Fansided

Duke basketball: 50 best players to play for Coach K

By Matthew Travis

Nov 12, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski prior to a game against the Army Black Knights at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 12, 2021; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski prior to a game against the Army Black Knights at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
48 of 50
Next
Best Duke Basketball Players
2 Apr 2001: Shane Battier #31 of Duke looks for an open pass against the Arizona defense during the NCAA National Championship Game of the Men’s Final Four tournament at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bahr/ALLSPORT /

3. Shane Battier (1997-2001)

Shane Battier had one of the best Duke careers of all time, and his list of accolades and accomplishments could fill a book. Battier didn’t make a huge impact in his first two years as he averaged 8.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game, but he did help Duke win two ACC Regular Season titles, an ACC Tournament title, and he also helped Duke made the National Championship game.

But Battier had one of the best two-year stretches out of anyone in Duke history over the course of his final two seasons. He averaged 18.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game as he helped Duke win two ACC Regular Season and Tournament titles, as well as a National Championship in 2001.

Not only did Battier help Duke accomplish all of those things, but he was really the reason they happened. He received All-ACC, and All-ACC Tournament honors three times each, was named to the ACC All-Defense team twice, won an ACC Tournament MVP, was the 2000-01 ACC Player of the Year, was a two-time consensus All-American, and also won the AP Player of the Year, the Naismith and Wooden Awards, and the Rupp Trophy in 2000-01, and was also named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player as he helped Duke win the National Championship.

After graduating from Duke in 2001, Battier was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001 NBA Draft, and he went on to have an incredible career. He was named to the 2001-02 All-Rookie team, and over the course of his 13 seasons in the NBA, he received All-Defense honors twice and won two NBA championships.