Players You Couldn't Help But Like

[NSDukeFan]

Definitely Juan Dixon. Rodney Monroe from N.C. St. Bryant Stith from U.Va. Dennis Scott and Kenny Anderson from Tech. Rodney Rogers, Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress from Wake.

I agree almost completely with this list. The one guy I haven't seen mentioned yet that I would add is James Forrest from Georgia Tech as he was strong, athletic and I believe hit a buzzer beater in the NCAAT one year.

[jv001]

I'll go with David Thompson, Fire & Ice, Thurl Bailey and Hodge from NC State, Bobby Jones, Walter Davis, Jeff Lamp, Childress from Wake and Dixon from the Terps. GoDuke!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Julius Hodge was a really good player and a refreshing personality. Fun kid who seemed to not take himself too seriously.

Good names, everyone. Thanks for sticking to the spirit of the thread.

[Kdogg]

Very close, apparently.

Sports medicine is not my area of expertise. How does this work?

Damn auto correct. I'm old and don't think I will ever get use to typing on a phone.

[markbdevil]

Wally Walker and Marc Ivaroni

[flyingdutchdevil]

"I like you cus you have talent" - Chris Paul
"I like you cus you are atypical for how I view your program" - Marcus Paige
"I like you cus you played well against Duke" - Grevis Vasquez (sp?)
"I like you cus you made me laugh" - Julius Hodge
"I like you cus I admire your program" - Sean Singleton
"I like you cus I wish you were a Duke player" - Malcolm Brogdon

[Edouble]

In all seriousness, my list is:

Juan Dixon
Antawn Jamison
Jarrett Jack
Julius Hodge
Randolph Childress
Pat Connaughton

[elvis14]

I'm sure I'll add to this list but:

UVa - Ralph Sampson, Bryant Stith
UMD - Len Bias, Greivis Vasquez
WF - Tim Duncan, Rodney Rogers, Chris Paul
GT - Kenny Anderson, Dennis Scott, John Sally, Mark Price
NCSU - Chris Corchiani, Julias Hodge, Tom Gugliotta
FSU - Sam Cassell, Bobby Sura
Clemson - Dale Davis, Elden Campbell, Marion Cash
UNCheat -

My first thoguht when I saw this thread was Vasquez because I knew he'd be hated but he played well and mixed it up with the Crazies. I grew up in Virginia and loved watching Sampson. Bias, sigh, what could have been. He was incredible. I loved Kenny Anderson at GT. His ball handling was so much fun to watch. Gugliotta was probably my favorite State player. Loved the way he went from being a nobody to being great by his senior year. Cassell, that little alien played so much better than it looked like he would and Sura was just fun to watch. I went to Grad School at Clemson when those 3 guys were there. UNCheat - I hope every player from UNC misses every shot they take every time in every game they play NCAA, NBA, XBox, playground HORSE, pop-a-shot, throwing trash in the trash can, etc. screw those cheating !%#$s.

[rasputin]

Buck Williams
Tim Duncan

[1999ballboy]

I've gotta mention Brice Johnson here. He has some of the best and most underrated post skills I've seen. If I were a Heels fan I'd have been cursing Roy for three years watching him over-rotate Johnson with far less talented big men.

[scottdude8]

Up until the moment we played them in the final last year, I'd always loved Frank the Tank... and also, whoever the interchangeable 7-foot tall fundamentally sound but athletically challenged center Wisconsin has in a given year, since they almost ALWAYS have one. In general Wisconsin is always my second favorite B10 team after Michigan.

[JNort]

I've gotta mention Brice Johnson here. He has some of the best and most underrated post skills I've seen. If I were a Heels fan I'd have been cursing Roy for three years watching him over-rotate Johnson with far less talented big men.

Nobody misuses talent like Roy. Bruce yells too much for me though.

[wavedukefan70s]

Corchiani from state.kenny Anderson from tech.duncan .i really liked eric montross.guy played tough.

[kAzE]

I can't help but like Brice Johnson. I've always thought of him as a more important (and frankly more talented) player than Paige, and never understood the media love fest for Paige. He's consistently the most overrated player in the country. I believe he was a preseason 1st team AA last year? He's NOT THAT GOOD. The first time I saw Johnson play even as a freshman, I said to myself "Wow, that guy is a monster rebounder, with amazing quickness and offensive skill for his size. If he ever bulks up, he'd be the best big man in the ACC."

Now he's probably the front runner for ACC POY. Good for Brice, bad for us.

[sagegrouse]

Too busy to build an encyclopedia, but for UNC I would mention not only Antawn Jamison but also Brad Daugherty (he gets major chops for being a NASCAR broadcaster).

[jacone21]

Very close, apparently.

Sports medicine is not my area of expertise. How does this work?

It's really just a matter of timing.


I liked Dixon and Blake. I don't think we'll ever see sustained back and forth battles like Duke/UMD had from 2000 through 2002 again. Too many guys leave now.

[Neals384]

In light of all the discussion of hated players, I decided to start a thread on players from other ACC teams you couldn't help but like. I will start with two players from teams that I usually despise, but definitely rooted for when they weren't playing Duke.

Juan Dixon - Maryland. Tough kid, extremely intense competitor. Couldn't stand Maryland teams of that era or Gary Williams, but Dixon was hard to not respect if not enjoy watching.

Marcus Paige. I might get throttled for this one, but his grit and determination has willed the Evil Empire to what seems like dozens of victories in the last few years that they wouldn't have without him on the floor. He fights through injuries and adversity, frequently seems like the only player on UNC that can hit from outside, and loves having the ball in his hands in big game situations. Seems to be a good kid by all accounts.

Please, let's keep this positive, and share the players from other schools that you couldn't help but enjoy watching play.

Paige was certainly clutch last night, nailing three out of four free throws in the final seconds to ice the comeback against the tough and determined Eagles.

[wsb3]

PACK- really enjoyed the back court of Monroe, Corchiani, David Thompson, TJ Warren
Heels- so respected Phil Ford..I also like Paige. Brad Daugherty
WF Childress for sure.. Charlie Davis, Duncan,
UVA Jeff Lamp, Brian Stith,
Clemson, Butch Zatezalo, Larry Nance, Greg Buckner
Terps Bias, Dixon,
GT Price, Dalrymple, Scott.. the Lethal Weapon 3 squad was one of my favorite non Duke teams to watch.

I am sure I left many out..

[Albert]

Rasheed Sulaimon.

[wsb3]

I don't think we'll ever see sustained back and forth battles like Duke/UMD had from 2000 through 2002 again. Too many guys leave now.

Those were some great battles. This past summer when I was laid up from ankle surgery I watched a lot of Duke games & watched all the ones Duke won during that period. Great games.