I LOVE CHRISTIAN LAETTNER
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Greatest college basketball player of all time????????????? Come on that's a little extreme.....Kareem and Bill Walton may disagree but no doubt he was one of the best ever....I loved the guy but i could see why non duke fans wouldn't
Went to 4 final fours, 3 National championship games, and won 2 National championships. Had 2 buzzer beater shots in the NCAA tourney (including "the shot") and shot 45% from 3-point land (give or take). Also has the most NCAA tournament wins of any college bball player. I can see an argument for the best college basketball player ever, or you can say 1 of the 3 best college players ever.
He's without question the Duke player I'd pick if I had to get one guy to come in and give a 'motivational talk' to the team with my life on the line, and needing a win to save it.
Laettner's hatred for losing can only be rivaled by K, Hurley and Battier.
Laettner's hatred for losing can only be rivaled by K, Hurley and Battier.
It's crazy to think that since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, the most games any player could play in in a four year career is 24 games. Laettner played in 23 of 24 possible games and only lost two of them. That record will not be broken.
Walton and Kareem won 3 titles in only 3 years if I remember correctly....only reason neither went to 4 final fours is because they couldn't play as freshmen or i'm sure they would have.
All I was saying is to call Laettner the greatest ever is not right....both those guys were better IMO....But to call him ONE of the greatest ever then definitely
All I was saying is to call Laettner the greatest ever is not right....both those guys were better IMO....But to call him ONE of the greatest ever then definitely
Christian is probably the best of the modern era. I'd agree there are a couple others who were probably better.
Top 3 i would agree
Pisgah101 you must be young or never heard of walton or kareem or you can't take off your Duke glasses long enough because those 2 guys were flat out better in college no doubt in my mind
Pisgah101 you must be young or never heard of walton or kareem or you can't take off your Duke glasses long enough because those 2 guys were flat out better in college no doubt in my mind
Laettner is the best college player in the last 25 or 26 years but before that there are a few others to consider. Not as accomplished with NCAA Championships as Laettner but don't forget Pistol Pete. Best all time though has to be Kareem and Walton.
CL didn't have the benefit of having such easy NCAAT standards either. Back when you got essentially two teams and then you were into the final four! How hard could it have been?
Bill Walton was still better though. 21-22 was it?
Bill Walton was still better though. 21-22 was it?
Nope I know who they are and what they did. Yep they were great but I'll take Christian. Put UCLA in a bracket of 64 and we'll see how many ships they have, I assure you it woulda been less. What Christian and duke did was just as if not more impressive then them!
I have always been a big Laettner fan. He was so confident when he stepped on the floor.I remember in the 92 final how bad he played against Indiana and the first half against Mich. Everybody was down on Laettner and in the 2nd half he stepped to the plate again and put up something like 19 pts to help Duke throttle the fab five by 20 pts when the game was still in the balance at halftime. He was da man.in this modern day era.
Oh yea and the other buzzer beater that no one talks about in his freshman year against U Conn to sent Duke to the final four. it has been overshadowed by the Kentucky game but he done it twice in his career. to send Coach to the Final Four.
This post was edited on 3/15 8:16 PM by germantondevil
Oh yea and the other buzzer beater that no one talks about in his freshman year against U Conn to sent Duke to the final four. it has been overshadowed by the Kentucky game but he done it twice in his career. to send Coach to the Final Four.
This post was edited on 3/15 8:16 PM by germantondevil
May have been Dr J or Kareem or Hakeem The Dream that said "you can never compare players from different eras."
And the complete and total difference in how the NCAA Tourney was set up when Walton/Kareem were playing, compared to when Laettner played is a prime reason why.
In the modern era,(Christian's Era)noone could ever have won as many str8 Titles or had a total monopoly in recruiting the way UCLA did in their run thru the 60s, etc; so its impossible to compare.
And for a point for the old days(Kareem, Walton's Era), guys were putting up these crazy #s when they could only play 3 seasons and without the 3 point line or ability to dunk like we have in the modern era; so its impossible to compare there too.
Arguing who's better from 50 years ago vs now just shouldn't and isn't possible to accurately be done.
Christian is certainly the greatest I've been a witness to(born in 1980, kinda side by side with K
).
And the complete and total difference in how the NCAA Tourney was set up when Walton/Kareem were playing, compared to when Laettner played is a prime reason why.
In the modern era,(Christian's Era)noone could ever have won as many str8 Titles or had a total monopoly in recruiting the way UCLA did in their run thru the 60s, etc; so its impossible to compare.
And for a point for the old days(Kareem, Walton's Era), guys were putting up these crazy #s when they could only play 3 seasons and without the 3 point line or ability to dunk like we have in the modern era; so its impossible to compare there too.
Arguing who's better from 50 years ago vs now just shouldn't and isn't possible to accurately be done.
Christian is certainly the greatest I've been a witness to(born in 1980, kinda side by side with K
).
So I am watching the special and they got to the part about the stomp on aminu. I was about 7 during the game and I remember watching and of course seeing the shot... but I didn't remember the stomp though I have seen and heard about it plenty since then. What I had never seen until tonight was the push laettner got, which would be a flagrant 2 today on the previous play. Seems like revisionist history to me.
Agree. Hard to really debate guys from different eras. Even in this era, no one sticks around long enough so it's impossible to compare guys like Carmelo or Anthony Davis to guys in the era's before them. Laettner is certainly on the short list of best ever though.Originally posted by shicashicu:
May have been Dr J or Kareem or Hakeem The Dream that said "you can never compare players from different eras."
And the complete and total difference in how the NCAA Tourney was set up when Walton/Kareem were playing, compared to when Laettner played is a prime reason why.
In the modern era,(Christian's Era)noone could ever have won as many str8 Titles or had a total monopoly in recruiting the way UCLA did in their run thru the 60s, etc; so its impossible to compare.
And for a point for the old days(Kareem, Walton's Era), guys were putting up these crazy #s when they could only play 3 seasons and without the 3 point line or ability to dunk like we have in the modern era; so its impossible to compare there too.
Arguing who's better from 50 years ago vs now just shouldn't and isn't possible to accurately be done.
Christian is certainly the greatest I've been a witness to(born in 1980, kinda side by side with K
As I watch this, I keep thinking of one thing- We don't get to see great players for 4 years anymore. He was great because he learned to be great. Had to lose to build from that to win. All of college basketball doesn't get to see this growth. You get THIS year. And that's it. That's why I think UK won't win the title. They are undefeated, but have they learned what it feels like to fail and to get better and grow as a player and as a team.
It's sad. None of us know what Duke will be like next year. Back you, you knew who was coming back and what to expect. I miss it.
It's sad. None of us know what Duke will be like next year. Back you, you knew who was coming back and what to expect. I miss it.
I love Christian Laettner because he made the states of Kentucky, Connecticut, Florida, and North Carolina (outside of Durham) his bitch. Literally. Laettner OWNED the aforementioned states. It's why he offered residents of those states a discount to his camp.
Great Doc...I miss the good ole days... College Basketball need more 'villians' like UNLV, Duke, Fab Five, Georgetown,and even UNC. Its become too nice. Those who think UK/Cal are bad guys need to stop. The closest was the John Wall/Cousins team.
I thought it was really good.
I enjoyed a few of those Heels fans....they actually might be posters at THR.
I enjoyed a few of those Heels fans....they actually might be posters at THR.
Does anyone know were the full video of that home video of the Kentucky fan going nuts.I remember that being so funny
I agree that Christian Laettner is one of the greatest college players of all time but I can't say that I agree that he's the greatest college player of all time. As far as him being the only player to make it to 4 consecutive final fours, back in the days when UCLA won all those titles if freshmen were allowed to play then there would probably be several players that could say that they made it to 4 consecutive final fours but him playing in 23 out of a possible 24 games during his college career, that's a record that stands a good chance of never being broken.
I was in absolute nostalgic heaven the entire documentary. The parts where he was describing how tough he was on Hurley and always punching Grant and getting them to be tough and getting the most out of every teammate in his own hilarious way, was perhaps the best part. I felt like I was watching an awesome Duke game the whole time, was so enjoyable.
I am encouraged to see Christian getting back into coaching the kids, and it gives me hope that he'll end up coaching at Duke after K one day. Its amazing how similar and on the same page K and Laettner were/are. And was really moving seeing Micky K getting emotional just talking about how there will never be another Christian Laettner, and her genuinely knowing and saying that K didn't only get the best out of Laett, but Laett brought out the best in K. Totally aware that Laettner was responsible for taking Duke and K to that next level with the Titles, and is the reason we are the program we are today.
I honestly think K should make all our players watch that right before we start our first game this Tourney. Man I miss Laettner's killer instinct and cocky, I'm better than you are attitude. Just amazing
I am encouraged to see Christian getting back into coaching the kids, and it gives me hope that he'll end up coaching at Duke after K one day. Its amazing how similar and on the same page K and Laettner were/are. And was really moving seeing Micky K getting emotional just talking about how there will never be another Christian Laettner, and her genuinely knowing and saying that K didn't only get the best out of Laett, but Laett brought out the best in K. Totally aware that Laettner was responsible for taking Duke and K to that next level with the Titles, and is the reason we are the program we are today.
I honestly think K should make all our players watch that right before we start our first game this Tourney. Man I miss Laettner's killer instinct and cocky, I'm better than you are attitude. Just amazing
Like Jay Bilas said about Sellers slamming his head into the floor. ( Even though I believe Hurley enjoyed it) and also the shove into the support. nothing said. But the stomp is still heard around the world because it was Christian Laetner. Anybody else and its history.
It was focused WAY to much about race. I also despise Jalen Rose's presence. Otherwise, I liked it.
I'm not a fan of Jalen Rose either, he should have went to UNC so I could despise him more. That guy is full of it
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