Duke Basketball: Picking the Blue Devils' All-Decade Team (2002-2011)
The first decade of the new century had the Duke Blue Devils picking up where they left off the previous century, which was usually at or near the top of the college basketball world.
Duke won a national title in 2001 with only two seniors. They looked primed to win another in 2002 but fell short to an upstart Indiana team in the Sweet 16.
Jason Williams missed a tying free throw with 4.2 seconds left (Carlos Boozer grabbed the rebound but missed the put-back) after hitting a three-pointer to draw to within one, and the Blue Devils went home early.
They wouldn’t win another national title until 2010.
In between those two national championships came only one other Final Four appearance. That came in 2004 in San Antonio when the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils lost to eventual champion UConn in the national semifinal.
So here we are in 2011. Just like that 2002 squad, Duke bowed out in the regional semifinal the year after winning it all (this time to an extremely athletic Arizona team).
But in between those two national championships came a number of other championships, including three ACC regular season titles and seven ACC Tournament titles (of which Duke has won the last three in a row).
Even though they wouldn’t hang another NCAA title banner until 2010, a bevy of multi-talented players inhabited Cameron Indoor between 2002 and 2011.
Here, after much deliberation and many names crossed off only to be added back in only to be crossed off again, is the Duke Blue Devil All-Decade team from 2002-2011:
Nolan Smith
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Nolan Smith isn’t flashy. His only two stats worth mentioning are his games played (seventh all-time at 143) and his free-throw percentage (ninth all-time at .800). He does, however, have a national title.
So why is he on this list? Well, because every team needs a Nolan Smith. It needs a guy who’s not afraid to dive for a loose ball. It needs a guy who can defend an opponent in the paint as well as he defends on the perimeter.
Still thinking defense, it needs a guy who’s not afraid to take on the assignment of guarding the opponent’s best player and then shutting him down.
It needs a guy who hustles back on defense regardless of the mistake made previously on the offensive end of the floor.
It needs a guy willing to do the work in the offseason away from the cameras and the Crazies, to become a better player and teammate.
A testament to this is his scoring average his first two years at Duke compared to his last two years (7.2 vs. 19.0).
It needs a guy who leads by example. Every team needs a Nolan Smith.
Chris Duhon
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Point guards are often called the quarterback of a basketball team. If that’s the case, Chris Duhon is the Peyton Manning of Duke point guards. He more than proved his ACC Rookie of the Year award in 2001 was no fluke.
He was as efficient (if not more) as any Duke point guard in history. He is first all-time in steals (301), second all-time in assists (819) and his 2.5 turnovers per game were almost negated by his 2.1 steals per game (which, by the way, is third all-time).
He is also second in minutes played, displaying an immense durability while playing the toughest position in basketball.
Lending more credence to the quarterback analogy is the fact that in those minutes played, all 4,813 of them, he fouled out only once.
For all that time on the floor, he wasn’t much of a scorer (8.8 ppg). But just because the quarterback himself isn’t scoring doesn’t mean his team isn’t scoring.
Besides, this all-decade team is loaded with scoring. They need a qualified man on the point to see that they get the ball in the right position at the right time.
Chris Duhon is that man.
Kyle Singler
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Many look at Kyle Singler as the fourth all-time leading scorer at Duke.
Personally, I look at Kyle as an all-around player.
After winning the ACC Rookie of the Year award in 2008, he went on to become third all time in offensive (360) and defensive (655) rebounds. Alone, these stats prove that he not only has a nose for the ball but was rarely denied its possession.
Kyle is also the reason Chris Duhon is second all-time in minutes played. Singler’s 4,887 minutes prove a durability and dependability every coach loves.
His being fourth on the scoring list while maintaining a shutdown mentality on defense is a testament to his desire to win. You will not find very often a scorer of his caliber who is also devoted to being a shutdown defender.
Many in Duke circles will tell you Kyle took more pride in his defense than his offense. It’s that sort of pride that helped him lead his team to the 2010 National Championship.
Shelden (The Landlord) Williams
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He wasn’t dubbed The Landlord for nothing. If you came into the paint without permission, you were going to be leaving empty-handed.
Williams is the all-time leader at Duke in blocked shots (422), offensive rebounds (447), defensive rebounds (815) and total rebounds (1,262). He was also named the NABC and ACC Defensive player of the year in 2005 and 2006.
In addition to his defensive prowess, he is 15th on the all-time Duke scoring list. Combine that with his rebounding ability and that leads you to this next stat; every 2.5 times he stepped on the court, he would end up with a double-double.
Williams is another example of the all-around player that Duke looks for in a recruit. His No. 23 jersey was raised to the Cameron Indoor Stadium rafters in 2007; never to be worn again.
J.J. Redick
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Redick is Duke’s all-time leading scorer. He is the ACC’s second all-time leading scorer. Those points (literally) alone are why he is on this list.
While it is understandable to call him a defensive liability, he more than made up for that with his effort and accompanying results on the other side of the 10-second line.
Tirelessly running off screens and through defenses, Redick would wear down his chasers.
As a player in premier physical condition, he would run circles around his opponents to the point where many times he would end up with wide-open jumpers at critical times in the second half.
And in those moments when his chasers would be on him tighter than his Duke jersey, his catch-and-shoot release has to be the quickest I have ever seen.
His No. 4 jersey is one of 13 retired Duke jerseys hanging in the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Off the Bench: Jon Scheyer
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Many would make a case for Jon being a starter on this team. If not for J.J. Redick, he probably would be.
However, he doesn’t possess the scoring ability of a Redick, nor does he possess the defensive ability and intensity of a Nolan Smith.
What he does possess is an all-around physical and cerebral ability to play the game. Of all of the players on this team, his name appears in the top 10 more times in the all-time category lists (10) than any other.
He’s fourth in minutes played (4,759) and third in free throw percentage (.861). Most coaches would give up two assistants and a ball boy for an end-of-the-game security blanket like that.
You can’t beat durability and accuracy. His long-range ability makes him a nice complement to Redick.
Oh, and he does have a national championship on his resume.
Off the Bench: Gerald Henderson
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It’s not always the quantity but the quality.
Gerald is another guy you won’t see in the top 10 of any of the all-time lists at Duke. But he’s another one of those intangible guys.
He’s a good complement to Nolan Smith coming off the bench. He’s not afraid to get his (or anyone else’s) hands dirty.
He has out-of–the-gym leaping ability that can alter or block any shot looking to do the Blue Devils harm.
He’s as intense (if not more) on the defensive end as he is on the offensive end of the floor.
Honorable Mention: Cameron Indoor/Cameron Crazies
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Cameron Indoor/Cameron Crazies – You can’t have the Cameron Crazies without Cameron Indoor Stadium…and vice versa.
1,205 vs. 5. That’s usually what you get at Cameron. 1,200 of the most clever (they are credited with creating the “Air Ball” taunt) and most organized fans in the land (plus the five Duke players on the floor) inhabit Cameron Indoor Stadium on game night (or day).
Heck, they’ve been copied more times than that chain e-mail you keep receiving. But they have never been matched.
You can’t have game night (or day) without the Cameron Crazies. That’s why they get an honorable mention on our all-decade team.
