Judging jersey No. 31 by the Duke basketball players who wore it
In reverse chronological order (best in bold):
- Shane Battier
- Justin Caldbeck
- Stan Brunson
- Kevin Strickland
- Mike Tissaw
- Randy Denton
- Tim Kolodziej
- Hack Tison
- Doug Albright
- Hayes Clement
- Bill Reigel
- Bill Fleming
- Jack Lasseter
Retired or not (worth 100 points if so): Retired for Battier
NCAA Tournament titles (worth 10 points each): Battier in 2001
Final Four appearances (five points each): Battier in 2001, Battier in 1999, Brunson in 1994, Strickland in 1988, Strickland in 1986, Kolodziej in 1966, Tison in 1964, Tison in 1963
ACC or Southern Tournament trophies (five points each): Battier in 2001, Battier in 2000, Battier in 1999, Strickland in 1988, Strickland in 1986, Tissaw in 1980, Kolodziej in 1966, Tison in 1964, Tison in 1963, Albright in 1960
Naismith Player of the Year awards (50 points each): Battier in 2001
NABC Defensive Player of the Year winners (four points each): Battier in 2001, Battier in 2000, Battier in 1999
Consensus All-American selections (four points each): Battier in 2001, Battier in 2000
ACC or Southern Player of the Year crowns (four points each): Battier in 2001
All-ACC or All-Southern honors (two points each): Battier in 2001, Battier in 2000, Battier in 1999, Denton in 1971, Denton in 1970, Denton in 1969
First-round draft picks (two points each): Battier
Members of 1,000-point club (two points each): Battier, Strickland, Denton
Players who averaged less than five points (subtract five points each): Caldbeck, Brunson, Tissaw, Albright, Lasseter
Number of players (one point each): 13
TOTAL SCORE = 282
Thanks to all the winning and defending of Shane Battier in addition to several Blue Devil weapons across a host of successful teams in the 60s and 80s, good old No. 31 is the greatest Duke basketball jersey number of all time…or so says this formula, anyway.
Stay tuned to Ball Durham for more all-time rankings regarding all things Duke basketball.