OT- I don't hate Christian Laetner

[Striper69]

Did you watch the 30 For 30 last night about him?

I always thought he was a great player and that people were only jealous of him. I was in the Army at the time and so I didn't have time to follow CBB as close as I would've liked.

 

[Brochacho]

He stole a Final Four from UConn. So yes, I do.

 

[Orangutan]

I am young enough that I didn't really watch him in his prime, but like UNC when I was younger so I definitely understand Duke hate. Very interesting documentary, I thought Laettner came off pretty well, though he definitely had some punk-ish tendencies as a college kid.

 

[Striper69]

The thing in the Kentucky game was way overblown. The Kentucky guy knocked Laettner clear off the court and noone mentions that. He just tapped the Kentucky guy on the stomach with his foot and everybody got bent out of shape.

 

[triaddukefan]

He stole a Final Four from UConn. So yes, I do.

Kinda like Tate George stole a Regional Final Appearance from Clemson ?

 

[Striper69]

I am young enough that I didn't really watch him in his prime, but like UNC when I was younger so I definitely understand Duke hate. Very interesting documentary, I thought Laettner came off pretty well, though he definitely had some punk-ish tendencies as a college kid.

Fans didn't know about the interaction with his teammates like Grant Hill and Bobby Hurley. That was interesting to see. I played Grant in pickup games in Reston before he went to Duke. I knew he was gonna be awesome in college.

Laettner had swagger and backed it up.

 

[johnnyc]

That was one of the better 30 for 30s. Laettner really got into people's heads. Those three guys that represented the fans that 'hated' Christian Laettner were funny.....they are still whining about him lol. Great player. Gave as good as he got.

 

[meyers7]

Laettner was always one of my favorite players. I haven't seen the 30/30 yet, but I certainly will at some point.

 

[asuwish]

People forget Uconn's Rod Seller got a 1 game suspension for some kind of contact with him, but he received nothing for his slamming of sellers head to the ground. That's one of the reasons people think Duke players got preferred treatment from the refs. In hind site Shaq (the future of the NBA) should have been on the dream team instead.

 

[Dove]

Did you watch the 30 For 30 last night about him?

I always thought he was a great player and that people were only jealous of him. I was in the Army at the time and so I didn't have time to follow CBB as close as I would've liked.

You are fortunate that the Boneyard rules for THIS board do not stipulate that you must hate Chrissy Laettner. But deep deep down know that you have to.

So, because the rules don't say it, you are off the hook.

You're on a list, tho. The Laettner non-hater list.

 

[Orangutan]

People forget Uconn's Rod Seller got a 1 game suspension for some kind of contact with him, but he received nothing for his slamming of sellers head to the ground. That's one of the reasons people think Duke players got preferred treatment from the refs. In hind site Shaq (the future of the NBA) should have been on the dream team instead.

They showed this in the documentary, Laettner caught Sellers with an elbow that went unnoticed/uncalled. It was Sellers who responded by slamming Laettner's head against the ground with his forearm.

Laettner's seems to have thrown a lot of sneaky elbows. They showed one he threw in high school that started a brawl.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Relative to the innumerable brainless NCAA cretin-athletes found guilty of rape, assault, abuse, drugs and weapons charges, Christian Laettner is downright saintly.

 

[alexrgct]

I don't hate him. But for all of the NCAA championships, the collegiate accolades, and the inclusion on the greatest basketball team ever formed (the original Dream Team), boy did he ever have a mediocre professional career. And that annoys me on some level.

But no, I can't hate the guy. If you love MCBB, you have to respect what he accomplished on the sport's behalf.

 

[Farney]

boy did he ever have a mediocre professional career.

13 points and 7 rebounds over a 14 season career (1 all star game) is mediocre? Sign me up for being mediocre please.

He was on some bad teams and still had very good years. And those career numbers are much higher if you chop off the last 4 years of a long career.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/laettch01.html

 

[alexrgct]

13 points and 7 rebounds over a 14 season career (1 all star game) is mediocre? Sign me up for being mediocre please.

He was on some bad teams and still had very good years. And those career numbers are much higher if you chop off the last 4 years of a long career.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/laettch01.html

If you're talking all-time starting five in MCBB, he'd absolutely be on my list. However, I consider him nothing better than an afterthought in a league that was loaded with talent during his career. So yes, that's mediocre to me. Something isn't quite right if you go from all-timer at one level to JAG at the next.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kinda like Tate George stole a Regional Final Appearance from Clemson ?

Or Kemba and Shabazz stole games from lots of teams.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I don't hate Laettner. He had an amazing college career and is a huge part of college basketball history.

Part of the public relations issue at Duke is that it is perceived as an elitist (different from elite) institution attended by spoiled rich (and smart) kids, most of whom are White. Living in ACC country, I can attest to the fact that Duke fans can be insufferable. For some fans, Dick Vitale adds a level of irritation because of the way he always raves about Duke. Billy Packer, who was also insufferable, was another ACC homer.

In terms of Laettner's pro career, he was one of many Duke players who did not successfully transition. Duke tended to get good players who maxed out in a good system. Many were not athletic enough to be stars at the next level--the stars were the kids who jumped straight from high school and probably couldn't have gotten into Duke. Grant Hill was an exception to the lack of athleticism. Jason Williams might have been, but he got injured. J.J. Redick has built a decent career, but is far from a star. Shane Battier was solid, but not a star.

I think that Jay Bilas is a good Duke representative. He is knowledgeable and articulate and not particularly a homer. He also has a sense of humor and can be self deprecating. I love his story about competing against Len Bias. They had been ranked about the same coming out of high school, but the first time they played against each other, Bilas thought, "I'm going to have to get a LOT better."

 

[Striper69]

That's happened to a lot of guys. Look at last year's #1 pick. Do you hear much about him?

Plays on a crappy team. I think he's happy just taking home the paycheck though.