No JJ on All-Duke Team?

Many people have gotten on me for JJ Redick's lack of success and one person said something to me that really stuck in my head: "Coach K never produces NBA talent, just look the best player in Duke's history, JJ, cant even sniff the court."

At first I got defensive but then I though, is he really the best player in Duke history? In fact, would he even be on my All-Duke team? I would have to say no. How often does that happen? Where a player who is your all-time leading scorer isn't even in your top players of all-time?

So, let's take a look at this and for all intent and purposes, let's limit this to the Coach K ERA because I never got to see Dick Groat or even Mike Gminski play.

There are two locks on this team right away: Johnny Dawkins and Christian Laettner. Laettner is arguably one of the greatest college players of all-time so obviously he ranks as one of the highest in Duke history. Dawkins, for really getting the program started as well scoring over 2,600 points in a ERA without a 3-point line.

So, we have a center and a point guard/shooting guard so far. How on Earth can leave off players like Danny Ferry, Shane Battier, and Grant Hill? I will leave Ferry off of the list because he never won a championship. The only player who can make this team without a championship is Dawkins and let's be fair, he almost carried his team to one only losing by 4 to Louisville in the 1986 Title Game. To me, you can't leave Grant Hill off of this team because of how versatile he was for the Blue Devils throughout his whole career. He almost single-handily carried a non-vintage Duke team to a championship against Arkansas in the 1994 Championship Game.

So, now we have Dawkins, Hill, and Laettner. No one else in the 80's really deserves any consideration. Sure, Amaker and Snyder were good players and Billy King was a National Defensive POY but they arent on the same level as these Duke immortals.

Also, for purposes of a All-Duke team, any player who didn't play a full 4-years cannot and will not be considered except for Jason Williams and Carlos Boozer who both graduated in 3 years. Boozer, although he's a man child in the NBA, will not receive any recognition from me.

To me, the battle for the PG position in between Bobby Hurley and Jason Williams. Williams was probably the most talented player outside of Hill that Duke ever had. He got to the rim at will and shot the 3-ball with incredible efficiency. However, his inability to hit free throws in his Junior Year, which culminated with the biggest missed free throw in Duke history coupled with his lack luster performance in the Title Game against Zona the year before, leaves me a bit skeptical about Williams' position among the All-Duke team. Now, Bobby Hurley went to 3 Final 4's but once Laettner left, Hurley went out in the 2nd Round to a better PG, Jason Kidd from Cal who I hear is pretty good now. In the end, Hurley will beat out Williams because of the Final 4's and the fact that Hurley hit one of the biggest shots in Duke history that sparked the upset win over UNLV in 1991.

So, now we have 4 spots filled with Hurley running the point, Dawkins as the off guard, Hill at either forward position and Laettner as the center. To me, that last spot is wide open and could go to Battier, Redick, Shelden Williams or Danny Ferry. Well, I already ruled out Ferry because of the lack of a title so shouldn't I just use the same criteria for Redick and Williams? Well, I probably should but let's look at their resumes. At first glance, Battier gets the edge to me: 3-time National Defensive POY, 2 Final 4's, 2 National Championship Games, National POY, Final 4 MVP, and most of all, he led his team to a championship in 2001. Also, two nights before the title, he sparked a 22-point come from behind victory over Maryland. Take Battier's accomplishments and the fact that Redick and Williams both played poorly in their only Final 4 against UCONN (Redick turned the ball over down 1 and missed a 3 down 3) and Shelden Williams, at least back then, couldn't go a game without fouling out. He had two fouls during the national anthem.

So, here's the All-Duke Team (at least under Coach K excluding early departures):

PG: Bobby Hurley
SG: Johnny Dawkins
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Shane Battier
C: Christian Laettner

Sorry JJ...