Duke Blue Devils Basketball: 50 Greatest Players of All Time
May 5, 2010Duke Blue Devils Basketball: 50 Greatest Players of All Time
Duke regained a seat at the top of the college basketball world earlier this year by winning its fourth national title.
Throughout its long history, Duke has been most successful in the 30-plus years since Mike Krzyzewski became coach in 1980. However, many great players played prior to Krzyzewski's tenure.
While Duke only has 13 jerseys hanging from the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium, there have been many more great players whose contributions will live on long after the most current group of Devils are all retired.
So who are those players that have represented the tradition and winning ways of Duke basketball for so long? It is hard to limit them to 50, but here it goes.
1. Dick Groat
Before Laettner, Hill, Reddick and Battier, there was Dick Groat. Groat, in fact, may be the greatest athlete to ever don a Duke uniform.
Groat was a two-sport star for the Blue Devils. He played basketball for the Blue Devils from 1950-1952. He averaged more than 20 points per game over his career.
Groat went on to be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft to the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1952.
He also played more than 10 years in Major League Baseball, and was the 1962 National League Most Valuable Player as well as a five-time All Star.
Groat's No. 10 jersey, which he wore at Duke, now resides in the rafters at Cameron.
2. Johnny Dawkins
Johnny Dawkins may have been as responsible for re-establishing Duke as a basketball powerhouse as Mike Krzyzewski.
Dawkins was Krzyzewski's first big-time recruit and by 1986 he was leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four and a national title game. Duke didn't win the title but Dawkins helped awaken the echoes of the great 1960s Duke teams.
He also gave Krzyzewski a new lease on life, as the Iron Dukes weren't very happy with the coach whose name few could pronounce.
Dawkins had a stellar career, averaging 19 points per game on his way to winning the 1986 Naismith National Player of Year Award. He was also a first-team ACC and All-American player.
He went on to have a solid NBA career and is currently the head coach at Standford University.
His jersey No. 24 is now retired and hangs from the rafters. Dawkins is arguably the greatest Duke basketball player ever.
3. Art Heyman
Duke and North Carolina have never really liked one another. It may have took a fight between Duke's Art Heyman and North Carolina's Larry Brown to exemplify just how much the two rivals disliked one another.
Heyman goes down in history as one of the greatest players in Duke history and one of the most despised in North Carolina. He was J.J. Reddick, Bobby Hurley and Steve Wojciechowski before those guys were even born.
Besides being hated, he was one hell of a player, too. He played at Duke from 1961 to 1963, averaging 25 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. He was the Associated Press National Player of the Year in 1963 as well as the No. 1 overall draft pick of the New York Knicks the same year.
His jersey No. 25 also resides in the rafters at Cameron.
4. Christian Laettner
Laettner is one of the greatest college basketball players in history. He is also one of the least liked.
He is easily remembered and hated by just about everyone in Kentucky for hitting "The Shot" in the 1992 Elite Eight game which is often referred to as the greatest college game ever.
Laettner was a consummate winner, and his teams were as well. He played in the Final Four every year of his career from 1989 to 1992 and was part of Duke's back-to-back championships in 1991 and 1992.
During his career he averaged 16 points and almost eight rebounds per game. He was a consensus National Player of the Year in 1992 and a First Team All-American.
He went on to have his jersey No. 32 retired. He was also the only collegiate player on the original Dream Team.
5. Jeff Mullins
Mullins was a teammate of Art Heyman in 1962 and 1963. He graduated from Duke in 1964 after an outstanding career.
Mullins put up similar numbers to those of Heyman, averaging 21 points per game and nine rebounds per contest in his three-year career.
His jersey's retirement was long overdue when No. 44 was hoisted to the rafters during the 1994 season.
6. Bob Verga
The 1960s was definitely a good decade for Duke basketball, and Bob Verga was another player who continued to help the Blue Devils maintain a high prestige.
Verga played from 1965 to 1967 and averaged 22 points and almost four rebounds per game for the Blue Devils.
He is a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
7. Steve Vacendak
Vacendak was another member of Duke's tremendously talented 1960s-era teams.
He played from 1964 until 1966 and averaged slightly more than 11 points per game. He is a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame, and was the 1966 ACC Player of the Year.
8. Jack Marin
Marin is one of the greatest shooters in Duke basketball history. He is 10th all-time in scoring and was an all-conference performer from 1965 to 1966.
He averaged almost 15 points and eight rebounds per game for his career. He is also a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
9. Mike Gminski
The G-man, Mike Gminski may have been the youngest player in Duke history, but despite his age, the seven-footer was the real deal.
Gminski had an All-American career for the Blue Devils, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game in his four-year career from 1977 to 1980.
He went on to have a 13-year career in the NBA before retiring and becoming a college basketball broadcaster.
10. Gene Banks
Banks was probably Mike Krzyzewski's first great player, although he didn't recruit Banks.
Banks played on Krzyzewski's first team in 1980 and went on to average almost 17 points and eight rebounds per game. He was the 1978 ACC Rookie of the Year, All-ACC First Team in 1981 and 1979 UPI Third Team All American.
He is also a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
11. Mark Alarie
Alarie was part of Mike Krzyzewski's first big recruiting class. Many questioned if Coach K could recruit the big-time recruit and Alarie's class proved that he could.
Alarie went on to have a solid career as a first-team All-ACC player in 1984 and 1986. He was also a member of the 1986 national runner-up in what would be the first of many Final Fours to come for the Blue Devils under Coach K.
In his four-year career Alarie averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game.
12. David Henderson
David Henderson wasn't even Duke's first choice when they recruited him in 1983.
The Blue Devils had lost another in a long line of recruiting battles with North Carolina. The Tar Heels had landed highly sought-after Curtis Hunter. Duke settled for Henderson.
As it turns out, Duke got the better end of the deal as Hunter never paned out and Henderson went on to enjoy a solid career for the Blue Devils.
He averaged 12 points and four rebounds per game from 1983 to 1986 and was a member of the team that was the national runner-up.
13. Kenny Dennard
Dennard never was a player to light up the stat sheet, but his style of play and hard work exemplified the best Duke teams.
He played from 1978 to 1981 and averaged nine points and five rebounds per game. He averaged 10 points per game his senior year and was a senior captain on Mike Krzyzewski's second Blue Devil squad.
14. Jim Spanarkel
Spanarkel was one of many in a long list of New Jersey guards that have starred for the Blue Devils.
He played from 1976 to 1979 while averaging 17 points and almost four assists per game in his four-year stint in Durham.
Spanarkel was a first-team All-ACC in 1978 and 1979 as well as a UPI First Team All-American in 1979. He is currently a member of the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
15. Billy King
Before Billy King was a general manager in the NBA, he was a member of some very good mid- to late-1980s Duke teams.
King was more of a defensive stopper than an offensive showcase for the Blue Devils but he personified exactly what Mike Krzyzewski wanted out of his players.
He only averaged four-and-a-half points per game over his four-year career from 1985 to 1988. He also was the NABC National Defensive Player of Year in 1988.
16. Robert Brickey
Brickey was the high-flying forward from Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was at times jokingly referred to as Air-Brickey, a play off of some guy that played eight miles down the road in Chapel Hill and was pretty good.
Brickey was a solid player and while he didn't average huge numbers (only about 10 points per game from 1987 to 1990) he is in the top 50 in all-time scoring for Duke.
17. Phil Henderson
My brother once told me that he couldn't believe how skinny Phil Henderson was.
To say Henderson was skinny was an understatement but that didn't stop the Duke guard from averaging 12 points per game during his career and 18 during his senior season.
Henderson is remembered for his dunking over Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning in the 1989 NCAA tournament. "The Dunk" spawned a t-shirt which I owned and displayed the phrase "Mourning After."
18. Quin Snyder
Snyder was the point guard before Bobby Hurley and, while not as accomplished, he was still pretty good.
Snyder played from 1986 to 1989 and averaged six points and four assists per game. The highlight of his career might have been playing in three Final Fours and the first two of Krzyzewski's impressive five straight Final Fours from 1988 to 1992.
19. Tommy Amaker
Amaker was a backcourt running mate with Johnny Dawkins on the team that finished as national runners-up in 1986.
From 1984 to 1987, Amaker averaged 8.5 points and five assists per game. He was the National Defensive Player of the Year in 1987 and is in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.
20. Bobby Hurley
Hurley is arguably one of the best, if not the best, true point guards Duke has ever had.
Easily one of the most hated players during his freshman year, Hurley managed to lead Duke to back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992. He still holds the NCAA record for assists.
From 1990-1993 Hurley averaged 12 points, and almost eight assists per game. He was a First Team All-American in 1993 and his jersey No. 11 was retired.
He was seriously injured in an auto accident which cut his NBA playing career short. While he did return to the court following the accident, he was never the same player. He currently is an assistant coach for his brother Danny at Wagner.
21. Grant Hill
Grant Hill was one of the most complete players in Duke history. The son of former NFL great Calvin Hill, Grant chose basketball and it paned out fairly well.
He was considered the missing link that helped Duke bounce back from a trouncing at the hands of UNLV in 1990. He arrived in Durham a year later and Duke went on its first title.
Hill provided athleticism, and was an offensive and defensive weapon. He averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game in his four-year career. He also averaged almost four assists, and netted 218 steals.
He was a First Team All-American in 1994 and the National Defensive Player of the year in 1993. His jersey No. 33 is also retired.
22. Cherokee Parks
"The Chief," as he was affectionately known at Duke, was part of two different Blue Devil teams.
When he arrived, Duke was the king of the college basketball world, and when he left Duke was undergoing a major change by missing the tournament and taking a mid-'90s slide.
Parks played for the 1992 national title team but played limited minutes. He also played for the 1994 national runner-up and averaged 14 points and eight rebounds.
He finished his season in 1995 with Duke missing the tournament and being coached by former big-man coach Pete Gaudet, who stepped in when Mike Krzyzewski took a leave of absence to recover from surgery.
Parks was a solid player and in four years he averaged just over 12 points and six rebounds per game.
23. Trajan Langdon
The "Alaskan Assassin" is one of Duke's top 15 all-time leading scorers. Knows for his sharp shooting, the onetime two-sport star helped lead Duke back to prominence after the letdown of the 1995 season.
He battled through injuries to help be part of the most dominant Duke team in 1999. Yet that team, as talented as they were, couldn't win the big one against a very skilled and game UConn team in the title game.
Langdon finished his career averaging almost 15 points per game and shooting over 40 percent from three-point range.
24. Steve Wojciechowski
The most hated Blue Devil since Bobby Hurley, Wojo wasn't the most talented player but his heart could not be measured.
His gritty, gutty performances and floor-slapping intensity made Wojciechowski a crowd favorite in Cameron.
While he only managed a shade over five points and three assists per game in his four years, his leadership and determination served as foreshadowing for the eventual coach he has become.
He also won the NABC National Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1997.
25. Luol Deng
Deng is the rare one-and-done addition to this list of all-time Duke greats. He only played one year but it was quite a year.
The team made it to the Final Four before bowing out to UConn.
In his one season, he averaged 15 points per game and led all other freshmen in scoring. His departure was a blow to the Blue Devils, who also lost out on Shaun Livingston, who decided not to come to college at all.
Duke would not make it back to the Final Four until this year, when they won the national title.
26. Carlos Boozer
Boozer was the second Alaskan player in Duke's history. So far the Blue Devils are 2-for-2.
Boozer was a bit slow to develop but when he did, even as an undersized center, he showed glimpses of his dominance. He helped lead the 2001 team to a national title despite breaking his foot late in the season.
He averaged almost 15 points and seven rebounds in his three years at Duke and went on to be a third-team All-American choice and team captain in 2002.
27. Danny Ferry
Danny Ferry was one of Mike Krzyzewski's first big stars. He was a versatile forward who could pass and score both on the perimeter and the post.
Ferry played in three Final Fours in his four seasons. He averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game over his career.
He was a two-time ACC Player of the Year in 1988 and 1989. He was also the National Player of the Year in 1989 and a First Team All-American. He jersey No. 35 was also retired.
28. Elton Brand
Brand was another in the long line of undersized postmen for the Blue Devils, but he was pure nasty.
He wasn't the mostly highly touted in the recruiting class that featured he and Shane Battier, but he was the best from the start.
He was a force on the boards and in the paint. In two seasons he averaged 16 points and almost nine rebounds per game. He was the dominant force on the 1999 Duke team that dominated the ACC and college basketball in general before being upended in the title game by UConn.
Had he not forgone his final two seasons, there is no doubt his No. 42 would be hanging from the rafters.
29. Jeff Capel
Capel may best be known for hitting a long buzzer-beater to extend a double-overtime thriller against North Carolina which Duke lost.
But he was generally a solid player, if not the best player on the team during some lean years in the mid-1990s. The son of a coach and now a coach himself, Capel was a very good leader.
In his four-year career at Duke, he averaged 12 points per game. And one memorable shot.
30. Brian Davis
Davis was the quintessential role player for Duke's back-to-back national title teams.
He was a solid contributor on offense and a dependable and athletic defensive stopper. While he would never light up the stat sheet, his presence was always felt on the court.
His role in helping Duke win back-to-back championships alone helps earn him a spot on this list.
31. Chris Carrawell
Carrawell was a classic Duke player. You name it, he did it. In four years in Durham he played every position and even once guarded Tim Duncan.
All why being barely 6'6".
Carrawell lost a lot of support as a recruit due to multiple shoulder surgeries but he found a home at Duke and Mike Krzyzewski was sure to use him liberally.
For a career he only averaged 10 points, but his senior season he averaged almost 17 per game to go with six rebounds and three assists per contest.
He was the ACC Player of the Year and AP First Team All-American in 2000.
32. Shane Battier
33. Chris Collins
34. Roshown McLeod
35. Mike Dunleavy
36. Alaa Abdelnaby
37. J.J. Redick
38. Sheldon Williams
39. Jason Williams
40. Nate James
41. Jay Bilas
42. Chris Duhon
43. Jon Scheyer
44. Kyle Singler
45. Nolan Smith
46. William Avery
47. Dahntay Jones
48. Tate Armstrong
49. Kevin Strickland
50. Randy Denton
Honorable Mention
