Duke Basketball: Power Ranking the Top Freshmen in the Coach K Era
Duke has had a number of highly-touted basketball-playing freshmen over the years, and many have played a major role in their first seasons as Blue Devils.
Much has been made about Duke's latest freshman point guard, Kyrie Irving, but how does he stack up against other great freshmen in Duke history.
Note this ranking only includes freshmen who have played during the Mike Krzyzewski era.
No. 25: Shavlik Randolph
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Randolph's recruitment was legendary.
Florida coach Billy Donovan supposedly flew to see Randolph—even though he couldn't talk to him—just to wave at him.
As it turned out, Randolph was an average player for the Blue Devils, as injuries held back much of his highly sought-after potential.
In the end, his freshman season was the best of his three, having averaged a bit over seven points and three rebounds per game.
No. 24: Josh McRoberts
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Josh McRoberts was one of the most highly-touted freshmen coming out of high school in 2005. He was widely considered one of if not the top recruit.
He boasted near mythical abilities to jump and handle the ball.
He averaged only about eight points and five rebounds during his first year. He made marked improvement over his sophomore year but opted to leave after two years.
No. 23: David Henderson
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Way back in the early 1980s, when Mike Krzyzewski was building his program at Duke, he went toe-to-toe with Dean Smith for the services of Curtis Hunter.
Hunter ended up choosing North Carolina and Krzyzewski settled on David Henderson, who went on to have a much more successful career than did Hunter.
Henderson averaged 9.1 points and four rebounds per game. He would go on to be an assistant coach at Duke and head coach at Delaware following his playing career.
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No. 22: William Avery
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Avery was one member of one of Duke's most powerful and successful teams in 1999. Before that, he was part of the Blue Devils' top recruiting class.
He spent his first year behind Steve Wojciechowski, but his athleticism and shooting touch got him playing time. He went on to average 8.5 points and 2.5 assists per game.
Avery chose to leave Duke against the advice of Mike Krzyzewski, but his contributions as a freshman earn him a spot as one of Krzyzewski's all-time best freshmen.
No. 21: Corey Maggette
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Maggette was one of the first one-and-done players under Mike Krzyzewski.
He also ended up being one of the most controversial players in Duke's history, after accepting money during his AAU days.
Still, Maggette was electric in his first-and-only season as part of the most dominant Duke team to not win a championship. He averaged 10 points and almost four rebounds per game.
No. 20: Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
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Dunleavy was originally recruited as a guard but grew exponentially and wound up being a 6'9" wing-forward with guard skills and shooting ability.
He went on to average nine points and four rebounds per game as a freshman and helped lead Duke to the national championship in 2001.
No. 19: Mark Alarie
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Alarie was part of Mike Krzyzewski's first big recruiting class and went on to have an outstanding career.
He ended up averaging 13 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman and helped Duke get to Mike Krzyzewski's first Final Four with the Blue Devils.
No. 18: Trajan Langdon
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The Alaskan Assassin opened up the 49th state in the union to the Duke Blue Devils.
Langdon was a minor-league baseball player and, quite possibly, the greatest walk-on in the history of Duke basketball.
He was a freshman during the lean years following the 1995 season, when Mike Krzyzewski missed most of the season after surgery. Langdon helped bring Duke back to prominence with his 14 points per game as a freshman.
No. 17: Jon Scheyer
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Scheyer is one of the few Duke players to average double figures in scoring for a career. And that included a late-season move to point guard during his junior year.
Recruited as a shooting guard, Scheyer showed his versatility as a scorer and as a court leader during the last two years of his career.
His freshman year saw him put up 12 points per game during a year that would build the team's character for its title run last season.
No. 16: Luol Deng
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Deng was one of Duke's best one-hit wonders. He was immensely popular with students and skilled to match, which may have been why it was so hard to say goodbye.
His departure for the NBA was somewhat unexpected, but he left his mark in his short time in Durham.
He averaged 15 points and nearly seven boards per game and helped Duke reach the Final Four in 2004.
No. 15: Shane Battier
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Before he was the official "Daddy" of Duke University, he was part of Mike Krzyzewski's amazing recruiting class of 1997.
While he statistically wasn't the best member of that class to begin with, he ended up going down as one of the greatest to ever wear a Duke uniform.
As a freshman Battier averaged seven points and six rebounds per game.
No. 14: Carlos Boozer
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Boozer was the second prominent star to come to Duke out of Alaska, and he proved to be as tough as they come.
As part of the freshman class that reloaded after the Blue Devils lost most of its stars following the 1999 season, Boozer was a force on the interior.
During his freshman year, he averaged 13 points and six rebounds per game.
No. 13: Chris Duhon
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Duhon came to Duke as the heir apparent to Jason Williams.
While he wasn't on the same level as Williams, he was quite good in his own right, and his contributions as a freshman helped lead the Blue Devils to its third national title in 2001.
He averaged seven points and four assists per game during his rookie season and earned the ACC Rookie of the Year award.
No. 12: J.J. Redick
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Probably few felt J.J. Redick would go on to become Duke's all-time leading scorer as a freshman. There was no denying his ability as a shooter, but by the time he was a senior, he had become quite a scorer.
Redick averaged 15 points per game during his freshman year.
No. 11: Shelden Williams
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Williams was the landlord of the paint for four years at Duke. As a freshman, he was no less imposing.
The big Oklahoma native came to Durham and would eventually become one of the greatest defensive players in the school's history.
He would average eight points, almost six rebounds and two blocked shots per game.
No. 10: Tommy Amaker
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Amaker was part of one of Mike Krzyzewski's best backcourts ever. Teaming with Duke great Johnny Dawkins, Amaker was the set-up man and on-ball defender extraordinaire.
Since his playing days, he has gone on to coach at Seton Hall, Michigan, and he is currently the head coach at Harvard.
No. 9: Elton Brand
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Brand was another member of the outstanding recruiting class that featured Shane Battier and William Avery.
Yet he wasn't even the most highly-touted big man, as that honor went to Chris Burgess. It didn't take long to figure out who the real big man was as Brand dominated from the start.
He averaged 13 points and seven rebounds his freshman year and was the best player on the 1999 team that dominated college basketball until losing in the championship game to UConn.
No. 8: Kyle Singler
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Singler is another in a line of ACC Rookies of the Year. He is on the verge of becoming one of the all-time greats, though many probably figure he is already among them.
As a freshman, Singler came in to help rebuild a down Duke team. While it took him a couple years, he and his teammates did just that, winning the national title last season.
In his freshman year, he averaged 13 points and five rebounds per game.
No. 7: Danny Ferry
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Ferry was a prized recruit for Krzyzewski. He was a big man who could play on the wing, shoot and pass.
While he only averaged five points and five rebounds per game as a freshman, he would go on to be one of the greatest players in the school's history. His number now hangs from the rafters after he helped the Blue Devils to Final Fours in 1988 and 1989.
No. 6: Grant Hill
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Grant Hill was the cornerstone of Duke's 1991 national title team.
A team that returned many of its stars from the previous year—a squad that was demolished in the finals—Hill gave the Blue Devils the athleticism and skill to help push them over the edge.
As a freshman he averaged 11 points and five rebounds per game. He also became one of the great defenders in the school's history.
No. 5: Bobby Hurley
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Hurley was the quintessential point guard.
He was a rare freshman point guard to start for Mike Krzyzewski and, at times during this first year, many wondered why.
Still, his toughness helped make him one of the all-time greats in not only Duke history, but in college basketball history.
He averaged eight points and seven assists per game as a freshman.
No. 4: Christian Laettner
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Laettner was arguably both the most-hated and greatest college player of his era. He exuded a cockiness that fueled Duke's back-to-back title teams in 1991 and 1992.
As a freshman he played a backup role to Danny Ferry, but when asked if he was the next Ferry, the always confident Laettner said that he was the first Christian Laettner.
He averaged eight points and four rebounds as a freshman.
No. 3: Jason Williams
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Jason Williams was one of the most electric and skilled players to ever wear a Duke uniform.
He became one of the school's all-time greats, winning national player of the year honors twice. As a freshman, he averaged 14 points, six assists, and four rebounds per game.
No. 2: Kyrie Irving
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While there is no denying the skill of Kyrie Irving, the sample size with which we have to compare him is slim.
But it is easy to tell he is one of the most electric freshmen in Duke history already, and he stands to be one of the greats.
So far he has averaged 14 points, six assists and four rebounds per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is also a staggering 6.7-to-1.
No. 1 Johnny Dawkins
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While many of his records have fallen by the wayside, there is no denying that Johnny Dawkins still represents the gold standard of Duke freshmen.
He was highly recruited and from Day 1 was one of the greatest players in Duke's history. He also helped establish Duke and, most notably, Mike Krzyzewski's career.
As a freshman he averaged 18 points and four assists per game. He also helped get Krzyzewski to his first Final Four.
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