Duke basketball: Ranking the Top-10 players from the 1990’s

The Duke basketball program has experienced a success that most basketball teams could not fathom in every decade since Mike Krzyzewski was named head coach, but the 1990s might have been the most successful 10-year ride for the Blue Devils.

Duke appeared in five National Championships in the decade, winning two, and was a Top-3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for eight years, including three years on the 1-line.

However, there were two seasons that did not live up to the Blue Devil standard in which the program missed the NCAA Tournament in the 1994-95 season, which was its last missed tournament until 2021, and when it earned an 8-seed in the 1995-96 campaign.

Icons of the program walked through the doors of Cameron Indoor Stadium during this time frame and now see their jerseys hanging from the rafters of the historic building.

Given the rich history of the Blue Devils, we took a deep dive into some of the statistics and records to list the Top-10 players in Duke history of the 1990s.

It’s interesting to note the changes in philosophy from the 90s to the 2000s due to one-and-done in the college and how some players might have climbed up the list should they have been in Durham for a longer period of time.

So who are the Top-10 Duke basketball players of the 1990s?

Duke basketball Top-10 players of the 1990s No. 10: Shane Battier

• 4 seasons at Duke (1997-2001)
• No. 31 is retired
• National Champion (2001)

Given that we are only using stats and data from the 1989-90 season through the 1998-99 campaign, Shane Battier debuts on the list at No. 10.

During his two seasons in the 90s, Battier averaged 7.6 and 9.1 points per game, respectively, and was named as the NABC Defensive Player of the Year in 1999.

Duke would win back-to-back ACC regular season titles in Battier’s first two seasons with the program and the ACC Tournament Championship during his sophomore season in 1999.

Battier also averaged at least five rebounds and over an assist, steal, and block per contest during his first two seasons.

He would go on to cap off his historic career in Durham during his junior and senior seasons, winning a National Championship in 2001 and being named as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player and Naismith Player of the Year.

Shane Battier has his No. 31 retired by the program and was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft where he would go on to have a very successful NBA career.