and it's all positive. The kid is just constantly smiling, cracking jokes, etc. And he has some flare to his game that is great to see.

And Singler has a dose of Scheyer's poise, but a bit more of an edge to him. And he just plays so damn hard. Add in his considerable skill and that's quite a package.

And that's not meant to shortchange the other guys on the team, too. Think about all the foot problems Zoubs has pushed through, Lance's energy and willingness to battle when out of position, Dawkins' infectious enthusiasm for the opportunity to play at Duke, etc. Miles and Mason seem like great kids. I don't feel like I know as much about Kelly and Czyz, and the walk-ons are certainly mysteries, but individually and collectively, I agree with what you said -- what a good group of guys.

I am on record at about the midpoint in the 2006-2007 season as saying I did not like that team. I do however....love this team!

[slower]

Just had to post a quick one and get this off my chest. Regardless of how we fare this season, I'm considering myself lucky to be a Duke fan/alum this year. In over 20 years of watching the team, Scheyer, Smith and Singler are among my favorite Duke players ever. I get a smile from watching them, on and off the court.

We may not realize just how blessed we were to have these guys until a few years down the road. Three of the ALL-TIME most loveable Duke players. And I think we may someday be saying the same about some of our current underclassmen.

Also, I'll bet that this year's Senior Day may be one of the most emotional in recent memory.

[Welcome2DaSlopes]

Let's not forget how lovable Dre is.

[hq2]

Gee. we just love 'em all to death, don't we! They're just such a great bunch of guys. But seriously, folks... There have been Duke teams that I thought were likeable, and some that actually weren't. I'd say two teams on the extreme end would be the 2001 championship team (great bunch of guys, all) and the '99 team that lost to Uconn, which I actually disliked to the point where I was rooting for Uconn to upset them. They were so blatantly pre-NBA that they went out and partied the night before the championship game to celebrate going to the pros; that's how little they cared about Duke!

[DukeCO2009]

Let's not forget how lovable Dre is.

Dre is going to go down as one of my all-time favorites. I can already tell. The kid just has the "it" factor.

[ChicagoCrazy84]

Dre will turn out to be my Trajan Langdon. The Alaskan Assassin is still my all time favorite Duke player with JJ being a close 2nd. Andre is going to turn out to be one of the go-to guys in the next couple years similar to Trajan, with hopefully a team that is just as stacked.

[oldnavy]

I think this team likes each other as well. The chemistry is there.

Andre reminds me off Charlie in the Willy Wonka story. He is just so dang happy and thrilled to be there (here)! It is quite refreshing to see.

[Edouble]

Gee. we just love 'em all to death, don't we! They're just such a great bunch of guys. But seriously, folks... There have been Duke teams that I thought were likeable, and some that actually weren't. I'd say two teams on the extreme end would be the 2001 championship team (great bunch of guys, all) and the '99 team that lost to Uconn, which I actually disliked to the point where I was rooting for Uconn to upset them. They were so blatantly pre-NBA that they went out and partied the night before the championship game to celebrate going to the pros; that's how little they cared about Duke!

Rooting against Coach K, Battier, Langdon, and Cwell? Really?

Please feel free to leave at any time.

[Heelkiller1]

The 01 Championship team was probaly my favorite team but this years team is growing on me more and more every day.GO DUKE

[jv001]

Gee. we just love 'em all to death, don't we! They're just such a great bunch of guys. But seriously, folks... There have been Duke teams that I thought were likeable, and some that actually weren't. I'd say two teams on the extreme end would be the 2001 championship team (great bunch of guys, all) and the '99 team that lost to Uconn, which I actually disliked to the point where I was rooting for Uconn to upset them. They were so blatantly pre-NBA that they went out and partied the night before the championship game to celebrate going to the pros; that's how little they cared about Duke!

Rooting against Duke? And we played Uconn? I must love Duke more that you. I could never root for anyone over them. But I would be interested in the players that were out partying the night before the FF game. The years team has some special players and I will hate to see them leave. Go Duke!

[Duvall]

Gee. we just love 'em all to death, don't we! They're just such a great bunch of guys. But seriously, folks... There have been Duke teams that I thought were likeable, and some that actually weren't. I'd say two teams on the extreme end would be the 2001 championship team (great bunch of guys, all) and the '99 team that lost to Uconn, which I actually disliked to the point where I was rooting for Uconn to upset them. They were so blatantly pre-NBA that they went out and partied the night before the championship game to celebrate going to the pros; that's how little they cared about Duke!

Yeah, *they* didn't care about Duke.

[Azdukefan]

Gee. we just love 'em all to death, don't we! They're just such a great bunch of guys. But seriously, folks... There have been Duke teams that I thought were likeable, and some that actually weren't. I'd say two teams on the extreme end would be the 2001 championship team (great bunch of guys, all) and the '99 team that lost to Uconn, which I actually disliked to the point where I was rooting for Uconn to upset them. They were so blatantly pre-NBA that they went out and partied the night before the championship game to celebrate going to the pros; that's how little they cared about Duke!

Root against Duke? That is sacreligious in my house. Again I was not a fan of the 2006-2007 team but never once did I root against them (I felt horrible when Maynor hit that shot). The 99 team was actually my favorite team ever. Can you say swagger?

[hq2]

I'm going to respond to these posts about the 99 team. I agree the 99 team had several great guys on it; Langdon, Carawell, Battier, and Nate James are all among my favorites. However, it had a number of other players who were marginal students who were only there to get their NBAs, including Corey Maggette, who has since gone on to be a very selfish NBA player, Elton Brand who was already thinking about the pros at the time, and Chris Burgess who was an overated whiner. William Avery I kind of actually liked, but he made a foolish decision to leave early, and as it turns out, did not actually have an NBA game.

In addition to not representing the Duke tradition of bona-fide student athletes, I also did not like the way that team played. They were very intimidating and thuggy, and played an ugly, physical style of ball. In addition, I thought the media had way over-rated them that year; they had kind of forgotten about Uconn who finished 34-2, and had been No. 1 most of the year. Duke that year was like Vegas in '91; a team with lots of NBA players who had played easy comp most of the year (the ACC sucked that year) and had not played really tough comp (except Cincinnati) until the end
of the year. They were set up for a fall the same way Vegas was in '91, only this time, we got to play the bad guys.

[Duvall]

I'm going to respond to these posts about the 99 team. I agree the 99 team had several great guys on it; Langdon, Carawell, Battier, and Nate James are all among my favorites. However, it had a number of other players who were marginal students who were only there to get their NBAs, including Corey Maggette, who has since gone on to be a very selfish NBA player, Elton Brand who was already thinking about the pros at the time, and Chris Burgess who was an overated whiner. William Avery I kind of actually liked, but he made a foolish decision to leave early, and as it turns out, did not actually have an NBA game.

In addition to not representing the Duke tradition of bona-fide student athletes, I also did not like the way that team played. They were very intimidating and thuggy, and played an ugly, physical style of ball.

Stop digging.

[Edouble]

Stop digging.

Grrr... you are a bigger man than me, sir. It's hard not to write a response to that post, but I will take your lead and let it pass.

Go Duke!!!

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I'm going to respond to these posts about the 99 team. I agree the 99 team had several great guys on it; Langdon, Carawell, Battier, and Nate James are all among my favorites. However, it had a number of other players who were marginal students who were only there to get their NBAs, including Corey Maggette, who has since gone on to be a very selfish NBA player, Elton Brand who was already thinking about the pros at the time, and Chris Burgess who was an overated whiner. William Avery I kind of actually liked, but he made a foolish decision to leave early, and as it turns out, did not actually have an NBA game.

In addition to not representing the Duke tradition of bona-fide student athletes, I also did not like the way that team played. They were very intimidating and thuggy, and played an ugly, physical style of ball. In addition, I thought the media had way over-rated them that year; they had kind of forgotten about Uconn who finished 34-2, and had been No. 1 most of the year. Duke that year was like Vegas in '91; a team with lots of NBA players who had played easy comp most of the year (the ACC sucked that year) and had not played really tough comp (except Cincinnati) until the end
of the year. They were set up for a fall the same way Vegas was in '91, only this time, we got to play the bad guys.

Your comments about the personalities and styles of individual players makes me curious. Did you happen to know them personally or are your comments based on seeing them on TV? My question is an attempt to try to understand the comments in your post.

[Azdukefan]

I'm going to respond to these posts about the 99 team. I agree the 99 team had several great guys on it; Langdon, Carawell, Battier, and Nate James are all among my favorites. However, it had a number of other players who were marginal students who were only there to get their NBAs, including Corey Maggette, who has since gone on to be a very selfish NBA player, Elton Brand who was already thinking about the pros at the time, and Chris Burgess who was an overated whiner. William Avery I kind of actually liked, but he made a foolish decision to leave early, and as it turns out, did not actually have an NBA game.

In addition to not representing the Duke tradition of bona-fide student athletes, I also did not like the way that team played. They were very intimidating and thuggy, and played an ugly, physical style of ball. In addition, I thought the media had way over-rated them that year; they had kind of forgotten about Uconn who finished 34-2, and had been No. 1 most of the year. Duke that year was like Vegas in '91; a team with lots of NBA players who had played easy comp most of the year (the ACC sucked that year) and had not played really tough comp (except Cincinnati) until the end
of the year. They were set up for a fall the same way Vegas was in '91, only this time, we got to play the bad guys.

Ill take the bait. Are you truly a Duke fan or a troll? I would bet the latter. Your summation of the 99 team seems to be way off base. Quite simply, the ACC on a horrible year is still one of the best conferences in the country. Call me crazy, but I would take the 99 Duke team over any team outside of 01 team in a game battle. If I were you, I might let this one die.