The miracle Minute...never gets old

[TheDude1]

Disagree all you want! What fun would it be if we ALL agreed?

You did say Grant was, "acceptable," for the position, but I asked for why Battier was the unquestioned greatest Duke guy of all-time. I got he ran the huddle, called guys to work out and was less-reserved than Grant. I also got the 3 defensive player of the year awards to Grant's 1. To Grant's defense, he has exquisite taste in art.

If we're bringing up Grant's taste for the finer things in life, how many points does he get for marrying Tamina? What about the multiple revenue streams he's developed over the years? Since we're talking about all this other stuff, let's acknowledge how much Grant truly wins at life.

An important note: when I say "acceptable" I mean exactly that; I'd accept that Grant is the best Dukie ever.

Now, beyond that...

Yes, Grant gets a LOT of points for that; what a woman. Listening to her in interviews and the like, she has got her stuff together. Not surprised at Grant; he had a great role model in mom!

And yeah, Grant obviously wins at life

Now that all of that is out of the way, a couple questions:

Battier's 3 NDPOTY wins: Impressive. Does Shelden rank second on your all-time list? Winning 2 is nothing to dismiss. Also, if you give Grant credit for his NDPOTY can you admit everything he did everywhere else can at least pull him close to even with how much clout that one-dimensional award carries?

No, the Landlord doesn't, because it is a "whole body of work" thing.

And yes; Grant isn't just "pulled close"... I'd accept that he is it.

Battier's leadership: Why does Battier get the nod here when his results are only truly great when he had somebody better and with experience to do the heavy lifting (Brand in 99, JWill in 01)?

Compare that to Grant. He truly got the keys in 1993-94 and proceeded to take a bunch of random dudes (least talented Duke FF team of my life) to within a Scotty Thurman rainbow of a national title. Do you think Battier take that team in that era to the Final Four? That's not rhetorical, by the way. I actually am curious about your opinion.

First, Shane gets credit because he was the leader of those teams. No question. It wasn't Elton or JayWill or Nate or CWell. It was Shane. And I don't know if there was anyone better than Shane on any of those teams, when you take into account the full package. There wouldn't have been a 2001 title without Shane. In some of those Final Four games he literally impacted every play for many plays in a row; it is stunning, when you go back and watch it again.

As for 1994... hm, good question. Not sure Shane could have done that; Grant is about talented a player as we've ever had, and that team needed EVERY BIT of that talent as much as it needed leadership. But I don't know... that was a pretty weak year overall, so maybe Shane could have done it?

BTW, that team DID have some talent... Chris was a great shooter in his role, and Cherokee is a REALLY underappreciated player, one of the most underappreciated I think in Duke history... 19 pts, 9 boards, 2 blocks, and 37 percent from three as a senior? He was a beast, and stuck in the NBA for quite some time because of it.

Finally embodiment and representation: Grant Hill is the most universally liked Duke player in history. He's the guy haters point to and say, "I hate Duke but..." Hell, Shaunie O'Neal said she thought he was the only faithful husband in the NBA at one point in time.

None of this is meant to trash Battier and his legacy. He is an all-timer. I just disagree with your initial statement.

Sure, you won't get any disagreement there; Grant is one of the most loved players in Duke history (Nolan and Quinn are two other guys who EVERYONE speaks SO very highly of)... some guys got a bit annoyed at how damn hard Shane plays, and how in-your-face he was, and how HARD he made you work.

So yeah, as I said, Grant is an acceptable answer as well. Acceptable isn't a judgement or any lesser or anything; I wouldn't fight someone who picked Grant as the greatest Dukie in history.

BTW, if you love Grant, you should DEFINITELY try to catch the Oprah Masterclass episode about him. An hour long, and maybe the best player profile show I've ever seen about any of our guys. It is STUNNING how bad his ankle injury was... he nearly died.

 

[SoCal_Dukie3]

To do that against such a good Maryland team, was unreal!

I hated UMD but their 2001 and 2002 teams were really, really good!

 

[gottagonow]

Gotta, the way you phrased that, it feels like you are trying to make a point that I am not picking up... what do you mean "for what he accomplished"?

Just what LetsGoDuke301 said "4 final fours and 2 championships"

Just like Michael Jordan is considered the greatest NBA player for what he accomplished, 6 NBA Championships.

Laettner wasn't the sweet choir boy as his looks would have some believe but he was the toughest and most fierce competitor Duke has ever had that I ever saw.

 

[TheDude1]

Laettner wasn't the sweet choir boy as his looks would have some believe but he was the toughest and most fierce competitor Duke has ever had that I ever saw.

Gotcha, and agreed; Laet was the most stone-cold killer I think we've ever had.

 

[hart2chesson]

Laettner wasn't the sweet choir boy as his looks would have some believe but he was the toughest and most fierce competitor Duke has ever had that I ever saw.

Amen. I would put Battier right behind him and the late, great Art Heyman at #3.

OFC

 

[springsportster]

The 2001 season may be my favorite. I was in the shower at the end of the miracle minute game thinking we had lost and when I got out, we had just tied it. Crazy. But the final four comeback that year against the Twerps may be even better.

 

[skysdad]

Amen. I would put Battier right behind him and the late, great Art Heyman at #3.

OFC

Thanks for mentioning Heyman. He would have been great in today's game. He had that kind of talent. I've got to give Grant Hill some ups. He carried us in 94' OFC

 

[Dukeman]

Dick Groat should be in the discussion. Might be considered Duke's greatest athlete. Played baseball and basketball at Duke. Two time All-American in basketball. National League MVP in baseball and two time World Series Champion.