That's an odd "all-star team of the decade" they selected for us - Nolan, Grayson, Singler, Zion and Jah. I'd have only put maybe one or two of those guys on it.
Duke getting thrashed by Purdue, 42% to 58% to reach the final four for team of the decade.
Don’t let the haters beat us...
https://twitter.com/marchmadness/sta...312436736?s=21
That's an odd "all-star team of the decade" they selected for us - Nolan, Grayson, Singler, Zion and Jah. I'd have only put maybe one or two of those guys on it.
For an internet popularity contest, I'm honestly surprised Duke made it this far. These sorts of things are magnets for folks to ignore all logic and just vote against the team they dislike.
I'll bite... who would be on your Duke all-decade team?
Only count how they were in college. Don't let pro success factor into your decision.
-Jason "not sure what we do with Kyrie, who showed something really special in the very abbreviated time he was healthy. I think the fair thing would be to disqualify him from consideration" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
My two deep:
Tyus
RJ
Tatum
Zion
Jah
Nolan
Kennard
Justise
Bagley
Carter
With the Kyrie stipulation, still leaving a ton of talent off the team. No Ingram, Hood, or Parker.
No Plumlees. No Amile, Quinn, or Grayson. No Tre.
Brings a smile to my face just thinking about how blessed with talent these teams have been.
I don't know why we would disqualify Kyrie - he was someone who played for us this decade and was spectacular. I guess if we're reading resumes and saying that the rule is you have to pick the 5 most accomplished players yea, you would leave him out. But even if we do include him, when it comes to building the best team I'm tempted to take Scheyer over Kyrie. That guy is seriously under-celebrated. He was so smart and skilled, I always felt like our team was going to make the right play when he was on the floor. No way would I take Grayson over Jon.
I'd go with:
Scheyer
Tyus
Justise
Zion
Marvin
Those are not necessarily the guys with the 5 best resumes this decade, but off the top of my head that might be my five. Great passing, clutch back court, good shooting with everyone on the floor a threat from 3 - Zion with the worst percentage is still at 33%. Carter v. Bagley is a touuuuugh call. Bagley is explosive offensively and a great rebounder and WOW can you imagine him and Zion on the floor together, but Carter is a better defender and shot blocker. Either of them over Jah though, even college Jah.
I feel you have to weigh the NC teams more heavily. I like this list but I'd replace Justise with Singler, Duke's best 3 in the 2000s IMHO. In terms of accomplishments and value to the program I don't think the two are comparable, Singler by a mile. Now that I think about it, replace Marvin with Jah as well. Results matter.
Kennard
Tyus
Tatum
Winslow
Jah
Tough leaving off so many guys but if I had a bench it would have:
Scheyer
Nolan
Bagley
Zion
Singler
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge" -Stephen Hawking
I actually do. I like Justise a whole lot, a WHOLE lot, but Singler was frequently charged with guarding the other teams best player, think Harrison Barnes, and did the dirty work it takes. K said it best when asked what position Kyle plays he responded "Kyle plays winner." It's someone's DBR sig IIRC. Justise, played hard--and a little dirty at times (which never bothered me) but when it comes to a willingness to spill their blood, it seems that Singler and Jah were more willing to take a bullet for the team. Look at Jah's intensity in the Carolina games. Yeah he woofed it up a bit, but he was in, all IN. If anything that is Duke's trademark under K, give everything you have and then give more. The final minute of the Butler NC game, case in point. Kyle comes off a screen around the top of the key and front rims a jumper that he hit just minutes before. Why? Because he is absolutely gassed. It's good that Duke didn't have to go to overtime or else Butler probably would have won. Maybe Bagley didn't have to expend as much energy for the same result but ultimately "better team" is a subjective measure. The objective measure is "championship banners".
Little surprised no one has at least mentioned Cook or Parker...not sure they'd make my team but they'd be in the conversation.
Luke would be a great addition, but there's not a single person in my lineup that you can sag off of other than Zion. Scheyer and Tyus hit at 38%, and Jon took 7 per game as a senior. Marvin and Justise you might be shocked to learn both hit at over 40%, punishing teams that decided to leave them open.
Also, unlike the other guys in my lineup, Luke is relatively lacking in the resume department. I did try to give that some weight and limit myself to guys with titles, or in the case of Marvin and Zion, ACC and NPOY awards.
If you're going with college resumes, it's hard to leave off Singler and Jah. I would leave off Winslow, Tatum ,Tyus and Wendell from the starting lineup. I think first team all-ACC should be a requirement to be considered as a starter, or maybe Final Four MOP, if you want Tyus on the bench. That still leaves Nolan, Scheyer, Mason, Rivers, Parker, Kennard, Grayson, Bagley, Zion, R J. to fight for starting/bench spots. That's a pretty good group to start with.
Agree. My goal was to create the best team that loosely fit the theme of "All Stars" from our program. All my starters were key players from championships or had major individual POY awards. I didn't look for the five MOST decorated players, but the five I thought would make the best team. I agree with everyone, pure accolades and career achievement selections would include Kyle and Jah.
Since it’s a quiet day (until tomorrow, when we upset Alabama), I thought I’d bring up a topic that begs for vitriol.
How many Duke teams could have played competitively in the NBA? The ground rules would be that the team would get to age into its prime, nobody on the team got injured, and—because of the depth issue—they’d play a college schedule of 35 games spread over a few months.
So, for example, the 2002 team would be morphed into 2010 with a lineup of Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy, Dahntay Jones, Chris Duhon, Daniel Ewing, and a healthy Jay Williams. Guys like Nick Horvath and Casey Sanders were non NBA pros and could supply depth. Matt Christiansen could, as well, and he was easily the best player to ever wear #41 until Jack White got recruited, but Matt may not be able to afford the pay cut to play in the NBA. I’d say this team would be successful using the above criteria.
At least a couple other teams could (I think) also compete.
1999 would flash into 2007 and include Shane Battier, William Avery, Elton Brand, Nate James, Trajan Langdon, Corey Maggette and Dr Taymon Domzalski, who could read the xrays for their nonexistent injuries.
1992 would pop into 2000 and feature a peppy Bobby Hurley, an all-world Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, Thomas Hill, Antonio Lang, Cherokee Parks, and an Erik Meek who’s have been a potential pro (imho) if he hadn’t got hit by the drunk driver. I’d guess this team might be as good as 2002’s team, mainly because of Hill, though somebody on the team would need to really improve his 3 point shot.
1986 wouldn’t be good enough to compete on the floor, but they could sure compete off the floor. Looking at guys like Amaker, Bilas, Dawkins, Billy King, Quin Snyder, and Danny Ferry, have any college teammates ever ended up with more influence in their sport? Has any team ever produced 2 NBA GM’s?
Some of the more recent teams obviously have the pros but may not be able to field a deep enough team to actually compete. Though if you included players who woulda been on the team if they’d played 4 years...
Disagree? Others?
Last edited by johnb; 08-30-2019 at 10:29 AM.