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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Santa Clara, CA

    Top 20 Duke Plays Ever

    Quote Originally Posted by Neals384 View Post
    This. Zion was far and away the most exciting to watch, made the most amazing plays, made the most "top10's," did the most unbelievable things. Ever. If you compiled a video of the most amazing Duke plays ever, you'd put "the shot" at number 1, but Zion might have 5 of the next 10.
    Not arguing with that Zion was not must-see. He was. But I started thinking about what was said about Top 10 Duke plays.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it's hard to concretely define "top". I quickly drew up a list of memorable plays in my Duke lifetime. I came up with more than 10, which is why this is a Top 20. I've probably forget a few, but these came to mind in about 5 minutes of thinking:

    (Note - these are in no particular order of importance, just in the order of what came to my mind):

    1. Laettner's Shot 2 vs. UK ‘92 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    2. Laettner's Shot 1 vs. UConn ‘90 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    3. Hurley's 3 vs UNLV ‘91
    4. PHenderson's dunk over Mourning vs. Georgetown ‘89
    5. Zion's shot, board and put back vs. Carolina ‘18
    6. Dockery's prayer vs. VaTech ‘06 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    7. Rivers' shot vs. UNC ‘12 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    8. Banks' shot vs. UNC ‘81 (buzzer beater - no time left, went to OT)
    9. GHill's alley oop dunk vs. Kansas ‘91
    10. Zion's block on Hunter vs. UVA ‘18
    11. Duhon's coast-to-coast vs. UNC ‘04
    12. Reddish's 3 vs FSU ‘18
    13. Dawkins reverse slam vs. Navy ‘86
    14. Capel's prayer vs. UNC '95 (buzzer beater - no time left, went to 2nd OT)
    15. James' put back vs. Maryland '01 (tourney)
    16. Jones' 3 vs. Wisconsin '15
    17. GHenderson's coast-to-coast vs. Belmont '08
    18. GHenderson's bloodies Tyler Hansbrough's face vs. UNC '07 (I can be talked out of this being a play, sure. But I'm putting it up for now. 9F. I'd add Andre Buckner and Chris Collins standing up to Doh in '03, but I guess it really wasn't a play. Or K screaming at Dean - "Kcuf you, Dean!!!" But I loved those moments).
    19. Dawkins block on Rivers vs. Notre Dame '86
    20. ?

    For those of you that have followed Duke for many years, I think you should know all of these without further explanation. I think that's one of the criteria - you just need to say something like "Grant's alley oop" or "The Rivers shot", and everyone knows what you mean.

    I also considered JWill's plays vs. Maryland in the miracle minute. Or Allen's Wisconsin performance in '15, but they were actually a series of plays. Sure, I remember the JWill's steal and 3 when Mike Patrick was saying Duke needed a miracle. And Allen putting the team on his back and screaming, "C'mon!!!!!". So if you push hard, I'd add them to the list. Grudgingly, I'd take off Hansbrough's broken nose. But for now, they are off.

    When a play goes down as the game winner, it's hard to compare it to a play in the course of a game. And some plays are in pressure moments that just seem huge (like Hurley's or Jones' 3). But considering some plays kept the season alive with a chance to go to the Final Four, I'm OK with saying my first two above are probably my first two if I had to rank them. And I'd put Rivers' shot high up as well, because Duke snatched victory from the jaws of defeat vs. Carolina. But the others are debatable to me in terms of order. And is Reddish's shot recency bias? I don't know.

    I know I'm forgetting some plays. I just can't remember them now in the spur of the moment. Please remind me. That's why I have a spot left.

    9F (and still trying to forget the MSU game)
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by kako View Post
    Not arguing with that Zion was not must-see. He was. But I started thinking about what was said about Top 10 Duke plays.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it's hard to concretely define "top". I quickly drew up a list of memorable plays in my Duke lifetime. I came up with more than 10, which is why this is a Top 20. I've probably forget a few, but these came to mind in about 5 minutes of thinking:

    (Note - these are in no particular order of importance, just in the order of what came to my mind):

    1. Laettner's Shot 2 vs. UK ‘92 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    2. Laettner's Shot 1 vs. UConn ‘90 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    3. Hurley's 3 vs UNLV ‘91
    4. PHenderson's dunk over Mourning vs. Georgetown ‘89
    5. Zion's shot, board and put back vs. Carolina ‘18
    6. Dockery's prayer vs. VaTech ‘06 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    7. Rivers' shot vs. UNC ‘12 (buzzer beater win - no time left)
    8. Banks' shot vs. UNC ‘81 (buzzer beater - no time left, went to OT)
    9. GHill's alley oop dunk vs. Kansas ‘91
    10. Zion's block on Hunter vs. UVA ‘18
    11. Duhon's coast-to-coast vs. UNC ‘04
    12. Reddish's 3 vs FSU ‘18
    13. Dawkins reverse slam vs. Navy ‘86
    14. Capel's prayer vs. UNC '95 (buzzer beater - no time left, went to 2nd OT)
    15. James' put back vs. Maryland '01 (tourney)
    16. Jones' 3 vs. Wisconsin '15
    17. GHenderson's coast-to-coast vs. Belmont '08
    18. GHenderson's bloodies Tyler Hansbrough's face vs. UNC '07 (I can be talked out of this being a play, sure. But I'm putting it up for now. 9F. I'd add Andre Buckner and Chris Collins standing up to Doh in '03, but I guess it really wasn't a play. Or K screaming at Dean - "Kcuf you, Dean!!!" But I loved those moments).
    19. Dawkins block on Rivers vs. Notre Dame '86
    20. ?

    For those of you that have followed Duke for many years, I think you should know all of these without further explanation. I think that's one of the criteria - you just need to say something like "Grant's alley oop" or "The Rivers shot", and everyone knows what you mean.

    I also considered JWill's plays vs. Maryland in the miracle minute. Or Allen's Wisconsin performance in '15, but they were actually a series of plays. Sure, I remember the JWill's steal and 3 when Mike Patrick was saying Duke needed a miracle. And Allen putting the team on his back and screaming, "C'mon!!!!!". So if you push hard, I'd add them to the list. Grudgingly, I'd take off Hansbrough's broken nose. But for now, they are off.

    When a play goes down as the game winner, it's hard to compare it to a play in the course of a game. And some plays are in pressure moments that just seem huge (like Hurley's or Jones' 3). But considering some plays kept the season alive with a chance to go to the Final Four, I'm OK with saying my first two above are probably my first two if I had to rank them. And I'd put Rivers' shot high up as well, because Duke snatched victory from the jaws of defeat vs. Carolina. But the others are debatable to me in terms of order. And is Reddish's shot recency bias? I don't know.

    I know I'm forgetting some plays. I just can't remember them now in the spur of the moment. Please remind me. That's why I have a spot left.

    9F (and still trying to forget the MSU game)
    Battier's back of hand tip in - '01 Championship game.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by nmduke2001 View Post
    Battier's back of hand tip.
    Ad his chase down block.

  4. #4
    Battier's backhand flip Battier's chasedown block. Redick knowing what play UNC is running. Scheyer's behind the back flip of ball down the court. Lance Thomas's putback dunk against Baylor. Those all belong in the top 20.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Heyman before Chris Paul made it a thing...

    And the rest of the melee.

    -jk

  6. #6
    I tried to think of 6 or 7 before looking at your list and they are all there. I'll have to think about it to add more.

    I think this thread is a great counterpoint to the Zion is the <insert however many superlatives you'd like here> player narrative (specifically with regard to entertainment, excitement, being the most important player on the court, etc.).

    Zion has been great fun to watch, but most of his "spectacular" plays were of a mundane variety, in that they weren't essential, game-winning, destiny-of-the-team-changing plays. They don't really compare to the items on this list, IMO. I mean, I brought a VHS tape of the Dockery shot in to high school so that one of my teachers could watch it. I remember in detail, to this day, describing Duhon's reverse layup to other guys in my gym class the next day. Etc. I think I might put *one* of Zion's plays in the top 20 Duke plays (3rd Carolina game), but I think that might be generous.

    I'll remember moments like the block for quite a while, but those plays don't equate to the historic ones.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I think it's kind of poor taste to list Hansbrough's bloody nose on there. I hate UNC as much as the next guy, but it was already a borderline dirty play and Duke lost the game anyway.

  8. #8
    His and one play against CF probably should make it had he made the FT, but ironically him missing it ended up benefiting Duke more.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian View Post
    His and one play against CF probably should make it had he made the FT, but ironically him missing it ended up benefiting Duke more.
    I don't recall that the team played the College of Central Florida this year. They did, on the other hand, play the UCF Knights.

    It ain't rocket surgery, folks.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Ian View Post
    Battier's backhand flip Battier's chasedown block. Redick knowing what play UNC is running. Scheyer's behind the back flip of ball down the court. Lance Thomas's putback dunk against Baylor. Those all belong in the top 20.
    Might add in Battier's block on Juan Dixon to end the Miracle Minute Game. Zoubek challenging Heyward's shot and rebounding the miss at the end of 2010 Championship (plus bonus for making the first free throw)? Grant dunking on Eric Montross.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Santa Clara, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by nmduke2001 View Post
    Battier's back of hand tip in - '01 Championship game.
    Ah, agree. I knew I forgot something. Probably others, too. But I'd stick this in the top 20.

    9F
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    High Point, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by nmduke2001 View Post
    Battier's back of hand tip in - '01 Championship game.


    From this game as well...the Williams triple to put us up 8 with ~2 minutes to play (in the same manner as Tyus in the '15 championship game) is one I've watched back a ton of times. Especially considering how poor he played throughout the game.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Rougemont Nebulae
    Quote Originally Posted by FerryFor50 View Post
    I think it's kind of poor taste to list Hansbrough's bloody nose on there. I hate UNC as much as the next guy, but it was already a borderline dirty play and Duke lost the game anyway.
    Sub in his slam against Maryland. Loved Bilas's reaction as well (wait what, love for Bilas OMG!!)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6-4b5jrun0

  14. #14
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ian View Post
    Battier's backhand flip Battier's chasedown block. Redick knowing what play UNC is running. Scheyer's behind the back flip of ball down the court. Lance Thomas's putback dunk against Baylor. Those all belong in the top 20.
    Already agreed that Battier's tip should be there. Honestly, I didn't remember the Scheyer out of bounds play vs. Texas until I googled it. Yeah, it was a wow play - if it had resulted in a breakaway bucket, it would have been legendary. I might add that to my list. Thomas' dunk was when Duke was already up - to me, it was still close but not a game changer. But my list doesn't have to be your list. Redick knowing what play UNC was running - please refresh my memory.

    Anyway, just curious - what would you remove from my list for the last 3?

    9F
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  15. #15
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    Apr 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLPOG View Post
    I think I might put *one* of Zion's plays in the top 20 Duke plays (3rd Carolina game), but I think that might be generous.
    Oh, that was spectacular. It showed Zion in a nutshell - quickness, ball handling, relentlessness, hops, rebounding, touch. It's on my list.

    And I'll stick by the Zion block on Hunter. I've never seen anything quite like that in college.

    9F
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Santa Clara, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by FerryFor50 View Post
    I think it's kind of poor taste to list Hansbrough's bloody nose on there. I hate UNC as much as the next guy, but it was already a borderline dirty play and Duke lost the game anyway.
    I guess I hate them more. All I can say is 9F.

    9F
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Santa Clara, CA
    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    Heyman before Chris Paul made it a thing...

    And the rest of the melee.

    -jk
    I thought about that, but being that it was well before my Duke lifetime, I didn't include it. But I probably would have, if I had been around then.

    I would have loved watching Art Heyman. I'll say it again - how it Todd Lichti going into the HOF when Art Heyman is not there?

    9F
    I will never talk about That Game. GTHC.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    Heyman before Chris Paul made it a thing...

    And the rest of the melee.

    -jk
    Unfortunately...

    You must spread some Comments around before commenting on -jk again.
    Bob Green

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by kako View Post
    I guess I hate them more. All I can say is 9F.

    9F
    It's in poor taste and has also spent considerable time as my phone's wallpaper.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    North of Durham
    I generally prefer to focus on the positives and plays made by Duke, but could one argue that a play like Hayward's heave not going in in the championship game also be one of the greatest?

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