Duke basketball: 50 best players to play for Coach K

28 of 50

Gene Banks greets people as Gaston College held a rebrand lunch at The Pita Wheel on South York Street in Gastonia Thursday afternoon, August 19, 2021.Rebrand2 /

23. Gene Banks (1977-1981)

The reason Gene Banks is 23rd on this list, and not in the top-10 is that he played only one season under Coach K. Banks had an incredible Duke career — he was named to an All-ACC team in each of the four years he was in Durham, the All-ACC Tournament team twice, and was also the 1977-78 ACC Rookie of the Year.

Banks helped the Blue Devils win an ACC Regular Season Title, two ACC Tournament Titles, and also helped Duke make 1978 Final Four. However, all of that was before Coach K got there. While playing under Krzyzewski, Banks averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

Banks had an incredible Duke career, and he also played six seasons in the NBA where he averaged 11.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game, after being taken with the 28th overall pick by the San Antonio Spurs.