Which Duke basketball players had dream seasons from a fantasy perspective?
Duke basketball legend Mike Krzyzewski has coached All-Americans, Wooden Award winners, and future NBA Hall of Famers over four decades in Durham. There are 10 individual season campaigns that were statistical anomalies.
I used a common metric — common to me and my best friend as we’ve been playing fantasy ACC basketball for decades — to analyze the individual season data for Duke players over the last 40 years. Points per game are equivalent to one “fantasy value” point. Average rebounds and assists are worth 1.5 points and two points, respectively. Average steals and blocks are equal to one point each. And turnovers per game deduct one point each.
For example, during the 2015-16 season, Grayson Allen averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 2.0 turnovers per game. Using my fantasy formula, the Duke guard finished the season with a 34.9 fantasy value.
My game, my rules. I am happy to debate the merit of my system on the social media platform of your choosing. For now, though, I will return my attention back to the players who represent the top 10 single-season statistical years, fantasy-wise, in the Coach K era.
Players No. 10 through No. 6 each finished a single season with a fantasy point total of 37.0 or greater (sorry, Grayson Allen). Those in the top five eclipsed 40.0. Now, let’s get started…