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Zion - best basketball player ever at duke?

crazyduke3

crazyduke3

Devils Illustrated Hall of Famer
Mar 28, 2010
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So a lot left undone for this season, but as things are Zion is the club house leader for NPOY , as a freshman.


So we had a similar topic earlier this year but in terms of among Duke players, thinking about best players( not best season), where are we thinking Zion ends up? It’s at least top 3 right? I have to honestly think only Grant is in the same breath.

What do you think?
 
Certainly the most physically talented and that is saying a lot. Bagely was pretty awesome too from a physical standpoint. Battier is still my favorite, but Zion will be right there with him. I rarely follow players once they leave because I am not an NBA fan, but I will follow Zion.
 
springsportster said:
Certainly the most physically talented and that is saying a lot. Bagely was pretty awesome too from a physical standpoint. Battier is still my favorite, but Zion will be right there with him. I rarely follow players once they leave because I am not an NBA fan, but I will follow Zion.
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Yeah but Bagley was terrible on defense. Zion is a much better player all around than Bags.
 
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Zion is awesome, and the most incredible, mind blowing force of nature I've ever seen...but he isn't the greatest basketball player to play at Duke. There are several contenders to the crown of greatest Duke basketball player, but to me it's Laettner, and it's not even close.

Don't think that this is any kind of knock on Zion because it isn't...he is SPECIAL. But Laettner (and others such as Grant) have a resume that Zion can't possibly match in one season.

OFC
 
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OldasdirtDevil said:
Zion is awesome, and the most incredible, mind blowing force of nature I've ever seen...but he isn't the greatest basketball player to play at Duke. There are several contenders to the crown of greatest Duke basketball player, but to me it's Laettner, and it's not even close.

Don't think that this is any kind of knock on Zion because it isn't...he is SPECIAL. But Laettner (and others such as Grant) have a resume that Zion can't possibly match in one season.

OFC
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#You're old
 
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I am a huge fan of the guy, but not by a long shot for me.
 
I think some are missing what he is asking. Is Zion the best player ever at Duke - meaning, assume all guys who have ever played are at their peak. Pick the best player. Like Jordan is the best player ever to play for UNC, even though others had better UNC careers.
Grant Hill is probably the most obvious choice. Had Grant not been derailed by injuries, he would have had an even more special career (post-Duke). Christian had the best Duke career, but at their peak, there are a few guys who were better players than him who have been at Duke.
I think it's a bit too early to call Zion the best ever. We'll have to wait until he hits his peak (which is scary).
 
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skysdad said:
With all due respect. No. He's only going to be with us a few more games. OFC
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crazyduke3 said:
Who do you think is the best basketball player duke has had then?
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skysdad said:
Laettner or Grant Hill. OFC
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I would have to say Laettner or Hurley followed by Battier or Hill.

Stayed all 4 years.
Each has two championships
Each has NCAA records

Zion's portfolio of work is not the same.

Can't write that and it not feel like I am dissing Zion. Greatest freshman? Greatest one-and-done? Sure.
 
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I’m 27. The guy I remember the most and I guess is the best I saw was JJ Redick. Or is that just my favorite?....I don’t know.
 
If we are talking just pure basketball player then it may be Zion but I think you need to figure in all the intangibles and I am going to war with Laettner.
 
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dukephysics said:
I think some are missing what he is asking. Is Zion the best player ever at Duke - meaning, assume all guys who have ever played are at their peak. Pick the best player. Like Jordan is the best player ever to play for UNC, even though others had better UNC careers.
Grant Hill is probably the most obvious choice. Had Grant not been derailed by injuries, he would have had an even more special career (post-Duke). Christian had the best Duke career, but at their peak, there are a few guys who were better players than him who have been at Duke.
I think it's a bit too early to call Zion the best ever. We'll have to wait until he hits his peak (which is scary).
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You get it lol. Doesn’t mean he is though, no wrong answers!
 
I think first, to honestly answer the questiion, you have to imagine him playing against the other guys that we have in top of the list.
In my opinion, Battier was our best ever defensive player. Picture them in a game opposing each other. Does Battier shut him down? Man, I don't know!! I don't see anyone doing that.

I do think Grant would get past him and be able to score on him.

Best ever? Judging off of just one season? Not sure, but I will say it this way. If I were going to compose a team made of only Duke players, there is NO WAY he isn't on my starting 5.
 
dukephysics said:
I think some are missing what he is asking. Is Zion the best player ever at Duke - meaning, assume all guys who have ever played are at their peak. Pick the best player. Like Jordan is the best player ever to play for UNC, even though others had better UNC careers.
Grant Hill is probably the most obvious choice. Had Grant not been derailed by injuries, he would have had an even more special career (post-Duke). Christian had the best Duke career, but at their peak, there are a few guys who were better players than him who have been at Duke.
I think it's a bit too early to call Zion the best ever. We'll have to wait until he hits his peak (which is scary).
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Exactly. But wayyy too early to know. Honestly, you kind of have to see how their NBA career shakes out. Tatum could end up being the best basketball player who ever wore Duke blue....but he doesn't come close to even having a Top 20 season at Duke. Could easily be RJ Barrett if he turns into James Harden 2.0. Kyrie, Bagley, Reddish, who knows.

Laettner has to go down as the best Duke player ever (4 FFs, 2 titles, MOP, 2 time ACC athlete of the year, etc.). But Laettner clearly wasn't the best basketball player ever. Just like Tim Tebow isn't the best football player to ever play at UF, he is the best UF player ever.
 
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He is the best to ever play here. He won’t have the legacy and career numbers of some all time greats but if I pick one guy ever from duke to go to battle with and win a game I’m taking him
 
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pisgah101 said:
He is the best to ever play here. He won’t have the legacy and career numbers of some all time greats but if I pick one guy ever from duke to go to battle with and win a game I’m taking him
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Spot on. It’s not fair to him that the system is the way it is. He is an unbelievable talent, a better teammate, and a great representative for Duke.
I may have complained about some of our one and dones, but the only complaint I have on Zion is I only get to see him for one season.
 
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crazyduke3 said:
So a lot left undone for this season, but as things are Zion is the club house leader for NPOY , as a freshman.


So we had a similar topic earlier this year but in terms of among Duke players, thinking about best players( not best season), where are we thinking Zion ends up? It’s at least top 3 right? I have to honestly think only Grant is in the same breath.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
As far as having the best Duke career...no, unless he for some reason decides to stay for 2-3 more years lol. Now, could be be the best overall player, if you are talking entire career? Sure, but he's still got a long ways to go.
 
Zion is great, and I’d say he’s probably the most talented OAD we’ve had (if Kyrie didn’t get hurt that may be different), but until someone plays 22/24 possible NCAA tournament games, wins two titles, has a perfect night shooting including the most memorable shot in NCAA history, then it’s hard to top Laettner. This is a college career only comparison. No doubt Zion has a more promising NBA career ahead of him.
 
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I don't think you can judge one player is better because one of them won a title and one didn't. I just don't think we've ever seen anything like Zion in college. Not at Duke, not anywhere else. I think against any of our former players, Zion is still gonna be the Zion we are watching. His quickness, ability to move with the ball, jumping ability with his size is just crazy.
If he is on the 92' team, what kind of stats does he put up?
 
DukefanKY said:
I don't think you can judge one player is better because one of them won a title and one didn't. I just don't think we've ever seen anything like Zion in college. Not at Duke, not anywhere else. I think against any of our former players, Zion is still gonna be the Zion we are watching. His quickness, ability to move with the ball, jumping ability with his size is just crazy.
If he is on the 92' team, what kind of stats does he put up?
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Fair point. Athletically, he probably is the best.
 
If you are just talking about best, most dominant player for the time period he played, Kyrie is right there. I was amazed that he could score any time he wanted, and also was a defensive force due to just being smarter to everyone he played against. I would call Kyrie 1a, Zion 1b, or the other way around.
 
This is an impossible question to answer. We have no way to know what he would have done in games that our past great players played in. What's really great in my opinion is to have someone like him, and not be able to definitively say, and agree that he is our best ever. That just speaks to what a great collection of players we have enjoyed!!!
 
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Like others have already said above.. it is way too difficult to compare players from different eras with the now one and done era to guys that played 4 years in the 90's and early 2000's And what if we had a healthy Kyrie for all of 2010-2011... we may have went back to back.

Laettner is almost impossible to dethrone with all that he accomplished in his 4 years at Duke.

With all that said... I think I would have Zion in my own personal top 10 list of all time great Duke players even with him only playing 1 season. And that list would include warriors like Dawkins, Laettner, Hill, Hurley, Redick, Battier, Jay Williams, Singler, etc.. I personally think Zion is that good and he has made that big of an impact on Duke. Here's to hoping he helps Duke cut down the nets in April and further cements his legacy on Duke basketball.
 
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